Book Report: “Dominion and Dynasty: A Biblical Theology of the Hebrew Bible”

Book Report: “Dominion and Dynasty: A Biblical Theology of the Hebrew Bible”

Introduction

Stephen Dempester wrote “Dominion and Dynasty: A Biblical Theology of the Hebrew Bible” in 2003. This volume is the fifteenth one in the series of New Studies in Biblical Theology. Critics and readers consider this book a provoking and insightful contribution in this series. The book is meant to eloquent the directing narrative of the Hebrew Scriptures while examining the original structure of Text and the texts within it.

About the Author

Stephen Depmster is teaching Religious Studies at Atlantic Baptist University in New Brunswick, Canada for many years. He has an experience of many years in the Biblical languages, redemptive history, and theology. According to the author in the preface of the book, he started this project in 1993 to recognize the movement and shape of the Hebrew Bible. Since then, he has published many articles, which laid the theoretical and exegetical basis of the book “Dominion and Dynasty: A Biblical Theology of the Hebrew Bible”.

Summary

The main objective of this book is to lead the reader above the text so that they can understand what is said within the scriptures rather than getting lost between particular passages or message of Hebrew Bible. This book helps people get the whole picture and let people know that narration was the basic structure of Hebrew. This book shows that Hebrew Bible was grouped in three sections inside a single volume i.e. narrative, commentary and concluding commentary.

Chapters one and two make the first section in which the author grapples with the allegation on Old Testament for being a “ragbag” of texts and not having an overarching and unified approach. Through various examples, the author has shown that the allegation is not true, and Old Testament is remarkably woven together with the help of significant textual coherence spread over many centuries. He argues that this such cohesion cannot be termed as a “ragbag”. He also argues in favor of the ordering of the original Hebrew books. He has illustrated different weights between ending the Old Testament with Chronicles (original Hebrew) and ending it with Malachi (modern). In order to make his argument valid, he ordered his books as Hebrew ordering.

Chapter two set up few preparatory issues which offer readers a quick review of the Old Testament's story. After this, the author moves towards Israel people's loss of dominion. He covers all the way from Genesis through the Kings in the second section. The section tells the story of Genesis in which initially people see humanity established in the image of God, though, by the Genesis 3, the role changes. Adam and eve are escalated out of heaven and promised to be given innumerable descendants. It is about entering of Israel in a land and then rebelling. It also presents a hope in the form of David as the future of Israel.

According to Dempster the narrative storyline of Hebrew Bible is suspended at the point where ...