Sailhamer wants to describe what he sees as a possible approach to understanding the Messiah in the Hebrew Bible. He considers the nature of Old Testament messianic prophecy and surveys different evangelical views of the Messiah and the Hebrew Bible.

What is the canonical approach to the study of the Old Testament? The paper wants to apply this approach to the hermeneutical problem of prophecy and fulfillment, which Sailhamer sees as a question of the relationship between the Old and New Testament. The canonical approach takes the final shape of the Old Testament seriously.