The Seal is Broken: A Major Discovery in Biblical Studies, Part 1
The seal was unbroken for centuries. But on 26 November 1922, Howard Carter broke the seal. The discovery of the tomb of King Tut (Egyptian Pharaoh, Tutankhamun) by archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt, sent waves of excitement throughout the world. Though other archaeological digs had been undertaken throughout the same basic area, most Egyptian tombs had been looted, leaving them stripped bare of their artifacts.
Tut’s tomb, in contrast, had been covered by debris and rubble, keeping the seal intact, just the way it was left by the Egyptian-tombsters thousands of years ago. After the tomb’s seal was broken, Carter made his way into Tut’s tomb, the first person to do so in 3,000 years. It was arguably the greatest archaeological discovery of the century.
Though the news of its discovery made its way into the pages of National Geographic, newspapers world-wide, and school history textbooks, it did not radically change the way we read history, even Egyptian history. The discovery made little difference to our lives, except, perhaps to provide a wider understanding of King Tut and the Egyptian view of the afterlife.
There has been a far more important discovery, this time in biblical studies, though it is a finding that most Christians are still unaware of. Though unannounced by newspapers or the internet, the discovery has huge and myriad theological implications for how we read, observe, and interpret the words, the stories, and individual characters in Scripture.
The Seal is Broken
The discovery can be described by the word “canonical.” The discovery unveiled just how the biblical authors wrote their narratives, including the specific events recorded, and the main characters in those stories. Up to the middle of the 20th century, the canonical approach, for the most part, was covered by rubble and the debris of rigid approaches to the Bible. Scholars and students were not encouraged to investigate the literary techniques which the Biblical authors employed to write their accounts. But the discovery of the canonical approach by a few brave scholars opened our eyes to a whole new world and literally changed the way we observed and interpreted Scripture.
The Scriptures are Composed as a Long Chain of Characters and Events
If we were to summarize the discovery, once the rubble and debris of tradition and myopic methods were shoveled away, it was discovered that the authors wrote God’s story of redemption in such a way as to internally connect all the stories and characters together into one seamless, long chain.
That seamless, long chain that is composed of individual chain-links, undiscovered for centuries, is literally interwoven into the fabric of the stories themselves. Careful observation of the repetitions from prior stories was what it took for scholars to break the seal and make the discovery. The individual links in the long chain, stretching from Genesis all the way to Revelation, had been interwoven right into the biblical texts. The repetitions were not “merely decorations”–aesthetically pleasing ornaments surrounding the meaning—but are pointers and signs that indicate what the meaning is.”[1] But, like Tut’s tomb, sitting in darkness for centuries undiscovered, Bible students failed to observe these chains. Like Tuts’ tomb, the chains were covered by debris and rubble. But things began to change in mid-20th century.
I was introduced to this discovery by an Old Testament scholar with the digging perseverance and capacity of Howard Carter, the late Dr. John Sailhamer when pursuing post-graduate work. He cleared away the man-made rubble and debris accumulated by scholarship over the centuries and showed me how the biblical authors in the Old Testament seamlessly connected their stories and the characters with past stories and characters. The seal was broken for me. The discovery dramatically changed the way I observed and interpreted the Bible.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of these internal, connecting-chains in the TaNaKh (OT). I invite you to observe for yourself what had been overlooked for so long. See if the seal breaks for you.
First Example of a Chain: Fresh Start for Humanity
The first example shows how the story of the deluge in Genesis 6-9 is meant to be viewed by us as another new beginning, a second, fresh-start for the human race. Using repeated key words and concepts—a chain with many links—Noah is portrayed to us as a new Adam. Be careful to observe in the table[2] below how certain key words from the first story (Gen 1) are repeated, verbatim, or with variation, in the second story (Gen 7-9). For example, in the table below, in the fourth line of links, the phrase “Let dry ground appear” (Gen 1:9-10) is repeated almost verbatim, “the ground was drying” (Gen 8:13) and verbatim, “God saw (1:10) and “Noah…saw” (8:13).
These repeated phrases in the second story highlight their similarity to the first story and serve as chain-links, connecting the two events in our minds. They also show that the two stories (creation; recreation) are related and part of the same redemptive program. In other words, the author wrote the two stories of Adam and Noah in such a way as to show us continuity in God’s redemptive program. The author does not tell us explicitly that they are connected. He tells us implicitly, using the literary technique of repetition.[3] Have a look at how the key elements from the first story are deliberately repeated with variation in the second.
Why is Noah Portrayed as Adam?
The first example of repetition shows how two individual stories, deliberately written to parallel one another, were meant to teach us that Israel’s God, in sovereign grace, provided a fresh start, a new beginning, much like the prior beginning. The way God dealt with the human race in the past (Genesis 1), prefigures the way he would deal with the human race in the future (Genesis 6-9). Noah was portrayed as a second Adam. Both stories involved the separation of waters by God so that dry ground appears, and a man of the ground is placed on a mountain for worship.[4]
And while space limitations do not permit full elaboration here, the pattern of Adam’s ensuing failure in a garden is also repeated in the pattern of Noah’s failure in a garden. We can observe that just as Adam partook of the forbidden fruit in a planted garden of trees, realized he was naked, covered himself up, and consequently, a curse fell upon the serpent and the land, so also Noah partook of the fruit in a garden with vines, a type of tree he planted, became drunk, was naked, was covered up by two of his sons, and consequently, a curse fell upon one of his third son (Ham). Both stories of beginnings ended in failure.
A better Adam and a better Noah, a character that is successful in bring sinful people back into the presence of God, with access to the tree of life, still lies ahead in the future.[5] How will we recognize this future Adam and future Noah? What clues should we look for? We can expect that the biblical authors will weave repetitions from the past into the fabric of his story in order to show continuity with God’s redemptive program. That future Adam and Noah will also be a man of the ground, partake of the fruit of the vine, and be associated with a tree of life.
A Second Example of a Chain: Jacob Cast as Abraham
A second example of observing a canonical approach, separate stories connected by a series of links in a long chain, covers much more territory than the brief parallel of the Adam-Noah stories. I will show how the Biblical author deliberately shaped the pattern of the entire life story of Jacob to emulate the pattern of the life story of Abraham. The two life patterns, covered up for centuries by the rubble of tradition and rigidity, are obviously written so we could observe their connection.
Let’s make an observation. The two stories show that the author deliberately brought the pattern of Jacob’s life into alignment with the pattern of Abraham’s life. The key elements of Abraham’s life are repeated with variation in Jacob’s story. These key elements constitute the links in the chain that internally connect the two stories and show us continuity in God’s redemptive program. God’s promise of blessing to Abraham and his seed (Gen 12:1-3) did not die out with his death, but continues, through Jacob (Gen 27:13-14). So, the role of Jacob is far more than simply being the grandson of Abraham. There is a more profound, divine agenda at work in their lives. That divine agenda will include a future Messiah, related to Abraham and Jacob, another “beloved son,” who will also be sent to his death by his Father, but who will be raised to life and like Isaac and Joseph, return to his Father.
A Third Example of a Chain: Joshua Portrayed as Moses
Let’s examine a third example. I will show how the pattern of Joshua’s life is intentionally shaped to appear as a repetition of Moses’ life. Joshua is portrayed by the author to be viewed as the legitimate successor to Moses, a new Moses.[6] What Moses did as a leader of God’s people, Joshua repeats. The closer the pattern of Joshua’s story looks like the pattern of Moses’ story in our minds, the more credible he appears as his legitimate successor. Observe how, through repetition, the patterns of their two-lives are brought into alignment with each other.
You can easily observe how the author deliberately shaped the story of Joshua’s leadership so that the key elements of Moses’ leadership were repeated in his story. The author does not make this claim explicitly; Instead, he shows us implicitly by using repetition with variation. Joshua is shown to be a new Moses, the legitimate successor to him. In technical terms, we would say that Joshua’s leadership portrait is a recursion[7] of Moses’ leadership portrait.
There are differences between them. In contrast to his life of faith prior to the giving of the Law, after Mount Sinai and the giving of the Law (Exod 4; 14:31; 19:9), Moses and the nation failed because of the failure of faith (Num 14:11; 20:12). The Mosaic Law weakened the faith of the leader and the people he led.[8] Moses was kept out of the Promised Land and buried in Moab. In contrast, Joshua succeeded and entered the Promised Land and brought the nation with him. The long, redemptive chain starting in Genesis, continues with Joshua.
So, in the future, we should look for clues of another Joshua, whose life-pattern shows repetitions from the past. That better Joshua will also go through the waters of Jordan River and bring his followers into the Promised Land.
The Use of Biographical-Parallels Dominate the Entire Old Testament
These three examples from the Hebrew Bible represent literally hundreds of these same type of “life” parallels. For instance, Joseph is cast as a better Jacob, and Moses is portrayed as inferior to Joseph.
The life of David is cast as the life of Israel and as another Joseph, as well as a future shepherd and king to come. Abigail is portrayed as a priest and better Eve. Ruth is portrayed as a better Sarah. Esther is portrayed as a Messianic figure and a better Eve. And the household of David mimics the household of Jacob. The four sons of Jacob and David vie for succession and only the last son succeeds. This connection is just one of fifteen key links that tie together the two households in a chain.
The prophet Elisha is portrayed as the prophet Elijah and is his legitimate successor. Elisha performs the same miracles as Elijah. In fact, since Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s anointing, he doubles the number of miracles performed: Elijah—8 miracles. Elisha—16 miracles.
The sheer number of recursions or parallels in the Hebrew Bible is astounding, even overwhelming. In fact, parallels such as these are found on virtually every single page. Every major character in the Old Testament (such as Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Joshua, Abigail, Esther, Moses, Pharoah, Aaron, Rahab, Naomi, Ruth, Saul, Abimelech, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, Job, Mordecai, etc.) is paralleled with at least one prior or future character. The sharp observer of Scripture can spot the chain-links that connect them together.
In past biblical studies, scholars were unaware of this writing technique and the ensuing series of parallels. But now that we know that these links-in-a-chain, these types of parallels, were intentionally sewn into the fabric of the stories, we are better prepared to spot them. Parallels such as these dominate the entire Old Testament.
The Seal is Broken: The Way Forward
The discovery of the canonical way of writing by the biblical authors—the seal is broken--means that many commentaries on the Old Testament need to be re-written. For example, any study of the life of the prophet Moses or King David is incomplete unless it includes the connection to major biblical characters with whom they are compared later-on in Israel’s history. This rewriting includes the Psalms, a “five-sectioned book” that is shot-through with thousands of parallels, some pointing back to prior characters (Psalm 1 points back to Joshua 1), while other Psalms point ahead to future Psalms and a future ruler in Israel’s history. The Psalms themselves are interconnected with each other via a network of parallels.[9]
A Look Ahead: The Seal is Broken
The Discovery in the New Testament : Jesus’ Ascension Modeled after Elijah’s Ascension
It should be no surprise to discover that the New Testament authors utilized the same writing strategy, using a series of chain-links to connect their stories of Jesus with prior stories and characters in the TaNaKh.
Consider some examples. Luke, a master of repetition,[10] repeated the pattern of the Elijah’s ascension to heaven and Elisha his successor, to write the story of Jesus’ ascension to heaven and his temporary successors, the eleven apostles in Acts 1. Luke teaches us implicitly that, just as Elisha was shown to be the legitimate successor to Elijah, so also the eleven apostles, who were eye-witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection, were the legitimate, though temporary successors of Jesus.
The Pattern of Paul’s Experience Looks Like the Pattern of Peter’s Experiences
Another example: the pattern of Paul’s miracles and speeches in Acts 13-28 repeats the pattern of Peter’s miracles and speeches in Acts 1-12. Luke shows us implicitly that the apostle Paul is equal to Peter in apostolic authority, preaches the same message, and performs the same miracles.
The Pattern of Paul’s Experiences Looks Like the Pattern of Jesus’ Experiences
There’s more. The portrait of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel is repeated in the pattern of Paul’s portrait in Acts 9-28. The pattern of Paul’s portrait is cast as Jesus. The major miracles of Jesus in the Third Gospel (conferring the Holy Spirit, healing a man lame from his mother’s womb, raising the dead) are performed by Paul in Acts. Paul’s name is mentioned over 100 times in Acts 13-28. Luke provides credible evidence and an answer to the harsh opposition and criticism he faced from those who denied his apostleship in the Corinthian and Galatian churches. His apostleship was on trial in their minds. Luke shows implicitly through the tool of repetition, that the accusation of Paul as being a second-class or illegitimate apostle are groundless. The apostle Paul, Jesus’ hand-picked apostle to the Gentiles, is not only equal to the apostle Peter, apostle to the Jews, but he also follows in his Master’s footsteps. Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul, was the real deal.
By using these chain-links, the Gospel-writers establish that the stories of Jesus in the Gospels are the fulfillment of past messianic figures in the Old Testament (Luke 1:1-4; 24:25-27; 44), and even with future characters (Peter and Paul) in the Acts of the Apostles.
The chain-links can help readers look back and remember and look forward and anticipate. By looking back and looking forward, readers can see the swath of redemptive history, the seamless, unified story of redemption, as it proceeds from one generation to the next. All the many pieces of the puzzle—characters and events--fit together into one coherent picture.
Part 2 of The Seal is Broken will focus on the use of chain-links, repetitions, and parallels in the New Testament.
NOTES:
[1] A. Berlin, The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism (Bloomington: Indianna University Press, 1985), p. 3.
[2] The table is a variation of Sailhamer’s work in Introduction to the Old Testament: A Canonical Approach (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), p. 292.
[3] The technical term for literary repetition is “recursion.” Recursion, as a literary technique, used by virtually every single author in Scripture, is defined as follows: “The narrative technique of recursion is the author’s deliberate shaping of narrative events so the key elements of one narrative are repeated in others.” I would add one phrase to Sailhamer’s definition: “key elements…are repeated with variation in others.” See John H. Sailhamer, Introduction to the Old Testament: A Canonical Approach (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), p. 292.
[4] This same basic pattern of going through water to a mountain for fellowship with God occurs with many Messianic figures (Moses, Joshua, Jonah, etc.). God is portrayed as the water-controller. The New Testament authors pick up and use the same pattern.
[5] The account of the building of the Ark is intentionally shaped to parallel the making of the original Garden in Genesis 2, replete with multiple, connecting links. Both the Garden in the eastern section of Eden and the Ark contain the presence of God and animals living in harmony with people, in a contained setting with boundaries. This parallel foreshadows the future paradise where animals are also living in harmony with people (see Isaiah 11:1-9). But the parallel with the building of the Ark does not stop with the Garden. There are intentionally crafted parallels with the future building of the Tabernacle, the temporary residence of God among the Israelites, unfolded in Exodus 25—39. A careful Bible student will observe the parallels in each story: God speaks first. Using the imperative/jussive Hebrew construction, a command is given. The person responds in obedience with action, exactly in accordance with God’s command. All three of the building stories (Eden Mountain, the Ark rested on a mountain, and the Tabernacle, a horizontal mountain with three sections, patterned after Mount Sinai, a mountain with three levels, conclude the exact same way: God’s blessing is provided. Genesis 1:28; 9:1; Exodus 39:43. The multiple links provide continuity to the three stories. The three-leveled Ark made of trees replaces the Garden. The Ark is replaced by the three-leveled Mount Sinai. The three-sectioned Tabernacle replaces Mount Sinai. Eventually, the three-sectioned Temple in Jerusalem replaces the Tabernacle. And in Christ, the believer replaces the Temple. The believer in Christ becomes the new Garden where the fruits of the Spirit are cultivated and evidenced, the new ark which is carried through the waters (water baptism), the new tabernacle (John 1:14), and the new Temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 2 Cor 6:6; John 14:23).
[6] The same stereo pattern that we see with Moses and Joshua is repeated with the life-pattern of Othniel (Judges 3:7-11), Barak (Judges 4-5), Gideon (Judges 6-8), Samuel (1 Samuel 1ff), Elijah (1 Kings), David (1 Samuel 16ff), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, etc. In other words, each of these key figures found within the second division of the Hebrew Bible, called “the Prophets” (Joshua through Malachi), though separated by centuries and circumstances, are portrayed like Moses. The pattern of their experiences repeats the pattern of Moses’ experiences. Why the continual reminder of Moses when he is dead and gone? Answer: God promised Moses that He would raise up another prophet “like him” in Deut 18:15-18. So, in order to keep the hope of that promise of a prophet “like Moses” alive in readers’ minds, Moses is kept front and center throughout the next division of the Hebrew Bible: the Prophets. Observe how “my servant Moses” is mentioned at the beginning of Joshua (1:2) and at the end of Malachi (4:4)—“the Prophets” bookend with Moses. It is not a coincidence that the section division of the Hebrew Bible is called “The Prophets.” Can you think of which Gospel writer in the New Testament goes out of his way to portray Jesus as the fulfillment of the promise of Deut 18:15-18, “another prophet like Moses”?
[7] Recursion is the technical term for a parallel.
[8] Observe how the writer to the Hebrews in chapter 11 omits any examples of faith from the Pentateuch after the giving of the Law at Sinai. In Hebrews 11: 29-30, he jumps from the crossing of the Red Sea (11:29) to the book of Joshua (11:30). In other words, he omits any examples of faith (including from Moses) from the time of the giving of the Law and entrance into the Promised Land under Joshua. “This suggests a conscious effort on the part of the author of the Pentateuch to distinguish between a life of faith before the Law (ante legem) and the lack of faith under the Law (sub lege).” John H. Sailhamer, Introduction to Old Testament Theology: A Canonical Approach (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), p. 270.
[9] The Psalms have traditionally been viewed as a collection of mis-mash, unconnected Jewish prayers. This biased view has been nurtured in the bosom of “form criticism” and ignores the explicit and abundant evidence to the contrary. Psalm 1, for instance, portrays the “blessed man,” who is then further identified as the Son of God in Psalm 2. Psalm 2 answers the questions raised in Psalm 1. The two Psalms are linked together with multiple links in a chain. Psalms 20-24 form a cohesive unit focusing on a future king. Psalm 22 (22:1 quoted by Jesus on the cross; Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34) shows the rejection and death of that king: “although his life (nephesh) he did not keep alive.” (22:29). Psalm 23 provides the perfect answer to the suffering and death described in Psalm 22. Literally, the Hebrew text of Psalm 23: 3 provides the answer: “He caused my life (nephesh) to return.” The Hebrew term “return,” “shuv,” is in the active transitive form, and is used here in the Polel stem, a form of the Piel, not the Qal stem. English Bibles (mis) translate it as a Qal stem (“restore”) which it is not. The Hebrew term “soul” (nephesh) means life. See how Psalm 22:29 uses the same word (nephesh) to describe the loss of life and Leviticus 24:18 uses the term for “life:” “A life for a life.” Psalm 24 goes on to describe the ascension of the King, the same king as was killed in Psalm 22, and raised to life in Psalm 23. Death, resurrection, ascension to glory. See Robert L. Cole, Why Psalm 23 is Not About You (Athens: College and Clayton, 2016). Jesus’ words to his discouraged disciples about how his resurrection was foreshadowed in the Psalms, in Luke 24:25-27 and 44 on the afternoon of his resurrection from the dead.
[10] Of the four Gospel writers, only Luke wrote a companion volume to his Gospel: Acts.