Old Testament Theology (review)

Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 103 Reviews also proposed a coherent model for thinking about how these key ingredients may actually have come together. Brooks Schramm Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary Gettysburg. PA 17325 OLD TESTAMENT THEOLOGY. By Horst Dietrich Preuss. Old Testament Library. Volume II. pp. x + 438. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1996. Cloth. $34.00. This review focuses on the second volume in Preuss' Old Testament Theology. Parts one and two are contained in volume I, which state and execute the main thesis. Parts three and four in volume II take up without further explanation where the argument left off on page 263 (p. 353 if one adds on the vast number of endnotes) in volume I. It is difficult to be constructive about the second half of a book whose first half raised many doubts regarding its viability. Volume I, while recognizing the problem of presenting a theology of the Old Testament in the current academic environment (p. xi), nevertheless does so with some panache. Preuss is convinced that it is possible to offer a systematic and structured theology (p. 19) because he firmly believes that the Old Testament has a theological center (p. 20) and that this center is the "Exodus Event as Primal Election" (p. 25). It is just about possible to be convinced that the discussion in volume I established the case for this center ; but in so doing, it left out a good deal which did not fit-not least the traditions of the patriarchs. of David and Zion, and most of the material in the wisdom literature. So volume II is the "overflow," and its existence highlights the problem with volume I. The very title of part three in volume II, is "... Additional Objects of the Historical, Electing Acts of YHWH"; it assesses in five chapters the patriarchs, the monarchy, the temple , the cult, and the prophets in terms of their purported relationship with the "exodus event as primal election." If part three gives the impression of an overflow section, lacking the coherence and conviction of parts one and two, then part four is even more diffuse. Entitled "The Results and Consequences of Election Experienced in History," it is such a miscellany of material that its lack of cohesion con- Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 104 Reviews finns the failure of the project of writing systematic and structured Old Testament theologies. The first chapter of part four, "The Israelite and his Relationship with God," deals with material which is more anthropological in its concerns, having no explicit reference whatsoever to the exodus event as primal election. The following chapter, "Foundational Questions for Ethics and Ethos," is even more disturbing. Here Preuss tries to gather within his orbit the wisdom literature, with its moral and existential concerns , and link this with the legal and ethical material in the Exodus/Sinai material by using Deuteronomy as some sort of bridge between the two. The result appears to be Preuss' systematic theology superimposed on Deuteronomic theology, which combination is then superimposed upon the wisdom literature. It is a small wonder (yet a great relief) that Preuss did not choose to use the Psalms in this way as well. However, upon reading the final three chapters-on the cult, on eschatology and apocalyptic, and on other nations-this reviewer was convinced that the forced negotiation of so much biblical material in relation to Exodus makes the whole project somewhat self-defeating. In effect, the publication of this second volume has put Preuss in a double bind. If he develops too much those issues which have little or nothing to do with the Exodus traditions, he weakens the basic premise itself. Yet if he assesses such issues only within the broader context of the Exodus tradition , the argument becomes forced. As Preuss himself admits (in his survey of the history of research in chapter one of volume I, which is quite the best part of the whole work), Old Testament theologies had their heyday in the post-war years, and their influence began to wane in the 1970s, after the contributions of W. Eichrodt, G. von Rad, and W. Zimmerli. The demise was in part due to the failed attempts of...