Justin Taylor at The Gospel Coalition recently posted a great article on the New Testament use of the Old Testament. He examines how Paul quotes Deut 25:4 in both 1 Cor 9:9 and 1 Tim 5:18. Moses commanded Israel not to muzzle their oxen while threshing. Paul wants people to pay their pastor. How does the first support the second?
From Paul’s use of Deut 25:4, Taylor argues two key principles to keep in mind when a New Testament author quotes an Old Testament passage:
- Never ignore the original Old Testament context
- Be slow to assume that the New Testament writers are quoting things out of context
These are great principles for Bible study, and Taylor ably demonstrates them from this example. Check it out.
