New Book: CHT Director Dr. Dru Johnson’s Biblical Philosophy

The ideas underlying the Center for Hebraic Thought culminate in a new book by CHT director Dr. Dru Johnson, Biblical Philosophy: A Hebraic Approach to the Old and New Testaments, published by Cambridge University Press on April 30, 2021.

The premise of the CHT is that the biblical authors advocated a way of understanding reality, and that those ideas and their development form what we call “Hebraic thought,” or Hebraic philosophy.

In his book, Dru Johnson explores how the biblical authors argue philosophically, showing that they shape cohesive views on truth, epistemology, and ethics that span the Christian Scriptures. He

questions traditional definitions of philosophy and compares the Hebraic style of philosophy with the intellectual projects of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Hellenism. Identifying the genetic features of the Hebraic philosophical style, Johnson . . . shows how the Gospels and letters of Paul exhibit the same genetic markers, modes of argument, particular argument forms, and philosophical convictions that define the Hebraic style, while they engaged with Hellenistic rhetoric. His volume offers a model for thinking about philosophical styles in comparative philosophical discussions.

Quoted from Biblical Philosophy.

The book is available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats. Order the book today from Amazon, Walmart, or directly from the publisher, Cambridge University Press.

Dru Johnson’s Biblical Philosophy asks questions that urgently need asking: Is there a philosophical tradition in Hebrew Scripture? Does this Jewish tradition find defenders in the Christian New Testament? Johnson has been at the forefront of academic debates over these questions. In this book, he musters a dazzling array of scholarship to answer both questions in the affirmative.

Yoram Hazony, author of The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture and President of the Herzl Institute, Jerusalem