Messianic Exegesis

While the relationship between Second Temple Jewish exegesis andearly Christian exegesis as demonstrated in theNew Testament is universally recognized, the reasons fortheirsimilarities and differencesare often elusive. Donald H. Juel in Messianic Exegesis seeks to unknot this tangled web of interpretation. Juel's thesis is simple: Christianity's origins are rooted in the earliest Christian interpretations of Israel'sScriptures. The difficulty resides in showing how thesedistinctiveinterpretations arose. Juel argues that the events of Jesus' life form the fulcrum fortheChristian re-readingofJewishScripture. In particular, Juel shows howChristian beliefin a crucified and risen Messiah guided both the selection and appropriation of Old Testament textsâtexts like 2 Samuel 7, Daniel 7, and Psalms 2 and 110. With the confession "Jesus is the Messiah"as the central claim of Christianity,Juel is able toshowthe fluidity of contemporary Jewish exegesis while alsomakingthe anomalous uses ofScripture within theearlyChristian community understandable. Christians proclaimedJesus as Messiahthroughouttheir exegesis and thereby defined their emerging community through the way theyread Scripture.

"An accessible presentation not only of an important, indeed essential, way of understanding early Christian theological use of the Bible but of much formative and recent scholarship." -- Mary Rose DAngelo, Horizons in Biblical Theology, reviewing a previous edition or volume, "A brilliant work of disciplined imagination." -- Rowan A Greer, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, reviewing a previous edition or volume, "A major contribution [and] a considerable achievement." -- David M Hay, Journal of Biblical Literature, reviewing a previous edition or volume, "One seldom gets the chance to see a scholar pursuing a simple but consequential thesis through a book-length monograph with such tenacity, clarity, and deftness. A major contribution..." -- Joel Marcus, Catholic Bible Quarterly, reviewing a previous edition or volume

Donald H. Juel was Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary (1978-1995) and Princeton Theological Seminary (1995-2003). Renowned among his students and colleagues as a captivating teacher, Juel dedicated himself to helping people discover God and God's mysteries through their attentive, honest engagement with Scripture.