Pastors and leaders of the classical church–such as Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and Wesley–interpreted the Bible theologically, believing Scripture as a whole witnessed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Modern interpreters of the Bible questioned this premise. But in recent decades, a critical mass of theologians and biblical scholars has begun to reassert the priority of a theological reading of … of Scripture.
The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible enlists leading theologians to read and interpret Scripture for the twenty-first century, just as the church fathers, the Reformers, and other orthodox Christians did for their times and places. In the sixth volume in the series, Phillip Cary presents a theological exegesis of Jonah.
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Jonah: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible
By Phillip Cary
A Critical Response by Rosealie Robinson
Phillip Cary wrote “Jonah: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible” (Brazos Press, 2008). This series of commentaries holds that the Nicene tradition provides the correct basis for interpreting the Bible as Christian Scripture. For them dogma/doctrine gives structure and cogency in interpreting and it clarifies the reading of Scripture. Therefore they have chosen commentators who have knowledge and expertise in using Christian doctrinal tradition. They have an ecumenical stance and believe that interpretation of scripture is a communal project. They accept that doctrine is intrinsically fluid and so the editors do not make their commentators use any specific method of doctrinal interpretation or any specific hermeneutical theory nor do they prescribe any specified reading strategy. This is because they trust that the Nicene tradition will guide each interpretation.
Cary believes that the book of Jonah is about Christ and about the Israelites for whom Christ is king. In writing his commentary Cary is in line with this series in that he regularly draws upon the Great Tradition and uses a wide variety of approaches to interpret this text. For instance his reading is figural in that he argues that Christians can only find themselves in, and get the point of this story, by identifying themselves with Christ’s people, the Jews, and with the only Israelite in it, namely Jonah. He points out that Jesus himself did this when he identified himself as ‘the sign of Jonah’. He contends “scripture is the best interpreter of scripture” (Cary 2008, 22) and so he constantly does this, for example he relates the question: “What have you done …?” in Jonah 1:10, to God asking Adam and Eve in Gen 3:13, and Cain Gen 4:10, this same question, which amounts to an announcement of guilt. He delves into what the name ‘Jonah’ means (dove/peace) and relates this to the beloved in Song 2:14 and to the dove returning to Noah with the olive branch in Gen 8:10-11.
He pays close attention to how the text refers to the deity, for example he says if it only refers to God instead of the LORD then the characters do not personally know who God is. He believes that to read the Bible well, Christians must read it more like Jews so he carries out Jewish exegesis. For instance he discusses the meaning of ‘Israel’ and ‘Jews’ in order to show how the southern and northern kingdoms became reunited through Christ. He draws on Israelite imagery to show that the gourd is representative of the ‘linage of David’ and through this he reveals that Jonah’s anger at the withered gourd is not only because he has no shade but more importantly because it made Jonah realize that he was a Jew without a Messiah. He discusses the feast of Tabernacles when he comes to the word ‘booth’ in Jonah 4:5 and he explores the meanings of words or phrases which are important to the text such as ‘the fear of God,’ hesed, forty days, and 3 days and 3 nights.
He constantly links Jonah to Christ, for example he says that Jonah is like Christ when he gave up his life so that others may live. He speaks of God’s concern for the people of Nineveh (Gentiles) and for his concern for Jonah (the Israelites). And he speaks of Jonah being reborn. He agrees with recent scholarship that Jonah as a comic figure, who does everything wrong, yet through him God does everything right. Further like many theologians he goes outside of scripture by likening Jonah’s repetitive message to the people of Nineveh to Homer and the ancient Near East epics. He also draws on sociologists to show the functions of religion and he explains ancient economics. He refers to the senses by talking about “taste” and he emphasizes the importance of prayer. He clarifies the text by drawing on church doctrine and on the church fathers for example he discusses some of God’s attributes in relation to this text. Finally Cary suggests that the final question asked of Jonah by God is also for Christians as we are just like Jonah.
This commentary is unlike any other that I have ever read and I would highly recommend it to others, especially to those who see the value in and appreciate the witness of the Old Testament and to those who have a love and an appreciation for God’s chosen people, the Jews, and who can identify themselves with them as Jesus did/does. I believe this commentary contributes to the field of Theological Interpretation of Scripture in a number of ways. First it is evident that Cary sees the relevance and the necessity of the metanarrative, namely God’s great story, when interpreting scripture. Second his Jewish exegesis certainly enriches one’s reading of this text, for instance I now understand the Israelite meaning of the gourd. Third it is obvious that he is listening to tradition as he regularly refers to the church fathers and expounds church doctrines when necessary for instance he discusses ‘election’ and ‘salvation’.
Fourth he does make some attempt to put the theological disciplines back together by approaching this text in multiple ways and he rightly points out the error in Christian readings which seek to only moralize Scripture. Fifth he highlights the importance of prayer and in having the right posture in approaching Scripture and in allowing ourselves to be transformed by it. For instance he encourages Christians to stop being self-righteous and anti-Semitic and to inhabit the story of Jonah and to identify with him, as this story is also about us. He appropriately points out that we do things wrong just like Jonah did. For instance Jonah did not want to love his enemies, namely the people of Nineveh, and Christians also struggle with this same issue. This is just one example which serves to illustrate the immediacy of Scripture.