Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Fortress Press (2009), Paperback, 192 pages
Description
"In the pages of the Hebrew Bible, ancient Israel gave witness to its encounter with a profound and uncontrollable reality experienced through relationship. This book, drawn from the heart of foremost Old Testament theologian Walter Brueggemann's Theology of the Old Testament, distills a career's worth of insights into the core message of the Hebrew Bible. God is described there, Brueggemann observes, as engaging four "partners" in the divine purpose. This volume presents Brueggeman at his most engaging, offering profound insights tailored especially for the beginning student of the Hebrew Bible."--
Media reviews
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Since Brueggemann resists the notion that the OT presents a coherent narrative, the book depends upon his own imaginative construal of dialectical tensions. While insightful, his frameworks drift toward psychological categories and lose theological force because they are disconnected from the OT
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storyline. Works by scholars like Christopher Wright, Bruce Waltke, Rolf Rendtorff, Paul House, and Stephen Dempster are preferable in that they allow the larger OT narrative to inform their theological presentations. That said, this shorter collection of Brueggemann's work will engage any reader interested in OT theology and will produce needed dialogue regarding how best to understand the relational nature of YHWH. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Jared_Runck
This volume is essentially a precis of Brueggemann's magisterial "Theology of the Old Testament," and, in many ways, an introduction to the latest phase of his writing programme. The strength here is how Brueggemann uses his focus on the way the OT foregrounds the relational aspects of YHWH's
One of the most unique things about Brueggemann's writing is that though it is still evident how the guiding principles of his early work (e.g., "The Prophetic Imagination") remain in full play, he always manages to make those key insights fresh and intriguing. Brueggemann's work shows me the power of RE-reading Scripture, again and again, allowing it to both establish and overturn our most closely-held assumptions. I must confess that, at points, Brueggemann's oft-quotable prose became a bit overblown; however, for the most part, Brueggemann remains his lucid, poetic self.
For those who want an introduction to the massive Brueggemann oeuvre, this is perhaps one of the better entry points on offer. Brueggemann is a scholar of exceptional insight and rare rhetorical power, who can impress even when he is articulating a position with which the reader vehemently disagrees.
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existence (with Israel, individual persons, the nations, and creation) to produce an outline of theology proper that contains within it the outlines of an OT theology of human existence, sin, salvation, mission, and even eschatology.One of the most unique things about Brueggemann's writing is that though it is still evident how the guiding principles of his early work (e.g., "The Prophetic Imagination") remain in full play, he always manages to make those key insights fresh and intriguing. Brueggemann's work shows me the power of RE-reading Scripture, again and again, allowing it to both establish and overturn our most closely-held assumptions. I must confess that, at points, Brueggemann's oft-quotable prose became a bit overblown; however, for the most part, Brueggemann remains his lucid, poetic self.
For those who want an introduction to the massive Brueggemann oeuvre, this is perhaps one of the better entry points on offer. Brueggemann is a scholar of exceptional insight and rare rhetorical power, who can impress even when he is articulating a position with which the reader vehemently disagrees.
Show Less
Language
Physical description
192 p.; 5.98 inches
ISBN
0800663632 / 9780800663636