Abstract:
The year 2012 marked the centenary of the death of the Utrecht Old Testament scholar J.J.P.
Valeton Jr (1848–1912). He was a representative of the ‘via media’ approach of Dutch theology,
which aimed at joining critical scholarship and piety, by avoiding the pitfalls of modernism
as well as orthodoxy. Valeton accepted the critical analysis of Graf, Kuenen, and Wellhausen,
but meanwhile remained a pious person. This article will discuss Valeton’s contributions to
critical scholarship of Genesis 1–3 as well as his profound ideas on ‘covenant’ as an expression
of ‘friendship’. Loader’s distinction between ‘knowledge open to faith’ and ‘knowledge open
for scientific approach’ is very helpful in understanding the works and ideas of Valeton.
