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WTJ67 (2005): 229-45 EXAMINING THE NARRATIVES OF OLD TESTAMENT NARRATIVE: AN EXPLORATION IN BIBLICAL THEOLOGY PAUL R. HOUSE F or many years now experts have been discussing ways that narrative approaches to theology may help postmodern readers understand the Bible in fresh ways. 1 In the fields of Old Testament Theology and Biblical Theology (which I define as treatments of the whole of scripture instead of one testament or the other) several recent volumes utilize techniques associated with narrative studies to make theological statements. For example, Stephen Dempster and John Goldingay use literary criticism such as that advocated by Robert Alter and others in their treatments of the wholeness of the Old Testament. 2 Craig Bartho- lomew and Michael Goheen do the same in their analysis of the whole "Biblical Story," as do C. Marvin Pate, J. Scott Duvall, and the other authors of The Story of Israel: A Biblical Theology? Though some scholars may sever historical and literary concerns, V Phillips Long has argued correctly that some of the types of criticism employed by literary critics can be applied to Old Testament narratives and to other historically accurate texts without impugning those texts' accuracy or authority. 4 Long's work is very important at this point, since evangelicals should be wary of methods that do not take biblical inspiration into account. Carl Henry wasrightto make this point in his 1985 dialogue with Hans Frei. 5 PmdR. Home ù Associate Dean and Professor of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School, SamfordUnivernty in Birming- ham, Ah. An earlier form of this article was presented at the eastern regional meeting of the Evangelical Tlieologju:al Society, Calvary Church, Souderton, Pa., 1 April 2005. 1 See, e.g., Gabriel Fackre, "Narrative Theology: An Overview," Int 37 (October 1983): 340-52 and the other articles in that issue. See also George A. Lindbeck, The Nature of Doctrine: Religion and Theology in a Postliberal Age (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1984); and Hans Frei, The Eclipse of Bib- lical Narrative (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974). 2 Stephen Dempster, Dominion and Dynasty: A Theology of the Hebrew Bible (New Studies in Biblical Theology; Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003); and John Goldingay, Old Testament Theology: Vol. 1, Israel's Gospel (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003). 3 Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael Goheen, The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004); and C. Marvin Pate et al., The Story of Israel: A Biblical Theology (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004). 4 V Phillips Long, The Art of Biblical History (Foundations for Contemporary Interpretation 5; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994); and "Historiography of the Old Testament," in The Face of Old Testament Studies: A Survey of Contemporary Approaches (ed. David W. Baker and Bill T. Arnold; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999), 145-75. 5 Carl F. H. Henry, Gods of This Age or... God of the Ages (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1994), 257-76. 229

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