Knowable Word

“Open Bible” by Ryk Neethling (2011), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License

I recently finished a read-through of the Bible, during which I kept track of every instance the New Testament quotes an Old Testament passage.

I counted only direct, explicit quotations, such as those introduced with “it is written,” or “as it says in the Law of Moses.” I gave some leniency, allowing clear quotations on the list even if introduced by a mere “for.”

I did not include any mere allusions or references to people or events in the Old Testament. I don’t think such allusions are unimportant; I just think they can be difficult to measure. For example, when Paul says he was “rescued from the lion’s mouth” (2 Tim 4:17), is that an allusion to Daniel 6:22-23 (which we probably think of first), or to Psalm 22:21 (which is more linguistically likely)? It’s hard to say. Therefore, I left such unclear examples off the list altogether. One unfortunate result is that books like 2 Peter, Jude, and Revelation, which contain Old Testament allusions in almost every verse, are almost completely absent from the list.

This list has all the Old Testament books that are never explicitly quoted in the New Testament.

1. Judges

2. Ruth

3. Ezra

4. Esther

5. Ecclesiastes

6. Song of Solomon

7. Lamentations

8. Obadiah

9. Jonah

10. Zephaniah

They’re mostly short books, except for Judges. Also, Ezra & Nehemiah were on one scroll (in Hebrew) and were likely to be considered a single book with a unified literary structure. Thus, since Nehemiah is quoted (John 6:31), we could possibly take Ezra off this list. For the same reason, we could potentially remove Obadiah and Jonah, as the twelve minor prophets were on one scroll, considered one book (named “The Twelve”).

Let’s not conclude, however, that the books on this list are unimportant. They are the Word of God, and, as such, they are useful for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). But as we seek to interpret and apply these books, we have few scriptural examples to guide us, and we must instead rely on more general principles from the rest of Scripture. We ought to be less dogmatic about what we come up with. For the raw data listing every quotation, see the resources page.

What strikes you about this list?  How ought it to inform our Bible study?

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Photo Credit: Kladcat (2012), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License

I recently finished a read-through of the Bible, during which I kept track of every time the New Testament quoted an Old Testament passage.

I counted only direct, explicit quotations, such as those introduced with “it is written,” or “as it says in the Law of Moses.”  I gave some leniency, allowing clear quotations on the list even if introduced by a mere “for.”

I did not include any mere allusions or references to people or events in the Old Testament.  I don’t think such allusions are unimportant; I just think they can be difficult to measure.  For example, when Jesus is called “Son of Man,” is that an allusion to Daniel 7:13, to Psalm 8:4, or to Ezekiel 2:1, 3, 6, 8, etc?  Most likely, the answer is “all of them,” but Bible interpreters disagree.  Therefore, I left these unclear examples off the list altogether.  One unfortunate result is that the books of 2 Peter, Jude, and Revelation, which contain Old Testament allusions in almost every verse, are almost completely absent from the list.

This list has the top 10 most quoted Old Testament books.  Which books did the New Testament authors most often reference as they wrote of the coming of Jesus the Messiah?

After each book title, I include the number of times the New Testament quotes from that book.

1. Psalms (68 times)

2. Isaiah (55)

3. Deuteronomy (44)

4. Genesis (35)

5. Exodus (31)

6. Leviticus (13)

7. Proverbs (8)

8. Zechariah (7)

9. Hosea  (6)

10. Jeremiah (5)

It makes sense that the top few books are some of the long books in the OT.  But the longest book (Jeremiah) is pretty far down.  Also, long books such as 1&2 Samuel (3 quotes), 1&2 Kings (2 quotes), and 1&2 Chronicles (1 quote) are way down the list. For the raw data listing every quotation, see the resources page.

Also, I find it fascinating that Zechariah, probably the most obscure and inscrutable OT book, ranks higher than any other prophetic book except Isaiah.

Does this list surprise you, or is it exactly what you suspected?  Perhaps you might consult this list the next time you choose to study an Old Testament book.  One could argue that the New Testament authors wanted to draw our attention to them.

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