Title: An introduction to the Old Testament: the canon and Christian imagination. Author: Brueggemann, Walter Introduction to the Old Testament xiv, 417 p. Publisher: Louisville : Westminster John Knox Pr, 2003

Uitti, Roger W.

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Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 31Issue 2 Faith, Freedom, and the Academy Article 1611-1-2006An introduction to the Old Testament: the canonand Christian imaginationRoger W. UittiFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationUitti, Roger W. (2006) "An introduction to the Old Testament: the canon and Christian imagination ," Consensus: Vol. 31 : Iss. 2 ,Article 16.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol31/iss2/16An Introduction to the Old Testament:The Canon and Christian ImaginationWalter BrueggemannLouisville, KT: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003434 pages, $24.95 SoftcoverWere one to support the Old Testament as more ideology thancredible historical reportage, one would welcome this Introduction tothe books of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible with open arms.Currently theological intentionality of biblical texts stands as moreimportant than the question of their historicity. So-called “historical”data within the Old Testament is increasingly taken as simplyunreliable, or at least improvable and often unlikely. Biblical texts are therefore better examined for their ideologicalfreight. To quote Brueggemann: “The Bible is never simply reportageand description, but is always interpretive commentary that pushesupon the observable to the constructed, that is, imagination beyondthe ‘given’” (395). While Brueggemann has never subscribed to thespecific interpretive outcomes of Brevard Childs (Yale), one mustconfess that in this book he has mimicked to a remarkable degreeChilds’s own focus-on-the-end approach. It appears thatBrueggemann has taken to heart recurrent criticism Childs hasdirected his way (cf. Childs, The Struggle to Understand Isaiah asChristian Scripture, 2004, pp. 292-296).Throughout the book, there are numerous insightful quotationsfrom a wide range of Christian and Jewish authors. Readers willappreciate access to the rich bibliography supplied of 357 worksconsulted. Brueggemann’s own span of 20 books/articles in the listindicates his creative capacity to write a book such as this one. The plan of ideological exposition (402 pages) unfolds accordingto the Hebrew MT canon: Torah, Prophets, and Writings. Each of thethree primary units is introduced, expounded book by book, thensummarized. “A Concluding Reflection” balances the book’s“Introduction: Imaginative Remembering.”Brueggemann’s overall “canonical” approach is both inviting andmoderately successful. Most rewarding is his presentation of theTorah and Former Prophets, in its detailing of the contrast betweenthe Priestly and Deuteronomic ideologies. The presentation of themajor prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel fares better155Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2006than the Book of the Twelve as a canonical unity, where the authormust admit in his reprise on the Prophets: “… scholars are notinclined to consider the Twelve as one canonical statement. Suchexplorations are only at the beginning, and more work remains to bedone” (266). Brueggemann himself characterizes the Twelve as “arolling corpus,” i.e., a tradition that has developed in freshinterpretive directions over time to make ongoing interpretiveresponses to new circumstances. Ideologically speaking, whereas the Torah bespeaks obedience,the Prophets invite hope. Brueggemann sees strong, ideological linksbetween Ezekiel and the Priestly tradition, Jeremiah and theDeuteronomic tradition, and Isaiah with the J tradition. Critically,more emphasis might have been given to the faith/trust dimension inthe Book of Isaiah, particularly in the coverage of Isaiah’s “oraclesagainst the nations.” While it is proper to stress YHWH’s“sovereignty over the nations,” Isaiah’s “nations” are better noted forwhat they were: deceitful, false alternatives to the true security anddeliverance of YHWH. Falling as it does outside the Law and the Prophets is the morepluralistic and elusive unit called the Writings. Brueggemann’sreflections on the Psalms, Proverbs, and Job herein are quitesatisfactory. Less so are some of the remaining books. So muchcredence given to the erotic dimension of YHWH’s relation to Israel inthe Song of Songs might not suit every reader (326-328). Likewise,Brueggemann’s general, a-historical approach should not haveprecluded any comment whatsoever on Daniel 11, with its codedpanorama of historical personages and events from Cambyses toAntiochus IV Epiphanes. Nor need Ecclesiastes be read as so recklesslyand fatalistically skeptical, since the book serves more as a warning tosubsequent readers to be wary of pontificating theologians who know allthe answers. Its bottom line is to advocate working with what is seenand known, not speculating beyond such, and above all, enjoying God’sgood gifts here and now before old age sets in. When the final verses ofEcclesiastes (12:13-14) provide a legitimate clue for a canonical readingof the entire book [“All has been heard, keep the Torah”], one smiles toobserve that here Brueggemann refuses to follow through on his ownnew-found methodology: “… it is my judgment that such canonicalclosure to the book must not be permitted to silence the troubledrestlessness given in the rest of the material” (333).156 Consensushttp://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol31/iss2/16Nonetheless, one will certainly appreciate the contemporarymessage for the church in the exposition of the books of Esther andDaniel. Esther, the most uncompromising Jewish book in the canon(Luther hated it!), and the Book of Daniel with its sanctionedresistance and apocalyptic outlook, are noted as heedful articulations,in concretely Jewish terms, of how God’s own must engage fromtime to time in the daring task of preserving their distinctiveness inthe face of increasingly hostile secularities. To his credit, dueattention is also given throughout the book to the different,interpretive outcomes conditioned by Jewish and Christian canonicalbook-locations and expansions. Although the author is committed personally to a Christianperspective, the book is sensitive to Jewish perspectives. “This in noway compromises claims made in Christian faith, but intends toeschew any monopolistic reading that crowds out a Jewish readingthat is likewise faithful to the text and is to be taken with equalseriousness” (2). Brueggemann insists that Christian faith andChristian reading of the New Testament cannot commence withoutthe Old, yet likewise cannot tolerate any notion of testamentalsupersessionism. On the other hand, the author does not shy awayfrom the morality of some of the harsh ideologies advocated withinthe Hebrew Scriptures, such as in his exposition of the genocide andland claims advocated in the Book of Joshua, the calls for radicalxenophobic obedience within the Pentateuch, or the principles ofexclusion and exclusiveness present in post-exilic Ezra-Nehemiah.Walter Brueggemann is currently professor emeritus of OldTestament at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia.Ever at war with a culture of militant consumerism, he writes out ofthe Calvinist and United Church tradition, with a compelling interest(in the spirit of Norman Gottwald) in issues of justice and liberation.In this publication, he acknowledges his ongoing creative debt toPaul Ricoeur for such insights as “limit expression,”“metaphorisation,” “plurality of interpretation,” and especially the“hermeneutics of testimony” (275, 325). Brueggemann’s writingstyle is very true to his literary past, with numerousBrueggemannisms (“construal,” “situate,” “imaginative/imagination”)and pithy expressions (“love-hate relationship,” “old age is not forwimps,” “better to be red than dead,” “Persian connection,” and“purity system”). Book Reviews 157Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2006A subsequent edition might address the following typos:“capitol” (238), “antineighborly”(242), “antihuman” (353), “thedistinctions … is” (275) and the all too familiar, tautologous phrase“common consensus” (1, 3x). In the Index on Names (431-434): thepage location for citation of poet “Yeats” should be page 283; Scott,James M.” should follow “Scott, J(ames) C.” and the names citedcorrected to Moberly, R.W.L.,” “Soulen, R. Kendall” (433) and“Wybrow, Cameron” (434). Page 244 should be added to the pagecitations given for both Luther and Calvin (432). Also “Hill, John,179” and “Herodotus, 179” should be added to page 432, as well as“Rosenberg, David, xii” to p.433.In short, the book is a bold attempt to decipher the theological,ideological code underlying the instruction, prophecy, wisdom,narrative, poetry, and apocalyptic of the Old Testament/HebrewBible. One wonders to what degree this particular publication, amilestone in a lifetime of biblical study, if methodologicallyinsightful and correct, does not ultimately undermine, if not negate,the validity of most, if not all, of Brueggemann’s previous historical-critical published work.Roger W. UittiProfessor of Old Testament emeritusLutheran Theological Seminary, SaskatoonIntroduction to the Old Testament: A Liberation PerspectiveAnthony R. CereskoRevised and updated edition. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2001384 pages, $25.00 SoftcoverThe first Introduction (1992) grew out of the author’s experience ofteaching an Old Testament survey course at St. Michael’s College inToronto. The goal was to make available to a larger audience theresults of Norman K. Gottwald’s work on the origins and religion ofancient Israel. This updated edition follows upon almost nine moreyears of teaching OT at St. Peter’s Pontifical Institute, Bangalore,India. A.R. Ceresko, O.S.F.S, now teaches at the Divine WordSeminary in Tagaytay City, Philippines. 158 Consensushttp://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol31/iss2/16

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