Biblical Hermeneutics

PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL HERMENETICS ; M. M. NINAN
Typology is a method of biblical interpretation whereby an element found in the Old
Testament is seen to prefigure one found in the New Testament. The initial one is called the
type and the fulfillment is designated the antitype. Either type or antitype may be a person,
thing, or event, but often the type is messianic and frequently related to the idea of
salvation.
It differs from the Symbology, Allegory or Parables the it in typology we have a
representation of an actual, historical reference. According to Christian exegesis, biblical
typology deals with the parallels between actual historical persons, events and places in
salvation history and their later, analogous fulfillment. Often NT events and figures are
typologically understood and interpreted according to an OT pattern
Typological interpretation is specifically the interpretation of the Old Testament based on the
fundamental theological unity of the two Testaments whereby we see the New as a
continuation and organic growth out of the Old. God is showing his plans and purposes in
history through history
The word "typology" arise out of various terms in Hebrew.
• The term tupos, meaning “type” is used in Rom. 5:14 where Paul declares that Adam
“is a type (tupos) of Him [Christ] that was to come” (ESV, NET, the word pattern is
used in the NIV).
• The word skia, meaning “shadow,” which is used by Paul in Col. 2:17 to make the
point that the religious festivals of the Mosaic system are “a shadow (skia) of the
things to come” (NIV, ESV, NET). (See also Heb. 10:1.)
• The term hupodeigma, translated “copy,” is used in conjunction with “shadow” in Heb.
8:5 when it states that the priests “serve at a sanctuary that is a copy (hupodeigma)
and shadow of what is in heaven” (NIV, ESV, NET). (See also Heb. 9:23.)
• The word parabole, meaning “symbol,” is used in Heb. 9:9, where certain elements of
the tabernacle are “a symbol (parabole) for the present time” (ESV, NET, the word
illustration is used in the NIV). (See also Heb. 11:19.)
• The word antitupon is translated many different ways: “prefigured,” “symbolizes,”
“representation,” “copy,” or “pattern.” This word denotes that the past item, which is
the type, corresponds to the present or future reality, which fulfills the prophetic
picture this type was looking forward to. This word is used of the sanctuary in Heb.
9:24 and of water baptism in 1 Pet. 3:21.
What are the distinctive features of a type? A type, to be such in reality, must possess three
Typology (or typological symbolism) is a Christian form of biblical interpretation that proceeds
on the assumption that God placed anticipations of Christ in the laws, events, and people of
the Old Testament. Typology, which had enormous influence on medieval Europe,
seventeenth century England, and Victorian Britain, not only provided literature and art with
powerfully imaginative images but also influenced attitudes towards reality and time as well.
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