Review of Dominion and Dynasty: A Biblical Theology of the Hebrew Bible by Stephen Dempster
Unlike the other books in this series of reviews of biblical theology texts, this book is not an introduction to the discipline. Instead, Dominion and Dynasty: A Biblical Theology of the Hebrew Bible is Stephen Dempster’s basic introduction to the Old Testament. While there are a few things that will be a bit unusual for contemporary Evangelicals, Dempster’s book is nevertheless an excellent survey and well worth reading.
Dempster breaks his book into five parts. In the Introduction, Dempster gives a brief survey of the biblical theology of the Old Testament. Dempster argues that the OT is not a “grab bag” of randomly preserved texts, but rather a single, coherent story with all the things that stories have: a beginning, middle, and end; plot and theme; heroes and villains; etc. Dempster also introduces a structure that most Evangelicals will be unfamiliar with: the Hebrew Canon. There isn’t really space here to discussion the ins-and-outs of the subject, but the short version is that the Hebrew Bible organizes its books differently, beginning with narrative (Genesis-2 Kings) then going to prophecy (Isaiah-the Minor Prophets), then poetry (Ruth, Psalms, Wisdom Literature, Lamentations); and the narrative concluded (Daniel, 1 Chronicles-Nehemiah). The bulk of Dempster’s book covers each of these sections and gives a brief introduction to their uses in the OT as a whole. In the conclusion, Dempster discusses the subject of typology and how the Old Testament leads into the New Testament.
Again, this book is excellent and worth reading. Dempster’s writing style is simple, clear, and interesting without being vapid or trivial. What’s more, there is a clear devotional sense throughout this book—despite the fact this it is part of an academic series and despite the fact that until the last chapter the New Testament is almost never referenced. That last may be the other aspect of Dominion and Dynasty a bit jarring to the modern Evangelical reader. Even though Dempster’s writing is clearly undergirded by solid Christology, he never traces the Old Testament foundation into the New Testament fulfillment. Instead, he lets the text of the Old Testament stand on its own. In that sense, this may not be a book to give your non-Christian friends, or to very new believers. But for those who want a place to beginning delving into the storyline of the Old Testament, this is a great resource.
Highly Recommended.
This book was provided for free by the publisher, I was not required to write a positive review.
Dr. Coyle Neal is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO.
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