1 & 2 Kings (Smyth & Helwys Commentary | SHBC)

by Walter Brueggemann

Publisher:

Smyth & Helwys

, 2000

Overview

In this commentary, Walter Brueggemann considers the artistry of 1 & 2 Kings as it mediates between history and faith. He develops a theme around how the Old Testament provides peculiarly powerful ways of thinking and seeing God’s reality. He also points to issues of power in ancient texts that is still prevalent today.

In this narrative treatment of the text, a special focus is placed upon Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, and Josiah as models of faith. Brueggemann provides a useful guide for the reader to maneuver between flat history and the dynamism of faith.

Like all volumes in the Smyth & Helwys Commentary Series, 1 & 2 Kings provides a wealth of visuals, including photography, classic works of art, and maps. These provide a depth of explanation that support the task of interpretation.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Thus our text is not ‘history.’ It is, rather, an interpretive commentary upon that royal history or, as we might say, it is a ‘theology of history,’ an attempt to understand the vagaries of lived public experience in that world with particular reference to YHWH, the God of Israel.” (Page 2)

“The address to the prophet who is still licking his wounds is a massive imperative: ‘Go’ (19:15). Go back to the conflict, go back to the trouble, go back to the risk.” (Page 237)

“All Pharaohs are the same in Israelite imagination, and they are all a threat to Israel. But now, through the wedding, they have become ‘family.’” (Page 45)

“The response made by Yahweh is fully focused on public mission and is not at all interested in the suffering or fear of the prophet.” (Pages 236–237)

“Thus the marriage and the worship together indicate a readiness to compromise or depart from Yahwism.” (Page 45)

Product Details

• Title: 1 & 2 Kings
• Author: Walter Brueggemann
• Series: Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary
• Publisher: Smyth & Helwys
• Print Publication Date: 2000
• Logos Release Date: 2018
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. O.T. 1 Kings › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. 2 Kings › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9781573128216, 157312821, 157312821X
• Resource ID: LLS:SHC11KI1
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-10-05T17:10:57Z

About Walter Brueggemann

Walter Brueggemann is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. He is past president of the Society of Biblical Literature and the author of numerous books, including David’s Truth: In Israel’s Imagination and Memory, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching Genesis, and The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary.