This commentary fulfills the goals of the series for the most part. Brueggemann is an excellent writer with keen sensitivities for the text. His attention to narrative issues is especially welcome when applied to perhaps the finest narrative in the Hebrew Bible. Thea aim of the Interpretation series is to provide insights for teaching and preaching, and these abound in this commentary. On the other hand, this is a commentary on both books of Samuel which is less than 400 pages in length. What that means is that not every verse receives attention. The focus is on the larger (more important?) stories. In addition there is little attention to issues of history, text, grammar, and translation. If you want a commentary that provides discussion of every verse, then you will have to look elsewhere, and you will not find a single volume that treats both books of Samuel. If you are looking for good, intelligent teaching material on major texts from these books, then this is the commentary to use. One other factor to consider is that this commentary is getting a bit old, and I and II Samuel have been the target of intense literary interest over the past two decades. Much has happened in the discussion of these books since this commentary was written with which it can obviously not interact.

A Master that thousands have either read or had the privilege to study under over the last three decades. The author of more than 25 books, many consider him "to be the most seminal Old Testament Theologian since Eichrodt and von Rad." God in the Fray is a tribute to Walter Brueggemann, edited by two former pupils (both of whom are now professors of biblical or religious studies). It is not common for students to publish a tribute to their teacher. This act alone speaks of Brueggemann's accomplishment and mastery.

"Master" is a word not often used in today's technologically dominated society. A Master is known by the width and depth of the wisdom and truth they emanate. They are able to present truth in such a way that it is directly applicable to the lives of their listeners. A master in theology is one who has the ability to make complex old paradigms understandable and shows how the application of these maxims has the power to transform both thinking and structure itself.

In God in the Fray, twenty-one accomplished theologians have engaged Brueggemann's thinking and theology and give their own interpretation to an often controversial and challenging scholar. Dr. Walter Brueggemann is complex, odd and unsettling in his understanding of Yahweh. His faith and theology are never static, rather continually on the move, challenging, probing and often perplexing. He relentlessly seeks out "a fresh articulation of whom God is," for he believes that the church and its future rest on a fresh understanding and pronouncement of God. Brueggemann, who like the very God he follows, resists fitting into any comfortable systematic category. He is constantly pressing boundaries, challenging old God images and pulling down contemporary idolatrous icons in order that a new awareness will grasp the believer, and in doing so transform the society in which the church lives. Most contributors to God in the Fray have the pulse of Brueggemann, but some fret over his theological condition. Their concern is akin to a medical doctor saying, "ah, if he would just stabilize we could better define his condition."

As with any anthology most authors illuminate the subject, while some tend to obscure; one writer will prophetically speak into your life, while the next author may drone and ramble. Thus, God in the Fray is an anthology, giving tribute to a great man and master. Recommend.

Walter Bruggemann seems to have succeeded William Barclay as the man without an unpublished thought. Fortunately, these thoughts are so engrossing the reader is thankful. In this book Bruggemann indicates that for the church to be faithful in the modern world it must engage in obedient interpretation within the context of our world. Borrowing from the story of the Assyrians seige of Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah, he suggests we engage in a conversation at the wall with our community, and a conversation behind the wall with people who understand the language and purpose of faith and speak it into our context. The interface of these two conversations is the basis for evangelism.

Often I disagree with Bruggemann when he draws unassailable political conclusions from the text. However, he makes me question my own biases, because his argument is so engaging. I agreed strongly with him in his analysis of the current state of pastoral care (not informed enough by faith therefore not very pastoral) and his prescription (moving from Rogerian detatchment to engagement).

Judgement and Promise - the book of Isaiah is pregnant with both and Walter Brueggemann is the textual midwife. Brueggemann (Professor of Old Testament Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary, Atlanta) is first and foremost a theologian of the text, and his theology emanates from scripture. After a lifetime of devotion as a scholar of Biblical text, Brueggemann sees God living and flowing through, in and under the scripture.

Throughout the Old Testament, and clearly in Isaiah, Brueggemann's God is an entangled God. A God who purposely embroils Himself in the affairs of a despairing and divergent world. Isaiah is God's ordained messenger, sent to challenge, critique and criticize the false security and faith in Israel's society. Isaiah begs them to realize their doomed destiny. He is calling out relentlessly to Judah, plaintively petitioning them to beware of the impending apocalypse. Yet, the people, steeped in religion, and mesmerized by the glitter of their materialistic well being is no longer capable of scrutinizing the incongruities, ambiguities and contradictions that shackles them and leads them towards captivity.

In Bruggemann's commentary Isaiah saw a time of darkness and despair, where doom was inevitable and the eyes of the people of Israel, especially the religious and political leaders of Judah, were blind. This was a time when the people called by God, redeemed by God, actively rejected God. Death and destruction were to follow. Jerusalem would fall. The temple would be leveled in 587 B.C.E. Yet for all of this Isaiah did not leave the people without hope (Isaiah 40-66); for he saw a time when promise would follow judgement. He prophecies of a time for the people of God when peace, spiritual prosperity and a new beginning would come.

Walter Brueggemann excels in his ability to illuminate the text and truth for his readers. As he exegetes the scripture, laying bear its truth and its relevancy to us today, he calls for the reader to draw their own conclusions about the application of the text to today's world. His commentary on Isaiah is scholarly, but not densely academic. It breaths new life into ancient texts. Isaiah 1-39 by Walter Brueggeman is a recommended addition to any biblical library, and a must for any student of Isaiah.

It would have been a more cohesive tribute to have read six or seven of the essays; most likely those from Columbia Seminary. For me it was that first potent chapter by Prof Brueggemann that made it difficult to follow his intensity and focus on the theme of "Being Faithful in a Pluralistic World!" It seemed from my first readings that only three other essays jumped out with such strong similarity to Bruegge's exegesis of Amos 9:7. His usual habit of reference to scripture passages from Genesis to Exodus to Psalms to Amos to Romans was only exceeded by footnotes!

Brugge starts with his "not so readily recognized nineteenth- century developmentalism that ethical monotheism...not only constituted a great theological gain, but brought with it an enormous ideological temptation." It was proudly & doxologically affirmed that Jahweh was the only One to become accepted as the 'onlyness'of Yahweh and the 'onlyness' of Israel!" He proceeds to lay out a historical background for his thesis of "only one God and only one Israel."

Charles Cousar, Prof Bruegge's closest long-term colleague at Columbia Seminary contributes his New Testament version of "Paul and Multiculturalism." He exceeds Prof Bruegge in his similiar habit of paralleling NT references and also footnotes!

Daniel Migliore, distinguished theologian from Princton Seminary contributed: "Sin and Self-Loss"...Karl Barth on the Feminist Critique of Doctrines of Sin. His strength lies in drawing upon theological resources of Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr, Elisabeth Moltmann-Wendel and Paul Tillich.

George Stroup, the second editor contributes, "The Spirit of Pluralism." - "It may be that the appropriate Christian response to pluralism is not a reconstruction of Christology but a rediscovery of the significance of the Holy Spirit."

The strength of this tribute to Shirley Guthrie lies in this variety of personal, theological and historical perspectives upon this troubling theme of Pluralism!
Thanks to Bruegge & Friends, Retired Chaplain Fred W. Hood

Fredrick Holmgren's novel, "The Old Testament and the Significance of Jesus," gives the reader an in depth look at several important aspects of the Old Testament. One aspect of the Old Testament that Holmgren discusses in the book is the importance of both the Old and the New Testament in providing understanding about how the prophesies are 'fulfilled' in the New Testament. Another topic discussed is how the Old Testament relates to people of both the Christian and Jewish faiths. The author provides the reader with an in depth look by using quotes from theological and Biblical experts, from examining different Bible stories, and by using his own insight. Holmgren breaks the book into nine different topics to focus his discussion on.

"The Old Testament and the Significance of Jesus," although sometimes very complex, is very thorough in discussing the topics that were covered. One feature I particularly liked was the last chapter, a conclusion to the book that reviewed the main ideas well and tied them together very nicely. The synopsis that starts off each chapter, and the summaries that are not always there but are very common, are also great plusses. For example, I fully understood the importance of the Qumran only after I read the helpful summary to tie it together to the other topics in the chapter. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read an interesting novel about how Jesus is signifigant in both the Old and New Testaments, and that doesn't mind a challenging book.

If you utilize the NRSV for preaching and teaching in your congregation, then this is a very helpful tool. Each lesson is commented upon in language that is clear and precise and "preachable." In some instances, the content of the commentary presupposes that the reader has some experience with critical or historical examinations of biblical texts, although if one uses the NRSV, that is probably not an incorrect presupposition. Overall, the commentary is clear and thought provoking and helps the preacher/teacher open up the texts nicely.

Dr. Walter Brueggemann is the Albert Einstein of Old Testament Theology. As Einstein could look deep into the expanse of space and extrapolate insight and meaning so too does Brueggemann peer at the biblical text of the Old Testament prophets and give us social, political and spiritual insight. "Text that Linger, Words that Explode" is the second in a trilogy of academic and ecclesiastical essays ("Deep Memory, Exuberant Hope" and "The Covenanted Self").

Great interpretation of Biblical prophetic text can be dangerous and subversive to the existing status quo of society. That is why great interpretation of Biblical prophetic text is so rare today; as in the word's of many church leaders and the contemporary Jamaican prophet, Bob Marley, "don't rock'a my boat." Brueggemann has never quailed when speaking or writing, nor does he with these ancient texts. He finds power in the reading of the prophetic writings and brings us a contemporary application that will cause many readers to revive their image of God and reconsider their place in His world.

Make no mistake, this is not a spiritual feel good book, rather it is solid Biblical hermeneutics. In "Text that Linger, Words that Explode," Dr. Walter Brueggemann expounds on various scriptural text, mainly from the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Though every chapter has value, they will be uneven in interest according to your focus. If you are an Old Testament student or scholar then his promulgation regarding canon, authorship and historical context will appeal to you. If you are a teacher, a preacher or a lay person interested in studying the Old Testament prophets, then certain chapters will give you wonderful new insight more than other. Regardless, both Isaiah and Jeremiah and their exposés of the people of Judaism are given new life by Dr. Brueggemann. Recommended

Anyone who reads this review is probably saying, "FOUR STARS ?? .... Why only FOUR stars??" Well, this material is excellent, but is not CLASSIC material (unlike "Cadences of Home" or "A Social Reading of the Old Testament").

Brueggemann as a scholar deserves FIVE STARS, unquestionably ... but this book, compared to his others, is "merely" excellence in motion ...

This is a collection of SERMONS Brueggemann has preached (and true to the Brueggemannian way, there is a short note telling the reader of the OCCASION and social setting of each sermon).

These sermons could easily be read for a Sunday School class series, or a spriritual formation exercise curriculum (yeah, they're THAT good).

The Vitality of Old Testament Traditions is a collection of essays written by Walter Brueggemann and Walter Wolff. The subject of these essays is concerned with interpreting the text of the Pentateuch. These essays expand on the Documentary Hypothesis approach established by Julius Wellhausen, the theory that the text is a composite of documents from various time periods. The authors feel that Wellhausen and others were too concerned with scientific methodology and historical facts while dissecting the Pentateuch (or Hexataeuth, on up to the Enneateuch). The mood of the scholarship used by many in analyzing the hypothesis left the text with little authority and vitality, transforming the Bible into a lifeless specimen. Brueggemann hopes to avoid that tendency with his approach by sustaining the original vitality of the text. The essays by Wolff explore the kerygmatic focus of the J, D, and E sources, while Brueggemann makes use of Wolff's methods in his essay on the P source. Brueggemann's analysis of the central kerygma comes out of the narrative texts, while Wolff stresses law and genealogy portions of the text. Brueggemann writes with poetic style and his writing is rhetorically powerful. His, and Wolff's, Christian perspective is clear.