This dissertation offers a reading of an overarching interpretive framework--the doctrinal harmony of the Bible--within which Jonathan Edwards attempted to understand the history of redemption. By examining similarities and differences between Edwards' federal theology and that of several sixteenth and seventeenth-century Reformed antecedents, it illuminates the distinctiveness of his thought in comparison with his Reformed forebears. Although Edwards shares with Reformed theologians such as Cocceius, Witsius, Mastricht, and Turretin the basic redemptive historical aspect of salvation, Edwards' emphasis on the redemptive historical theme as a necessary element of his biblical exegesis reflects a development of the federal theology. In probing Edwards' doctrine of the covenants of redemption, works, and grace, it becomes evident that Edwards' view of the history of redemption differs from that of Reformed orthodoxy. An example of this is found in his doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Edwards is bolder than the above representatives of Reformed orthodoxy in exploring the roles of the persons of the Trinity in the covenant of redemption. Edwards claims that Reformed orthodoxy's emphasis on only the Father and the Son as the agents of the covenant of redemption tends to weaken the role of the Holy Spirit. For Edwards, the Holy Spirit is not merely the deliverer of the benefit of the covenant of redemption, but is also the gift himself. The same is true for Edwards' doctrine of the covenant of works. While Edwards shares Reformed orthodoxy's understanding of the relationship between the law and the gospel, and of the Mosaic covenant as a new exhibition of the covenant of works, the difference between Edwards' and his Reformed forebears' understanding of the laws in the Mosaic covenant illumines Edwards' distinctive emphasis on the historical reality of salvation. Similarly, Edwards' focus on the historical perspective of salvation in his doctrine of the covenant of grace reveals that there is a similar but significant difference between the redemptive historical themes of Edwards and his Reformed forebears. This dissertation originates in direct response to the differences between Edwards and his predecessors mentioned above. While Edwards never wrote about his federal theology in a systematic manner, he drew his federal theology from exegetical principles which are based on his understanding of the Scriptural description of salvation. Edwards' understanding of the redemptive historical theme in the covenants of redemption, works, and grace consistently leads us to perceive Edwards' exegetical basis for his federal theology. Although the history of redemption functions as a significant motif for his federal theology, Edwards' use of various exegetical methods reveals that Edwards perceived a broader frame--the doctrinal harmony of the Bible--within which the redemptive historical theme lies. Edwards' key development with respect to redemptive history lies in the establishment of the consistent paradigm of the historical aspect of salvation through his insistence upon the doctrinal harmony of Scripture. Edwards' interpretive framework for understanding the history of redemption is examined in chapters exploring Edwards0́9 exegetical foundation for the covenants of redemption, works, and grace, and in a chapter on his ecclesiology. The analysis presented here strongly suggests that, as Edwards uses the doctrinal harmony of the Bible as the basis for his understanding of the history of redemption, Edwards appreciates the importance of biblical exegesis more than the systematic approaches of his Reformed forebears.