This happens most often in relation to the cult, in the re-experience of the old salvation events. Still lacking is the role credenda plays in the formation of the Old Testament traditions. Von Rad had also refined the concept of actualization since The Form-Critical Problem of the Hexateuch.
The nature of the actualization differs somewhat from that described in the Hexateuk's form-critical problem. Therefore, for von Rad, actualization is at the center of a theology in the Old Testament. By discussing typology, von Rad indirectly responds to the criticism as "Typological interpretation of the Old Testament".
The relationship of the Old Testament to the New raises an important question for actualization. By discussing the relationship between the Old Testament and the New, von Rad has revealed the overall nature of actualization.
Chapter Two
It is a device that updates and adapts these materials so that each generation not only understands the events of the past, but also relives them vividly and decisively, in such a way that they "become Israel." Each actualization applies only to the specific historical situation in which it is expressed; as the situation changes, the material must be re-realized.
Other Developments in the Concept of Actualization
41n especially see Fricdrich BaumgPrtel, "Ilcrmencutical Problem of the Old Testament". in Essays on Old Teslamenl Ilermeneutics, 134-59. Noth's embrace of the concept of actualization is made clear in A History of the Pentateuchal Traditions (1948). Consistent with his previous discussions of the concept, Noth defines the phenomenon of the Old Testament as cult actualization.
12Martin Noth, “The Representation of the Old Testament in the Proclamation,” in Essays on Old Testament Hermeneutics 81. Westermann applies the concept thoroughly to a portion of the Old Testament seriously neglected by Von Rad. Westermann does not find such indications that point to the dissolution of the time barrier in the psalms.
Westermann's use of the concept in the previous article is clearly in line with this definition. Hauptprobleme alttestamentliche Prophetie,” EvT Old Testament Hermeneutics,” Essays on Old Testament Hermeneutics, p. Then, in a key step of his methodology, he isolates the kerygmatic purpose of the document.
The nature of tradition in prophetic literature became the concern of several English scholars. Such inclusiveness makes both terms meaningless and does not do justice to the diversity of the Old Testament tradition. The only unequivocal cutoff from the sect occurs in the crisis of exile.
The other change to which we have alluded lies in the historical nature of the material.
Chapter Three
Is this the chronological actualization we find in the rest of the Old Testament or an intermediate form between it and cultic reintroduction. Third, von Rad leaves unanswered questions about the connection of Deuteronomy with contemporization in the rest of the Old Testament. Noth's discussion of the relationship of cultic and biblical actualization in "The Re-presentation of the Old Testament in Proclamation".
In the case of the connection between cultic and chronological actualization, von Rad and Noth attempted to establish a developmental relationship. The third element used by von Rad to establish the distinctiveness of the Old Testament is Israel's unique view of time. Westermann and Weiser find different kinds of actualization in the psalms, but they don't really connect them to the rest of the Old Testament.
Unfortunately, the unity achieved at best relegates large parts of the Old Testament to secondary status. A problem immediately arises that Von Rad notices and then immediately rejects: the recording of the Old Testament in writing. However, he still maintains essential tics between the prophets and the rest of the Old Testament.
He is able to describe their actualization of the old traditions in the same terms as the other Old Testament contemporizations. So, in the final analysis, the proponents of actualization affirm that chronological actualization ended with the close of the New Testament. First, we will focus on the nature of the theology that results from the application of actualization to the Old Testament.
First, the connection that the proponents of actualization draw between theology and the Old Testament is a response to the theological climate of the time. A great deal of criticism has been directed at von Rad's understanding of the connection between history in the Old Testament and contemporary historical methodology. With these obvious difficulties we must look for another basis for the theological interpretation of the Old Testament.
Chapter Four
Towards a Redefinition of Actualization
The Problem of Atomization The treatment of Amos 9:11-15 by the historical-critical method
He goes on to comment on the reserved nature of the messianic promise in the passage. He mentions some points of contact between Amos 9:1 l-15 and the rest of the book. He is able to interpret the passage positively and begin to relate it to the larger part of the book.
In the following analysis, we wish to push beyond Wolff to explore the literary relationship between Amos 9:11-15 and the rest of the book. They begin with the connecting phrases that introduce the two parts of the oracle: "in that day" (9:1 la) and. Both images are metaphorical, referring to the absence of God's word on earth rather than physical actions or needs.
Regardless of its origin, one can read it as part of Amos because of the literary allusions, both conceptual and linguistic. This resonates with both the judgments of Amos and the promised salvation of the prophetic corpus. In the interpretation of the vision, we meet in the middle of several Jeremiah phrases triine Ecc?.
The spirit of salvation given in the closing oracle is true to the tone of the prophet Amos. Salvation is of the same kind described elsewhere in the prophets, but is singular in consonant with Amos. Each verse contains allusions that enrich the meaning of both this pericope and the rest of the book.
Our discussion of Amos 9:1l-15 has focused on the literary sphere and the effects of the historical-critical atomization of the text on our understanding of the book.
The Problem of Historical Reconstruction The two passages which we have already considered are ones which
Many elements in both versions indicate the Deuteronomist historian's determining hand on the material. Von Rad recognizes this aspect of the passage, but cannot deal with it. The most obvious place where Isaiah 36-39 reveals its literary design is in the order of the pericopes.
With the current arrangement of stories, we are strongly reminded of the exile just before the oracles of deliverance. The strength of the connections between this poem (especially 37:26) and Deuteronomy is such that one thinks of this as an adaptation of the narrative to the Isaiah context. In two cases we can reasonably speak of the adaptation of the narratives to their function in the Isaiah context.
Towards a redefining of actualization 201 than simply folding the historical lines of traditions; it has brought about a shift in the semantic level of the language used. Most of the features that we have discussed also highlight this shift from historical function to metaphor. The semantic shift results in a reuse of the traditions, which is quite different from chronological actualization.
The method of modernizing Isaiah 36-39 is a shift from historical language to a metaphorical use of the same material. The unified nature of the language of Deuteronomy is a recognized feature of the book. In this case, the interpretation of the whole reveals the true nature of each element of the book.
As mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, these ideas are more suggestive than definitive.
Conclusions
With this, we further reduced the uniqueness of the biblical phenomenon and strengthened the ties between the Old Testament and other genres of literature and literary analysis. This delineation of biblical actualization corresponds more closely to the final form of the Old Testament as a written, literary document than to the hybrid category of chronological actualization. The influence of actualization on the study of the Old Testament was particularly strong in Germany, where it became the dominant Protestant hermeneutical method in the 1950s and 1960s.
From an investigation of the internal logic of chronological actualization, we conclude that it forms an inadequate hermeneutic for Old Testament theology. His reliance on the historical-critical method removes actualization from the Old Testament text due to the distortion caused by fragmentation, historical reconstruction, and historical specificity. Von Rad tried to combine the best of each sense of actualization in order to demonstrate the uniqueness of biblical faith.
Rather, von Rad's genius lay in his perception of the theological nature of recycling tradition. Out of this tradition-historical insight grows the reassessment of the Old Testament's so-called secondary materials. Von Rad opened the door to an understanding of the interpretive value of the later reworkings of the tradition.
While this value in his work was limited to the historical and prophetic corpora, other scholars have demonstrated its applicability to virtually all areas of the Old Testament. These are the attempts to get actualization to account for the Bible's uniqueness and unity. Consequently, biblical actualization is both broader and narrower than von Rad recognized: broader because it is related to the actualization practiced by many cultures and ages; narrower because it fails to encompass the hermeneutical complexities of the Old Testament.
As such, actualization functions as one of many elements in arriving at a theological assessment of the Old Testament.
List of Works Consulted
The city on the hill.” The form-critical problem of the Hexateuch and other essays. The Theological Problem of the Old Testament Doctrine of Creation.” The form-critical problem of the Hexateuch and other essays.