130 - Eschatology in the Old Testament

Eschatology in the Old Testament

By Donald E. Gowan

Philadelphia, Fortress, 1986. 150 Pp. $9.95.

Professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and author of several works on the Old Testament and intertestamental Judaism, Gowan has two declared aims in this volume. One is to provide a guide to Old Testament eschatology for interested nonspecialists-theologians, ethicists, historians, philosophers, and futurists. The second is to provide a comprehensive introduction to the subject that will update and replace the classic works of Charles and Klausner. These objectives are quite different from each other, and perhaps incompatible in practice. It is fair to say that the first objective is the controlling one. This is in fact a work of popularization designed for nonspecialists.

In conscious distinction from previous scholarship, Gowan focuses on traditions rather than on individual authors. He concurs with recent emphasis on the canonical text, but his interest is in the development of tradition, as in J. A. Sanders rather than B. S. Childs. The approach is thematic. In each case, he begins with a description of the Old Testament evidence and goes on to illustrate the development of the theme in the intertestamental literature, the New Testament, and rabbinic tradition, finally to consider "contemporary manifestations." The book is divided into four chapters: "Zion: The Center of Old Testament Eschatology," "Peace in Zion: The Transformation of Human Society," "The People of Zion: The Transformation of the Human Person," and "Highest of All the Hills: The Transformation of Nature." He finds four typical characteristics of Israel's hope. First, it is a worldly hope. Although Gowan finds allusions to personal afterlife in Isaiah 24-27 as well as in Daniel, he regards it as atypical of Old Testament eschatology. Second, the future is completely in the hands of God. It is not a goal of human progress, although there is room for human participation. Third, human society is more important than

131 - Eschatology in the Old Testament

personal salvation, and, fourth, Old Testament eschatology is a comprehensive hope that embraces nature as well as human affairs. The volume concludes with some ethical comments that view eschatology as a force of attraction rather than coercion and suggest that the "city of God" can serve as the central biblical symbol for modern urban culture.

The chief merit of this book is that it organizes the biblical and postbiblical references to eschatology in a clear and concise way. There are obvious limitations, however, which result from the attempt to survey so much material in so little space. Despite Gowan's avowed intention , the picture which emerges is flat and synchronic, with little sense of development or of different strands. There is no discussion of critical problems, such as Isaiah's attitude toward the Zion tradition (or even that of the redactor of Isaiah) or the interpretation of Daniel 7. At many points, the survey is little more than a list of passages with occasional illustrative quotations. The treatment of the New Testament and postbiblical material is especially sketchy.

Nonetheless, few will quarrel with Gowan's characterization of the central emphases of Old Testament eschatology. These emphases pose theological problems for the modern Christian-the "worldly" character of the Old Testament is in sharp contrast to the Christian hope for resurrection, and the centrality of Zion and the land of Israel poses a dilemma that is political as well as theological. Gowan is able to point up the modern relevance of some Old Testament themes, such as the transformation of nature, but he only acknowledges the deeper theological problems and does not grapple with them. His view of the role of Scripture in theology and ethics does not emerge clearly here. On the whole, his approach is historical and descriptive. Yet a passing confession ("As for Isaiah 53, it is my position that Jesus was indeed the fulfillment of these words") suggests that he operates with theological presuppositions which are never articulated.

This rather elementary book can be recommended for beginning students because of its clarity and readability. It highlights the need for a contemporary theological treatment of Old Testament eschatology, but that treatment will require greater length and more depth.

JOHN J. COLLINS

University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana