An evaluation of the canonical approach: is it adequate for the task of old testament theology in christian hermeneutic endeavour?

Abstract

The overarching question is: “How do we make the biblical text relevant for our present context?” The answer ultimately resides in reading the text theologically. Therefore, the question must be: “How do we read the Old Testament theologi-cally?” This article shows that the canonical approach to Scripture brings out the theological significance of the text because it allows a number of windows to illuminate the exegetical task. In the article’s consideration of literary form, it acknowledges that narrative is a sizeable window into both the historical and theological. Another window to Scriptural intentionality is found in the given shape of the Canon. The unity and, therefore, continuity of the text provide a large window to theological relevance. This article also intimates a smaller, but significant, window in aspects of biblical tradition, through programmatic themes. The Canon, however, with its varied literary forms, its tentative historical facts, and its veiled traditions, must stand out as the only constant in the theological task. Therefore the canonical approach to reading the text is indispensable to Old Testament exegesis and to Christian hermeneutics.