We may often notice that New Testament authors like to refer to Old Testament passages. But how do we distinguish when these authors are quoting, or alluding to, or echoing the OT? Sometimes the NT writers make it easy for us. Matthew, for example, includes the words, “Isaiah the prophet” before he cites this prophet (Matthew 3:3). But more often than not, the NT authors give us no clear indication about their references. Notice, for example, Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:13: “Cast out the wicked person from among you!” There is no indication in this text that these words come directly from Deuteronomy 17:7 (or a parallel passage).
In recent years a rising tide of studies on the NT use of the OT is clearly evident. Notice, for example, Matthias Henze and David Lincicum’s Israel’s Scripture in Early Christian Writings, or G. K. Beale, D. A. Carson, Benjamin Gladd, and A. D. Naselli’s Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, and even G. E. Schnittjer’s Old Testament Use of the Old Testament! Other studies often engage with an interpretative device known as intertextuality—the discipline of detecting the presence of a text or texts in another text. Recently, see my co-edited books, Practicing Intertextuality, and the Scripture, Texts, and Tracings in Paul series.*
It is important, then, for us to discern some basic differences between when a NT biblical writer quotes, alludes to, or echoes an OT passage. Here are some of my thoughts on the matter in relation to biblical texts.
Quotations of Scripture
What interpreters normally mean by a citation or quotation (often used interchangeably) is a recognizable set of words that is signaled by a marker such as, “It is written” or “Isaiah says.” These are known as marked quotations. A text can also be signaled by an indirect marker such as “for” or “that”, or it can be otherwise set apart from the immediate context so as to be commonly recognized as a text reference. The latter is an unmarked quotation. Notice again 1 Corinthians 5:13!
Theoretical distinctions between unmarked quotes and allusions (see below) are not always clear-cut. Notice Philippians 2:10–11 and compare with Isaiah 45:23. Paul is obviously referring to this verse from Isaiah, but he gives no clearly marked quotation. He sort of paraphrases the verse and adds the name of Jesus to it as Lord.
The majority of scholars today recognize that, more often than not, the writings in the New Testament seem to use a Scripture variant or variants compatible with the Septuagint (LXX). This is an old Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Due to the growing number of Greek speakers joining the Christ communities, this version naturally became more popular than Hebrew and Aramaic versions. People needed to hear quotes from a Bible in their own language.
Allusions to Scripture
Differently than a New Testament quotation, an allusion does not quote but indirectly refers to another text (in our case, an Old Testament text). An allusion shares words with the text to which it alludes (in the OT). The word agreements may involve the same or similar words, whether verbatim, conceptual, structural, topical, or thematic. An allusion may also refer to a person, place, action, or event. Prime examples of allusions can be found in 1 Corinthians 10:1–11. Apart from the quote in 10:7 (cp. Exodus 32:6), and possibly 10:5 (cp. Num 14:16), the rest of the references to the exodus-wilderness narratives are more readily identified as allusions. Paul, for example, speaks about the people grumbling, tempting the Lord, and being bitten by serpents. Our determination of which passage or passages are behind such allusions must be determined and possibly debated.
In this example of 1 Corinthians, Paul openly indicates that he is referring to events related to Israel’s wilderness travels. Often, however, allusions are more subtle and not marked by any indicators. This leads us to echoes…
Echoes of Scripture
The more subtle allusions are understood by some scholars as echoes. An echo for some scholars may be a faint resonance of an OT passage in the NT. Or it can be derived from the thematic content or context of a quoted passage or allusion. It could also be used either consciously or unconsciously by the NT writers. Due to the slippery way echoes may be used, scholars who insist on the term and distinguish it from an allusion should state precisely what those distinctions are.
Some references are indeed more subtle than others, and the clearest ones were perhaps detected by a larger amount of ancient audiences than the subtler ones. The well-informed hearers in a NT congregation benefited from both the surface and deeper sub-textual meanings of the references, while the uninformed would comprehend only the surface meaning, unless otherwise guided by the more informed members.
When Paul affirms to the Corinthians that “God is faithful” (1 Cor 1:9; 10:13), did he expect them to know that these words came from the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32? Would he and his congregation be alert to this song’s contrast between God’s faithfulness and the people’s unfaithfulness? (Deut 32:4, 20) The answer might be yes if we assume that “God is faithful” echoes words from Deuteronomy 32.
Detecting Allusions and Echoes
How the allusions and echoes are detected by us today prompt different explanations.
Some interpreters use criteria to assist in their discernment of echoes and allusions. A popular set of criteria stems from intertextualist Richard Hays**:
1) Availability: was the purported source of the allusion or echo available to the NT authors and audiences? NT writers obviously cannot be quoting a source that did not yet exist, such as Martin Luther’s 95 Theses!
2) Volume: was the allusion “loud” enough to hear in terms of repetition of words/patterns in the original source? How prominent was that source, and how much rhetorical stress on the allusion is being made by the NT author?
3) Recurrence/clustering: how often is the source quoted or alluded to by the NT author or authors? Notice again Philippians 2:10–11, this time with Romans 14:11.
4) Thematic coherence: does the allusion fit well with the line of discourse or argument the NT author is developing?
5) Historical plausibility: could the NT author have meant the particular meaning derived from the source, and could this author’s readers have understood that meaning?
6) History of interpretation: have any other interpreters of the same NT text, whether in the modern, medieval, or ancient church, detected the same allusion? There is strength in numbers.
7) Satisfaction: does the allusion make sense of and illuminate the discourse, regardless of lucid confirmation of the other criteria?
It is perhaps best to suggest there is room for some interpretative artistry in certain cases, so that the force of the interpretation may play a role in the test of the echo or allusion’s presence. All the same, it is up to interpreters to argue a persuasive case for an echo’s actual presence, and such are perhaps best determined on a case-by-case basis.
Conclusion
The NT writers were doubtless impacted by their hearing, reading, reflection, and recollections of the Scriptures in light of the Christ event, and they presumably used Scripture to formulate their own thinking, their gospel messages, and a number of their arguments, exhortations, and narratives in their writings.
Such enthusiasm and Scripture sharing with their congregations may suggest that they expected, through their trust in the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance, that the members would recognize, obey, appreciate, and be edified and blessed by these Scriptures on multiple levels as they were able to hear them.
Notes
* For a more thorough and scholarly study of these ideas, see my article, B. J. Oropeza, “Quotations, Allusions, and Echoes: Their Meanings in Relation to Biblical Interpretation,” in Practicing Intertextuality, eds. Max J. Lee and B. J. Oropeza (Eugene: Cascade Books, 2021), 15–24.
** See Richard B. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul, 29–32; also Conversion of the Imagination, 34–45.
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