Endorsements for 1 & 2 Kings

No scholar of our time probes the heart of biblical faith more profoundly than Walter Brueggemann. With the passion of rhetorician and preacher, he interweaves interpretation and appropriation as so releases the power of ancient speech to inform and transform contemporary life. In turning his talents now to the books of Kings, he has given us a remarkable commentary.

--Phyllis Trible
Professor of Biblical Studies
Wake Forest Divinity School
Winston Salem, North Carolina


This book is "vintage" Walter Brueggemann. He is the consummate scholar. Yet, he writes in ways that make his work congenial to the pulpit. Brueggemann is a reminder that the academy and the parish, the scholar and the preacher, work together to offer the church our very best.

--Charles B. Bugg
Kenneth L. Chafin Professor of Preaching
Direct, Chevis F. Horne Center for Preaching and Worship
Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond
Richmond, Virginia


This is biblical commentary at its best -- and most useful. Walter Brueggemann, a master interpreter, opens up the biblical text to us his readers and brings it in touch with our lives. Clearly written, insightful, provocative, this book is a must read for everyone who grapples with the significance of the books of Kings.

--Tremper Longman III
Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies
Westmont College
Santa Barbara, California


This book is a "great read", a delicious treat, but no surprise from the master writer, Walter Brueggemann. Brueggemann’s potent prose makes the two books of Kings more interesting than they ever were alone. He finds the human drama and the divine pathos behind the thrones of Israel’s mostly tragic monarchs, who are too much like us. And he uncovers the resistance and merciful fire of Israel’s prophets, who are too unlike us.

Then there is the elegant visual art from across the ages that add aesthetic commentary upon power betrayal, and salvation.

This book will serve the general reader, the believing reader, the preaching the student and the scholar. The books of Kings may even join the lists of people’s favorite biblical books.

--Kathleen M. O'Connor
Professor of Old Testament
Columbia Theological Seminary
Decatur, Georgia


Those of us both in the academy and in the parish have come to anticipate with relish any announcement of a forthcoming book for Professor Brueggemann. In this case of this particular commentary on 1 and 2 Kings, hope does not disappoint. Brueggemann provides both creative exegesis of the biblical text (i.e. he does more than simple re-phrase or re-tell the story), and powerful applications of that text (that always flow out of the exegesis rather than bypass it). Such applications (personal, ecclesial, national) appear consistently under the title "Connections". Having just completed a commentary on 1 and 2 Kings as part of a larger manuscript, I only wish I had had access to this commentary. Thank you Walter, for sharing with us once again from your vast storehouse of biblical insight, wisdom, and evangelical zeal for the Church to hear afresh from Scripture the powerful message of who God is and who God’s people are to be.

--Victor P. Hamilton
Professor of Religion
Asbury College
Wilmore, Kentucky


Most of the preaching and teaching I've heard has been from the New Testament. I know Jesus and Paul pretty well. When I move into the Old Testament, I'm unsure of myself. I suspect a lot of people are like me.

Walter Brueggemann's commentary on 1 and 2 Kings does not presume I am an Old Testament scholar. He takes me by the hand and leads me through violence and intrigue, strange names and places, a plot line that is hard to follow?in short, he makes sense of it. I can use that kind of help.

--Cecil E. Sherman
Professor of Pastoral Ministries
Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond
Former Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and pastor at Churches in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, New Jersey for 36 years.


In these volumes, Brueggemann gives the reader the benefit of his many years of reflection on the issues of violence and power in relation to Scripture. He approaches the text with his characteristic attention to literary nuance and shading, treating it as a connected narrative and interpreting it as such. He does not leave the text as a dead artifact, but shows its intriguing connections both to the New testament and to the modern world.

--John N. Oswalt
Research Professor of Old Testament
Wesley Biblical Seminary
Jackson, Mississippi


Brueggemann has the rare gift of making biblical texts understandable to general readers. In 1 & 2 Kings, he uses that gift well, enriching it with illustrations from art, current events, and popular culture. The result is a readable commentary that will evoke both surprise and pleasure.

--James L. Crenshaw
Robert L. Flowers Professor of Old Testament
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina


Once again Walter Brueggemann has shown us why he is pre-eminent among contemporary commentators on the Bible. Attention to the detail of the text is the ground for rich insight into the deeper issues that confront the thoughtful reader of Scripture. His long interest in prophecy and kingship, and particularly in the role of Solomon and the significance of the monarchy in ancient Israel has prepared him for this fine commentary on the Books of the Kings. Not to be missed is the extraordinary amount of illustrative material, not only from archaeological remains but from the history of art as interpretation of Scripture.

--Patrick Miller
Princeton Theological Seminary

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