Let the Word speak freely.

Walter Brueggemann has been one of the most influential Old Testament theologians of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. With an almost relentless pace, Brueggemann has significantly shaped biblical theology in the modern era, publishing 150 books and numerous articles. In his faithful and provocative interpretation, Brueggemann insists that the Bible has the power to remake the world, wresting the church’s imagination away from the military consumerism of the dominant culture and toward a radical vision of God’s reign, characterized by love of God and justice for the neighbor.

Reading the Bible with Brueggemann presents the development of Brueggemann’s thought through nine of his most significant works, from the foundational Prophetic Imagination to the magisterial Theology of the Old Testament and beyond. In a clear and readable style, Williamson allows scholars, pastors, and laypeople alike to read the Bible with Brueggemann and learn from and apply Brueggemann’s theological method.

Robert Williamson Jr. is a professor of Religious Studies at Hendrix College and theologian in residence of Canvas Community, a church for those living on the streets of Little Rock. He is the producer and cohost of BibleWorm, a popular Narrative Lectionary podcast exploring the wisdom of the biblical text for today. Williamson holds graduate degrees from Emory University, Oxford University, and Columbia Theological Seminary, where he studied extensively with Walter Brueggeman.

“What would Walter Brueggemann say to the world now on fire? When we need him most, his friend and student, Robert Williamson, appears with the perfectly timed Reading the Bible with Brueggemann. A systematic overview of Brueggemann’s major works, this book is an essential primer for re-reading Brueggemann in one hand while holding the Bible in the other—before picking up today’s issue of The New York Times. Brueggemann has long been an essential tool, and Williamson is here to rekindle our memory, applying our mentor’s interpretive genius in the context of our current crisis. This book is the first move in a strategy ‘to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.’”

—David Fleer, The Fred D. Gray Institute for Human and Civil Rights, Director of Advancement

“Walter Brueggemann is the most prolific biblical scholar in recent memory. His work is profoundly important and widely influential, but its sheer immensity can complicate access and analysis. Where does one begin? How does any one of his many publications differ from the others? Robert Williamson has done us a great service by affording entry into Brueggemann’s work through nine of his most important books. Williamson offers expert commentary on each of these while at the same time setting Brueggemann’s publications within the story of his life, scholarly career, and wider academic discussions. Williamson even includes an appendix teaching all of us how to read the Bible like Brueggemann. This is a fantastic volume, and I couldn’t be more delighted to see it in print.”

—Brent A. Strawn, D. Moody Smith Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and Professor of Law, Duke University, author of The Incomparable God: Readings in Biblical Theology

“Williamson is just the guide we need to chart a path through the vast body of work penned by Walter Brueggemann, one of the most important biblical scholars and Christian theologians of our age. With clear and careful prose, Williamson not only walks readers through key elements of Brueggemann’s thought but also invites us to read like Brueggemann, reminding us that biblical interpretation is a process of discovery open to all. This invitational approach is itself a tribute to Brueggemann, whose career has harnessed the best insights of the academy for the sake of the church, empowering Christians everywhere to read the Bible with confidence and to testify to the profound hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

—Cameron B. R. Howard, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Luther Seminary, author of The Old Testament for a Complex World: How the Bible’s Dynamic Testimony Points to New Life for the Church

“Robert Williamson has given a tremendous gift to students of Walter Brueggemann, whether they are new to his writings or are seasoned readers of his oeuvre. Reading the Bible with Brueggemann introduces the more than fifty-year shape of Brueggemann’s writings, not only by attending to the specific claims of each of his works but also by helping readers appreciate the methods, scriptural passages, and theological emphases that animate Brueggemann’s distinctive and influential approach to biblical interpretation. Whether one is seeking to understand better one of Brueggemann’s books or appreciate his unique contributions to the church and the academy, there is no better guide than Williamson’s Reading the Bible with Brueggemann.”

—Jonathan Kaplan, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, author of My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs

“From one of Walter Brueggemann’s most insightful and incisive students, here is an ideal introduction to his most important and influential books and a perfect companion to read alongside them. A gift to biblical theology students and scholars alike.”

—Timothy K. Beal, Distinguished University Professor, Case Western University, author of When Time Is Short: Finding Our Way in the Anthropocene

“Williamson here discloses a Brueggemann shaped by the Bible even as he carefully unpacks Brueggemann’s central contributions shaping how so many of us read and interpret scripture. Brueggemann retired from teaching about 25 years ago, with Williamson among his last students, yet his pace of publication increased in retirement. Williamson proves perfectly situated to be our wise guide across the many decades of Brueggemann’s publications, as intimately familiar with early, foundational works as he is impressively apace with more recent, substantive contributions—and with criticisms of Brueggemann’s work by other scholars! This book not only offers an insightful introduction to Brueggemann’s life and work, it will also make you want to read the Bible like Brueggemann as it gives you step-by-step instructions on how to do so.”

—Davis Hankins, Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Appalachian State University, author of The Book of Job and the Immanent Genesis of Transcendence 

“A lucid and elegant introduction to Walter Brueggemann’s most important works. It is a difficult task to capture the intellectual genius of Brueggemann, and to do so with humility and a keen eye is a challenging feat. Williamson has accomplished it.”

—Clover Reuter Beal, Pastor, Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church, coauthor of An On-Going Imagination: A Conversation about Scripture, Faith, and the Thickness of Relationship

ISBN: 9780891124405

Pages: 272

Dimensions (inches): 6 x 9 

Weight (pounds): .5