Commentary on the NT Use of the OT

These days it’s hard to find a commentary that is distinct from all the others on the market. There are only so many ways that you can exposit a passage. With that in mind, it’s worth noting when a commentary comes along that is wholly unlike the rest. The Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, edited by G. K. Beale & D. A. Carson, is one such commentary. Let’s take a look inside!

What Is The Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament and What It Isn’t

The key to using this commentary is first understanding how the editors designed it. This is not a verse-by-verse commentary on the entire New Testament; there are plenty of commentaries that already do this well. Nor is this a commentary debating how the Old Testament is utilized by New Testament authors. Again, there are plenty of books already written on the subject.

Instead, you get exactly what the title says: an explanation of how the NT makes use of OT quotations and allusions. While analyzing these passages, Beale and Carson encouraged the contributors to keep in mind six questions:

1. What is the NT context of the citation or allusion?
2. What is the OT context from which the quotation or allusion is drawn?
3. How is the OT quotation or source handled in the literature of Second Temple Judaism or early Judaism?
4. What textual factors must be kept in mind as one seeks to understand a particular use of the OT?
5. What is the nature of the connection as the NT writer sees it?
6. To what theological use does the NT writer put the OT quotation or allusion?

Wherever possible, each passage covered in the commentary seeks to answer these six questions. This way, you can understand how the text is being used. While most commentaries cover this subject matter briefly, the it is this commentary’s sole focus.

Using the Commentary

There are several ways you can use the Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament in the app. Let’s look at it in the Resource Guide, first.

Depending on your Bible translation, it may be difficult to identify when the NT authors are quoting the OT. For example, in the ESV you may find indented text noting a quotation; but, it’s not as easy to identify when it is kept inline. Translations like the NASB, on the other hand, put OT quotes in small caps. That makes them easier to identify (see below). In a book like Matthew, this isn’t a big deal; but consider a book like James that alludes to the OT frequently. In this case, you could miss these in the ESV, where they are obvious in a translation like the NASB.

The Resource Guide

With the Resource Guide, your choice of translation doesn’t matter. As you’re reading a New Testament passage, simply glance down at the commentaries section of Resource Guide. See if you have a notification for the Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. If there is, you can tap to read the commentary text.

A perfect example of this is in James 5:1-6. There is no clear OT quotation, but a Jew would understand that James is alluding to the Mosaic Law. The commentary explains this in great detail. It provides all the context you need to understand what James is trying to get across.

The largest benefit of using Resource Guide is that you don’t have to manually search through your commentaries. Forget having to wonder if the Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament addresses your passage. You’ll know without ever having to open it. The Resource Guide saves you time and effort in your studies by putting the information you need at your fingertips.

Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

Does this commentary interest you? Maybe there’s an Old Testament quotation from the New Testament that came to mind when you read the title of this resource. The Olive Tree store has many study tools like this one to help you get in the mindset of the original audience. Get your copy today!