Biblical Interpretation and Doctrinal Formulation in the Reformed Tradition: Essays in Honor of James de Jong

The Reformed tradition is characterized by a rigorous commitment to theological formulation, yet it is equally known for its commitment to rooting its life and practice in the authority of God’s Word. While these two commitments are commonly acknowledged, the path from biblical interpretation to doctrinal formulation is often overlooked. Examining a diverse group of thinkers across the chronological and international spectrum of the Reformed tradition, this book demonstrates the depth and intricacies involved in the tasks of exegesis and dogmatic construction, the ways they intersect, and the effect it has on the church.

Contents

Preface - Richard A. Muller

1. An Appreciation of James A. De Jong - Calvin Van Reken
2. Calvin’s Teaching Office and the Dutch Reformed  Doctorenambt - Joel R. Beeke
3. An “Immeasurably Superior” Rhetoric: Biblical and Homiletical Oratory in Calvin’s Sermons on the History of Melchizedek and Abraham - Richard A. Muller
4. Calvin’s Lectures on Zechariah: Textual Notes - Al Wolters
5. Adopted in Christ, Appointed to the Slaughter: Calvin’s Interpretation of the Maccabean Psalms - Keith D. Stanglin
6. Peter Martyr Vermigli and Aquinas’s Justice of War Doctrine - Mark J. Larson
7. Beza’s Two Confessions as Sources of the Heidelberg Catechism - Lyle D. Bierma
8. Henry Ainsworth, Harried Hebraist (1570–1622) - Raymond A. Blacketer
9. The Interpretation of Christ’s Descent into Hades in the Early Seventeenth Century - Jay J. Shim
10. Critical and Catholic Exegesis in the Seventeenth-Century Low Countries - John S. Bergsma
11. Biblical Interpretation and Doctrinal Formulation in John Flavel’s Works - Won Taek Lim
12. The Hobbes-Bramhall Debate on the Nature of Freedom and Necessity - J. Mark Beach
13. Bible Commentary for the Untutored: The Bijbelverklaring of 1780–1795, by Jacob van Nuys Klinkenberg and Gerard Johan Nahuys (with Appendix) - Arie C. Leder
14. Herman Hoeksema Was Right (On the Three Points That Really Matter) - John Bolt

Bibliography for James A. De Jong
Paul W. Fields

Index

Arie C. Leder is the Martin J. Wyngaarden Senior Professor in Old Testament Studies at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Research Associate, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Richard A. Muller is the P. J. Zondervan Professor of Historical Theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan.