Abstract
The use of the Of in the New has long been recognised as
an important field of research. Too often, however, the emphasis
placed upon rabbinic and hellenistic influences has tended to
subordinate and obscure the unique place of the Of in minds and
theology of the early Christian writers. The trend of recent
years to seek from the Of itself the source and meaning of NT
thought has been an entirely proper one, as Hoskyns words so
well express: [There are] grounds for supposing no further progress
in the understanding of primitive Christianity to be possible
unless the ark of NT exegesis be recovered from its wanderings
in the land of the Philistines and be led back not merely
to Jerusalem, for that night mean to contemporary Judaism, but to
its home in the midst of the classical Of Scriptures—to the Law
and to the Prophets.
The present study is not primarily textual, an area already
well covered, but rather seeks the rationale underlying' the
Pauline usage both in its textual manifestation and in its theological
application. Even where a variant text is apparently in
view, Paul's textual abberrations in many eases have a hermeneutical
purpose and often are closely tied to the immediate
application of- the citation. While rabbinic Judaism has influenced
the mechanics of Pauline citation, one must look to the
apostolic Church and to Christ Himself to find the primary source
of the apostle*s understanding and use of the OT. The emphases,
applications, and hermeneutics of Paul's quotations mark him as
one with the apostolic Church in contrast to his rabbinic background.