40 Questions About Typology and Allegory

40 Questions

by Mitchell L. Chase

A survey of two literary devices that are indispensable for understanding salvation history

A biblical type is a person, place, or thing in salvation history that corresponds to a later person, place, or thing in the scriptural text. An allegory is a passage that says one thing in order to say something else. Both are common literary devices in the Bible that are vital for understanding truths about Jesus Christ found nowhere else.

In 40 Questions About Typology and Allegory, Mitchell Chase provides a thorough introduction to both devices, showing where they appear throughout Scripture and the historical roles they have played in biblical interpretation. In a convenient question-and-answer format, Chase answers key questions such as:
- Why should interpreters care about typology and allegory?
- How do we identify types?
- What are the theological assumptions of typology?
- Do all types lead to Christ?
- What is allegorical interpretation?
- How was allegory practiced in the early church?
- How should we practice allegorical interpretation?

Situating typology and allegory within salvation history, Chase shows how these devices reveal the interconnectedness of Scripture and commonly overlooked aspects of Christ's person and work. Scholars, Bible teachers, and preachers will find this an essential resource for interpreting Scripture more comprehensively.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Biblical Studies, Christian

320 pages, Paperback

Published September 29, 2020

Reviews

[Mark Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I interviewed the author for the Bible Study Magazine Podcast. This is a well written book that really made me think carefully through typology (not for me a hard sell) and allegory (for me a hard sell) in Scripture. I’m awarding five stars in hopes that I will continue to see allegory as a useful concept for Bible interpretation. I have always been, of course, afraid that it’s a dog that should never be let out of its cage. But if it is to be taken to exegetical obedience school, Chase has proven himself a good trainer. The 40 Questions format makes for an exceptionally pleasant experience, because it forces writers to say a lot of somethings in a short space. I like short chapters.

What really has me thinking is the allegorical interpretation Chase suggests (it still feels weird for me to say that word in any kind of positive way!) for John the Baptist’s diet. I just can’t deny that my Bible reading has brought me to the place where I expect the divine and human authors both to have had some reason for mentioning locusts and wild honey. I expect that reason to be accessible not through additional revelation, not through flights of creative fancy, but through careful reading of the Bible. Part of me doesn’t want to call that “allegory” (this was the question I didn’t get to in my interview: do we have to use that label?). But part of me sees the value in using that label: the text is indeed saying something underneath what it’s saying.

I loved the historical portions of this book. I do expect and want to find continuity with premodern interpreters. I’ve got more reading to do in this space. I want to get back into Craig Carter’s Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition, which explores similar themes to Chase. I’m about halfway through. It’s exciting to see careful evangelical biblical scholars finding good in teachers God gave to the church long ago—and showing how their view of Scripture has things to teach us.

I’m going to keep thinking about this book—and dipping into its neatly laid out examples of typology and allegory.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read in the opening pages of 40 Questions About Typology and Allegory that “The Bible is the story about Jesus Christ,” I already had a hunch that I was going to like this book. And I did, thoroughly, from beginning to end.

Here’s why.

When people ask what I do for a living, I will often (only half-jokingly) reply, “I write and teach about Jesus with an Old Testament accent.” My official title may be Scholar in Residence at 1517, but what I really do is talk, write, podcast, video, and teach the Bible, especially the Old Testament, with one overarching goal: to bring Christ to people and people to Christ. I always strive to do that by drawing from the best of academic resources but communicating the helpful elements of those resources in ways that non-professionals can read and understand.

For that reason, Mitch Chase’s book is my kind of book. It is academic without being professorial. It is a treasure trove for preachers without being preachy or like a textbook for Homiletics 101. It is a helpful historical survey of biblical interpretation without being yawningly detailed. Most importantly, it demonstrates that Jesus is the fulness and fulfillment of Scripture.

The book is an admirable example of fine scholarship, in the service of the church, for the sake of the Gospel, expressed in clear and well-written prose.

For a lay Christian who wishes to learn how “the divine author, who has knitted us together in our mother’s wombs, has knitted together a grand epic in the womb—or canon—of Holy Scripture,” then this book is a godsend (251). Dealing first with typology, then with allegory, Chase walks us through definitions of these exegetical methods, provides a wealth of examples, and lays out strategies whereby we can use his methods to guide our continued explorations of Scripture.

I am frequently asked for a list of books that are helpful for a Christocentric reading of the Old Testament. 40 Questions About Typology and Allegory will now become a permanent item on that list.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive book. My endorsement:

“Mitch Chase deftly shows how the Old Testament, through prefigurings and promises and patterns, leans forward to anticipate the coming Messiah. With clear structure and short chapters, this is a handy resource to consult as you prepare to teach the Scriptures, all of which center on Christ. The Old Testament may be a room dimly lit, but there are stores of treasure to be seen.”

[Brenden Wentworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good!

The best book on biblical typology I’ve come across. Chase is an erudite scholar, committed theologian, and very pastoral in his applications. All of those qualities come out here and it was a fun read, especially the historical survey.
He answered questions I had, emphasized the right things in my opinion, and also gave great material for sermon prep when you’re seeking to find Christ in the OT

Highly recommend

[JT Stead · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was eye opening. I have heard of pre-modern exegesis, but now I know what it is. Until reading this book, I did not realize that the hermeneutic I held too stemmed from the enlightenment and not the Great Christian tradition…nor is it the hermeneutic Jesus and his apostles employed.

This is a great starting point for people to grow in their reading and interpreting of scripture.

[Richard Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good primer on Typology, the Allegory section felt rushed

This book attempts to rehabilitate both Typology and Allegory for modern biblical interpretation - this is a noble goal and I hope the book will work to achieve that in many cases. The material on typology is really helpful. The material on allegory seemed weaker - the definition given seemed very broad (as then seen in some of the examples) and I don't think enough was done to show how and why some proponents of historical grammatical exegesis are wrong in their generic criticisms of allegory.

Overview

Chapters 1-2: The Bible's Big Story
The book begins by overviewing the whole story of the Bible - it argues that to understand individual parts of the Bible we must know where the fit in the overall narrative. So step 1 is to know the whole story and to know how the Bible tells its story.

Chapters 3-9: Understanding Typology
These chapters define typology, the study of historical events or objects (types) that foreshadow a greater future reality (normally Christ), some time is devoted to the theology you need in order to consider types valid - e.g. the Old Testament can only be foreshadowing Christ if it has a supernatural author. There is also the important question of whether typology should be limited to what can be found explicitly in the New Testament use of the Old or if the NT is giving us a model to apply to other texts.

Chapters 10-15: Typology in Church history
A brief overview of the use of typology in different periods of church history - broadly it is argued that typology was used by the vast majority of pre-enlightenment exegetes though it is noted that there was often no clear line between typology and allegory. It is also contended that whilst changing some terminology the reformers retained far more than they rejected from the basic late medieval approach to exegesis.

Chapters 16-24: Identifying Types
These chapters walk through the bible giving examples of Types from each section of scripture - it's not trying to be exhaustive, just whetting the readers appetite for this. Some of these examples seem a little too obvious/easy - and perhaps some more advanced ones could have been included, but theses chapters are nonetheless a very helpful primer to how to read scripture typologically.

Chapters 25-26: Understanding Allegory
These chapters define allegory as deeper meanings conveyed by stories or events in scripture, never contrary to the literal meaning of the text and always controlled by canonical context i.e. the meaning of the scriptures as a whole. It seemed to me that the definition used did not clearly exclude typology from allegory - whilst this is not stated, it seemed based on the definitions in this book typology is a particular subset of allegory.

Chapters 27-32: Allegory in Church History
A brief overview is given of the historical use of Allegory - including some examples of allegorical excess to be avoided; this seemed very similar to the history of typology above - it is generally argued that all pre-enlightenment interpreters practised allegorical interpretation though the details and terminology varied - e.g. some of the reformers would call something an "application" that an earlier interpreter would have called an allegorical meaning.

Chapters 33-39: Identifying allegories
These chapters walk through the scriptures picking up examples of "allegories" - the use of the name allegory for some of these examples would be disputed by a lot of people. Yes there are classics like the scarlet cord but also various examples of simple prophetic imagery and even Christ's parables are described as allegories. I think a lot of people who claim to oppose allegorical interpretation would be happy with many of these examples but would re-label them as metaphors.

Chapter 40: Why should interpreters care about Typology and Allegory?
So we can hear God's voice in all of scripture as a united whole and preach Christ from all of scripture, following the example of the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us.

[Nathaniel Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely excellent. Buy it, read it, and buy one for a friend.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to begin with a kudo to Benjamin Merkle, the Series Editor for the 40 Questions series. If you are not familiar the series covers a broad range of theological, Biblical, and hermeneutical topics. What is unique about this series is that each volume follows an interrogative approach to each topic answering 40 of the most relevant questions on the subject at hand. I have found these volumes to be timely, thorough, and very accessible to all types of readers. So if you haven’t already done so do a quick search through the series and review the different topics. It would be well worth your time.

Generally speaking, the terminology of “typology” and “allegory” are typically associated with modern schools of liberal interpretation. We often regard “literal” interpretation as the gold standard for Biblical hermeneutics. However, upon further investigation, we come to realize that even Jesus and the Disciples made use of these strategies which renders the claim to “literal” interpretation as overly simplistic. Having said that I want to make mention that the claim to literal interpretation came as a response to those liberal interpreters who drew false conclusions by invoking typological and allegorical interpretations. The confusion of the proper use of these literary devices is the reason why this volume is so important for Biblical study today. In this volume, Chase answers the fundamental questions to help Bible readers understand the appropriate use of both strategies typology and allegory.

The book is broken down into four parts. Part 1 discusses the Bible’s grand narrative. Chase argues that the whole of Scripture is about Christ (Jn.5:39) as he walks through the books of the Old and New Testament demonstrating that point. As the history of redemption unfolds we notice how later texts use earlier texts through various genres and figures of speech to create a consistent story of redemption. Part one is foundational for what comes in the preceding chapters. Parts 2 and 3 are very interesting because it is here that Chase not only discusses and explains what typology and allegory are but he goes further to explain how they were used throughout church history. There is also a section where Chase discusses the Quadriga which I am sure the reader will find very interesting. Part 4 concludes with a reflection on typology and allegory and their significance in Bible interpretation.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I will be candid here. I wasn’t very excited about reading a book on typology and allegory. However, as I worked my way through the text I began to recall how significant this is to understand the Bible’s grand narrative. Scripture is replete with foreshadow that made sense to the multitude who arrived for John’s baptism, but for 21st century American’s these types and shadows translate to very little without a proper understanding of these literary devices. This raises another point. Namely that these devices can be used to create alternative conclusions that were never intended by the book’s author. That is the reason that Chase discusses the proper execution of typology and allegory. He discusses external controls that keep the reader from concocting alternative conclusions under the auspices of type and allegory.

My only regret concerning 40 Questions About Typology And Allegory is the lack of discussion on the Quadriga. The Quadriga was a method of looking at scripture through allegorical, tropologica, anagogical, and literal sense. This type of exegesis was more common in the Middle Ages than at any other time in church history. While this is a subject that interests me I can’t put the blame on Chase. He did his part in giving an introduction to the subject. Perhaps there will be another volume in the 40 questions series on the Quadriga.

Mitchell L. Chase is the senior pastor of Kosmosdale Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, and an adjunct professor at Boyce College in Louisville.

Rating: 5 out of 5

This book has been provided courtesy of Kregel Academic without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

[Peter Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have now read three of the volumes in the “40 Questions” series put out by Kregel. 40 Questions about Typology and Allegory by Michael Chase is my favorite thus far.
The first section of the book – questions 1 and 2 – answer who or what the Bible is about (Jesus) and what forms of writing we find in the Scripture.
The second section of the book – questions 3 through 24 – examine typology.
Chase offers this definition: “a biblical type is a person, office, place, situation, event, or thing in salvation history that anticipates, shares correspondence with, escalates towards, and resolves in its antitype” (38).
He divides this section into three subsections – the first looking at what typology is and whether it is a valid pursuit in biblical study, the second, a look at the historical understanding of typology from the nascent church through today, and the third, a look at representative typologies in each of the books of the Old Testament.
Similarly, in the third section of the book, as Chase turns his attention to allegory, he divides his discussion into three subsections.
In the first, he looks at whether allegory is valid in biblical understanding. He defines, “an allegory is a passage that says one thing in order to say something else” (193).
In the second, he looks at the use of allegory through all of church history.
In the third, he identifies allegory in every book of the Bible.
In the final question of the book, he looks at how one may wisely use typology and allegory in understanding, preaching, and teaching the Scripture.
I found this an absolutely exciting book for all three reasons he writes: I better understand what typology and allegory are, I see how they have been used throughout church history, and I see how one can wisely identify type and allegory in the Scripture for study, teaching, and preaching.
This is a book I will come back to time and time again both as a refresher and for guidance as I handle God’s Word.
The book ends with a selected bibliography, and based on the quotes in the book, I am going to follow up by reading some of the books in the bibliography.
Highly recommended for theological students, Bible study leader, teacher, and pastors.
[This review appears on my blog, my YouTube channel, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com, and Kregel.com. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.]

[Darren Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mitchell L. Chase’s 40 Questions About Typology and Allegory has significantly helped me grow in my understanding of typology in Scripture. One of the most valuable contributions of the book is Chase’s argument that typology must be understood not only in light of human authorial intent but also in light of divine authorial intent. This is especially helpful in responding to common objections in my own church context, where some resist typological readings by limiting interpretation to what the human authors intended. Chase convincingly shows that New Testament authors interpreted the Old Testament typologically, setting a hermeneutical pattern we too should follow.

What I appreciated most about the book was its treatment of typology and allegory in church history. Chase does well in rehabilitating the reputation of the church fathers and medieval theologians, showing that while some readings were admittedly speculative, many were rooted in the literal sense and contributed meaningfully to Christian theological interpretation. The historical framing clarified that allegory was not always “wild” or disconnected from Scripture’s meaning but could be grounded in a careful reading of the biblical text.

That said, there are a few areas where the book could be improved. First, the distinction between allegory and typology sometimes felt artificial. In practice, Chase’s use of “allegory” often seems to describe what could equally be called typology or thematic parallelism. Second, while most of his examples were well grounded, a few proposed typologies or allegories felt overstretched and could have benefited from more rigorous support. Lastly, and perhaps most significantly, Chase’s Southern Baptist background limits the book's engagement with sacramental typology. The symbolic-only view of sacraments underrepresents the rich history of sacramental theology across the broader Christian tradition, where sacraments are often seen as means of grace. This seems like a missed opportunity to explore deeper theological patterns woven into Scripture.

Despite these limitations, 40 Questions About Typology and Allegory is an important and accessible contribution to biblical theology. I hope it inspires more work on this subject, especially from those willing to incorporate ecclesiological and sacramental typologies more fully into the discussion.

[Keara Bisso · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book overall and I’m happy I read it, but almost half the book was the history of typology and allegory throughout the different ages of the church, and that wasn’t as interesting to me so it was more difficult to read. I really enjoyed all the examples the author included of types and allegories in the bible!! Super interesting and I’m happy I have this resource now.

Main takeaways:
The old and new testaments are interconnected. “The Interconnectedness of Scripture is not the work of mere humans. The 66 canonical books, which tell one epic story and bear witness to our Redeemer, are themselves a United testimony of divine authorship. The biblical authors were writing God’s Word. Typological and allegorical interpretation strengthen the veracity of this divine authorship because the careful interpreter peruses the nuance and genius throughout the many genres and stories of the Bible”

A type is an “impression, image, examples or pattern.” “A person, event or institution that prefigures an antitype (the person or thing foreshadowed by the type)”

“A biblical type has correspondence with and escalates towards its antitype.”

The Bible is Christological. The whole Bible is about Jesus. The Old Testament points to the promise of Jesus. The New Testament shows the fulfillment of that promise in Jesus.

“Typology and history are inseparable.”

“An allegory is a passage that says one thing in order to say something else.”

The format of this book is 40 questions and the answers to those questions. I really like this format! The chapters are pretty short and easy to read.

[Brance Gillihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book that provides controls for, covers the history of, and gives an overview of typological and allegorical interpretation of scripture. A must read for anyone who desires to read scripture with the Great Tradition and longs to see Christ in all of scripture.

[Samuel Bierig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fanstasticles!! This was just a master class & joy to read! It will now be required reading for my BT class @ SpurgeonColl. Of note, Mitch has a penchant for dropping some brain freeze level puns like, “In the beginning, God created types” & “The Origen of Allegory”

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good discussion of typology and allegory and a call to return to the Great tradition, a pre-critical approach to biblical interpretation. Types and allegory reveal Christ and are crucial for preaching Christ from the whole counsel of Scripture.

[Josh G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, incisive, and helpful. I’m not fully persuaded about the legitimacy of allegorical interpretation, but Chase makes a compelling case and provides illuminating commentary from each era of church history.

[Brad Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readable and engaging. Start here for study of typology and introduction to great tradition. Wish I would have read this before Carter’s “Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition”. It adds the laymen’s ground work needed for better understanding.

[Lucas Bradburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.

[Jordan Litts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book and very helpful.

[Chelsi Holbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro read. Read for class.

[Carsten Kates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crushed this in a day - oh so very good