How often
does the New Testament refer to the Old Testament?
The
writers of New Testament Scriptures frequently cite the Old Testament
Scriptures which preceded them. Even as later Old Testament
prophets often cited earlier Scriptures, especially Moses, this
continued reference to the earlier emphasizes that these newer works
did not replace those prior, it built on them. The apostles and
those writing under their authority used Old Testament Scriptures to
show continuity of their message to the prophets of old, to establish
fulfillment of earlier prophecies, and to provide divine
clarification and expansion of concepts only understood in part or as
a shadow of what was coming.
The
question that often arises is "how many times do New Testament
writers cite Old Testament passages?" A search for an
answer to this, through commentaries, translator notes, and even a
plethora of published and web articles will provide a multitude of
competing answers. Why? Can't these people all recognize
a citation when they see one? It's not quite that simple.
The New
Testament writers sometimes quoted exactly, or almost exactly, from
the Hebrew Scriptures. At times it was close except for
utilizing a synonym for a key word, or adding a clarifying word.
These restatements were sometimes prefaced with wording, or
contextual language, showing that they were still to be counted as
citations from the Old Testament.
The Old
Testament was written in Hebrew and a little Aramaic, yet a couple
hundred years before the time of Jesus it was translated into Greek,
a language that enabled it to be read by more individuals living
outside of Israel. Jews in the first century commonly used this
Greek translation, especially when living in the Greek speaking
world. God's word has always been about its meaning and
intent not the specific wording. This is why a paraphrased
message which encompasses what was intended by the original is just
as much God's word as is a direct word for word citation. A
multitude of Old Testament citations in the New Testament quote from
the Greek Septuagint translation, affirming that this translation
encompassed the meaning and intent of the original in those passages
and was to be utilized as God's word on par with the Hebrew and
Aramaic originals.
Beyond
full or relatively close citations from the Hebrew or Septuagint, a
host of additional passages are alluded to, whether using
paraphrasing or partial citations or direct or indirect reference to
circumstances, events, and people from accounts in the Old Testament.
Over the
years many have attempted to number or account for all of these
citations and allusions. Of course, complete citations in
Hebrew and sometimes from the Septuagint are relatively
recognizable. Many allusions are too. And yet, when the
passage makes clear that it was said was intended to be a citation
and yet, today, we would consider it a paraphrase, do you count it as
a citation or a paraphrase. The debate goes on. Add to
this that some allusions are weaker than others, or in dispute as to
whether or not the author intended to make such an allusion (with the
possibility that it is inadvertent). For these reasons
most break such lists and numbering into multiple categories.
Typical headings and some representative values include:
1) Direct
citations, intended citations, or unquestionable citations (224, 263,
295, 299, 845)
2) Clear
allusions (613, 695, 1640)
I've even
seen an alternate and incredibly broad category for #2:
3)
Passages reminiscent of OT Scriptures (4105)
Obviously
the counts overlap, with the one claiming 845 citations including
some allusions as well. In cases where a passage is repeated multiple
times in the Old Testament, it is counted as one citation by some and
multiple by others. Unfortunately the criterial for all these
counts and divisions is quite subjective and, for that matter, not
always stated in any form.
Prior to
giving my counts and headings, I want to make the following very
clear. The undeniable example of Scriptures is that the New
Testament authors were concerned about the message with all of its
meaning and intent. This meant that they utilized allusion,
paraphrasing, partial citations, translations and complete citations
where necessary. Regardless of which, they honored and
utilized the Old Testament Scriptures as just that: Scriptures, God's
Word. They wanted people to read and understand the entire
message that God gave before the New Testament. To understand
their words in the New Testament, indeed God's word, requires an
understanding of the Old Testament.
I chose to
break my list into three headings and my criteria for each division
are likewise subjective...
#1.
Citations (Direct citations of the Hebrew or Septuagint and intended
citations by the wording of the author): 360
#2.
Allusions (Relatively clear allusions to Old Testament passages): 510
#3.
Possible Allusions (Less clear allusions to Old Testament passages): 139
This makes
a total of 1009 New Testament passages that absolutely, or with
relatively good certainty, can be said to quote or refer to the Old
Testament. For the record, my list is as follows. If you
question any on this list, or know of some that should be added, make
sure to send me a message
with specifics.
My
chart showing specifics on what passages are counted
as
quotation or allusions
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