New Testament Quotations of the Old Testament

Representative Passages

New Testament writers either reproduce Old Testament sentences word for word (quotation) or borrow their expressions or events (allusion). Scholars differ in their criteria for what counts as a quotation, so estimates of the total number vary widely. Psalms, Isaiah, and Deuteronomy are commonly identified as the most frequently quoted books, and Psalm 110:1 as the most frequently quoted or alluded-to verse. Representative passages include the following:

• Matthew repeatedly uses the formula "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet." For example, Matthew 1:22–23 quotes Isaiah 7:14.
• In Acts 2:16–21, Peter explains the events of Pentecost in terms of the prophecy of Joel 2.
• Galatians 3:6–9 and Romans 4 cite Genesis 15:6 as the basis for the teaching that one is justified by faith.
• Hebrews 8:6–13 quotes at length the new covenant promise of Jeremiah 31.
• In Luke 24:44–46, Jesus says that "all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me."

Background

The New Testament was written in Greek. In addition to the Hebrew text, its writers frequently followed the Greek translation known as the Septuagint. As a result, Old Testament translations based on the Masoretic Text sometimes read differently from the corresponding New Testament quotation. For example, "a body hast thou prepared me" in Hebrews 10:5 follows the Septuagint of Psalm 40, whereas translations of Psalm 40:6 based on the Hebrew render the same passage differently (the KJV reads "mine ears hast thou opened"; the Korean New Revised Version has "you have caused me to hear through my ears"). Quotation formulas such as "it is written" were also used in the Judaism of the period, and the New Testament's method of quotation is therefore sometimes studied in comparison with Jewish interpretive traditions such as midrash. There are also instances of quotation from noncanonical literature, such as Jude 14–15, which cites the Book of Enoch.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

The New Testament reads the Old Testament as promise, and Jesus and the church as its fulfillment. The Greek verb translated "fulfill" also means "to fill." It is therefore used not only of prophecies coming to pass as foretold but also of Old Testament events and institutions being completely filled out in Christ. For this reason, New Testament quotations of the Old Testament are a central resource in discussions of the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Faithfulness to the original Old Testament context: Matthew 2:15 applies Hosea 11:1, which originally refers to Israel's exodus, to Jesus. Views on this differ: some regard it as a quotation that respects the original context, others see Israel's history as a type (foreshadowing) that prefigures Christ, and still others regard it as following the interpretive methods of contemporary Judaism.
• Isaiah 7:14: The Hebrew almah is usually translated "young woman," while the Septuagint's parthenos is generally translated "virgin." Some regard the verse as a direct prophecy of the virgin birth, while others hold a dual-fulfillment view in which a sign given in the time of Ahaz was brought to completion in Christ.
• Israel and the church: Covenant theology tends to regard the quotations of Joel 2 and Jeremiah 31 as fulfilled in the church. Dispensationalism holds that the final fulfillment of the promises to national Israel is still to come.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6 are frequently read and preached as messianic prophecies during Advent and Christmas, as is Isaiah 53 during Holy Week. Korean reference Bibles mark the chapter and verse of the quoted Old Testament passage beside the New Testament text, and these notations are widely used in Bible study.