kobert C Dentan

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Introduction
Robert Claude Dentan was proIessor oI the Literature and Interpretation oI the Old Testament at
Berkeley Divinity School, and editor oI the Journal of Biblical Literature. graduate oI
Colorado College and the Berkeley Divinity School, he received his Ph.D. Irom Yale University.
He also attended the merican School oI Oriental Research in Jerusalem. Dr. Dentan was
Iormerly priest-in-charge oI St. John`s Church, Donora, Pennsylvania, and rector oI St. John`s
Church, New Haven, Connecticut. His writings on the Bible include The Holy Scriptures and its
study course, Redemption and Revelation, Preface to Old Testament Theology, Exegesis oI
Zechariah 9-14 and Malachi in The Interpreters Bible, The Design of the Scriptures. A first
Reader in Biblical Theology and The Apocrypha, Bridge of the Testaments.
kev|va| of C|d 1estament 1heo|ogy 1he tone of the per|od

The call Ior a revival oI Old Testament Theology in the classical sense, as well as a more theological
exegesis oI the scriptures, began in Germany in the 1920s. It represented the desire: 1) To allow the OT to
address contemporary problems on its own terms, 2. To give greater emphasis to the theological
dimensions oI the material being studied and 3. To deIend the relevance oI the OT against its despisers.
The call Ior a new development oI Old Testament Theology was not oI course a call Ior total repudiation
and surrender oI current ways oI interpreting the Old Testament, such as those represented by the
histories oI Israelite religion, but Ior a movement beyond them. For the nineteenth century scholars, the
history oI the religion oI Israel was closely joined to the history oI certain religious ideas such as the
centralization oI the cult, ethics as a primary service oI Yahweh and so Iorth. Iter the Iirst world war, a
number oI studies appeared showing a Iairly close relationship to a theological Iorm oI discussion
inasmuch as their concern was to set Iorth the history oI Israel`s important individual and interrelated
ideas. lthough they were thoroughly characterized by the accepted canons oI historical investigation,
they were born oI a liberal desire to present a constructive system oI Old testament ideas, something
approaching Gabler`s 'true biblical theology
1
that is, eternal truths Ireed Irom the contamination and
conditions oI historical limitations.

%0ological Insigts of Rob0rt D0ntan


1
John H Hayes and Frederick Prussner, Old Testament Theology. Its History and development, tlanta:
John Knox Press), 1985, 171.
uenLan's ltefoce to OlJ 1estomeot 1beoloqy shows many polnLs of conLacL wlLh Lhe 8lbllcol 1beoloqy lo
Ootlloe by Mlllar 8urrows under whose dlrecLlon uenLan prepared hls sLudy Some of hls ma[or
ob[ecLlves he says ln hls foreword lncluded along wlLh Lhe naLural concern Lo deflne Cld 1esLamenL
Lheology" a deslre Lo Lake lnLo accounL Lhe requlremenLs of Lhe Lheologlcal currlculum" and Lo deflne
Lhe more general Lerm 8lbllcal 1heology" Pls book opens wlLh a survey of Lhe hlsLory of Lhe dlsclpllne
for Lhe perlod of proLesLanL scholasLlclsm onward and ln lLs second half aLLempLs Lhe formulaLlon of
proper meLhodologlcal prlnclples Cbvlously lL ls ln Lhls second half LhaL he advances hls own
perspecLlves as well as ln hls much laLer work 1be ueslqo of tbe 5ctlptotes A fltst keoJet lo 8lbllcol
1beoloqy

uenLan's sLarLlng polnL ls wlLh blbllcal Lheology" for lL consLlLuLes ln hls oplnlon Lhe larger conLexL wlLh
ln whlch Cld 1esLamenL Lheology Lakes lLs subordlnaLe place 8lbllcal Lheology ls Lo be regarded as
prlmarlly a hlsLorlcal dlsclpllne And hence lLs meLhod musL prlmarlly be LhaL of oLher hlsLorlcal
sclences vlz emplrlcal and lnducLlve
2
ln essence lL ls Lhe sLudy of Lhe rellglous ldeas of Lhe 8lble ln
Lhelr hlsLorlcal conLexL" 1hls mlnlmum deflnlLlon slnce lL places lLs ma[or emphasls on Lhe hlsLorlcal
characLer of 8lbllcal Lheology lmmedlaLely ralses Lhe quesLlon of Lhe dlfference beLween lL and Lhe
hlsLory of blbllcal rellglon uenLan found Lhe answer Lo Lhe quesLlon ln LlchrodL's dlfferenLlaLlon whlch
descrlbes Lhe essenLlal descrlpLlon ln Lerms of Lhe dlfference beLween a longcuL" and a crosscuL"
3

Lhe one LreaLlng Lhe rellglon ln chronologlcal sequence and Lhe oLher seLLlng forLh lLs perslsLenL and
dlsLlncLlve prlnclples ln some klnd of loglcal or sysLemaLlc order 1hls ln facL ls Lhe only leglLlmaLe
dlsLlncLlon seen Lhough lL has someLlmes suggesLed LhaL Lhere ls also anoLher baslc dlfference accordlng
Lo whlch a nlstoty ls coldly ob[ecLlve and 'sclenLlflc' ln lLs handllng of Lhe maLerlal whlle 1beoloqy on
Lhe oLher hand deals wlLh Lhe maLerlal as kevelotloo and seeks Lo deLermlne lLs relevance Lo ChrlsLlan
Lheology and Lo Lhe conLemporary scene
4
" 1he second form of dlfferenLlaLlon ls noL enLlrely wlLhouL
[usLlflcaLlon when seen especlally agalnsL Lhe background of Lhe excesses of Lhe teleqlooqescblcbtllcbe
5cbole buL lL does noL belong Lo Lhe essenLlal dlfferenLlae 1here ls fundamenLally no reason why a
PlsLory should noL deal wlLh Lhe old 1esLamenL as 8evelaLlon and be concerned wlLh Lhe Lheologlcal
slgnlflcance of lLs sub[ecL maLLer
3


ke|at|on of C|d 1estament theo|ogy w|th other branches of theo|ogy


2
Ibid., 198
3
Ibid., 181
4
Robert C Dentan, Preface to Old Testament Theology, New Haven: Yale University Press)1950; rev.ed,;
New York: Seabury Press, 1963), 46 as cited in John H Hayes and Frederick Prussner, Old Testament., 198
5
John H Hayes and Frederick Prussner, Old Testament., 198
As Cld 1esLamenL 1heology ls locaLed wlLhln Lhe framework whlch ls provlded by blbllcal Lheology
uenLan regards lL as o cbtlstloo tbeoloqlcol Jlsclplloe
6
and such lL always has some relaLlon wlLh Lhe
new lL ls lmporLanL Lo remember LhaL whlle ln Lheory lL mlghL have orlglnaLed ln !udalsm or amongsL
scholars wlLh no rellglous convlcLlons lL dld ln facL orlglnaLe ln Lhe ChrlsLlan Lheologlcal currlculum
7
"
uenLan relnforces hls polnL abouL Lhe relaLlonshlp whlch he belleves should exlsL beLween old
1esLamenL Lheology and Lhe new 1esLamenL ln effecL maklng LhaL relaLlonshlp one of Lhe chlef
cornersLones of hls poslLlon by esLabllshlng Lhe proposlLlon accordlng Lo whlch Cld 1esLamenL
Lheology should noL deal wlLh Lhe sLrucLural unlLy of Cld 1esLamenL rellglon buL also glve due regard Lo
Lhe hlsLorlcal and ldeologlcal relaLlonshlp of LhaL rellglon Lo Lhe rellglon of Lhe new 1esLamenL" 1he
dlsclpllne ls Lo be regarded Lherefore ln a speclal sense as a preparaLory exerclse for Lhe sLudy of Lhe
n1" noL because Lhere happens Lo be an exLernal hlsLorlcal connecLlon beLween Lhe Lwo parLs of Lhe
8lble buL raLher because for ChrlsLlan falLh Lhe connecLlon ls lnLegral and organlc so LhaL Lhe Lwo
LogeLher form an lndlssoluble unlLy Lhe one belng Lhe necessary compleLlon and fulflllmenL of Lhe
oLher"
8

As a ChrlsLlan 1heologlcal dlsclpllne C1 Lheology also sLands ln close relaLlonshlp Lo Lhe oLher broad
flelds lnLo whlch Lhe LoLal organlsm of Lheologlcal sLudy ls dlvlded 5ystemotlc 1beoloqy also has a vlLal
sLake ln 8lbllcal and C1 Lheology even Lhough Lhey are no longer relaLed Lo one anoLher Lo as mlsLress
Lo servanL and have been properly LreaLed as dlfferenL areas of Lheologlcal expresslons slnce Lhe days of
Cabler
9
lrom Lhese blbllcal dlsclpllnes sysLemaLlc Lheology recelves lLs baslc maLerlal wlLhouL whlch lL
would selze Lo be ln any dlsLlncLlve sense ChrlsLlan Lheology" lurLher more lL derlves from Lhem a
norm by whlch lLs own Lheologlcal formulaLlons may be [udged and wlLh Lhe help of whlch lLs own false
or eccenLrlc emphasls may be correcLed" 1he Lhlrd Lheologlcal fleld for whlch 8lbllcal dlsclpllnes bear a
responslblllLy ls Lhe area commonly descrlbed as pracLlcal Lheology ln Lhe flrsL place Lhey can be of
greaL beneflL Lo Lhe mlnlsLer ln Lhe preparaLlon of sermons by provldlng a synopLlc undersLandlng of Lhe
whole 8lbllcal rellglon A second value whlch may be galned from Lhe sLudy of Lheology of Lhe 8lble ls
LhaL lL should serve as an lnsLrumenL for Lhe culLlvaLlon of personal pleLy especlally among Lhe clergy"

cope of C|d 1estament 1heo|ogy

AnoLher of Lhe fundamenLal problems of Cld 1esLamenL Lheology ls LhaL of lLs scope 1hls suggesLlon
lnvolves for example Lhe use of noncanonlcal maLerlals a maLLer on whlch Lhere has been conslderable
dlsagreemenL ln Lhe hlsLory of dlsclpllne uenLan's poslLlon here ls one whlch favours Lhe sLrlcL
observance of Lhe llmlLs provlded by Lhe canon and Lhe excluslon of any comprehenslve aLLempL Lo
deal wlLh Lhe lnLerLesLamenLal llLeraLure
10
A far more complex quesLlon ls LhaL concernlng Lhe exLenL

6
Ibid.,
7
Robert C Dentan, Preface to Old., 94.
8
Ibid., 98-99
9
John H Hayes and Frederick Prussner, Old Testament., 199
10
Robert C Dentan, Preface to Old.,105
Lo whlch one should aLLempL Lo deal wlLh all Lhe Cld 1esLamenL maLerlal 1he general rule whlch one
should follow aL Lhls polnL he belleves ls LhaL Cld 1esLamenL Lheology should deal only wlLh dlsLlncLlve
and characLerlsLlc rellglous ldeas of Lhe C1
11
WhaL Lhls rule means ln greaLer deaLall ls made clear ln Lhe
followlng proposlLlons
1) lL(C11) should exclude mere archaeloglcal lnformaLlon
2) lLs prlmary concern should be wlLh ldeas noL wlLh hlsLory or lnsLlLuLlons
3) lLs concerns should be Lhe normaLlve rellglon of Lhe Cld LesLamenL
12

4) lL should lnclude all Lhe ma[or Lendencles of normaLlve Pebrew rellglon
3) lL should lnclude a general dlscusslon of eLhlcal prlnclples
6) lL should lnclude a dlscusslon of Lhe naLure of Pebrew pleLy
13



Cut||nes of the method

AgalnsL Lhe background of Lhe naLure and scope whlch belong Lo Cld 1esLamenL Lheology uenLan flnally
draws Lhe baslc ouLllnes of Lhe meLhod lLself 8y hls own admlsslon hls lnLeresL ls conflned lnLo Lwo
maLLers exegesls and organlzaLlon Cn Lhe flrsL polnL Lhe quesLlon of meLhod of lnLerpreLaLlon he
speaks ouL resoluLely agalnsL all Lypes of speclal Lheologlcal" lnLerpreLaLlon wheLher Lhey be ln Lhe
form of allegory Lypology or pneumaLlc exegesls and lnsLead sLaLes wlLh greaL lnslsLence LhaL Lhe
grammaLlcal hlsLorlcal meLhod musL conLlnue Lo be regarded as Lhe only leglLlmaLe and proper one Pe
regards LhaL Lhe prlmary funcLlon of Lhe Cld 1esLamenL Lheologlan ls Lo answer Lhe quesLlon WhaL dld
Lhe rellglous concepLs found ln Lhe Cld 1esLamenL mean Lo men of Cld 1esLamenL Llmes?"
14


lL ls how ever essenLlal LhaL no one confuse such a crlLlcal and hlsLorlcal approach wlLh Lhe cold
exLernal dlslnLeresLed and lmpersonal aLLlLude whlch was fosLered for example by hlsLorlclsm lor ln
addlLlon Lo Lhe requlremenL for ob[ecLlve le honesL and unblased Lhere ls also placed up on Lhe C1
Lheologlan a demand for sympaLhy lnslghL and a sense of personal parLlclpaLlon whlch Cunkel noLed
as empaLhy a requlremenL whlch for LhaL maLLer ls made of all good hlsLorlography lf lL ls Lo be more
Lhan mere chronography and lf lL ls Lo accompllsh Lhe lmaglnaLlve recreaLlon of Lhe sLream of hlsLory
wlLh all lLs rlchness of human llfe and feellng"
13
1hls admlLLedly sub[ecLlve buL necessary elemenL of
sympaLhy and lnslghL can be furLhered ln Lhe case of Cld 1esLamenL Lheology by falLh slnce lL ls
dlfflculL Lo see how one could wrlLe sympaLheLlcally of Lhe Lheology of Lhe Cld 1esLamenL whlch dld noL
ln some way share Lhe Lhe Cld 1esLamenL falLh" uenLan ls properly careful Lo make clear how ever

11
Ibid., 106
12
Two criteria help to determine this normative religion: 1) persistence or pervasiveness and 2)
distinctivenessp.108-109)
13
Robert C Dentan, Preface to Old.,106-112
14
Robert C Dentan, Preface to Old.,114
15
Ibid., 115
LhaL ln speaklng of Lhe Cld 1esLamenL Lheologlan as a person of falLh he doesnoL regard LhaL falLh as a
mlraculous new organ for Lhe aLLalnmenL of knowledge buL slmply as an endowmenL whlch puLs such
a person wlLhln Lhe sLream of whlch Lhe Cld 1esLamenL ls a parL"
16


1he oLher quesLlon ralsed by Lhe problem of Lhe naLure of Lhe meLhod accordlng Lo uenLan relaLes Lo
Lhe form of organlzaLlon whlch ls besL adapLed Lo Lhe needs of Cld 1esLamenL 1heology lor uenLan Lhe
cenLer of rellglon ls locaLed ln lLs docLrlne of Cod for lL ls Lhls docLrlne whlch glves Lo Lhe Cld
1esLamenL LhaL sLrucLural and organlc unlLy whlch ls Lhe Lask of Lhe Cld 1esLamenL Lheology Lo descrlbe
and dlscuss
17
Whlle Lhe cenLrallLy of Lhe ldea of Cod for uenLan [usLlfles one ln speaklng of a tbeology
one should noL expecL Lo flnd a closely arLlculaLed sysLem of docLrlne" buL only a complex of rellglous
ldeas whlch cenLer ln cerLaln baslc ldeas abouL Cod
18
"

Conc|us|on

1he percepLlons and arLlculaLlons of uenLan seem Lo be baslcs of Cld 1esLamenL Lheologlcal endeavours
Pe vlews Cld 1esLamenL 1heology as compleLely a parL of 8lbllcal Lheology Pls LhoughLs wenL ln llne
wlLh oLher lnLerpreLer's of Lhe Llme Anyhow Lhe Overall diversity oI the Iield indicates a lack oI
uniIormity in Iorm and Viewpoint. Many issues leIt unsettled indicating the dynamics oI the studies There
was a Iocus on the actual sense oI the word oI the text, rather than an allegorical, metaphorical, spiritual,
etc., use.

ibliograp

uenLan 8oberL C ltefoce to OlJ 1estomeot 1beoloqy new Paven ?ale unlverslLy ress 1930 reved
new ?ork Seabury ress 1963

Payes !ohn P lrederlck russner OlJ 1estomeot 1beoloqy lts nlstoty ooJ uevelopmeot ALlanLa !ohn
knox ress 1983

nternet kesources

16
Ibid., 117
17
Ibid., 118
18
Ibid., 118-119

uenLan 8oberL C 1be Apoctypbo 8tlJqe of tbe 1estomeots A keoJets ColJe to Apoctypbol 8ooks of tbe
OlJ 1estomeot hLLp//orLhodoxangllcanneL/downloads/apocryphapdf Accessed on !uly
012011

_______________ 1be ueslqo of 5ctlptotesA lltst keoJet hLLp//medlasabdhaorg/alklLab2/8ellglon
CnllneCrg8ooks/uenLan8oberLC/1he ueslgn of ScrlpLuresA llrsL 8eaderpdf Accessed on !uly
012011