Episode 57: Biblical Typology - Interview with Dr. Andrew Swafford

Five Books for Catholics

The books recommended in this episode are:

1. A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God's Covenant Love in Scripture by Scott Hahn
2. The Idea of Israel in Second Temple Judaism: A New Theory of People, Exile, and Israelite Identity by Jason A. Staples
3. Jesus and the Last Supper by Brant Pitre
4. Acts and the Isaianic New Exodus by David W. Pao
5. God with Us: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew by Edward Sri ...and some extra recommendations...
6. Sin: A History by Gary Anderson
7. Wages of Cross-Bearing and Debt of Sin by Nathan Eubank
8. Sacramental Charity, Creditor Christology, and the Economy of Salvation in Luke's Gospel by Anthony Giambrone
9. Paul and the Gift by John M.G. Barclay

Five Books for Catholics may receive a commission from qualifying purchases made using the affiliate links to the books listed.

Typology is the consideration of how the events and prophecies of the biblical books of the Old Testament are brought to fulfilment in Christ. It is a fundamental principle in both the writing and reading of Sacred Scripture. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus explains how many events and prophecies of the Old Testament books refer to him and his works (see Luke 24:44). Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the apostles develop and hand on this Christological reading of Old Testament in their teaching and writings. The relevant Old Testament events and prophecies they call types or figures (Romans 5:14); their fulfilment in Christ, antitypes (1Peter 3:21). The typological reading of Scripture is not just a fundamental principle of patristic and medieval exegesis, but of sacred art, catechesis, preaching, and, above all, the liturgy.

In this interview, Dr. Andrew Swafford recommends some books for learning how to unpack biblical typology.

Dr. Andrew Swafford is Professor of Theology at Benedictine College. He is a national speaker on a variety of topics and co-author of A Catholic Guide to the Old Testament, Gift and Grit: How Heroic Virtue Can Change Your Life and Relationships (with his wife Sarah), and What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith (with Marcellino D’Ambrosio) and co-host of Ascension’s video series filmed in Rome under the same title. He is general editor and contributor to Ascension’s Great Adventure Catholic Bible. Among his other publications are Ascension’s Bible studies on Romans and Hebrews, Spiritual Survival in the Modern World, and John Paul II to Aristotle and Back Again.

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