Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy
This is a component resource of Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy which is avaialble with the included Study Guide.
Overview
In this foundational textbook, Walter Brueggemann moves the discussion of Old Testament theology beyond the dominant models of Walter Eichrodt in the 1930s and Gerhard von Rad in the 1950s. Brueggemann focuses on the metaphor and imagery of the courtroom trial in order to regard the theological substance of the Old Testament as a series of claims asserted for Yahweh, the God of Israel. This provides a context that attends to pluralism in every dimension of the interpretive process and suggests links to the plurality of voices in our time.
Walter Brueggemann’s magisterial and influential Theology of the Old Testament now contains a study guide prepared by Rebecca J. Kruger Guadino with chapter summaries, questions, and links to helpful material, along with the text of Brueggemann’s interpretive program, Texts under Negotiation. Brueggemann, one of today’s most respected Old Testament scholar’s, takes the study of the ancient Hebrew Bible to new and exciting levels with this incredible work. This product also contains a study guide.
For more from Walter Brueggemann, check out the Walter Brueggemann Collection (24 vols.).
- Foundational text of Old Testament theology
- Key work by one of the most influential Old Testament scholars
- Companion study guide for greater comprehension
Top Highlights
“The God of the Bible is not ‘somewhere else,’ but is given only in, with, and under the text itself.” (Page 19)
“Von Rad’s understanding of Old Testament theology is that it is an ongoing ‘traditioning’ process in which each subsequent generation in Israel retells the narrative recital, but retells it with the incorporation of new materials and with a recasting, so that the ancient recital may be kept pertinent to new circumstance and new crisis.” (Page 33)
“A consequence of Alt’s work was the claim that very early, even from its inception, Mosaic Israel operated with distinct theological assumptions.” (Page 21)
“Rhetorical criticism is a method that insists that how what is said is crucial and definitive for what is said, so that the theology of the Old Testament does not trade in a set of normative ideas that may be said in many ways, but in a peculiar utterance that is spoken and/or written in a certain way.” (Pages 54–55)
“a monotheistic faith must practice metaphor in order not to become idolatrous” (Page 70)
Walter Brueggemann shows that Old Testament theology is alive and well. . . . This monumental endeavor offers an abundance of ideas that will carry Old Testament theology well into the twenty-first century.
Fresh, comprehensive, and stirring, Theology of the Old Testament is the marvelous culmination of Walter Brueggemann’s years of study, writing, and teaching the Bible. Here we have the most comprehensive and important Old Testament theology to arise out of the American scene in this century. . . . Brueggemann’s passion and often abrasive edge, coupled with interpretive skill of the highest order, produce surprising insights into the biblical text. Pastors will grab this book for their study and preaching, and theologians will want to engage it wherever there is a genuine interest in what the Scriptures teach for faith and life.
—Patrick D. Miller, Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary
This truly remarkable book is the first ’postmodern’ Old Testament theology, comparable in stature to Eichrodt and von Rad, but in a totally new idiom. Walter Brueggemann seizes the present pluralism of methods and interpretations, which has paralyzed large-scale theologizing, as an opening to the rich pluralism of Israelite witnesses who offer core testimony and counter testimony concerning Yahweh, the Central Character of the Old Testament. It is an accomplishment that will both enthrall and alarm attentive readers as they become members of the ’jury’ who are invited to weigh this astonishing testimony.
—Norman K. Gottwald, Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies, New York Theological Seminary
After a brilliant introduction that clearly defi nes the position of his work within the present scholarly and theological situation, Walter Brueggemann unfolds ’Israel’s testimony’ in a far-reaching and thoroughgoing manner. This book will undoubtedly become a milestone in the field of Old Testament theology.
—Rolf Rendtorff, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Walter Brueggemann’s weighty volume, done in his own engaged and often compelling style, is a landmark in the field. . . . Brueggemann stands out as a theologian with an open and critical eye on today’s reality. . . . All in all, this is a formidable, exciting, new, and immensely rich approach to a theology of the Old Testament, which—admitting contextual limitations—ponders the texts in ecumenical perspective, Jewish and Christian dimensions, and current world-prospect. . . .
—Erhard Gerstenberger, Professor of Old Testament, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany
Walter Brueggemann through his teaching, lecturing, and writing, has effectively demonstrated the significance of the Old Testament for our fractured world today. Recognized as the preeminent interpreter of the ancient texts in relation to questions posed by a variety of academic disciplines, he has shown the way toward a compelling understanding of the major components of the faith and life of ancient Israel, especially in the Psalms, the prophets, and narrative texts of the Hebrew Bible. His award-winning Theology of the Old Testament quickly became a foundational work in the field.
Professor Brueggemann holds a ThD from Union Theological Seminary in New York and a PhD from St. Louis University. Now professor emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, he was formerly the William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Before that, he was professor of Old Testament at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis. His many Fortress Press books, including The Threat of Life: Sermons on Pain, Power, and Weakness, exhibit a fruitful combination of imaginative power, sound scholarship, and a passion of justice and redemption.