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An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination Paperback – November 30, 2003

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Walter Brueggemann (Author)
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4.1 out of 5 stars 15 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 452 pages
  • Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press (November 30, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0664224121
  • ISBN-13: 978-0664224127
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #735,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA good and faithful study
By FrKurt Messick HALL OF FAMEVINE VOICE on December 30, 2003
Format: Paperback
I have been a fan of Walter Brueggemann, professor emeritus of biblical studies from Columbia Theological Seminary, since I encountered him through his text 'Theology of the Old Testament', which formed the basis of a course I took my first year in seminary. Brueggemann has a clear and strong writing style, coupled with definite and innovative ideas about the development of the Hebrew Scriptures as they have come to us.
Brueggemann looks at things from a canonical perspective, ordering the books differently from what most Christians would be used to in their Bibles. Starting with the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, he then proceeds through the prophets and then to the writings. following the canon of the Hebrew bible, and a more likely ordering of original authorship. While all texts have gone through a processes of being handed down, often edited/redacted in the process, their original ideas or events occurred in a particular order.
Brueggemann gives due respect to Brevard Childs and his ideas of canonical criticism while recognising that this can become a limiting tool, and so Brueggemann introduces the idea of imagination as a counter. True to form from his early text 'Theology of the Old Testament' and other texts, Brueggeman looks for the truth that resides in the tension between, in this case, in the tension between the normative and the imaginative becoming of the community.
Brueggemann brings in the wide range of biblical scholars in the course of his study, ignoring very few noted names along the way. This makes his text an ideal book for introductory courses in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament for undergraduates and seminarians. Brueggemann also puts forward his own interesting arguments and interpretations for consideration.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsAn Excellent Introduction to the Old Testament
By Jacob Cloud on September 1, 2006
Format: Paperback
This is one of my favorite books on the `Old Testament.' What makes Brueggemann's analysis so compelling is his ability to offer a coherent and comprehensive reading of the Old Testament, while equally dealing with the difficulties, disunities, and flat-out confounding passages that fill the `Old Testament' cannon. Brueggemann does so by looking at, what he refers to as, the `Christian Imagination.'

In short, Brueggemann is not as concerned with how the `history' of the Old Testament does or does not match up with the historicism of late scholasticism. After all, I think we can all agree that a person writing in the age of antiquity would have a substantially different method and/or intent in his or her written approach than would an eighteenth or nineteenth century historian. For starters, the Jewish writers of antiquity were writing a narrative history, not a history accompanied with narratives. This is an important distinction. In short, their end goal was to tell their story, which they also believed to be God's story. This story inevitably incorporated, and even required, elements of history; yet it was the story itself that always took first priority.

Accordingly, Brueggemann's reading of the `Old Testament' is cohesive and coherent because he understands that it must be read as the narrative story of a historical people, not as a history of a narrative people.
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5.0 out of 5 starsBruegge's Amazing Intro toThe Hebrew Bible
By Fred W Hood on August 21, 2004
Format: Paperback
Compared to Prof Brueggemann's other Old Testament books, my big surprise is a title of The Old Testament rather than The Hebrew Bible! Added surprise is a sub-title of The Canon and Christian Interpretation. In OT Survey classes he contrasted his approach between Jewish interpretation with Christian inter. So I noted his quotes in using the 4 I's of Interpretation, Ideology, Inspiration, and Imagination! They occur in the Intro and near the end of his chap on Torah. On Page 11 "Now it will occur to an attentive reader that these facts of the traditioning process-Imagination, Ideology, and Inspiration (my caps)-do not easily cohere with each other! Specifically the force of human ideology and the power of divine imagination seem to be definitionally at odds. Precisely! That causes the Old Testament, to be endlessly complex & problematic, endlessly interesting and compelling."

This carried me back to 2002 sessions at Montreat and Columbia upon first hearing his process of interpretation: "The interface beween the canonical and imaginative is exactly the way in which the most responsible and faithful interpretation takes place." I can see & hear his trip from well-neglected notes on the podium up to the chalk-board, as he hastily wrote the Hebrew for his key scripture. In the dramatic Isa 6, after writing the "living creatures," he sailed down the steps, waving wildly his arms all around the wall of the classroom singing "Holy, Holy, Holy!"
He seemed propelled alongside us into the living words of the Prophet. He earned his standing ovation! That was not the only Incident to stress his "Imaginative Remembering.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsMinimalist History while presenting a Wealth of Theology
By Joel L. Watts VINE VOICE on January 12, 2010
Format: Paperback
Brueggamann sets out to examine the Canon and Christian Imagination according to the Hebrew canon and often times, according Jewish interpretation rather than Christian. For the former, his order is: the Torah, the Prophets consisting of, The Former Prophets, - Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings; and the Latter Prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. Then the scrolls of Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations and the Song of Solomon. Finally, he examines what he considers the revisionist historical corpus of I & II Chronicles, Ezra & Nehemiah, with Daniel arriving last. For the latter, I can cite his rejection of Paul's doctrine of the Fall, although he encourages a constant interpretative method akin to the New Perspectives (p38-39) and his insistence that the author of Hebrews `misread' Jeremiah 31 and completely missed the author of Jeremiah's intent (pg 189). On the other hand, Brueggamann deals especially well with Proverbs 8 as seen through the eyes of John's Prologue. Overall, until it comes to his disavowing of anything remotely connected to supercessionism, he presents a balanced view of Christian use of the Hebrew Scriptures.

His path is not always what one would expect. While he uses historical criticism, his method involves the focus on what he calls the `end of the traditioning process.' For the author, it is not greatly important how a book came together, but the theology of the book in final form. For him, the process is far from over and should continue now that the canon has been delivered to the `interpretive community of the church'. He makes a strong case that the bible contains more light than a simple `reportage' view can give, and indeed, suddenly becomes a conservative Protestant as he makes his case that more study is needed.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Extremely helpful in my efforts to understand the violence in the OT.

Published 21 months ago by Neita F. Geilker
2.0 out of 5 starsTwo Stars

The information in this book has too many variables

Published 22 months ago by LaTonya Johnson
2.0 out of 5 starsOT Reading

It's understandable what the author attempted to do with this book. Yet at times, it seems to contradict physical evidence which is still visible today. Read more

Published on July 1, 2014 by Arod00195
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Must Have Book!

Walter Brueggemann's book is insightful and thought provoking. He gives you a deeper understanding of the Old Testament. Read more

Published on November 25, 2013 by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat conversation about the Old Testament!

Well written and logically organized. It reads like a conversation but challenges your thought. I am not a seminarian or a theologian but I enjoyed the text.

Published on June 21, 2013 by Sandra Barr
5.0 out of 5 starshappy reader

this book is brandnew... wow ... how can you stay in business this way ... thanks much for good service

Published on March 3, 2013 by Randy Harshbarger
4.0 out of 5 starsKeeping it for reference

This is a textbook - it isn't light reading. Having said that, it is very well written and informative - covers past scholarship, present scholarship and emerging thought on the... Read more

Published on March 12, 2012 by Maggie's Mom
5.0 out of 5 starsA scholar's view of the Old Testament

An Introduction to the Old Testament is an interesting look into how scholars view the Word. Looking at Bruggeman's reflections helps understand how our current scripture became... Read more

Published on April 21, 2011 by Joseph F. Krupa
4.0 out of 5 starsIt could have been better

There's a lot of good information in this book, especially if you are relatively new to Hebrew Bible ("Old Testament") studies. But there also lies one of its main flaws. Read more

Published on March 10, 2010 by Gitfiddler Ed
2.0 out of 5 starsTake it or leave it...

Brueggemann, Brueggemann, what can I say?
Your work has left me in utter dismay -
The book speaks of history
But leaves all a mystery -
The sceptic trips up and... Read more

Published on July 17, 2009 by Robert Jackson

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