Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

pt. 1: Prolegomena -- The history of the discipline of biblical theology -- Current models for biblical theology -- Classic earlier Christian approaches to biblical theology -- pt. 2: A search for a new approach -- The problem of the Christian Bible -- A canonical approach to biblical theology -- From witness to subject matter -- Canonical categories for structuring a biblical theology -- pt. 3: The discrete witness of the Old Testament -- Methodological problems -- Creation -- From Eden to Babel -- Patriarchal traditions (Genesis 12-50) -- Mosaic traditions -- The possession of the land and the settlement -- The tradition of the judges -- The establishment of the monarchy -- The divided kingdom -- Exile and restoration -- The prophetic tradition -- The apocalyptic tradition -- The wisdom tradition -- The tradition of the Psalms -- Excursus : the theological problem of Old Testament history -- pt. 4: The discrete witness of the New Testament -- The hermeneutical problem of the historical study of the New Testament -- The church's earliest proclamation -- The Pauline gospel -- The formation of the Gospels -- The four Gospels -- The witness of Acts to the mission of the church -- The post-Pauline age -- pt. 5: Exegesis in the context of biblical theology -- Genesis 22.1-19 : The akedah -- Matthew 21.33-46 : The parable of the wicked tenants -- pt. 6: Theological reflection on the Christian Bible -- The identity of God -- God the creator -- Covenant, election, people of God -- Christ the Lord -- Reconciliation with God -- Law and gospel -- Humanity : old and new -- Biblical faith -- God's kingdom and rule -- The shape of the obedient life : ethics -- pt. 7: A holistic reading of Christian Scripture.

This monumental work is the first comprehensive biblical theology to appear in many years and is the culmination of Brevard Child's lifelong commitment to constructing a biblical theology that surmounts objections to the discipline raised over the past generation. Childs rejects any approaches that overstress either the continuity or discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments. He refuses to follow the common pattern in Christian thought of identifying biblical theology with the New Testament's interest in the Old. Rather, Childs maps out an approach that reflects on the whole Christian Bible with its two very different voices, each of which retains continuing integrity and is heard on its own terms.