Series preface
Series preface
New Studies in Biblical Theology is a series of monographs that address key issues in the discipline of biblical theology. Contributions to the series focus on one or more of three areas: (1) the nature and status of biblical theology, including its relations with other disciplines (e.g. historical theology, exegesis, systematic theology, historical criticism, narrative theology); (2) the articulation and exposition of the structure of thought of a particular biblical writer or corpus; and (3) the delineation of a biblical theme across all or part of the biblical corpora.
Above all, these monographs are creative attempts to help thinking Christians understand their Bibles better. The series aims simultaneously to instruct and to edify, to interact with the current literature, and to point the way ahead. In God’s universe, mind and heart should not be divorced: in this series we will try not to separate what God has joined together. While the notes interact with the best of scholarly literature, the text is uncluttered with untransliterated Greek and Hebrew, and tries to avoid too much technical jargon. The volumes are written within the framework of confessional evangelicalism, but there is always an attempt at thoughtful engagement with the sweep of the relevant literature.
I have scanned quite a few popular books on Jonah. Doubtless they have their place, but most of them are pretty unsatisfying. They do not probe the text very deeply, and very few believably tie Jonah to biblical theology. I have also read occasional technical monographs on Jonah. They are invariably stimulating but almost never think through what Jonah contributes to, or how it is aligned with, the canon. Daniel Timmer’s volume is exceptional: it engages in a close reading of much of Jonah, but keeps one eye pealed for legitimate canonical ties with what we would today call the mission of God. Dr Timmer thinks and writes clearly and succinctly, and biblical and theological issues come alive. This is a book to cherish.
D. A. Carson
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School