Abstract
In this short volume Gignilliat seeks to write for students (p. xii) and for ‘Christian readers, lay and ordained’ (p. 116). Writing for such a broad readership Gignilliat does not offer an exhaustive account of Scripture, Canon, or of Christian reflection on the nature of God as Trinity.
The book is in two main parts. The first part, chapters 1–4, considers the material form of Scripture with chapters on Canon, Final Form, Canonical Intentionality and Textual Criticism. The claim is regularly made that the text of Scripture displays a canonical consciousness, that the text is freeing itself from its historical context ‘for the sake of an enduring witness to divine self–revelation’ (p. 46). This canonical intentionality is linked to intertextuality (see e.g. pp. 100–101), without a clear definition of intertextuality being offered.
The second part of the book, chapters 5–6, is more directly theological in focus addressing the subject matter of Scripture, which is presented as God as Trinity. Gignilliat assumes a Nicene orthodoxy in which God is one in substance and three in persons as the proper framework within which to read Scripture. It appears that this is what Gignilliat means by the phrase ‘theological instincts’ (used in the subtitle of this book), what others might call theological presuppositions. Gignilliat makes no secret of his holding to a Nicene orthodoxy and in his book writes to encourage others to read Scripture within this theological tradition.
Gignilliat’s brief book addresses very large issues in the reading of the Old Testament as Christian Scripture. This brevity means that questions about canon (see chapters 1, 2, 3), the textual tradition of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible (see chapter 4), questions about the exegesis of key passages like Ex. 3 and 6, and Gen 32 (see chapter 6) appear to assert positions rather than demonstrate by argument the validity of these positions. Many alternative positions are indicated in footnotes, but the overall argument of the book would have benefited from these being addressed in the text, even if this lengthened the book beyond its 117 pages. This book could be used as an introduction to these questions, but would require to be supplemented by a number of more substantial texts.