Old Testament Theology: An Introduction (Book Review)

This review pertains only to part one (out of three) of Brueggemann’s New Testament Theology: An Introduction from the Library of Biblical Theology put out by Abingdon Press. They were kind enough to provide me with a review copy of the book.

In part one of the book, Brueggemann deals with three “primal disclosures” in the Exodus narrative.

The first narrative is Moses’ intersection with God at the site of the burning bush.  Bruggemann’s most important point in this section is YHWH as a kind of “ominous presence.”  Bruggemann says that “Moses is put on notice that this is no user-friendly God…YHWH is an overwhelming presence, a presence capable of life and death, of judgment and rescue.”  Also central to Brueggmann’s understanding of the primal narrative is the “cry-save” model that, he argues, is present throughout the entire old Testament.  Namely, that God’s people cry out and God saves.  Brueggemann refers to YHWH as enigmatic, promissory, and releasing throughout the chapter.

The second “primal narrative” comes to us in the form of the decalogue.  Brueggemann makes an interesting connection between the prophetic literature and the decalogue saying:

Unfortunately some forms of ethical interpretation, especially among conservative Christians, persist in seeing the commands only in terms of face-to-face neighborliness without reference to systemic issues in society.  It is clear that the radical ethic of the dialogue is transposed in the prophetic tradition of Israel into a large-scale systemic analysis and demand.  One the one hand, the neighborly comnands in verses 12-17 are transposed in prophetic imagination into an acute systemic analsysis of the politics and economics of the Jerusalem apparatus.  That is explicitly evident in two prophetic utterances:

Swearing, lying, and murder, and stealing and adultery break out; bloodshed follows bloodshed (Hosea 4:2)

Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods you have not known? (Jeremiah 7:9)

I had never before really thought of the decalogue as prophetic or a systemic analysis, but this is quite insightful and an interesting connection between different parts of the Hebrew Scriptures.  The book is especially helpful in tying together the layers and different traditions of the Hebrew Scriptures into a coherent whole (without also spending too much time on source analysis or the now mostly defunct documentary hypothesis).

The third section of the first part of the book dealt with the golden calf story and then into the general pattern of covenant being made, covenant being broken, and covenant being remade or renewed as a result of YHWH’s fidelity.  It provides an interesting connection paradigm for reading the OT theologically.

I would highly suggest this book to pastors who are looking for a way to dig deeper into the Old Testament and provide ways for their parishioners to make sense of the Hebrew Scriptures.  He does a good job of making them speak on their own terms.  The introduction is good in this regard because it reminds us that the Old Testament did not think of itself as Old, and that we have to try to read them on their own terms.  This is a must-read for those looking to understand the theological discipline.