RofB

Biblical Typology
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The study of Types in Scripture:

• What is biblical typology?

• What form does it take?

• The spiritual value of biblical typology.

• How can we identify fantastic and false types?

• A case study – Christ typified in the sin offering

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This paper deals with the subject of biblical typology – the study of types,
explaining what it is and noting its value to the believer. Simply put, a type
points to or foreshadows something that will become a reality. Sometimes a type
is referred to as a figure. For example, Moses delivered his people out of
Egyptian bondage. In this sense he is a type or a figure of Christ. He foreshadows
the work Christ as the greater Deliverer who delivers man from the bondage of
sin.
Sadly, biblical typology is a neglected subject and sometimes disparaged
among Christians. Little of it seems to be handed down to the young believer
today. There are at least three reasons for this.

1. Biblical typology is little appreciated because it is little understood. Many

shy away from studying it because it requires more effort than some other
subjects of Scripture. But, be assured, any effort invested studying biblical
types will yield a glowing dividend to a devoted heart. The Lord’s advice to
the disbelieving Jews was to “search the scriptures…they are they which
testify of me” (Jn 5:39).
2. Some have made hard work of studying biblical types. We are told that its
study falls within a discipline called hermeneutics – the science of
interpretation. Here students debate past, present and evolving philosophies
that they then use to interpret God’s word. May we never lose sight of two
vital truths - the Spirit of God can lead the simplest soul into all truth, and
that Scripture interprets itself (Jn 16:13).
3. Many people – quite understandably, avoid biblical typology because
others have taken its application into realms of fantasy and falsehood. Just
about everything in Scripture is seen to have a “typical” meaning - or a type
is taken to have just about any meaning. But we must never value biblical
truth according to man’s failure in regard to it.

Let us rightly divide the Word of God, and have a determination to better
understand what God has said, by acknowledging the rich and various ways in
which He has said it, be it in types, symbols, similes, parables, allegories,
metaphors, images or direct statements.
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 What is biblical typology?
Biblical typology involves a study of two things; both make up what is generally
referred to as typology – the study of types. There is the type as we have noted,
and that which the type anticipates, called the antitype. Joseph like Moses is a
type of Christ. In Joseph’s life we see something of the sufferings of Christ and
His glory that should follow (1 Pet 1:11). Joseph, like Moses, is the type and
Christ is the Antitype.

TYPE ANTITYPE
Common factor – suffering and
Joseph then glory Christ

The antitype in Scripture is that which the type anticipates. Young believers
sometimes have difficulty with the prefix “anti”, which commonly means
“opposite” as in “antichrist.” Perhaps the best way of understanding the use of
the prefix “anti” in typology, is to remember that the type is “replaced” by the
reality – it stands instead of the type.

The importance of biblical typology

There are compelling reasons why we should never minimize the importance of
biblical typology; no reason is more persuasive than the first.

1. The Lord Himself used types and He invites us as He invited His disciples to undertake a
study of them. He presents Himself as the Antitype of Jonah and Solomon (Matt 12:39-42).
In John’s Gospel He refers to Himself as the “true manna” from heaven (Jn 6:58). If biblical
types were important to the Lord in His teaching, then they are vital to us for our learning.
2. The Spirit of God inspired the NT writers to employ types when speaking about the
Person and work of Christ. The Hebrew epistle abounds with rich and instructive types of
our Lord and His work, given in people such as Moses, Aaron and Melchizedek. These are
not vain analogies, but inspired comparisons demanding the deepest attention from those
who seek to know more of the glory of Christ and to better worship in the sanctuary.1 Paul
explicitly refers to Adam as “a figure [type] of Him that was to come.”2 Here, too, the reader
is immediately drawn into making the connection between Christ and Adam, using the
context of the chapter and the teaching in the OT. Paul broadens the lesson by giving us a
particular application, referring to Christ as the “last Adam” (1 Cor 15:45).

1
I Cor 10:6 refers not to “types” as such, but to “types of us.”
2
“Figure” is tupos = type.
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3. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). The Bible is wholly inspired by
God - not just in its content but also in its construction. So there is a dispensational reason
why the Lord uses parables rather than types in Matthew 13; a moral reason why he uses the
vine in allegory in John 15; a prophetic reason why the Spirit inspires imagery rather than
typology in Daniel 2 and 7. Types, as with all other biblical constructions, are divinely
inspired and placed in Scripture for our spiritual edification. “For whatsoever things were
written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
scriptures might have hope” (Rom 15:4).

What forms do biblical types take?

Biblical types are presented in a number of forms in Scripture, for example:

• Persons Adam, Moses, Aaron, Melchisedec, Hagar, Sarah

• People The Midianites, the Ishmaelites
• Places Egypt, Jerusalem, Jericho, Babel, Babylon
• Practices The various offerings and sacrifices
• Physical objects The Ark of the Covenant, Aaron’s rod that budded
• Physical structures The tabernacle, the temple

What is a biblical type?

There are two verses in Scripture (at least to the mind of the writer), that help us
define and identify a biblical type. The first is Romans 5:14, which gives us the
definition of a biblical type - its nature and purpose. Adam, says Paul, is “a figure
of Him that was to come [i.e., Christ – the Antitype].” We see in this expression
what we have already noted: a type in Scripture anticipates or foreshadows
someone or something greater in a day to come, as in the cases of Moses and
Joseph in relation to Christ. It is important to understand too, that a biblical type
is not a biblical symbol. A symbol is merely representative, such as the bread and
wine in the Lord’s Supper; the covered head of the woman or the uncovered head
of the man within the house of God. These represent present divine truths. If we
wish to corroborate the nature and purpose of a biblical type, then we need only
refer to Colossians. “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in
respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days. Which are a
shadow of things to come” (Col 2:16-17).

Type Antitype
Adam Christ

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The second verse is John 1:29, which relates to the identification of a biblical
type in Scripture – what is or is not a biblical type. There are things which some
take as types which, clearly, are not biblical types at all. These fall into two
categories – the fantastic and the false, although the distinction is sometimes
difficult to make. Augustine, of the 5th century, took the five barley loaves, the
two fishes and the lad who carried them as typifying the first five books of the
Bible, Christ’s anointed offices of Priest and King and Israel respectively.3 This
is a “little” fanciful. Yes, we acknowledge, that “The New is in the Old
contained; The Old is by the New explained,” but many of the types claimed and
the doctrines they support are false. They fail the implicit test of John 1:29. John,
referring to an OT type declared the Lord to be “the Lamb of God which taketh
away the sin of the world.” John typified Christ as the sacrificial lamb, seen so
often in the OT. But note that he only did so after he had seen Christ. An
important principle is to be observed here. Only after we see Christ, His Person
and work, can we properly identify a biblical type in regard to Him. The general
principle of interpretation that arises is a simple one, yet vital in establishing
what is or is not a biblical type.

Where there is no NT revelation of truth there can be no (OT) type of it.

For instance, infant baptism is nowhere taught in the NT. Therefore there can be
no type of it. May we suggest then, that the first step in biblical typology is to
begin with NT truth, and then turn to the OT to identify the type. Failure in this
can create false and fanciful types which, in turn, will result in a perversion of
OT principles and practices. Because there is no teaching in the NT of infant
baptism, the OT practice used to typify it (circumcision) is misunderstood and
misappropriated. The Ark of the Covenant we know to be a type of Christ. Why
do some regard it as a type of Mary (the Lord’s mother)? It is because they have
incorrectly divided the NT teaching regarding Christ and His redeeming work.
Why do amillennialists take the flood of Noah’s day to be a type of the
destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD? It is because they fail to rightly divide NT
dispensational teaching. We can note many other instances of fanciful and false
types that have arisen because of a failure to rightly divide NT truth. But the
believer grounded in NT truth will have little trouble exposing the error in each
case. May we assiduously avoid inventing OT types to fill the silence of the NT!
There can be no shadow where there is no substance.
We can therefore say that we can correctly identify a type by observing the
principle of John 1:29 noted above. Consider Christ as the sin offering, which is
3
Augustine, (Tract XXIV, ch 5)
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an indisputable NT truth. This means we can legitimately identify the OT sin
offering as a type of Christ. The following diagram illustrates the proper method
of biblical typology taught by Scripture, using the example of Christ as the sin
offering.

NT Truth Biblical Identification

OT Type
- the substance - the shadow
(Christ as the (the sin
sin offering) Antitype - Believer’s Edification offering)

The incompleteness of the type

This process of biblical verification is important for another reason. Just as a
shadow is not a complete picture of the substance, a type is not a complete
picture of an antitype. To regard a type as a complete figure is a contradiction – it
must then be the reality (the substance), and then ceases to be a type. We see the
incompleteness of a type in Adam as a type of Christ. Adam is a type of Christ in
that he was the head of a creation; he was tempted; by one act he affected the
eternal destiny of his posterity; he received a bride etc. However, where Adam
failed Christ triumphed. Christ is the Last Adam, not the first; all in Adam die
whereas all in Christ shall live. It is vital that we view the type through the
antitype and not the other way around. Perhaps the most beautiful and
comprehensive type of Christ is found in Joseph, but here, too, there is
incompleteness in Joseph as a type of Christ. No one type can completely
foreshadow His person and work.

Our focus - the antitype not the type

One final matter before we continue. Apart from its historical value, a type is
only useful to us because of the light it sheds on the antitype and its associated
spiritual truths. The type itself belongs to the past. It is vital to understanding
what and why things took place in the past – such as we find in the offerings. But
it must not become the object of our hearts today. This place is reserved for the
antitype as taught in Colossians 2:16-17 - types are the shadows of things to
come. We have it Hebrews as well. “For the law having a shadow of good things
to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices
which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect”
(Heb 10:1). Sadly, there are professing Christians who have failed to discern the

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truth of the type as a mere shadow and have made it their object, thus denying the
reality.

An example – Christ typified in the OT sin offering

In what follows, we use a particular case to illustrate those things noted above
regarding biblical types, and demonstrate something of the value of typology to
the believer.

Step 1 - Christ as the Sin Offering in the NT

We first observe that the NT clearly presents Christ as the offering for sin. We do
not have to “massage” the idea of Christ as the sin offering into the NT.

1. It is given a clear voice in the words of John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29).
2. The Hebrew epistle declares Christ as the sin offering for He “put away sin by the
sacrifice of Himself” (Heb 9:26).
3. Christ as the sin offering is nowhere plainer than in Paul’s words to the Corinthians. “For
he hath made him to be sin for us [i.e., a sin offering], who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor 5:21).
4. And then again in Hebrews: “For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into
the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus
also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate”
(Heb 13:11-12).

Step 2 - Christ the sin offering as a type in the OT

Having identified the clear truth of Christ as the sin offering from the NT, we can
then turn to the OT and identify the type. In Leviticus 4 we have the divine
mandates relating to the sin offering:
1. The animal had to be without blemish – for God is a holy God.
2. Its blood had to be shed and sprinkled before God – for without the shedding of blood
there is no remission of sin.
3. Its fat was burnt on the altar of burnt offering as a sweet savor to God – it had to be an
acceptable sacrifice.
4. Its body was to be taken outside the camp and burned – for God cannot look upon sin.

In all this we have the work of Christ foreshadowed.

1. He was the sinless sacrifice for sin – He did no sin; knew no sin; in Him was no sin.
2. His blood was shed at Calvary before a holy and righteous God.
3. As the perfect, obedient and sinless sacrifice He brought infinite delight to God.
4. It was outside the camp that He suffered for sin.

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 What is the spiritual value of this typology to the believer?
It increases our confidence in the Word of God.
Through the type and the antitype we understand more of the harmony and
integrity of Scripture. The sacrifices for sin in the OT economy pointed to Christ
as the sin offering and they were fulfilled in Him in their particular aspects.
Surely this invigorates our faith in God’s word. We come to appreciate that the
sacrifices of the OT are not mere emulations of heathen religion, but the “shadow
of good things to come” (Heb 10:1). The redeemed heart marvels in reverential
awe at the fulfillment of the counsels of God as revealed in His Word. What
blessing is to be had in the types for the Christian Jew? “Much every way:
chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Rom 3:2).
Through these oracles they can worship in admiration of the sovereign hand of
God setting forth the blessed types of Christ in the footprints of their forefathers.
But the Gentile Christians are also greatly edified, for they have been “partakers
of their spiritual things” (Rom 15:27).

It enhances our appreciation of the character of God.

Through the consistency and correspondence between the type and the antitype
we can enter into a deeper appreciation of God’s holy character and purposes.
We see that the God of the OT is the God of the NT - a God whose holiness and
righteousness is unchangeable, One who knows the end from the beginning.
From Genesis to Revelation we see He is a God who hates sin, whose affronted
holiness can only be vindicated by the putting away of sin through a spotless and
acceptable sacrifice. And so we hear John declare, “Behold the lamb of God
which taketh away the sin of the world.” Though true, it was not said “Behold the
lamb of God that brings great delight to God.” Nor, “Behold the lamb of God that
brings great peace to the world.” Christ in John’s Gospel is very much the burnt
offering and the revelation of the grace of God. But though the Spirit’s
inspiration, John would have the reader consider first Christ as the Lamb offered
for sin. Is it not because of the truth that before a holy God can reach out to man
in grace, sin must be dealt with? And, further, that before we can see what Christ
is to God in the burnt offering, we must see what He is to us in the sin offering?

It equips us in our spiritual warfare and witness for God.

Through knowledge of the types we are able to better contend of the truth that
was once for all delivered (Jude 3). Many look upon the condescending stoop of
Christ for sin, and suppose that to be an effective Sin-bearer He had to be capable
of sinning, even though He did no sin. But we are informed in the type that the
offering in order to be accepted by God had to be “without blemish.” This fact,
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together with the teaching of Christ’s sinless perfection in the NT, composes a
consistent and confirming witness to the absolute holiness of Christ’s person.
And so Peter exhorts us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ, “lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your
own stedfastness” (2 Pet 3:17-18).

It enhances our worship of God.

Through knowledge of the type and the antitype we become better worshippers
in the sanctuary. Worship is taking what we know of Christ as taught by the Holy
Spirit and presenting it to God as led by the Spirit. The more we know of the
Person of Christ and His glory, the more the Spirit of God can present in worship
through us. Through the types, the magnitude, the gratitude and our attitude in
worship are all cultivated. Let us note a few examples.

1. Through the type of the sin offering, we come to know more of the glory of Christ the
perfect Man. What lay behind the Lord’s cry on the cross, “My God, my God why hast
thou forsaken me”? Why, and in what sense was Christ forsaken on the cross? He was
forsaken as the sin offering – an offering that God could not look upon because it was
treated as sin. It is the cry of the perfect man in bitter anguish as a holy God hid His
face as He meted out His divine wrath against sin upon Him. This truth cultivates our
worship of the Savior who suffered for sin.
2. Through the types we see something more of the devotion of Christ to God and of His
unrequited love to man. This in turn enhances our devotion and worship.

a. Consider the Lord’s statement “the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not
drink it” (Jn 18:11)? What did He mean by the rhetorical question, “shall I not
drink it?” The burnt offering provides the answer. It is Christ the free-will offering
in voluntary submission to His Father. The burnt offering assists us with the
meaning of Hebrews 9:14. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God? What deep meditations are
brought out here for the worshipping and serving heart? “Let the words of my
mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD” (Ps
19:14).
b. Then we come to another statement of the Lord, “O my Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt 26:39).
First, “Let this cup pass from me” – why? Because He the holy One shrunk from
being treated as sin – the sin offering. Second, “Not my will but thine be done” –
why? Because the sin offering was not a freewill offering but compulsory. Here we
meditate upon a Savior in mandatory submission, despite the fact that His holy
nature shrunk from sin and its curse. To the Ephesians sitting together in Christ in
heavenly places, Paul can declare that believers are “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph
1:6). The acceptance here is given in Christ typified in the burnt offering –
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 accepted according to what Christ is to God – His sinless Person, risen and
glorified. In the burnt offering God’s heart was governed by the value of the
sacrifice itself, not by the sin covered by it. To the carnal Corinthians Paul declares
that they are the “righteousness of God in Him” [Christ]. Christ crucified is brought
before them as the sin offering, reminding them that when the offerer laid his hand
on the sin offering, he was accepted because of what it represented – sin (cf 1 Cor
2:2). In the sin offering it is imputed righteousness because of what Christ became
on the Cross, and what the offerer is before God – a sinful soul.
c. It is through the type that we derive a better understanding of the prophetical
portions of Scripture that speak of the passion of Christ. The prophet declared:
“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt
make his soul an offering for sin” (Isa 53:10). Isaiah not only foreshadows Christ
suffering as the sin offering, but also records the sublime truth of a holy God
deriving delight in His Son, who put away sin and vindicated His righteousness.
Again, we have the coincident events of the type – the burning of the fat upon the
altar as an ascending savor to God, while judgment upon sin was being made
outside the camp. At the Lord’s baptism and transfiguration, we read of the
heavens being opened and a voice from the excellent glory acknowledging the Son.
But during the dark hours of Calvary, heaven is shut and silent. Man is shut out.
Silence! Yet, we know there was divine approbation, for it pleased the Lord to
bruise Him, for He was made an offering for sin (Isa 53:10).

3. Through the types we know that when God accepted the sin offering, He accepted the
offerer, and He did so unconditionally. Knowing this we can enter more fully into the
blessedness of our eternal security which abides in the truth of imputed righteousness;
that we are “the righteousness of God in Him.” Effective worship springs from assured
hearts.
4. We worship in the sanctuary. Through knowledge of the type and the antitype we are
given added appreciation of what it took to enable us to do so. In Hebrews 10 we are
brought to consider the cross and the sanctuary in regard to the sin offering. We have
boldness to enter the holiest because there is “no more offering for sin” (Heb 10:18). We
are sin-purged worshipping priests – a blessing never possessed by the Israelite of old.
We look to Christ as the sin offering – forsaken by God and treated as sin for us - “He
was made sin for us” (2 Cor 5:21). It makes us more ardent to enter within the veil and to
defend such a privilege against any intermediate priesthood of man.

What rich truths and profitable meditations beckon the seeking and worshipping
heart and mind by the type and the antitype! We can note other aspects relating to
the sin offering, but our subject it not the offerings themselves, but the
importance and worth of biblical typology to the believer. In what follows, we
suggest a framework for studying biblical types - the comparative, contrasting
and composite aspects of them, again using an example. This framework has
been devised particularly for the young believer who desires to delve a little

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deeper into biblical typology. But before we go any further, we must note the
importance of observing the context of the Old Testament.

The importance of the OT context

Scripture gives us an explicit link between the NT truth of Christ as the sin
offering and the sin offering of the OT. This enables a clear identification and
connection between the type and antitype. In other cases however, the link to the
OT type is not explicit – for example, believer’s baptism. Believer’s water
baptism is clearly taught and demonstrated in the NT (Matt 28; Acts 8, 10; Rom
6 etc). It is the believer’s public identification with the death, burial and
resurrection of Christ upon salvation. But what is its OT type? Some point to the
children of Israel crossing the Red Sea; others to their crossing over the Jordan.
When the OT context is observed, we find that the latter is the proper type of NT
believer’s baptism. In the former we have the “rod”; in the latter the “Ark”; in the
former, in association with the Passover night in Egypt, we have “redemption”;
in the latter we have “identification” and “sanctification.”4 The Red Sea looks
forward to the Jordan and Gilgal; the Jordan and Gilgal look back to the Red Sea
(and the Pascal night). This example serves to impress upon us how vital it is to
have a sound grasp of the OT if we are to rightly divide God’s word.

The comparative, contrasting and composite aspects of

biblical typology
We can identify three defining aspects of biblical typology. Let us refer to them
as:
1. The comparative aspect
2. The contrasting aspect
3. The composite aspect

It should be clear from what we have already seen, that biblical types serve to
bring out comparisons and contrasts between the type and the antitype. The
comparative aspect establishes the connection between the type and its antitype.
The contrasting aspect is to do with the similarity yet superiority of the antitype
over the type. Adam is a type of Christ (comparative aspect), but incompletely so
(contrasting aspect). Both are federal heads; both determine the spiritual destiny
of their posterity etc. However, Adam was created and Christ is the Creator;
Adam disobeyed but Christ obeyed God the Father; all in Adam die but all in
4
The Pascal night and the Red Sea typify the two aspects of divine redemption. The former declares the
price and principle of divine redemption (death and shed blood), the latter its power.
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Christ live. So we look for the comparisons, but also note the contrasting aspects
- both are vital in understanding NT truth. The fact that Adam is a type of Christ
but falls short of Christ, prompts us to ask why and in what way he fall short.
This opens up a vista of NT truth concerning Christ as the last Adam and Second
Man.
We now come to the composite aspect. The term “composite” best
describes the way in which biblical types unite to foreshadow NT truth. We will
illustrate this using the Ark of the Covenant as a type of Christ. The following
table presents a basic outline of the type and the Antitype.

NT Truth Sphere of NT truth (Antitype) Type Material

Jn 1:14; Rom 8:3; 2 Cor 5:21 etc. Christ’s incorruptible humanity Ark Acacia wood
Jn 1:1-2; Col 2:9; Heb 1; etc. Christ’s eternal deity Pure gold

The Ark presents a type of the Lord, His person and work. We may refer to this
as the first level in this typology. Now in Exodus 25, we observe that the Ark
was the first thing specified relating to the Tabernacle. This is because everything
in the Tabernacle had its relevance in relation to the Ark – a lovely figure of
Christ and His preeminence. We notice the next item specified was the Table of
Shewbread made of acacia wood, overlain with gold and having a crown of gold
along its perimeter. Upon this table was placed the twelve loaves of bread
representing the tribes of Israel. These loaves were to be forever before the Lord.
What a blessed truth, after the Ark typifying Christ is specified, we have
very next the believer typified in relation to Christ and in fellowship with Him.
This type and antitype we may deem as the second level in this typology. A third
level would involve the Golden Candlestick. Using this method we can construct
a diagram showing the various levels and their associated NT truths, giving us a
basis for further study into the types involved, seeing more clearly how they
braid with NT teaching concerning the antitypes.

Level Type Antitype

1 Ark Christ*

2 Table of Shewbread Fellowship in Christ

3 Golden Candlestick Spirit of Christ (oil)

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Each level can be studied in detail adding to the composite picture of NT truth, as
suggested below in the case of the first level.

Type Sphere of NT truth NT Truth

(Antitype)
Rom 8:3; 10:4;
Tablets of the Law Christ’s personal propitiation. Gal 3:13; 4:5.
etc.
Ark’s contents
Pot of manna Christ’s personal provision Eph 1:6 etc.
Heb 1:13; 8;
Aaron’s rod that budded Christ’s personal priesthood
10:12;
Rom 3:25; 1
Ark’s cover Mercy seat – pure gold Christ’s sacrificial propitiation
Jn 2:2; 4:10
Matt 27:51;
Ark’s place Within the veil Christ’s high priesthood
Heb 10:19
Ark’s Matt 28:18-20;
With the people Christ’s abiding presence
journeying Jn 15

This process is one of many, enabling an in-depth study of biblical types and
their antitypes. May the above outlines stimulate such an endeavor and, when
undertaken, see its findings brought to the attention of the saints of God for their
edification and to His glory.
Appendix
It is vital to keep in mind that the Spirit of God used various constructions to simplify the
presentation of the Word of God.

Construction1 Meaning Example

The Lord’s use of the vine and the branches (Jn
A story (historical or fictitious), which is given a
Allegory 15); Paul’s use of Hagar and Sarah (Gal 4).
spiritual meaning.
The four beasts, Daniel 7
Images Word pictures.
The church which is the Body of Christ; ye are
Metaphor The attributes of one thing are given to another thing. the branches.

Parable of the good Samaritan.

Parable Earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
“She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth
Something resembles another, the words “like” or
Simile her food from afar” (Pr 31:14).
“as” are usually used.
Bread and cup at the Lord’s Supper. Head
Symbol Represents a divine truth. covering.

Adam as a type of Christ

Type Anticipates (foreshadows) a future reality.

1. Some of these are related and often used together, i.e., the allegory in John 15 contains metaphors; the
parables contain similes – the kingdom of God is like…! In Galatians 4:24, the allegory contains types –
Hagar and Sarah.

J W de Silva 2006 (Melbourne, Australia)

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