Biblical scholars have generally prided themselves on their independence from systematic theology. Yet their greatest achievements have been accomplished in those periods when constructive theology was strong and virile.

It is simply not the case that the more historical and literary knowledge acquired, the better one is able to understand the biblical text. The issue turns on the use of proper discernment.

“The challenge of the Christian interpreter in our day is to hear the full range of notes within all of Scripture, to wrestle with the theological implication of this biblical witness, and, above all, to come to grips with the agony of our age before a living God who still speaks through the Prophets and Apostles.”.

A major literary and theological force was at work in shaping the present form of the Hebrew Bible by which prophetic oracles directed to one generation were fashioned in Sacred Scripture by a canonical process to be used by another generation.