At last count, Walter Brueggemann has published over 100 books. To call him prolific is an understatement! His work on the Old Testament, particularly on the prophets, has been a massive influence in my life, helping me to make sense of the Hebrew Bible. So it was with excitement that I finally read his 800 page magnum opus, Theology of the Old Testament.

Theology of the Old Testament belongs on the shelf alongside works by von Rad, Childs, Levenson, and Barr. It is one of the most significant Old Testament theologies of the past 100 years. What sets Brueggemann’s work apart from the rest is his postmodern interpretive perspective. Rather than focus on ontological claims about God, Brueggemann centres his attention on language and rhetoric—what Israel claimed about YHWH. In doing so, he sidesteps the quagmire of historical criticism (did that event really happen?) and allows the full Biblical witness to shine.

Another emphasis of Brueggemann is his recognition of diverse perspectives within the Hebrew Bible (something that may make Conservative interpreters nervous). His use of rhetoric—testimony, countertestimony, unsolicited testimony, and embodied testimony—allows each of the diverse voices of the Hebrew Bible an opportunity to state their own claims about YHWH.

The book starts (well, after a preliminary 100-ish pages of “retrospect”) with Israel’s core testimony about YWHW, which Brueggemann divvies up semantically. Fundamental are the verbs of which YWHW is the subject: God creates, promises, delivers, commands, and guides. From there, he surveys the adjectival witness to YHWH, especially those found in Israel’s Exodus 34:5–6 creed. Next, Brueggemann moves on to the nouns which are summarized as metaphors of governance (YWHW as judge, king, warrior, and father) and sustenance (YWHW as artist, healer, gardener, mother, and shepherd).

Of course, there’s more to the Hebrew Bible than Israel’s core testimony. There’s countertestimony which speaks of YHWH’s hiddenness, ambiguity, and even negativity. We see this countertestimony in its most extreme form in Ecclesiastes and in the protest of Psalm 88.

The second half of Brueggemann’s Theology explores the testimony of Israel, humans, the nations, and creation itself as YHWH’s partners, followed by the various ways by which Israel’s testimony was embodied by Torah, king, prophet, cult, and sage.

In the end, Brueggemann’s Theology of the Old Testament is precisely what it claims to be—a theology of the entire Old Testament. His emphasis on rhetoric over ontological claims enables him to give voice to the multiplex witness of Israel to their one God, YHWH. Despite the weight of this volume (both literal and figurative), it’s very readable. In my life so far, it’s birthed a sermon series as well as hours of reflection, both on a devotional and an academic level.

I can’t recommend this work highly enough. It truly is the pinnacle of Brueggemann’s lifetime of work and reflection.

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