Typology

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awfulthings9

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I’ve always wanted to see this be a sub-forum (and maybe this thread might be the prompt for it), but there seems to be an incredible hunger for typology study among several contributors. I’ve seen threads searching for good Catholic typology books and the types mentioned in support of various Catholic doctine always spark such great discussion. I don’t know how this would work, but I’d like contributors to this thread to post, very simply, an example of typology that they think contributes to a better understanding of Scripture as a whole. Many of us know the very common ones - such as Melchizedek as a type of Christ, but I’ve been really blown away by some of the more subtle types of the Eucharist, the Virgin Mary, the Papacy, etc. that I’ve never thought of before. My selfish reason for this is that I’m compiling an extensive set of notes on this for my next journey through the OT, but I think many would benefit and it would spark an interest in the study of typology. I propose a very simple format, and I’ll demonstrate it with the first example:

Moses - Type of Christ

Numbers 21:4-9 & John 3:14 - Moses hoists up the bronze serpent to heal, forshadowing the cross in that spiritual healing depends upon crucified Christ.

I know the typology with Moses goes much deeper, but I wanted to illustrate the format. I don’t think we need super-long commentary, just enough to let someone go deeper if they want to. My example was pretty ordinary, so I’ll quit typing here and see what everyone else has. God bless.
 
Here are a few passages.
Biblical Passages of Old Testament Promises Fulfilled (fruition) Through Jesus

WORD
John 1: 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. “
John 1: 14 “And the Word became flesh, and made His dwelling among us.”

ADAM
I Corinthians 15: 45-47 “So, too, it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being,” the last Adam a life giving spirit (John 5: 21-29)…The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven.”

EVE
II Corinthians 11: 3 “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere [and pure] commitment to Christ.”
I Timothy 2: 13-15 “For Adam was formed first, then Eve. Further, Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed. But she will be saved through motherhood, provided women persevere in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.”

NOAH
I Peter 3: 20-21 “…who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

ABRAHAM
John 8: 40 “But now you are trying to kill me, a man who ahs told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this.”
John 8: 56-58 “Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad…Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.”

MELCHIZEDEK
Hebrews 6: 19-20 “This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm which reaches into the interior behind the veil, where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

SARAH & HAGAR & ISHMAEL
Galatians 4: 22-25 “For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman. The son of the slave woman was born naturally, the son of the freeborn through a promise. Now this is all allegory. These women represent two covenants. One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar. Hagar represents Sinai, a mountain in Arabia; it corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery along with her children.”

LOT
Luke 17: 28-30 “Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day of the Son of Man.”
II Peter 2: 7-9 “…and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man oppressed by the licentious conduct of unprincipled people…then the Lord knows how to rescue the devout from trial and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.”

ISAAC
Galatians 4: 28-31 “Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of the promise. But just as then the child of the flesh persecuted the child of the spirit, it is the same now. But what does scripture say? “Drive out the slave woman and her son! For the son of the slave woman shall not share the
 
inheritance with the son” of the freeborn. Therefore, brothers, we are the children not of the slave woman but of the freeborn woman.

JACOB
St. John 4: 11-14 “The woman said to Him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the cistern and drank from it himself with his children and flock?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirst again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (Cf. Genesis 2:6).”

JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS
Hebrews 11: 21-22 “By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and ‘bowed in worship, leaning on the top of his staff.’ By faith Joseph, near the end of his life, spoke of the Exodus of Israelites and gave instruction about his bones.”

MOSES
St. Luke 20: 37-38 “That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called “Lord” the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”
Hebrews 3: 1-6 “Therefore, holy ‘brothers,’ sharing in a heavenly calling, reflect on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was “faithful in [all] his house.” But He is worthy of more “glory” than Moses, as the founder of a house has more “honor” than the house itself…We are his house, if [only] we hold fast to our confidence and pride in our hope.”

EXODUS
St. Matthew 2: 13-15 “When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called by son.”
Hosea 11:1 “When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called him.”

TEN WORDS or DECALOGUE or TEN COMMMANDMENTS
St. John 1: 14 “And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.”

DAVID
St. Matthew 22: 41-45 “While the Pharisees were gather together, Jesus questioned them, saying, “What is your opinion about the Messiah? Whose son is he? They replied, David’s.” He said to them, “How, then, does David, inspired by the Spirit, call Him “Lord,” saying: “The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies under your feet”? If David Calls Him “Lord,” how can He be his son?”
St. Matthew 20: 29-34As they left Jericho, a great crowd followed Him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “[Lord,] son of David, have pity on us! The crowd warned them to be silent, but they called out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!” Jesus stopped and called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They answered Him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” Moved with pity, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight, and followed Him.

SOLOMON
St. Matthew 12: 42 “At the Judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.”
 
JONAH
St. Matthew 12: 39-41 “He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

SON OF MAN
St. Matthew 20: 17-20 “As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve [disciples] aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and hand Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and He will be raised on the third day.”
St. Matthew 26: 64 “Jesus said to him in reply, “You have said so. But I tell you: ‘From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven’”

SON OF GOD
St. Matthew 3: 16-17 After Jesus was baptized, He came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for Him], and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon Him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
 
I just got done with a typology class. It was really interesting. We looked in-depth at some OT passages and also examined some NT passages, such as Peter’s imprisonment in Acts 12 or the parable of the Good Samaritan. Some of my assignments got really long, but I’ll give an abbreviated example of one of the shorter ones:

Leviticus 14:1-20
leprosy-sin
camp-Heaven (also perhaps camp as Purgatory and individual tent as Heaven)
priest-Jesus
birds-Paschal mystery, death and resurrection of Christ
earthen vessel-human nature
water-grace
cedar wood-cross
scarlet yarn-sacrifice, enriching sacrifice
hyssop-purification through sacrifice
eight days-new creation
lamb’s blood-the sacrifice of Christ
oil-power of the Holy Spirit
seven-fold sprinkling-seven sacraments
lamb and cereal offered together-Eucharist

In the actual assignment, I explained why I got the interpretations I got, but this gives you some idea.
Also, in typology, more than one interpretation can often work, so there’s a lot of meaning that can be drawn out from just one text.
 
leprosy-sin

I would love to see the biblical explanation, thank you!

I have always prayer over leprosy.
 
Here’s my explanation for leprosy as sin. Leprosy made a person unclean and cast out of fellowship with the rest of Israel, just as sin makes us unclean and harms our fellowship with the rest of God’s people. Until the leper was cleansed, he could not enter the camp. Until we are cleansed of our sin, we cannot enter Heaven.

Leprosy is a disease that works by numbing a person. The sores that result on a leper’s body are the result of his inability to feel pain and so avoid things that cause damage to his body. In the same way, sin removes grace and deadens us to the severity of everything that removes us from God. Just as the sores are not the disease but only its symptom, so death and the trials we face in this life are not the disease of humanity but only the symptom of the true disease of sin that infects us.

I’d love to see your interpretation of leprosy and prayer. One of the things that always amazes me about typology is how many valid interpretations can be possible.
 
All good responses so far, but I thought I ought to clarify a little. What I’m looking for, specifically, are old testament passages with very short explanations of how they are types for Christ. Please include book, chapter, and verses so we can read them on our own, and head them with a short heading. For instance, continuing on with the Moses theme:

Moses as a type of Christ:

Exodus 17:8-15 Moses had to keep his arms extended during the Israelite battle with the Amalekites in order to ensure victory. This foreshadowed Christ, who by extending his own arms outward, ensured us victory over sin.

I don’t want to discourage anyone who has posted, just give a bit more direction to this thread. Just point us in the direction of a specific passage and give us enough explanation to contemplate on our own.
 
Sorry, I think I’m probably the one who went way off from the types of Christ idea.:o

Here’s a type of Christ that I’ve never heard mentioned before, probably in part because it takes from the deuterocanonicals. I don’t know if it really ‘works’ or not, but I’m sure other people out here more knowledgeable than I am can point out the problems with it if it doesn’t work.

Simon son of Mattathias as a type of Christ (at least in this passage):
1 Maccabees 13:43-46–
Simon is about to capture the city of Gazara, but the citizens plead for mercy. He stops fighting them, expels the idols, entered the city with hymns and praise, removed all uncleanness from it, strengthened its fortifications, and built in it a house for itself. When we plead for mercy from Jesus, he removes the enmity we set up against him. He expels the sin and uncleanness from our soul, strengthens our spiritual fortifications, and dwells in our soul.
 
Light as a form of Christ

Gen 1 - light is the first spoken word of God in the bible (John 1:1 - In the beginning was the word…)

Isaiah 9:2 - Light shines in the darkness (John 1:5)

Psalm 27:1 - Lord is light and salvation

this is just a partial list on this, but most of the quotes about light can be typologically applies to Christ (and incidentally many of the quotes about darkness can be applied to satan)
 
In the story of the Bronze Serpent, the Bronze Serpent on the pole is the thing symbolizing Christ on the cross.

Why symbolize Christ with a serpent, of all things?

Paul figured it out, at 2 Corinthians 5:21: Christ is “He-Who-did-not-know-sin-Who-was-made-to-be-sin,” meaning that Christ the Sinless One, Who purchased salvation and the grace of salvation for us from God’s Own justice, by suffering the penalty for our sinfulness required by God’s Own justice, ended-up being treated as though He were SIN, ITSELF. So, again and again and again, the Bible uses SIN SYMBOLS to symbolize Christ!

Christ in the form of “He-Who-did-not-know-sin-Who-was-made-to-be-sin” is probably one of the most important concepts in Bible typology. Typology can not be successfully understood, unless this one key idea is understood.
 
How about Abraham’s son, Jacob?
Jacob went up to the mountain carrying the wood for his Sacrifice (like Jesus’ cross).
Jacob stretched out his hands to be tied, how else could a 90+ year old man tie up his son who was probably in his teens (like Jesus stretched out his hands to be nailed to the cross).
Jacob was willing to be sacrificed (just as Jesus did).
The mountain that the Sacrifice was part of the same range that Calvary was a part of.
Abraham was willing to give up his only son, just as God did.
Abraham named the mountain, “God will provide”, regarding the lamb for the sacrifice, in answer to Jacob’s question, “Where is the lamb for the sacrifice?”. In Calvary, “God provided” the lamb for the sacrifice. Notice, Abraham said God will provide the Lamb. They found a Ram in the thistle, not a lamb. So God had not yet provided the lamb, Jesus.

NotWorthy
 
Then there is Jesus 40 days in the dessert, meant to undo the trials Israel had. Israel failed God three times. Jesus had to undo those failing by resisting the temptations of the Devil. Let’s look at each trial.

Israel’s first test: The first trial involved hunger. After Moses parted the Red Sea and led the Israelites out of Egypt, they faced a new problem: How would they find food in the desert? There rejoicing quickly turned into panic. Instead of trusting in God to provide, they turned against Moses, saying “You have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Ex. 16:3).

Jesus’ first test: After fasting for 40 days, Jesus faced hunger, too. His first temptation from the devil was to turn the rocks and stones into loaves of bread. To do this would be to use his messianic authority for His own self-interest and thus depart from the Father’s will. Unlike Israel, Jesus does not waver from trusting the Father. He quotes Deuteronomy 8:3, a book written by Moses, saying “Man shall not live by bread alone”. As the people’s royal representative, Jesus overcomes the first major fall of Israel in the desert.
Israel’s second test: The second trial involved Israel putting God “to the test”. After God provided manna in the desert, the people soon faced another dilemma: How were they going to find water to drink in the desert? Once again, they turned on Moses, asking, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” (Ex. 17:3) God responded by giving them water from a rock, and He named the place of this second ordeal “Massah,” which means “testing”. There, the people unjustly tested God’s trustworthiness.

Jesus’ second test: In His second temptation, the devil challenged Jesus to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple to see if God’s angels would really save Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge of you’” (Mt. 4:6). Unlike the Israelites at Massah, Jesus refused to test God on this or any other issue. Jesus absolutely trusted in the Father and had no desire to test Him. This is why He viewed this second temptation as parallel to Israel’s second trial in the desert. He responds to the devil by quoting part of Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”. So how does this relate to Israel’s second test? Jesus uses another common form of rhetorical style, omitting the last part of the scripture passage (Dt. 6:16), knowing that it will echo in the minds of His audience. So what does Deuteronomy 6:16 say? “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah.” As such, Jesus overcomes Israel’s second failing by refusing to test God in this second temptation.

Israel’s third test: Israel’s third test involved worshipping a false god. We are all familiar with the golden calf episode at Mt. Sinai. While Moses was up on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, the people below feared Moses had died, thus losing their leader. Failing to trust Yahweh, yet again, they built an idol in the shape of a golden calf, putting their trust in an Egyptian pagan deity.

Jesus’ third test: Satan tempts Jesus to worship him in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus refused to worship a false god and responded by alluding, to Deuteronomy 6:13,14, saying, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve” (Mt. 4:10). In this third trial, Jesus overcomes Israel’s sin of idolatry.

NotWorthy

P.S. Edward Sri has numerous insights in the New Testament such as these in Mystery of the Kingdom.
 
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NotWorthy:
How about Abraham’s son, Jacob?
Jacob went up to the mountain carrying the wood for his Sacrifice (like Jesus’ cross).
Jacob stretched out his hands to be tied, how else could a 90+ year old man tie up his son who was probably in his teens (like Jesus stretched out his hands to be nailed to the cross).
Jacob was willing to be sacrificed (just as Jesus did).
The mountain that the Sacrifice was part of the same range that Calvary was a part of.
Abraham was willing to give up his only son, just as God did.
Abraham named the mountain, “God will provide”, regarding the lamb for the sacrifice, in answer to Jacob’s question, “Where is the lamb for the sacrifice?”. In Calvary, “God provided” the lamb for the sacrifice. Notice, Abraham said God will provide the Lamb. They found a Ram in the thistle, not a lamb. So God had not yet provided the lamb, Jesus.

NotWorthy
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NotWorthy,
I like your comparison here. Just a small comment. Abraham’s son was Isaac, not Jacob. Jacob was Isaac’s son.
 
Grace and Glory:
NotWorthy,
I like your comparison here. Just a small comment. Abraham’s son was Isaac, not Jacob. Jacob was Isaac’s son.
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Ooooh, Busted!!! I was listening to a CD (the Father Larry Richard CD from the other thread) today and was wondering if I made that mistake.

Thanks for the correction and the tact it was done with.

BTW, do they have a icon that shows a face being hit by its own hand saying, “Stupid, Stupid, Stupid”?

Oh well, once again my Biblical accuracy is proven,

NotWorthy
 
The Church recognizes the Ark of the Covenant as a type of Mary, in light of its contents as types of Jesus, which is why our Lady is titled the “Ark of the New Covenant.”

The Ark of the Covenant contained:
  1. The tablets of the Ten Commandments.
  2. The jar of manna
  3. The rod of Aaron that blossomed, proving his priesthood.
Because of the holiness of the objects contained, the Ark was to be constructed of acacia wood (a nearly incorruptible hardwood), plated inside and out with pure gold, was to be carried only by designated Levites, and remained in the Holy of Holies.

Mary contained:
  1. The Word of God made flesh
  2. The bread from heaven
  3. The eternal high priest.
If the symbols of God required such a rich container, how much more God himself? could Mary have been less pure then gold? More corruptible than acacia? Lying in the grave rather than seated in the Holy Place?

The Philistines broke out into tumors when they captured the Ark. Uzzah died when he touched it. What does that say about our Blessed Mother Mary?

Not good, I’d say, for those who don’t love her.
 
This is a question for Biblereader in particular. In another thread we were talking about typology a little bit, but I can’t find the thread now and I think it may have been removed. Anyways, I made a post requesting some information on typology, as I find it a pretty fascinating subject. Do you have any resources that I can check out? Thanks and God bless,

Stu.
 
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Atreyu:
This is a question for Biblereader in particular. In another thread we were talking about typology a little bit, but I can’t find the thread now and I think it may have been removed. Anyways, I made a post requesting some information on typology, as I find it a pretty fascinating subject. Do you have any resources that I can check out? Thanks and God bless,

Stu.
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I’m sorry that I have not answered this until now.

Non-Protestant resources on typology are few and far between. Bible typology is not well-developed in the Catholic Church. In the Proterstant writings, Bible typology is disordered: The language and comprehension is confused, and it “sabotages” itself by carefully avoiding Catholic theology even when the Bible demands a Catholic conclusion.

I’m probably the prime Catholic writer on typology, per se. The Cardinal of Vienna who drafted one version of the Divine Office also worked on Bible typology, and came close to the same conclusions about it I did. He merged his results into portions of the Divine Office. My book is about 75% completed. I’m still writing articles on typology for Fr. Stravinskas’ The Catholic Response Magazine.

I’m about to start a Bible typology class here, in the Sacred Scripture Forum.
 
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BibleReader:
I’m sorry that I have not answered this until now.

Non-Protestant resources on typology are few and far between. Bible typology is not well-developed in the Catholic Church. In the Proterstant writings, Bible typology is disordered: The language and comprehension is confused, and it “sabotages” itself by carefully avoiding Catholic theology even when the Bible demands a Catholic conclusion.

I’m probably the prime Catholic writer on typology, per se. The Cardinal of Vienna who drafted one version of the Divine Office also worked on Bible typology, and came close to the same conclusions about it I did. He merged his results into portions of the Divine Office. My book is about 75% completed. I’m still writing articles on typology for Fr. Stravinskas’ The Catholic Response Magazine.

I’m about to start a Bible typology class here, in the Sacred Scripture Forum.
Click to expand...
If you do start such a thing I would be interested in following a long to learn a bit more about this but I would first request that you post a sort of bio about yourself to allay any fears/suspicion that this topic or that you are not fully Catholic.

I don’t say that accusing you of anything, I just say that if you are going to put yourself forward as an expert I would expect some proof that you are an expert.

I hope I didn’t offend you.
 
Bible Reader,

I am very interested in learning more about typology, please add me to you list for the class.

Also I am currently reading The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark wriiten by Dennis Macdonald. He has written many books, and this particular book shows that Mark has very intersting parallels in his story line to Homer. But Mark took the story line of the Odyssey and Illiad and used Homeric antecendants to teach Jesus. Everyone was familiar with the Odyssey story line and he taught the Jesus story simply through typology.

anyway great read I would like to hear your thoughts on it.
 
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