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Vocation: Discerning Our Callings in Life
by Douglas Schuurman
Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 204 pp. $20.00. ISBN 0-8028-0137-4.
A couple of years ago I taught a class called “God and Mammon: Christian Reflections on Economic Life.” It quickly became clear that my students had a difficult time thinking about their work as anything but a means to pursue their own needs and desires. They tended to imagine their obligations to others as negotiated contracts between self-interested individuals. The problem was not that they were horribly self-absorbed, but that they possessed no alternative moral images to compete with the cultural dominance of radical individualism. Important agencies of moral formation, like churches and liberal arts colleges, have failed to provide them with more profound and truthful models of their life, work, and identity.
The publication of Douglas Schuurman’s book gives me hope that this is beginning to change. Schuurman provides a contemporary articulation of Christian vocation (drawing particularly on the Reformed and Lutheran traditions) that combats the individualism and secularism of American culture. The strength of the book is its attention to practical questions as well as academic debates. Schuurman attends not only to the questions that theologians ask, but also to the concerns that Christian laypeople have. Beginning with several chapters that articulate a theology of vocation for the present day, he ends with two, entitled “Vocation, Decisions, and the Moral Life I & II.” These concluding chapters explore the impact of the Christian idea of vocation upon the pivotal decisions of life, such as which career to pursue, whom to marry, and whether to have a family, as well as upon daily living within these spheres of life.
The significance of this book can best be realized in the context of the college classroom and the pastor’s study. In the college classroom it can be used to introduce students to the relevance of a theological tradition to contemporary life. And in the pastor’s study it will provide theologically astute reflection on daily living that should make its way into the pastor’s engagement with laypeople through preaching and teaching. On the whole, this book deserves wide use in order that agencies of moral formation, like churches and colleges, may once again provide profound and truthful models of life, work, and identity
Timothy A. Beach-Verhey
Davidson College
Davidson, North Carolina
How the Bible Became a Book: The Textualization of Ancient Israel
by William M. Schniedewind
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004. 257 pp. $28.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-521-82946-1.
In this slim but significant volume, William Schniedewind asks old questions concerning the composition of Scripture in new ways. He begins by engaging studies from classics and literary theory concerning the social and cultural preconditions necessary for writing and literacy. He then considers the archaeological evidence for those preconditions in ancient Israel, looking in particular for settlement patterns and population data from various periods in Israel’s history, together with actual evidence of writing, particularly ostraca (inscribed pottery shards, the “Post-It Notes” of the ancient world), graffiti, and official inscriptions. These studies lead Schniedewind to reject both late and early dates often advanced for the composition of the Hebrew Bible. Neither the exile and the Persian period, nor the time of David and Solomon, evidence the concentration of population, economic prosperity, and political stability necessary to support the large-scale production of texts. Further, there is little archaeological evidence for writing (in Hebrew, at any rate) from these periods.
The most suitable conditions for text production, and the best evidence for widespread literacy, come from the eighth through seventh centuries: particularly the reigns of Hezekiah and Josiah. Indeed, according to Schniedewind, it was in the reign of Josiah that the bulk of the Bible was set down in writing. But more importantly, it was at this time that Israel’s religion was textualized, that is, that authority began to be invested in written texts rather than in oral tradition. The exilic and postexilic periods were marked, not by literary creativity, but by the collection, editing, and scribal interpretation of texts. The prophet had been replaced by the scribe; the living voice of the traditional teacher by the unchanging word of the text.
Not many will be entirely convinced by Schniedewind’s approach. In particular, it could be argued that he places too great an emphasis on the distinction between oral tradition and written text. Probably for most of Israel’s history, an uneasy tension prevailed between the two, so that the composition of the biblical story may have a longer history than Schniedewind’s approach allows. At any rate, few will be persuaded to date as much of the text as Schniedewind wishes to the reign of a single king. Still, this is a fascinating and readily accessible book, with fresh ideas on virtually every page. Careful readers will find themselves beginning to think about the composition of biblical literature, and the idea of Scripture, in new ways.
Steven S. Tuell
Randolph-Macon College
Ashland, VirginiA
1–2 Chronicles: Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries
by Steven L. McKenzie
Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2004. 381 pp. $36.00. ISBN: 0-687-00750-X.
The Abingdon Old Testament Commentary provides a compact, critical commentary for theological students and pastors. Each volume provides an introduction to critical issues of the text, followed by a discussion of the text in literary units. Each unit discussion features a literary analysis that treats literary, structural, and stylistic matters; an exegetical analysis that deals with historical and social background, language, and text critical matters; and a theological and ethical analysis that explores the theological dimensions and ramifications of the text.
The present volume is an excellent fulfillment of the series design and a significant contribution to the literature on 1–2 Chronicles. It is clear, readable, and readily usable for preaching and teaching. McKenzie’s previous contributions to the source and redaction criticism of Chronicles position him as an able and knowledgeable interpreter and deepen his presentation of both critical issues and commentary.
McKenzie’s introduction to the commentary reflects the unsettled nature of many of the issues in current scholarly discussion. In his discussion of the question of common authorship of Chronicles and Ezra–Nehemiah, he argues that the evidence is mostly inconclusive, but may tend toward separate authorship. His discussion of the redactional integrity of Chronicles does not challenge the prevailing consensus that the book is the work of a single author who made large-scale use of Priestly and Deuteronomistic materials, but recognizes that there is evidence of secondary additions. He dates the work in the second half of the fourth century B.C.E. but is aware that a broader range of dates is possible. McKenzie argues that the Chronicler makes use of Samuel–Kings as his primary source, but in a sophisticated literary and theological manner, augmented with material from other, frequently unacknowledged sources in a manner that tends to authenticate the Chronicler’s account. In short, McKenzie’s introduction provides a solid, judicious, and convenient review of the critical issues in Chronicles research.
The strongest features of the commentary are the literary and exegetical discussions; these often feature very creative and provocative insights. Preachers and students will find much to enhance their study in these sections. Only the theological analysis occasionally leaves one wanting a bit more. Even here, however, McKenzie can hardly be described as deficient; it is more accurate to say that he occasionally does not explicitly draw the theological conclusions implicit in his exegesis.
McKenzie’s commentary will occupy a well-deserved place on the bookshelves of pastors and seminary students.
Paul K. Hooker, Executive Presbyter
Presbytery of St. Augustine, Florida
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther: New International Biblical Commentaries
by L. Allen and T. Laniak
Hendrickson, Peabody, MA, 2003. 290 pp. $14.95. ISBN 1-56563-218-4.
This series exemplifies the challenge of biblical scholarship for contemporary evangelicalism. It is committed to employing the full range of critical methodologies and practices, by scholars who hold the text in the highest regard so that modern readers may be illumined as their faith is deepened. This demanding task is engagingly carried out by Leslie Allen for Ezra–Nehemiah, and Timothy Laniak for Esther. Following a general introduction to their respective books, the commentaries treat each literary unit under three headings: a brief introduction often consisting of a literary analysis and structural observations; exegetical analysis, theological interpretation, and application; and additional notes dealing with historical, linguistic, and rhetorical issues, as well as pointers to more technical treatments of the text.
Allen excels in the theological reading and application of what he calls “history-related literature” (p. 3). This allows him to concentrate upon the message of Ezra–Nehemiah rather than its significance for the reconstruction of the history of Israel, and results in a remarkably useful resource for preaching and teaching. With respect to the primary difficulty of these books, Allen admits that both Ezra and Nehemiah employ exclusivist and even racist policies that often offend our modern sensibilities, but suggests that these policies need to be seen in the context of the post-exilic community’s political and economic stress, and that their zealous guarding of the tradition challenges contemporary Christians to display the same courage of their convictions.
Similarly, Laniak is most successful in his reading of Esther as literature, rather than history. Such reading leads him to see Esther as a message of hope addressed to Jews living in the Diaspora. Esther’s proclamation of hope away from the homeland and apart from the cultic observance associated with the Temple is in stark contrast to other post-exilic Old Testament messages of hope that are grounded in an end to exile and the successful return of the people to Judah.
Finally, Laniak seeks to answer the perennial question about the absence of God’s name in the text with the provocative (incarnational?) suggestion that, “[u]ltimately, being a Jew means being the presence of YHWH in the world. We look in vain to find his name in Esther because his identity is joined to that of his people” (p. 187).
While not for the specialist, all others will be enriched and enlightened by these engaging treatments of these frequently overlooked corners of the biblical record.
Mark A. Throntveit
Luther Seminary
Saint Paul, Minnesota |
