---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything that happens in the Old…"
description: "\"Everything that happens in the Old Testament is a \"type\" or adumbration of something that happens in the New Testament, and the whole subject is theref..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/northrop-frye-3483_bible_everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testa_2181800.png"
---

#  Everything that happens in the Old Testament is a "type"…

![“Everything that happens in the Old Testament is a &quot;type&quot; or adumbration of something that happens in the New Testament, and the whole subject is therefore called typology, though it is a typology in a special sense.” quote by Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/northrop-frye-3483_bible_everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testa_2181800.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/northrop-frye-3483_bible_everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testa_2181800.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/northrop-frye-3483_bible_everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testa_2181800.png)

> “Everything that happens in the Old Testament is a "type" or adumbration of something that happens in the New Testament, and the whole subject is therefore called typology, though it is a typology in a special sense.”

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Old Testament events prefigure New Testament ones, a method called typology.

**In simple terms:** Old stories foreshadow new ones.

Key Takeaway

Study patterns of foreshadowing.

Themes

typology scripture literary analysis

Mood

analytical scholarly

Type

theoretical educational

When to use this quote

- academic research
- sermon preparation

Key Concepts

symbolism historical context theology

Questions to Reflect On

- How does recognizing patterns affect interpretation?
- What limits does typology have?

A Different Perspective

Typology may oversimplify complex texts.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [New testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-testament/) [Old testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-testament/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testament/)

## Related quotes

> [The Book of Revelation, difficult as it may be for "literalists," becomes much simpler when we read it typologically, as a mosiac of allusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-book-of-revelation-difficult-as-it-may-be-for-literalists-becomes/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [“Typology is the study of how OT historical persons, events, institutions, and settings function to foreshadow, anticipate, prefigure, and predict the greater realities in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-wellum/typology-is-the-study-of-how-ot-historical-persons-events/)

Stephen J. Wellum

> [Most of my library consists of books on the Catholic faith: conversion stories, books on saints and Early Church Fathers, Apparitions of Mary, prayer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-buckley/most-of-my-library-consists-of-books-on-the-catholic-faith-conversion/)

Gail Buckley

> [“Thus, seeking to produce a typology of forms of the art of government, La Mothe Le Vayer, in a text from the following century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/thus-seeking-to-produce-a-typology-of-forms-of-the-art-of-government/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [In the final analysis the hierarchic pattern is nothing like the straightforward witness for organic evolution that is commonly assumed. There are facets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-denton/in-the-final-analysis-the-hierarchic-pattern-is-nothing-like-the/)

[Michael Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-denton/)

> [Our building practices for the past century have been plain stupid - especially the glorification of the single-family house in a subdivision, at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/our-building-practices-for-the-past-century-have-been-plain-stupid/)

[James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/)

> [I love the melodies in the Old Testament, how preachers highlight them when they read from the Scripture. But I was influenced forever by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-love-the-melodies-in-the-old-testament-how-preachers-highlight-them/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [The Old Testament is a chronicle of horrors, describing an egocentric collection of supernatural beings who were always doing rotten things to gentle souls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-keel/the-old-testament-is-a-chronicle-of-horrors-describing-an-egocentric/)

[John A. Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-keel/)

> [I've been thinking of a story from the Old Testament: Moses stood all day and all night with outstretched arms, praying to God for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-scholl/i-ve-been-thinking-of-a-story-from-the-old-testament-moses-stood-all/)

[Sophie Scholl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-scholl/)

> [Verse 11. (They presented unto Him gifts). The people of the east never approach the presence of kings and great personages, without a present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-clarke/verse-11-they-presented-unto-him-gifts-the-people-of-the-east-never/)

[Adam Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-clarke/)

> [One of the first places where I started to respond to song lyrics was in reggae music. A lot of what I was responding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matisyahu/one-of-the-first-places-where-i-started-to-respond-to-song-lyrics-was/)

[Matisyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matisyahu/)

> [John the Baptist never performed any miracles. Yet, he was greater than any of the Old Testament prophets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/john-the-baptist-never-performed-any-miracles-yet-he-was-greater-than/)

[Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/)

> [“Which God is the forgiving one, exactly? Old Testament, where He got His rocks off by smiting? Or New Testament, once Our Heavenly Father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/which-god-is-the-forgiving-one-exactly-old-testament-where-he-got-his/)

[Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/)

> [My father, my Rastafari culture, has a tight link to the Jewish culture. We have a strong connection from when I was a young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/my-father-my-rastafari-culture-has-a-tight-link-to-the-jewish-culture/)

[Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/)

> [Who wrote the Bible? Current scholarship, to my knowledge, assumes that the material that constitutes the Old Testament was put together from various oral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/who-wrote-the-bible-current-scholarship-to-my-knowledge-assumes-that/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

## More by Northrop Frye

> [I soon realized that a student of English literature who does not know the Bible does not understand a good deal of what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/i-soon-realized-that-a-student-of-english-literature-who-does-not/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [Our country has shown a lack of will to resist its own disintegration .. . Canada is practically the only country left in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/our-country-has-shown-a-lack-of-will-to-resist-its-own-disintegration/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [“The only thing that words can do with any real precision or accuracy is hang together. Accuracy of description in language is not possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-only-thing-that-words-can-do-with-any-real-precision-or-accuracy/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [The bedrock of doubt is the total nothingness of death. Death is a leveler, not because everybody dies, but because nobody understands what death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-bedrock-of-doubt-is-the-total-nothingness-of-death-death-is-a/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [Even the human heart is slightly left of centre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/even-the-human-heart-is-slightly-left-of-centre/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [Physics is an organized body of knowledge about nature, and a student of it says that he is learning physics, not nature. Art, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/physics-is-an-organized-body-of-knowledge-about-nature-and-a-student/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [Literature as a whole is not an aggregate of exhibits with red and blue ribbons attached to them, like a cat-show, but the range…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-as-a-whole-is-not-an-aggregate-of-exhibits-with-red-and/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [One doesn't bother to believe the credible: the credible is believed already, by definition. There's no adventure of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/one-doesn-t-bother-to-believe-the-credible-the-credible-is-believed/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [Culture's essential service to a religion is to destroy intellectual idolatry, the recurrent tendency in religion to replace the object of its worship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/culture-s-essential-service-to-a-religion-is-to-destroy-intellectual/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [“Tendintele autoritate ale conservatorismului trebuie corectate prin mituri ale libertatii, in vreme ce un simt conservator al ordinii trebuie sa tempereze tendintele liberalismului spre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/tendintele-autoritate-ale-conservatorismului-trebuie-corectate-prin/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [Literature is a human apocalypse, man's revelation to man, and criticism is not a body of adjudications, but the awareness of that revelation, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-is-a-human-apocalypse-man-s-revelation-to-man-and/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [“The particular myth that's been organizing this talk, and in a way the whole series, is the story of the Tower of Babel in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-particular-myth-that-s-been-organizing-this-talk-and-in-a-way-the/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [Every human society possesses a mythology which is inherited, transmitted and diversified by literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/every-human-society-possesses-a-mythology-which-is-inherited/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [Science begins with the world we have to live in, accepting its data and trying to explain its laws. From there, it moves toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/science-begins-with-the-world-we-have-to-live-in-accepting-its-data/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [In the world of the imagination, anything goes that's imaginatively possible, but nothing really happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/in-the-world-of-the-imagination-anything-goes-that-s-imaginatively/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

[Explore all 129 Northrop Frye quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

## More Bible quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/)

[Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/)

> [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/)

[Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/)

> [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/)

Michael Arnold

> [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/)

[Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/)

> [“Scripture also teaches that human beings are morally responsible creatures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-peterson/scripture-also-teaches-that-human-beings-are-morally-responsible/)

Robert A. Peterson

> [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/)

Stephen Taylor

> [O Word of God incarnate . . . It is the golden casket Where gems of truth are stored; It is the heaven-drawn picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walsham-how/o-word-of-god-incarnate-it-is-the-golden-casket-where-gems-of-truth/)

Walsham How

> [How can I trust that the Bible is reliable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-horton/how-can-i-trust-that-the-bible-is-reliable/)

[Michael Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-horton/)

> [Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted with be uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/every-plant-which-my-heavenly-father-has-not-planted-with-be-uprooted/)

[Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/)

> [Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/where-i-come-from-you-re-not-raised-to-think-on-your-own-it-s-not/)

[Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/)

> [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/)

[J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/)

> [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? Heaven is referred to in fifty-four of the Bible's sixty-six books, and the final two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/what-comes-to-mind-when-you-think-of-heaven-heaven-is-referred-to-in/)

[David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/)

> [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/)

[Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/)

> [The definition of a Church is crystal clear in the New Testament. We see the picture of it. They came together the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-definition-of-a-church-is-crystal-clear-in-the-new-testament-we/)

[John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/)

[Browse all 8,465 Bible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Everything that happens in the Old Testament is a \"type\" or adumbration of something that happens in the New Testament, and the whole subject is therefore called typology, though it is a typology in a special sense.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Northrop Frye"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testament-is-a-type-or-adumbration/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bible"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testament-is-a-type-or-adumbration/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/northrop-frye-3483_bible_everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testa_2181800.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/northrop-frye-3483_bible_everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testa_2181800.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/northrop-frye-3483_bible_everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testa_2181800.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Everything that happens in the Old Testament is a \"type\" or adumbration of something that happens in the New…” — Northrop Frye",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Northrop Frye",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Everything that happens in the Old...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testament-is-a-type-or-adumbration/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/everything-that-happens-in-the-old-testament-is-a-type-or-adumbration/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
