Types in Scripture

Copyright 1998:
William A. Simpson

For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come,
and not the very image of the things...

Heb 10:1

A type is not an especially easy thing to define.  Scofield defines it this way:

A type is a divinely purposed illustration of some truth.  It may be:  (1) a person (Rom 5:14);   (2) an event (1 Cor 10:11); (3) a thing (Heb 10:19-20); (4) an institution (Heb 9:11-12); or, (5) a ceremonial (1 Cor 5:7).  Types occur most frequently in the Pentateuch, but are found, more sparingly, elsewhere.  The antitype, or fulfillment of the type, is found generally in the NT.

Two warnings are necessary:  (1) nothing may be insisted upon as a type without explicit NT authority; and (2) all types not so authenticated must be recognized as having only the authority of analogy, of spiritual congruity.

The OT saints could not understand how a reigning Messiah could also suffer the ignominious death described by Isaiah and others.  Neither did they understand the significance of such a death.  They had the Law of Moses, but did not realize that it was but a shadow of a greater Sacrifice yet to come.  Today, in the light shed by the Cross, we can understand much more clearly what the Jewish sacrifices foreshadowed.  If you stand in the shadow of a thing and look at the thing, you cannot see the details of it.  It is indistinct and dark.  But if you move to the other side of the thing and see the lighted side, that which casts the shadow, the details become immediately clear and your questions and curiosities are answered.  Such is the case with much of the Old Testament.  Standing in the shadow of the Cross, their understanding was very limited.  Now, with the light of the Gospel of God's grace shining in its full brightness upon it, we can see it more clearly.  The Law of Moses was a shadow of the Cross, a type, a prefiguring, as we shall see shortly. 

Oftentimes a thing is described in the OT, be it a person or an event, a thing or an institution or ceremony which rightly is described therein, but which also illustrates some NT truth, often dealing sith some aspect of the person or work of Christ, but occasionally foreshadowing some other NT truth.  Eve, bride of Adam, for example, is used in the Scriptures as a type of the Church, the bride of Christ.  Adam, the first man, is used as a type of Christ, the "second man."  The marriage relationship is often used to foreshadow the relationship between Christ and His bride, the Church.   The Passover Lamb is used in the Scriptures as a type of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.  That is, there will be aspects of each of these which are used specifically in the NT to illustrate an important truth, so that the OT example becomes a foreshadowing of a NT truth.  Many of the rituals and ceremonies under the Mosaic system of sacrifices and feasts portray some aspect of the work of Christ.  The unleavened bread, for example, typifies the sinlessness of Christ, whereas the leavened meal represents the sin that remains in the believer.  Indeed, the ritual sacrifices ordained are referred to as a shadow of the greater savrifice made at Calvary.

It would be entirely possible to attach some spiritual significance to most any passage of the OT, making it seem to represent almost anything else.  Therefore does Scofield well say that a type must have a clear and explicit NT authentication.  For example, the marriage relationship is authenticated as a type of the relationship between Christ and the Church by the passage in Eph 5:22-32, which concludes in the following manner:

This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.  (Eph 5:32)

This is the last verse of a passage wherein Paul lays out the ground rules for the love of a husband toward his wife and the submission of a wife to her husband, indicating that Christ loves the Church, His bride, perfectly, and that the Church ought rightly to be in perfect submission to Christ.  Therefore, Paul authenticates the marriage relationship as a type of the relationship between Christ and the Church.  Everywhere, then, that the marriage relationship is discussed in the Scriptures, there will also be a spiritual application to the relationship between Christ and His bride.  If Christ loves the Church, then husbands ought also to love their wives, and if the Church is to be submissive to Christ, then wives must be in submission to their husbands.

In addition to explicitly authorized types, there are examples of foreshadowing found in the Scripture which are not as explicitly authorized, yet which are clear.  While these do not have the authority of types, they do have the authority of spiritual congruity.  Gold often signifies deity, whereas silver often depicts some aspect of redemption.   Bronze is often associated with judgment, while earthen vessels are often associated with Christ in His humanity.

At the same time, there is yet a third example of allegorical interpretation that is acknowledged in the Scriptures.  That is the symbol.  A symbol is similar to a type insofar as the Scriptures must themselves interpret the symbol.  Wherever a person assumes a thing to be symbolic of something else in the Bible, the Bible must itself interpret the symbol or it cannot be accepted as symbolic.

We should point out forthrightly that many expositors of the Scriptures have done much damage to sound exegesis and exposition by according symbolic or typical authority to things which the Bible does not authorize.  One must be very careful to avoid this.  Not everything in the Bible is a type.  Not everything is symbolic.  Not everything foreshadows something else.  Many teach that, because the Bible contains allegory, that the whole must be allegorical.  But such an assumption is no more valid for the Bible than it is for any other book.  The fact that a book contains symbolism does not necessarily mean that the entire book is itself a symbol.  It is far better to assume that, where the Bible does not apply symbolism to a thing, then that thing is to be interpreted literally.  This is especially so because a literal interpretation of the Bible makes perfect sense.  Perhaps it would be better to say a "normal" interpretation is to be preferred.  That is, the same rules apply to Biblical interpretation as apply to other books.  God chose this medium through which to reveal Himself to man, and clearly intends for us to use the same common sense in its interpretation as we would with any other written communication.

While there are many types of study Bibles on the market, the Scofield Study Bible has been the standard by which others are judged for nearly a century, being first issued in 1909.  It is universally regarded as conservative by theologians around the world, and is used as a teaching and preaching tool in more seminaries and churches than any other Bible.   Scofield details one hundred twenty-eight types, shadows and symbols in his Bible.   In order to fully study the types listed, you will need to refer to the excellent notes in the Scofield Bible.   The table below lists those examples, with both Scripture note references and antitype or symbol references.

While we desired to give a full explanation of each type and symbol, it would require at least a couple of volumes to provide that much information.  It is possible that, as this web site nears completion, we will have time to revisit this article and add that commentary.  In the interim, we strongly urge those who are interested in types, shadows and symbols to acquire a Scofield Study Bible and to use the table above as a convenient listing so that you may study the material more fully on your own.