SOURCE: "Calvin's Exegetical Via Media," in John Calvin's Exegesis of the Old Testament, Westminster John Knox Press, 1995, pp. 105-38.

Puckett examines Calvin's judicious use of typology in interpreting the Old Testament through the eyes of the New, noting that Calvin is the first great developer of the Protestant Biblical hermeneutic of grammatical historical exegesis.

Christian interpreters before Calvin generally believed that the New Testament served as a reliable exegetical guide to the Old Testament. But in answering the question "What kind of guidance does it provide?" they were far from being of one mind. Origen believed that the usage of the Old Testament by New Testament writers established precedent for nonhistorical exegesis. Paul's use of [allegoroumena] in Galatians 4:22-24 justified (or even demanded) the use of allegorical exegesis throughout the Old Testament. The apostle Paul intended his words to be a reproach to those who did not understand...