CALVIN: INTERPRETER OF THE PROPHETS

by BYRON G. CURTIS in Vol. 3 No. 2 / Oct 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35285/ucc3.2.2017.art2



Abstract
This article explores the hermeneutical principles behind John Calvin’s commentaries and lectures on Isaiah (1550/1559), Hosea (1557), the Minor Prophets (1559), Daniel (1561), Jeremiah (1563), and Ezekiel 1–20 (posthumous, 1565). Calvin is not the founder of historical-grammatical exegesis, the precursor of the historical-critical method, or a literalist. He crystallizes earlier medieval practices with his expanded sensus literalis. His use of history, grammar, allegory, anagogy, and analogy receive attention, as do the sources of Calvin’s historical and chronological errors. Calvin takes ancient Israel’s return from exile, Christ’s death and resurrection, and the church’s present condition as embraced within the literal sense of the prophetic word. This inclusiveness allures us as Calvin’s pastoral passion comes out and the prophetic word addresses us.

Download PDF Downloaded 296 times.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.


Back to Article List Download Journal

Other Articles in
Vol. 3 No. 2 / Oct 2017

Preamble by PAUL WELLS
EDITORIAL: A New Ninety-Five Theses on Scripture by PETER A. LILLBACK
IN MEMORIAM: Won Sang Lee (1937–2016) by Editor
Learning from Calvin’s Methodology of Biblical Interpretation by DAVID EUNG YUL RYOO
Calvin: Interpreter of the Prophets by BYRON G. CURTIS
From Exegesis to Preaching: Calvin’s Understanding and Use of Ephesians 2:8–10 by JOHN V. FESKO
Calvin, Beza, and Perkins on Predestination by JOEL R. BEEKE
Vermigli, Calvin, and Aristotle’s Ethics by PAUL HELM
Discipline and Ignorance in Calvin’s Geneva by SCOTT M. MANETSCH
Bullinger on Islam: Theory and Practice by DANIËL TIMMERMAN
Bullinger’s The Old Faith (1537) as a Theological Tract by JOE MOCK
Reformation and Music by BILLY KRISTANTO
Whose Rebellion? Reformed Resistance Theory in America: Part I by SARAH MORGAN SMITH AND MARK DAVID HALL
Facing the Apologetic Challenges of Scientific Atheism by HENK (H. G.) STOKER
The Impact of Calvinist Teaching in Indonesia by AGUSTINUS M. L. BATLAJERY
The Ninety-Five Theses Today: Interview with Drs. Timothy Wengert and Carl R. Trueman by PETER A. LILLBACK
John M. G. Barclay. Paul and the Gift by GERHARD H. VISSCHER
John V. Fesko. The Trinity and the Covenant of Redemption. by JEONG KOO JEON
Diarmaid MacCulloch. All Things Made New: The Reformation and Its Legacy. by PAUL WELLS
Ashley Null and John W. Yates III, eds. Reformation Anglicanism: A Vision for Today’s Global Communion by HARRISON PERKINS
Lyle D. Bierma. The Theology of the Heidelberg Catechism: A Reformation Synthesis by BERNARD AUBERT
Christoph Stückelberger and Reinhold Bernhardt, eds. Calvin Global: How Faith Influences Societies by AUDY SANTOSO
Christine Schirrmacher. “Let There Be No Compulsion in Religion” (Sura 2:256): Apostasy from Islam as Judged by Contemporary Islamic Theologians: Discourses on Apostasy, Religious Freedom and Human Rights by PAUL WELLS