The Land: Place as Gift, Promise, and Challenge in Biblical Faith

Overtures to Biblical Theology #1

by Walter Brueggemann

The land was one of the most vibrant symbols for the people of ancient Israel. In the landgift, promise, and challengewas found the physical source of Israel's fertility and life, and a place for the gathering of the hopes of the covenant people. In this careful treatment, Walter Brueggemann follows the development of his theme through the major blocks of Israel's traditions. The book provides a point of entrance both to the theology of the Old Testament and to aspects of the New Testamenteven as it illuminates crucial issues of the contemporary scene. In this fully revised version, Brueggemann provides new insights, as well as updating the discussion, notes, and bibliography.

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies, Religion, Old Testament, Faith, Christianity, Nonfiction

225 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Walter Brueggemann was an American Christian scholar and theologian who is widely considered an influential Old Testament scholar. His work often focused on the Hebrew prophetic tradition and the sociopolitical imagination of the Church. He argued that the Church must provide a counter-narrative to the dominant forces of consumerism, militarism, and nationalism.

Reviews

[Christopher Gow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m really grateful for this book. It’s one of those special biblical studies books that shows you a theme in the text that you have misunderstood and minimized because of your culture.

I think his main argument is biblical and beautiful - would recommend for anyone trying to understand the importance of land in OT/biblical theology, covenants, the self-identity of God’s people, biblical ethics.

I think it’s probably a 4.5 star book only because he sometimes makes really bold statements that don’t seem to rigorously follow from his argument. In general I love his punchy/preach-able style, and maybe I missed some stuff, but it felt like some of his points in the conclusion were a bit stretched.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wherever you are on this planet, actual earthly turf lies under your feet, forms the foundation of your house, your workplace, of everywhere you venture. For every one of us, "land" carries heavy literal and symbolic connotations that include dirt, soil, ground, territory, settled, belonging, rooted, secure. In this second decade of the twenty-first century we've recently experienced a major economic crash followed by far lower reevaluation of residential - and other - real estate, precipitated by people who imagined inalienable land could be "owned" as property and turn big profits. Families still get relocated by governmental and other entities from storied places into historyless spaces. We've been agonizing over seemingly endless, unstoppable atrocities against the land committed by Monsanto as well as by other huge agribusiness and manufacturing conglomerates. Especially considering those events, you need to read and take to heart this book by Hebrew Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann as he helps clarify and untangle law, gospel, history and hope!

If you've studied scripture even minimally, you know Egypt "...is not the place!" The Exodus wilderness on the way to the land of promise was not "the place," either. Unlike with those managed, controlled, counted bricks and bread under Pharaoh, in the wasteland of Israel's Sinai wanderings, human administration and management of anything (let alone land and its harvests) was impossible, so with manna and quail from the sky, with water from the rock, Moses' people experienced wildness as a life-giving, life-sustaining gift from Yahweh. For Israel, land would remain gift if they would continue trustfully obeying. Likewise for us, land will become gift if we will obey and trust.

In the Hebrew Bible there is no timeless space and no spaceless time; it all is "storied place." Brueggemann reminds us as "fructifier of the land" Yahweh is a fertility god who fully participates in the agricultural cycles with earth, farmers, vintners, and crops that typically we experience as the [almost] endless recycling of the same events. Yahweh also is Lord of history―not one who protects and assures continuities in our lives, but instead works the brand-newness of political, historical, social, and individual resurrection out of sometimes unimaginably radical discontinuities. Yahweh is Lord of the Lands and Lord of the Commands―a God who keeps covenant forever, who calls us to covenant-making, and covenant-keeping. A God who calls prophets to be a voice for the land and for the people.

Although The Land relates mostly the topic of turf and dirt, gift, obedience, and community in the Old Testament scriptures, the author also brings some possible Christological interpretations of the OT texts along with land-focused insights from NT gospels and Pauline epistles (particularly Romans 4 and Galatians 3 and 4). Remember, you simply cannot empty Abraham of land! Just as in Hebrew Bible times, during the earthly ministries of Jesus of Nazareth and of the early church, we need to be about the covenantal inter-responsibility of speaking and answering, call and response, amongst Yahweh, people, and land. "Listen to the voice and the claim of the land." WB reminds us scripture emphasizes not emancipation but rootage (you already know Paul of Tarsus' eleutheria / freedom ain't no emancipation proclamation!), not meaning but belonging―we are baptized into Christ, into the people of God in every time and place.

Reviewer note: the inevitable outcome of living as covenantal, creation-care people is that we'll become an inclusive, welcoming, justice-filled Eucharistic community that displays the exhibition of the reign of God to the world.

[George Kogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published in 1977, Brueggemann’s book instantly filled an important void in biblical studies by addressing the theme of land, an area of scarce theological reflection at the time. Against the existentialist focus on “the mighty deeds of God in history” (p. 3) dominating the field of biblical studies, Brueggemann identifies the theme of land as a foundational, organizing component of the biblical narrative. In the Bible, he observes Israel’s deep longing for land as a place laden with both, symbolic and literal meanings. The symbolism of land is concerned with social conditions and connotations associated with a particular “Sitz im Leben,” while the literal meaning has to do with “historical power and belonging” (p. 2). Brueggemann’s thesis is that the biblical narrative becomes the stage on which the longing for land is realized through Israel’s movement from the condition of “landlessness,” characterized by the experience of wilderness and exile, to the condition of “landedness,” reflected either in Israel anticipating and receiving the land or grieving its loss (p. xi). Throughout the book, Brueggemann employs three particular episodes from Israel’s experience that, according to him, capture the underlying theme of the land “as promise to the landless” (p. 5): a) Land promised as gift and inheritance to Abraham and his descendants; b) Israel’s possession of land as gift and mishandling of that gift, resulting in loss of land through exile; and c) Israel’s journey from exile back to the land, which culminates in the language of kingdom in the New Testament.
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Although Brueggemann is self-critical of his methodological sophistication in this book, his approach is rooted in the work of Brevard Childs who emphasized the canonical witness of the Old Testament amidst the dominant preoccupation with historical criticism in biblical scholarship. The influence of Childs can be evidenced somewhat in Brueggemann’s commendable effort to trace the theme of land through the cannon of scripture. Furthermore, Brueggemann points to his utilization of a social-scientific approach to raise economic questions affecting “text-producing” and “text-reading” communities, and a rhetorical criticism approach to probe the imaginative consciousness of selected biblical texts (p. xxii). In Brueggemann’s discussion of economic realities his commitment to liberation theology as an interpretive framework is particularly evident, given his focus on the consequences the monarchs’ mismanagement of land had on the disenfranchised in ancient Israel.

This volume merits sustained attention by scholars, pastors, and informed lay leaders who desire to both understand and instruct others in the way of living responsibly as God’s “landed” covenant people in the world that is deeply committed to acquisitive grasping.

[Tor Espen Kristensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walter Brueggemann’s The Land is a seminal exploration of how “land” functions as a theological theme throughout the Bible. Brueggemann argues that land is not just background to the biblical story, but a divine gift — central to identity, covenant, and obedience.

The book is well-written and often eloquent, though at times repetitive. Some chapters are excellent and deserve high praise for their insight, especially those dealing with exile and rootedness. Yet the land-theme occasionally feels imposed on the text. For example, nearly every reference to Abraham is interpreted through the land promise, which narrows the scope of his significance.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books in which, for reasons of feeling pressured to please a certain small audience or being edited to “belong” in academia, the unfortunate result is a fascinating and important topic discussed in such a way as to make it inaccessible to many and unpalatable to most. But then there are sections within it in which you can feel his passion taking control and suddenly the prose becomes readable and enjoyable.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost always bibliographies for rural ministry include Brueggemann's "The Land." After reading the book, I don't understand why. Brueggemann's observations appear applicable to urban and suburban as well as rural ministries. (Granted, I read an earlier edition of the book. Perhaps, a later edition would clear my confusion.) Brueggemann's insight is in biblical theology, not a particular subset of Christian ministry.

Brueggemann uses "the land" as a category of interpretation from Genesis to the ends of the New Testament. Granted, the scope of the book is ambitious, but Brueggemann does a commendable job. I was particularly intrigued in seeing connections between the land as gift, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and Paul's teaching on grace. Brueggemann's method helps us overcome blind spots in traditional interpretation. Nonetheless, I would not suggest jettisoning more familiar ways of looking at Scripture in favor of "the land." As one who reads the Old Testament through the New, I would have appreciated more emphasis on Christology, Soteriology and their relation to the land. Still, there is plenty of food for thought.

Some practical observations. The book is dense. Anyone with merely a cursory knowledge of the Old Testament will find the book a slow read. Moreover, I recommend reading the last chapters first. They lay out where Brueggemann's interpretation is going.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Brueggemann does here is what Brueggemann does. He takes you over familiar terrain and allows you to see the lay of the land from a whole new vantage point than you ever have before. As in general, I don't always agree with his particulars but he does describe a trajectory which I think is fundamentally correct. Much of what he says here has implications for Creation care, economics, our understanding of covenant.
The theme of land is not a minor theme in the Old Testament. Brueggemann is able to trace Israel's movement to 'the land' through to their exile and hope for restoration (as well as offering a suggestive read of how these texts inform or reading of the New Testament). He offers a dialectic of land and landlessness (grasping leads to homelessness; gift leads to home).

When he draws the implications of land and biblical economics forward, he is able to address contemporary issues prophetically. He addresses wealth distribution, Israel/Palestine, the environment, and consumerism.

Good read and helpful theological lens for understanding the Bible!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

brueggmann helps us understand israel's constant struggle with land and paints a clear picture of israel's history with land from sojourner to exile. his handling of the OT is exceptional, his conclusions both through out the book as well as in the end helps the reader consider applications for how to live well and contribute to their own place (city, land, area, etc.) anyone interested in making understanding how to view their location with God's intent or be intentional about mission and a theology of place should read this book

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent read. Brueggemann does an excellent job exploring themes of land belonging and the spirituality of landedness, particularly in the Old Testament. It's an incredibly important theme that, once you see it, starts to pop up all over the Bible.

It is fascinating how much of a difference this makes for the way that we think about theology. As Brueggemann articulately argues, Biblical faith does not arise in a vacuum; it is built on particular promises to people on particular turf. We cannot understand exile, covenant, crucifixion, resurrection, or apocalyptic literature without being grounded in the fact that God meets us HERE, on land that is a gift from him. When we sin against him, we lose the land. When we hold too tightly to our worldly power, it is taken from us. But when we accept our own need for Yahweh, he blesses us by taking us out of exile into a place where we belong, full of meaning and history.

This is the great arc behind the patriarchs, the judges, the kings, the prophets, and the incarnation. God's people go through cycles of promise, covenant-breaking, land loss, and re-establishment. Unlike our modern conception of land as something to be divvied-up, no more than a natural resource, the Hebrews understood land in religious, sociological, and familial terms. Hence the promise that every 49 years the land would return to its original owners during the Jubilee. It is also fascinating that in the Biblical imagination, land/soil/earth can be "poisoned" by human sin and greed. We see this in the stories of Cain, Jezebel and Naboth and the stolen vineyard, etc. Blood cries out from the ground for justice. The land is not a neutral map on which actions take place--it is part of the great play, the great relationship, between God and humanity. And only in having proper reverence for the land can we fully be people who are in right covenant relationship with God.

[Jake Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super helpful work by Brueggemann. Could be incredibly dense at times but so worth it to get through. Do not agree with some points where he definitely reads this into the text but most of the time he seems spot on with pointing out this theme. If anything, Brueggemann makes the text come alive and provides another tool to read the text in a faithful way. Definitely worth the read for someone looking to see scripture especially the Hebrew Bible, in a new way and point out so many things that we miss in our context.

[Keith Lannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early Brueggemann. Very early Brueggemann. He almost sounds like an evangelical ... almost. This man is a Lutheran - though I think Luther would turn in his grave really. Brilliant insights into the biblical teaching on the land of Israel.

[Amanda Opelt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with much of Brueggemann's writing, there were portions of this book that were difficult to absorb. But the number of takeaways I had from this book is enormous, particularly his thoughts on the dispossession of land, and land as inheritance rather than entitlement.

[Steve Pei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those who take land by force will eventually lose it: those who are meek will receive the land as a gift. It reminds me of Interstellar so much.

[Sanjuro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the previous goodreads reviews on this book have highlighted that the book is "about" things like ministry, or creation care. This is strange to me. Although the book is certainly applicable to those things, it cannot be said to be "about" them. This book is, more simply, a biblical theology of "the land," and at points has much relevance to creation care, but at other points no relevance at all. Brueggemann tracks the theme of land throughout the Bible, and at the end, offers valuable insights into the way that this theme should speak to modern ethics. Rather than creation care, the main thrust of the book is in relation to covenanting with God, and receiving the land as a gift, as it is mediated by him. More so, the book has less to do with creation as a whole as it does the specific land of promise - the land given to Abraham's descendants.

I loved the book. I think Brueggemann's analysis regarding the gifting of the land, and the need of the Israelites to treat it not as a commodity, but as an inheritance; as a covenant partner, is spot on. I do have two major criticisms; first, I think the book would have benefited by a better analysis of the way that emphasis on the land shifts throughout the stages of the Hebrew Bible. The land is much more prominent in the Pentateuch than in the latter prophets, for example, and I think a breakdown of this might have helped to emphasize the shift in theology from more realized, to more apocalyptic, especially since apocalypticism makes an appearance in the book near the end. Second, despite my love of, say, 4/5 of this book - I think his entire section on the theme of the land in the New Testament is incorrect, and misrepresents the evidence. The land makes almost no impact on the New Testament teaching, and Brueggemann seems to make some fairly wild assumptions regarding his argument that the land is more prominent in the New Testament than scholars have previously recognized. For example, he assumes that a reference to Abraham automatically carries with it a reference to the land, even if implicit. This doesn't square with a plain reading of those texts, nor does it take into account that even in the second temple period many references to Abraham's promises no longer dealt with land, but simply being a descendant of the covenant - meaning relationship with/to God.

Overall, the book provides excellent commentary on displacement and exile. I particularly loved the interaction with the work of writers like John Steinbeck and Wendell Berry, two of my favorites.

[Brian Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

The virtue of Brueggemann's work is that he takes land seriously as a biblical theme. Unlike W. D. Davies, who wrote the other major theology of land, Brueggemann affirms the remaining relevance of the land theme in the New Testament. Unfortunately, he often adopts ideological readings or counter reads the text. For instance, in this book Brueggemann consistently pits the themes of land and monarchy against each other contrary to the way Scripture develops the messianic theme in connection with the land theme.

[Carolyn Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that is accessible. It sets out the theological points clearly and yet is easy to relate to life today.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great reads for me this year; I read this as I worked on sermons in Jeremiah. It was a spiritual, uplifting experience to read Brueggemann's excited, rich approach to OT theology.

[Andy Gore · Rating 5 out of 5]

As ever a masterpiece to soak yourself in.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done theology