Evoking Story for Transformation

Lyn Nixon takes a fresh approach to the question of whether New Testament authors quote the Old Testament without regard to the original Old Testament meaning that is, "out of context." Her "action model" uses Speech Act Theory to examine the way authors and readers together contribute to the communication of meaning. In her model, for meaning to be successfully communicated, the reader must experience the transformation intended by the author.Lyn Nixon applies her theoretical model to two examples of New Testament quotation where previous scholars have claimed the author quotes the Old Testament in a way that does not correspond to the original meaning. Her case studies--the use of Ps 115:1 LXX in 2 Cor 4:13 and of Ps 110:1 MT by various New Testament speakers and authors--provide new insights into ways that the Old Testament meaning, including its transformative intention, resonates in the quoting of New Testament texts.