Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament by G. K. Beale
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Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
G. K. Beale, D. A. Carson, Benjamin L. Gladd, and Andrew David Naselli, editors
Bibliographic Information
Editors: Beale, G. K.; Carson, D. A.; Gladd, Benjamin L.; Naselli, Andrew David Full Title: Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament Publisher: Baker Academic Year of Publication: 2023 Pages: 992 pp. ISBN: 978-1-5409-6004-7 Series (if applicable): Companion to Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
Editors' Background
The editorial team represents the highest level of evangelical scholarship in biblical theology and the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament. G. K. Beale (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Dallas, having previously held the J. Gresham Machen Chair of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary. Beale is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society in 2004. His groundbreaking work includes The Temple and the Church's Mission, A New Testament Biblical Theology, the NIGTC commentary on Revelation, and co-editing (with D. A. Carson) the Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (2007). Beale's scholarly contributions have fundamentally shaped contemporary evangelical understanding of how the New Testament appropriates Old Testament texts, particularly his emphasis on reading New Testament use of the Old Testament through the lens of inaugurated eschatology and temple theology.
D. A. Carson (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is Research Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he taught for over four decades. Carson is one of the most prolific and influential evangelical scholars of his generation, having authored or edited over 60 books including The Gospel According to John (PNTC), Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility, and Christ and Culture Revisited. He is a founding member of The Gospel Coalition and has made extensive contributions to New Testament exegesis, biblical theology, and theological hermeneutics. Carson's editorial partnership with Beale on the 2007 Commentary established him as a leading voice in this field.
Benjamin L. Gladd (Ph.D., Wheaton College) is Associate Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary and series editor for Essential Studies in Biblical Theology. His published work includes studies on Revelation, apocalyptic literature, and Pauline theology. Andrew David Naselli (Ph.D. in theology, Bob Jones University; Ph.D. in New Testament exegesis and theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and New Testament at Bethlehem College & Seminary and administrator of Themelios, the academic journal of The Gospel Coalition.
All four editors write from within the broadly Reformed evangelical tradition, which is evident in the dictionary's theological framework and its selection of contributors. Readers should note that the editorial team's institutional affiliations (Westminster, Reformed Theological Seminary, TEDS, Bethlehem) all represent institutions with strong commitments to biblical inerrancy, Reformation theology, and complementarian ecclesiology. This does not invalidate the scholarship but does create a particular theological and hermeneutical context that shapes the work. The dictionary represents Reformed evangelical perspectives on the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament, not a neutral or ecumenical survey of all approaches to this field.
Purpose and Scope
The Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament is a comprehensive reference work designed as a companion to Beale and Carson's 2007 Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (CNTUOT). Where the Commentary examined each New Testament book diachronically (tracing quotations and allusions passage by passage), the Dictionary provides synchronic analysis (examining books, themes, and methodological issues as wholes). The work addresses the explosive growth in scholarship on how the New Testament writers appropriated the Old Testament—a field that has moved from peripheral to central in biblical studies over the past four decades. The editors note that the UBS Greek New Testament lists approximately 350 Old Testament quotations in the New Testament, with well over 1,000 allusions identified by various scholars. This massive intertextual relationship between the Testaments has generated a "torrent of publications" requiring systematic organization and synthesis.
The dictionary's purpose is threefold: (1) to update and synthesize scholarship on New Testament use of the Old Testament since the 2007 Commentary; (2) to address methodological, hermeneutical, and theological questions raised by this field; and (3) to trace biblical-theological themes from Old Testament origins through New Testament fulfillment. The work is explicitly evangelical in perspective, assuming the authority and trustworthiness of Scripture, the theological unity of the canon, and the legitimacy of reading the Old Testament Christologically when the New Testament does so.
Structure and Organization
The dictionary is organized alphabetically but comprises five distinct types of entries, making it both a reference tool and a thematic encyclopedia. The editors provide a "List of Articles by Topic" that organizes the 150+ articles into these categories:
1. Surveys of Biblical Books (66 articles) – Every book of the Bible receives synchronic treatment examining its use of prior revelation. The 39 Old Testament surveys trace how later OT books build on earlier traditions (e.g., how Isaiah uses the Pentateuch, how Daniel uses Jeremiah). The 27 New Testament surveys update the 2007 Commentary, summarizing how each NT book appropriates the Old Testament. These articles are substantial (typically 5-15 pages) and include extensive bibliographies.
2. Biblical-Theological Topical Essays (approximately 50 articles) – Major theological themes receive full-length treatment tracing their development from Old Testament origins through New Testament fulfillment. These include both narrative-embedded themes (Abraham, Adam, Exodus, Exile and Restoration, Jerusalem) and synthetic theological topics (Christology, Ecclesiology, Glory of God, Holiness, Justice, Justification, Kingdom and King, Shame, Sin). Each essay roots its discussion in the biblical storyline while synthesizing theological developments across both Testaments.
3. Jewish Exegetical-Traditions Essays (7 major articles) – Substantial essays examine how Second Temple Judaism and later rabbinic literature used the Old Testament, providing crucial comparative context for understanding New Testament hermeneutics. These cover the Apocrypha, Dead Sea Scrolls, OT Pseudepigrapha, Philo, Rabbinic Literature (Mishnah, Talmud, Midrashim), Septuagint, and Targums. Each article includes both description of Jewish interpretive methods and comparison with New Testament usage.
4. Inner-Biblical Exegesis (approximately 20 articles) – Methodological and hermeneutical articles address fundamental questions about how Scripture interprets Scripture. Topics include Allegory, Apostolic Hermeneutics (Description and Presuppositions; Present-Day Imitation), Canonical Interpretation, Contextual and Noncontextual NT Use of the OT, Typology, Literal Fulfillment, and History of Interpretation (Early Church; 300-1800; 1800-Present). These articles thoughtfully present major scholarly views and provide curated, up-to-date bibliographies.
5. Systematic Theology (5 articles) – Essays connect inner-biblical exegesis to theological reflection: Biblical Theology, Bibliology, Christology, Ecclesiology, and Theological Interpretation of Scripture. These acknowledge that exegesis does not occur in a theological vacuum, especially when examining how the Testaments relate through Christ and the church.
Representative Articles: Quality and Approach
To assess the dictionary's quality, we examined representative articles across all five categories:
Biblical Book Survey: The article on Isaiah (by Andrew Abernethy) exemplifies the synchronic approach. Abernethy traces how Isaiah draws on Genesis (garden imagery, creation themes), Exodus (new exodus motifs), Deuteronomy (covenant framework), and Psalms (royal theology). He demonstrates how Isaiah reappropriates earlier traditions to address the Babylonian exile and promise restoration. The article then summarizes how the New Testament uses Isaiah extensively (over 60 quotations and countless allusions), making Isaiah second only to Psalms in NT citations. This dual focus—Isaiah's use of prior Scripture and the NT's use of Isaiah—provides valuable canonical perspective.
Biblical-Theological Topic: The Covenant article (by Peter Gentry) traces covenant theology from Genesis through Revelation, examining the Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and New Covenants. Gentry demonstrates how New Testament authors understand Christ as the fulfillment of all prior covenants, particularly emphasizing the New Covenant promised in Jeremiah 31. The essay is theologically robust, exegetically careful, and synthesizes complex biblical-theological material accessibly. However, readers should note that Gentry's covenant theology reflects Reformed covenantal categories (particularly the distinction between the covenant of works and covenant of grace, though not explicitly developed here), which Catholics and dispensationalists would qualify or reject.
Jewish Exegetical Traditions: The Dead Sea Scrolls article (by Alex Jassen) provides an excellent introduction to Qumran's use of Scripture, explaining pesher interpretation, rewritten Bible traditions, and thematic parallels to the New Testament. Jassen demonstrates both continuities (shared eschatological reading strategies) and discontinuities (the NT's Christological focus vs. Qumran's teacher of righteousness) between Qumran and early Christianity. This article is particularly valuable for readers seeking to understand the Second Temple Jewish context in which New Testament interpretation developed.
Inner-Biblical Exegesis: The Apostolic Hermeneutics articles (Richard Hays wrote "Description and Presuppositions," Beale wrote "Present-Day Imitation") address the controversial question of whether contemporary interpreters should follow the hermeneutical methods of the apostles. Hays argues that the apostles' Christological reading of the Old Testament was Spirit-guided and contextually appropriate for their eschatological moment but may not be directly replicable. Beale contends that because the apostles' hermeneutics were revelatory and authoritative, contemporary interpreters should learn from and carefully imitate their methods. These paired articles model how the dictionary presents multiple perspectives on contested issues, though the editorial framework clearly favors Beale's position.
Systematic Theology: The Christology article (by Brandon Crowe) demonstrates how New Testament Christology is fundamentally grounded in Old Testament categories—Christ as the true Israel, the Davidic King, the Suffering Servant, the Son of Man, and the divine Yahweh. Crowe argues that understanding how the New Testament applies Old Testament texts to Jesus is essential for proper Christological formulation. The article is theologically orthodox (affirming Nicene and Chalcedonian Christology) and demonstrates how biblical theology informs systematic theology.
Theological Evaluation and Critique
Exegetical and Hermeneutical Framework
The dictionary operates within a "canonical-theological" hermeneutical framework that assumes: (1) the unity of Scripture as God's progressive revelation, (2) the legitimacy of reading the Old Testament Christologically when the New Testament does so, (3) the authority of apostolic interpretation as a model for contemporary reading, and (4) the priority of canonical context over historical-critical reconstruction. This framework is made explicit in the Introduction and in articles like "Apostolic Hermeneutics" and "Canonical Interpretation."
The exegetical quality throughout the dictionary is exceptionally high. Contributors demonstrate facility with Hebrew and Greek, engagement with ancient Near Eastern backgrounds, familiarity with Second Temple Jewish literature, and awareness of contemporary biblical scholarship. The articles on individual biblical books provide careful textual analysis, tracing specific quotations, allusions, and echoes with precision. The biblical-theological essays synthesize material across multiple books while maintaining exegetical rigor.
However, the hermeneutical framework creates both strengths and limitations. The strength is coherence—the dictionary presents a unified vision of how the Testaments relate through Christ. The limitation is that alternative hermeneutical approaches receive less attention than their scholarly prominence warrants. Historical-critical readings that question apostolic hermeneutics, non-Christological Jewish readings of contested texts, and canonical approaches that emphasize discontinuity between the Testaments are acknowledged but not given equal weight. Readers from mainline Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish scholarly traditions will find the dictionary's framework too confessionally particular to serve as a neutral reference work.
Doctrinal Analysis
Measured against the ecumenical creeds (Apostles', Nicene-Constantinopolitan, Chalcedonian), the dictionary is entirely orthodox. Articles on Christology, Trinity (embedded in theological topics), and the person of Christ affirm classical Christian doctrine without qualification.
From a Reformed perspective, the dictionary aligns closely with Westminster Confession commitments. The emphasis on covenant, the assumption of biblical inerrancy, the Christological reading of the Old Testament, and the prioritization of authorial intent (understood as including both human and divine authors) all reflect Reformed hermeneutical commitments. However, the dictionary is not narrowly confessional—it avoids Reformed-Arminian debates on election and perseverance, and it does not address distinctively Reformed covenant theology (the covenant of works/grace framework). Reformed readers will find the work congenial and useful, though they should note it does not develop confessionally specific positions on contested soteriological questions.
From a Wesleyan-Arminian perspective, the dictionary's biblical-theological articles are broadly useful, though readers should be aware that the editorial team and most contributors write from Reformed rather than Wesleyan traditions. The emphasis on God's sovereignty in redemptive history, while not explicitly Calvinist, reflects characteristically Reformed concerns. Wesleyan readers will find no objectionable content but may notice the absence of Wesleyan voices among major contributors.
From a Roman Catholic perspective, the dictionary's Protestant commitments create both points of contact and significant divergence. Catholics will appreciate the emphasis on the unity of Scripture, the legitimacy of Christological reading, and the canonical approach. However, the dictionary operates entirely within sola scriptura assumptions, does not engage the church fathers as authoritative interpreters, and ignores the magisterium's role in biblical interpretation. The article on ecclesiology (by Gregg Allison) presents a Protestant understanding of the church that Catholics would find deficient, particularly on sacraments, apostolic succession, and the relationship between church and Scripture.
From an Eastern Orthodox perspective, the dictionary's Western framing—its emphasis on legal/forensic categories in discussing justification, atonement, and covenant—reflects Latin theological concerns that Orthodox readers would qualify. The dictionary does not engage Patristic exegesis as a normative guide, though articles on History of Interpretation acknowledge the church fathers. Orthodox readers will find the biblical-theological content useful but will need to integrate it within their own theological framework rather than adopting the dictionary's Protestant categories.
Engagement with Secondary Literature
The dictionary engages evangelical scholarship extensively and fairly. Contributors cite and interact with leading evangelical biblical scholars (N.T. Wright, Craig Keener, Richard Bauckham, Richard Hays, Klyne Snodgrass) and demonstrate awareness of critical scholarship (James Dunn, E.P. Sanders, Dale Allison). Bibliographies are substantial, up-to-date, and include both technical monographs and accessible commentaries.
However, significant gaps exist in engagement with non-evangelical scholarship. The dictionary cites critical scholars when addressing specific exegetical questions but does not substantively engage critical methodologies that challenge evangelical assumptions. For instance, the articles on Apostolic Hermeneutics acknowledge that many scholars question whether the apostles' interpretive methods should be normative, but the dictionary does not give extended space to these critiques. Similarly, Jewish scholars' readings of contested messianic texts (e.g., Isaiah 7:14, Psalm 22, Isaiah 53) are noted but not engaged as serious alternatives deserving extended treatment.
The most significant omission is Catholic and Orthodox biblical scholarship. The dictionary cites Raymond Brown occasionally but does not engage the extensive Catholic work on the sensus plenior (fuller sense), the role of tradition in interpretation, or the relationship between Scripture and magisterium. Orthodox Patristic exegesis is similarly underengaged—while the History of Interpretation articles mention church fathers, they do not treat Patristic readings as theologically authoritative alternatives to Protestant readings.
Strengths
Comprehensive coverage of a massive field with exceptional scholarly quality. The dictionary succeeds admirably at its stated purpose: synthesizing and organizing scholarship on how the New Testament uses the Old Testament. With 150+ articles by leading evangelical scholars, it provides the most comprehensive reference work available on this topic from an evangelical perspective. The five-category structure (biblical books, themes, Jewish traditions, methodology, theology) ensures that readers can access information from multiple angles—whether researching a specific book, tracing a theological theme, or understanding Jewish interpretive backgrounds. The exegetical quality is uniformly high, with contributors demonstrating expertise in biblical languages, ancient backgrounds, and contemporary scholarship.
The Jewish exegetical-traditions essays provide invaluable comparative context. The seven major articles on Apocrypha, Dead Sea Scrolls, Pseudepigrapha, Philo, Rabbinic Literature, Septuagint, and Targums are among the dictionary's most significant contributions. These essays (each 15-30 pages) demonstrate how Second Temple Judaism read and reappropriated Scripture, providing crucial context for understanding the New Testament's hermeneutical methods. The articles are written by specialists (Alex Jassen on DSS, Gary Anderson on Targums, etc.) who present complex material accessibly without oversimplification. For pastors and students who lack access to specialist literature on Jewish interpretation, these essays are gold mines of information that illuminate how the New Testament both participates in and transforms Jewish exegetical traditions.
The biblical-theological essays successfully integrate Old and New Testament theology. Articles like Covenant, Kingdom, Temple, Exile and Restoration, and Christology demonstrate how to read the Bible as a unified theological narrative without flattening its diversity or ignoring historical development. These essays model careful biblical theology that is exegetically grounded, canonically comprehensive, and theologically coherent. They avoid both the fragmentation of purely historical-critical approaches (which emphasize discontinuity) and the flattening of proof-texting (which ignores development). For readers seeking to understand how major biblical themes develop from Genesis to Revelation, these essays provide accessible, reliable guides.
The methodological articles address genuinely difficult hermeneutical questions with nuance and fairness. The dictionary does not dodge hard questions about apostolic hermeneutics, typology, allegory, and contextual vs. noncontextual use of the Old Testament. Articles present multiple scholarly perspectives, provide careful definitions, and include extensive bibliographies for further study. While the dictionary has a clear theological framework, it does not suppress debate or present contested questions as settled. The paired articles on Apostolic Hermeneutics (Hays vs. Beale) exemplify this strength—readers encounter two thoughtful evangelical scholars disagreeing about whether contemporary interpreters should follow apostolic methods, with each presenting his case carefully.
Weaknesses and Limitations
The dictionary's Reformed evangelical framework limits its usefulness as a truly ecumenical reference work. While the editors acknowledge their evangelical perspective, the degree to which this shapes the work's content and approach may not be immediately apparent to users. The selection of contributors (overwhelmingly from Reformed institutions like Westminster, RTS, TEDS, Southern Seminary), the hermeneutical assumptions (apostolic authority, canonical unity, Christological reading), and the theological framework (covenant theology, biblical inerrancy) all reflect a particular tradition within Christianity. Readers from Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant, or non-confessional backgrounds should recognize that this is a Reformed evangelical dictionary, not a neutral scholarly reference work. Alternative perspectives on contested interpretive and theological questions receive acknowledgment but not equal representation.
The engagement with critical scholarship is selective and defensive rather than dialogical. The dictionary cites critical scholars when addressing specific texts or issues but does not substantively engage critical methodologies that challenge evangelical assumptions. For instance, when discussing the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, the dictionary presents the Christological reading as established but does not seriously engage scholars who argue that Isaiah 53 refers to corporate Israel or that the New Testament's Christological reading represents a creative reinterpretation rather than original authorial intent. Similarly, articles acknowledge that many scholars question whether Matthew's use of Isaiah 7:14 ("virgin shall conceive") is exegetically legitimate given the Hebrew text's use of almah (young woman) rather than betulah (virgin), but the dictionary dismisses these objections rather than engaging them substantively. This creates an echo chamber effect—evangelical readers receive reinforcement of positions they already hold, while critical readers find their serious objections unaddressed.
The absence of Catholic and Orthodox perspectives is a significant ecumenical limitation. Given that this dictionary addresses how the church reads Scripture, the near-total absence of Catholic and Orthodox voices is surprising and limiting. Catholic biblical scholars like Raymond Brown, Joseph Fitzmyer, and John Meier have made major contributions to understanding how the New Testament uses the Old Testament, yet they are rarely cited and never given space to present distinctively Catholic approaches. Orthodox Patristic exegesis—represented by figures like Origen, the Cappadocians, John Chrysostom, and Cyril of Alexandria—receives minimal engagement despite its historical significance and continuing authority in Orthodox tradition. A truly comprehensive dictionary would include essays on "The Use of the Old Testament in Catholic Tradition" and "Patristic Exegesis of the Old Testament in the New Testament," presenting these as legitimate alternatives to Protestant approaches.
The treatment of dispensationalism and supersessionism is inadequate given their importance in contemporary evangelical theology. Dispensational readings of Old Testament prophecy—which emphasize a sharp distinction between Israel and the church and expect literal fulfillment of Old Testament promises to ethnic Israel—represent a major alternative within evangelicalism to the covenant theology framework the dictionary assumes. Yet dispensationalism receives only brief, critical mentions rather than sustained, fair engagement. Similarly, the question of supersessionism (whether the church replaces Israel in God's purposes) is addressed only indirectly in articles on Israel and the Church, without the extended treatment this contested question deserves given contemporary Jewish-Christian dialogue and debates about Christian Zionism.
Engagement with the Broader Scholarly Conversation
The Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament enters a field with extensive scholarly literature spanning multiple disciplines: biblical studies, Jewish studies, Second Temple Judaism, biblical theology, hermeneutics, and systematic theology. The most important precursors include C.H. Dodd's According to the Scriptures (1952), which pioneered the study of how NT authors used OT contexts rather than isolated proof-texts; Richard Hays's Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul (1989), which developed sophisticated literary methods for identifying allusions; and Beale and Carson's own Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (2007), to which this dictionary is explicitly a companion.
Comparable reference works include the Dictionary of the Old Testament series (IVP), which provides thematic articles but does not focus on inner-biblical exegesis, and the more critically oriented Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (de Gruyter), which includes articles on how specific texts have been interpreted but is not organized around the NT use of the OT specifically. Within evangelical scholarship, the dictionary complements works like Gregory Beale's Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (2012) and Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser's edited volume The Gospel According to Isaiah 53 (2012), but exceeds them in comprehensiveness.
The dictionary's most direct competitor is the multi-volume New Testament and Its Reception project, but that work approaches the material from historical-critical rather than canonical-theological perspectives. For evangelical pastors, students, and scholars, this dictionary fills a genuine gap—no other single-volume reference work provides this level of comprehensive coverage from an explicitly evangelical perspective.
Conclusion and Recommendation
The Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament is an exceptional scholarly achievement that provides comprehensive, exegetically rigorous, and theologically coherent coverage of how the New Testament appropriates the Old Testament. Its genuine strengths—the breadth of coverage, the quality of scholarship, the invaluable Jewish exegetical-traditions essays, the successful integration of biblical theology, and the methodological sophistication—make it an indispensable resource for evangelical pastors, students, and scholars studying Scripture. The dictionary succeeds brilliantly at its stated purpose: synthesizing and organizing the massive scholarly literature on this field from an evangelical perspective. However, its limitations—the Reformed evangelical framework that shapes content and approach, the selective engagement with critical scholarship, the absence of Catholic and Orthodox perspectives, and the inadequate treatment of dispensationalism—mean it functions better as a denominational resource than as a truly ecumenical reference work. Readers from evangelical traditions will find it invaluable; readers from Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant, or non-confessional backgrounds will find much useful information but should supplement with resources from their own traditions. As the premier evangelical reference work on New Testament use of the Old Testament, it deserves a place in every seminary library and on the shelf of every serious student of Scripture.
Recommended for: Seminary students in biblical studies and theology; pastors preparing sermons or teaching on how the Old and New Testaments relate; scholars researching specific biblical books, themes, or methodological questions about inner-biblical exegesis; evangelical readers seeking to understand how the New Testament interprets the Old Testament; anyone studying biblical theology and wanting comprehensive treatment of major themes from creation to new creation.
Not recommended for: Readers seeking a neutral, non-confessional reference work representing all scholarly perspectives equally; those from Catholic or Orthodox traditions who require engagement with their distinctive approaches to Scripture and tradition; readers committed to historical-critical methods who need sustained dialogue with critical scholarship rather than evangelical alternatives; those unfamiliar with biblical studies who need introductory-level treatment rather than advanced reference material; readers seeking brief encyclopedia entries rather than substantial scholarly essays (most articles are 5-20 pages).
Overall Assessment: ☑ Highly Recommended | ☐ Recommended | ☐ Recommended with Reservations | ☐ Not Recommended
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