Original Research
The kingdom of God in the Old Testament
H.G.L. Peels
About the author(s)
H.G.L. Peels, Department of Old Testament, Theological University of the Christian, Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, Apeldoorn, Netherlands
Abstract
In recent times, the notion of the “kingdom of God” has received much interest by Old Testament scholars. Reformed theology has traditionally attached much theological value to this topic, whereas modern research is questioning the centrality of the theme. It seems as if text material on this topic is relatively limited. In this article contemporary research concerning antiquity, provenance and the development of the notion of God’s kingdom is briefly highlighted, with special emphasis on the study of the YHWH-malak Psalms. It is argued, however, that tradition-critical analysis runs the risk of insufficiently recognising the importance of the theme. The matrix of thoughts and ideas in which the theme is rooted has to be taken into account, both semantically and theologically. In this respect, the notions of creation and covenant are of special interest. Finally, both spatial and temporal characteristics of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament are delineated. The kingship/kingdom of God is still to be considered as a basic and even central notion in the Old Testament.
Keywords
Enthronement Psalms; Kingdom Of God; Kingship Of God; Royal Metaphors; Theology Of Zion
Metrics
Total abstract views: 5088
Total article views: 6782
Crossref Citations
1. Die koninkryk van God as ’n kontekstueel-paradigmatiese sleutel vir Skrifberoep in die etiek
De Wet Saaiman
In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi vol: 48 issue: 2 year: 2014
doi: 10.4102/ids.v48i2.1759
2. Missio Dei towards the Kingdom of God: From Σωτηρία to βασιλεία
Jonas S. Thinane
Verbum et Ecclesia vol: 45 issue: 1 year: 2024
doi: 10.4102/ve.v45i1.2840
3. Die koninkryk van God in die Ou Testament: ’n Kort oorsig
Daniel F. O’Kennedy
In die Skriflig / In Luce Verbi vol: 55 issue: 1 year: 2021
doi: 10.4102/ids.v55i1.2787