{Book Review} Biblical Theology

Biblical Theology by Geerhardus Vos is the result of Vos’s 39 years of teaching biblical theology at Princeton Seminary! It is most definitely worthy of being read and studied. 

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Biblical Theology

Biblical Theology by Geerhardus Vos is published by Banner of Truth. It has just gone through another reprinting, the first since 2017. This book has gone through quite a few reprintings, and for good reason.

Vos is also the author of a five volume systematic theology series. That was my first interaction with Vos, and I had assumed he was primarily a systematic theologian. Unfortunately, there is often a large divide between the two disciplines instead of a (needed) partnership and complementary relationship. Vos proves that this is possible! He has not only written an amazing series on systematic theology, but he has also written a truly phenomenal biblical theology that ought to be read and studied by many students of God’s Word. 

Vos works through the history of redemption as revealed in Holy Scripture. He divides the book into three main sections:

1. The Mosaic Epoch of Revelation
2. The Prophetic Epoch of Revelation
3. The New Testament

Considering this book comes in at just over 400 pages, it is truly amazing how much material Vos covered in this amount of space! In 400 pages, Professor Vos takes the reader by the hand and walks them through the unfolding plan of redemption as revealed to us by God in His Word. It is truly fascinating. 

I enjoyed reading Vos’s work on biblical theology because it was so different than reading a systematic theology. I personally read a lot of systematic theology works, so I found this different approach (biblical theology, as Vos mentions, falls under the theological umbrella of Exegetical theology instead of Systematic theology) to be very intriguing and fun to read.

Vos didn’t seem to swing between biblical and systematic theology, but he instead stayed on track and taught the unfolding plan of Scripture as revealed in history. He didn’t discuss theological topics or systems (such as covenant theology, which Vos himself certainly adheres to), and rarely went into theological terms and concepts as typically found in systematic theologies. Now to be sure, those things are of great importance, and the church needs them! But the reason for my pointing this out is to express that Vos is indeed writing a biblical theology and not a systematic theology. It’s fulfilling a different purpose, and Vos does an excellent job! 

The design of the book is beautiful. It’s the normal hardcover, cloth-bound with gold-lettering on the spine with a very nice dust jacket. The pages are high-quality, thick paper that resist bleeding when writing or highlighting. 

Anything written by Vos is worthy of our attention, and that especially applies to his work on Biblical Theology. I cannot recommend this excellent book highly enough. Tolle lege, take up and read! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Banner of Truth for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.