Review in: Theological Studies
1 & 2 KINGS By Walter Brueggemann. Smyth & Helwys Bible
Commentary. Macon: Smith and Helwys, 2000. Pp. xxii + 645. $65.
I have long questioned whether the literary genre known as "the Bible commentary" has any future in the field of biblical criticism. The days are over when a single book purports to be an objective treatment of the whole of available information on a given text. For a commentary to be more than just a relic, the presence of the commentator and her/his perspective and opinion must come to the forefront of the narrative. This commentary, by internationally known and respected scholar Walter Brueggemann, succeeds on this point. His book introduces us not only to the imaginative world that the biblical books of Kings inhabit but also to the world that B. himself inhabits.
B. explains the biblical text by weaving together his deep erudition, spiritual passion, and left-leaning political commitment. He offers a careful, close reading with historical awareness and sensitivity to the tensions and dissonance within the narratives and dramatizes how the interplay of raw, crude politics becomes an arena for the unfolding of God's purposes.
In B.'s deft hands, the commentary form becomes a kind of storyteller's platform. B. joins his encyclopedic knowledge of the ancient world with a narrative structure--an explanation and expansion of the dynamics of plot and character within Kings. This commentary exemplifies B.'s excellent scholarship, wide-ranging knowledge, and ability to stay current in most areas of biblical studies.
B. reads the text from the perspective of the marginalized, examining the power relationships between the haves and the have-nots. He considers the important role of women in Israelite society, both revealed and concealed in the biblical text, and uses the text as a means to reflect on contemporary democratic and human rights issues throughout the world. His reading of the political situation in the Middle East is especially compelling.
After a brief introduction, the work is arranged according to the chapters in 1 and 2 Kings. The main sections of each chapter are divided into three parts: (1) theological/political narratives, called commentary, and (2) connections (political and personal applications). Here B. occasionally refers to popular culture ("The Godfather" in one instance) and to selected 20th-century theologians. (3) As a third part of the commentary, he has placed throughout the text various sidebars, color-coded brown and linked to the main text, where sidebar key words are printed in brown. Some of the sidebars could well have been placed in the text and others left out or relegated to the back of the book where they would be less intrusive. They tend to be written less well than the main text. Additionally, B. often reports in the sidebars on more radical positions, but I found insufficient interaction between the opinions there expressed and the positions he takes in the body of the text.
The book contains pleasing and useful graphics and a fine collection of reprints of pre-20th-century art. However, the art could have been brightened to enhance the detail. The captions to the illustrations again demonstrate B.'s fine sensitivity of interpretation.
On the negative side, B. seems uncritically to accept the interpretation of the Deuteronomist (the putative author of Kings), who regards the competing perspective of the Phoenician religion (for instance) as a dramatic alternative to the Israelite religion. B. sees (for another instance) the polytheism of Philistia as inevitably flowing from and leading to an oppressive social system. There is good archeological and textual reasons for questioning this view.
B. implies that the Canaanite religion was distinct and inferior. He does not make clear whether he is here telling us what the royal theology defenders are saying, or whether this is for him an actual description of the differences between Israel and Canaan. He is too polemical on issues of Israelite syncretism, seeing it as uniformly harmful for Israel. This argument could have been considerably nuanced.
But this is a fine work, a fine journey into the world of monarchic Israel. It will forever change the reader's view of the narratives in Kings and provides a model of how the genre of commentary can move into the 21st century.
I have long questioned whether the literary genre known as "the Bible commentary" has any future in the field of biblical criticism. The days are over when a single book purports to be an objective treatment of the whole of available information on a given text. For a commentary to be more than just a relic, the presence of the commentator and her/his perspective and opinion must come to the forefront of the narrative. This commentary, by internationally known and respected scholar Walter Brueggemann, succeeds on this point. His book introduces us not only to the imaginative world that the biblical books of Kings inhabit but also to the world that B. himself inhabits.
B. explains the biblical text by weaving together his deep erudition, spiritual passion, and left-leaning political commitment. He offers a careful, close reading with historical awareness and sensitivity to the tensions and dissonance within the narratives and dramatizes how the interplay of raw, crude politics becomes an arena for the unfolding of God's purposes.
In B.'s deft hands, the commentary form becomes a kind of storyteller's platform. B. joins his encyclopedic knowledge of the ancient world with a narrative structure--an explanation and expansion of the dynamics of plot and character within Kings. This commentary exemplifies B.'s excellent scholarship, wide-ranging knowledge, and ability to stay current in most areas of biblical studies.
B. reads the text from the perspective of the marginalized, examining the power relationships between the haves and the have-nots. He considers the important role of women in Israelite society, both revealed and concealed in the biblical text, and uses the text as a means to reflect on contemporary democratic and human rights issues throughout the world. His reading of the political situation in the Middle East is especially compelling.
After a brief introduction, the work is arranged according to the chapters in 1 and 2 Kings. The main sections of each chapter are divided into three parts: (1) theological/political narratives, called commentary, and (2) connections (political and personal applications). Here B. occasionally refers to popular culture ("The Godfather" in one instance) and to selected 20th-century theologians. (3) As a third part of the commentary, he has placed throughout the text various sidebars, color-coded brown and linked to the main text, where sidebar key words are printed in brown. Some of the sidebars could well have been placed in the text and others left out or relegated to the back of the book where they would be less intrusive. They tend to be written less well than the main text. Additionally, B. often reports in the sidebars on more radical positions, but I found insufficient interaction between the opinions there expressed and the positions he takes in the body of the text.
The book contains pleasing and useful graphics and a fine collection of reprints of pre-20th-century art. However, the art could have been brightened to enhance the detail. The captions to the illustrations again demonstrate B.'s fine sensitivity of interpretation.
On the negative side, B. seems uncritically to accept the interpretation of the Deuteronomist (the putative author of Kings), who regards the competing perspective of the Phoenician religion (for instance) as a dramatic alternative to the Israelite religion. B. sees (for another instance) the polytheism of Philistia as inevitably flowing from and leading to an oppressive social system. There is good archeological and textual reasons for questioning this view.
B. implies that the Canaanite religion was distinct and inferior. He does not make clear whether he is here telling us what the royal theology defenders are saying, or whether this is for him an actual description of the differences between Israel and Canaan. He is too polemical on issues of Israelite syncretism, seeing it as uniformly harmful for Israel. This argument could have been considerably nuanced.
But this is a fine work, a fine journey into the world of monarchic Israel. It will forever change the reader's view of the narratives in Kings and provides a model of how the genre of commentary can move into the 21st century.
DAVID PENCHANSKY
University of St. Thomas, St. Paul
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