Journal: Global Journal of Classical Theology
Volume: GJCT 01:2 (Feb 1999)
Article: Book Review
Author: Anonymous

Book Review

Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy, by Walter Brueggemann. Fortress Press, 1997.

Reviewed by Stephen D. Lowe, Ph.D., Dean, Department of Christian Education, Trinity College & Seminary; [email protected]

Many of us who are fond of the work of Walter Brueggemann have waited a long time for his magnum opus to appear. Well, now it’s here in all of its 700 plus pages of powerful and persuasive writing. Brueggemann sets out a biblical theology of the Old Testament that is comprehensive without being too general and detailed enough to provide solid exegetical support for his Old Testament paradigm of “testimony.”

Brueggemann is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Previously he served on the faculty at Eden Theological Seminary in Missouri (his home state). Although Brueggemann has eloquently represented the liberal perspective in most of his academic career, he is difficult to label and file. This is not because he doesn’t know his own mind or because he is a theological chamaeleon but because he courageously follows the text and the God it faithfully presents wherever it may lead. For this reason, he can at times castigate his liberal colleagues for their theological and philosophical provincialism, as he does in Retrospect 1 and 2 which opens his book. And at other times he can rail against conservatives who too easily justify their versions of theological truth with dogmatism that is ugly and sub-Christian. This is probably the reason why I like Brueggemann so much: his honesty with himself and the text. He is willing to let the chips fall where they may because he is committed to something higher and more compelling than passing fancies and theological fads.

He continues his courageous pursuit of the truth in this massive volume that explicates his vision of a grounded biblical theology of the Old Testament. He grounds his proposal in the deep soil of solid exegesis and profound exposition of his texts. Unlike many liberal scholars, Brueggemann takes the text seriously without turning it into an idol as some in more conservative circles have done. By taking the text so seriously, he parts company with many on the theological left who prefer a more robust “higher critical” approach to the text. But by following his exegetical nose in this way, he has unearthed a profound and empirically grounded conception of what the Old Testament is all about: testimony, dispute, advocacy.

Brueggemann understands the Old Testament to be about God and Israel’s encounter with him and the subsequent “speech” that provided the basis of Israel’s “core testimony” about this God, what he had said and done for Israel (Part I). The core witness included a host of verb...