ABSTRACT

However , New Tes tament hermeneut ics bears almost n o re la t ionship to the sophisticated and precise hermeneutical system of the rabbis repre­ sented by the formal lists of middot and the scores of other devices. Schol­ ars have s t ruggled to find evidence that the Jews w h o w r o t e the N e w Tes­ tament were fami l i a r w i t h the middot o f H i l l e l o r I shmael o r Ak iba . 6 6

(65) E.g., Gal. 4:24, “ T h i s is an a l legory,” identifies the method being used to apply the stories o f Hagar and Sarah to the early Christian theological issue o f law versus grace. I n Rom. 5:14, Adam is spoken o f as “ a type o f the one who was to come.” Typology, the simple historical analogy, is probably the single most commonly used hermeneutical method in both the Old and New Testaments. Cf. E. Achtemeier, “ T y p o l o g y , ” in IDBS, pp. 926-927. The New Testament “ p r o p h e c y - f u l f i l l m e n t ” scheme may also be broadly construed as a hermeneutical method. Cf. David M . Hay, “ H i s t o r y o f Interpretation. C. NT Interpretation o f the O T , ” IDBS, pp. 443-444.