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Hopeful Imagination: Prophetic Voices in Exile
Professor Brueggemann here examines the literature and experience of an era in which Israel's prophets faced the pastoral responsibility of helping people to enter into exile, to be in exile, and to depart out of exile. He addresses three major prophetic Jeremiah (the pathos of God), Ezekiel (the holiness of God), and 2 Isaiah (the newness of God). This literature is seen to contain the theological resources for handling both brokenness and surprise with freedom, courage, and imagination. Throughout, Brueggemann demonstrates how these resources offer vitality for ministry today.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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About the author
Walter Brueggemann
308 books564 followersWalter 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.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 14, 2023
Brueggemann sees denial, utilitarianism, and amnesia as the main cultural temptations of our day. But if we fight these temptations with grief, holiness, and memory, we can expect newness, hope and possibility to come forth.
Brilliant exegesis, smart writing, sharp perception of our context. My geekiness is on fire.
Brilliant exegesis, smart writing, sharp perception of our context. My geekiness is on fire.
July 29, 2024
I just finished reading Brueggemann's "The Prophetic Imagination" for the third time and was inspired to read this similar work of scholarship that he put out about a decade later.
"The Prophetic Imagination" was a scholarly meditation on the prophets and indeed the whole arc of Hebrew scripture.
Brueggemann is amazing at sketching out broad paradigms through which to view scripture and our very reality. He posits a tension between what he calls with slight nuance the royal consciousness, the dominant consciousness, or the imperial consciousness and then the prophetic alternative consciousness of enlightened spirituality.
The royal consciousness, a consciousness we are all inescapably drawn to, is a mindset of power dynamics, consumerism, "false fields of perception and idolatrous systems of language and rhetoric." It is the reality we meet in Pharoah's Egypt, later in Israel's own Solomonic monarchy, the second temple system, and our current American imperial reality.
The task of prophetic ministry [displayed by Moses, the prophets, Jesus, and contemporary prophets like MLK and others] is to nurture, nourish, and evoke an alternative consciousness of pathos and compassion, a call to care, a covenanting with neighbor, an embrace of a "free" God, and a shared joy of God's kingdom.
There is obviously so much more to that excellent book, but I need to put down a few words about this "sequel."
The Hopeful Imagination covers some of the same ideas, but is a deeper dive into the three major prophets specifically (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah). The Prophetic Imagination was a broad survey of Brueggemann's insights - the view from 20,000 feet; The Hopeful Imagination is a closer examination of these ideas in those specific Prophetic works.
The Prophets are poetic, highly imaginative (imagistic?), responses to Babylon's destruction and enslavement of Jerusalem in 587 BCE (Jeremiah, Ezekiel) and the end of exile and return of the captives (Isaiah). The fall of Jerusalem cannot be overestimated as an existential shock to the people of Israel and complete shock to the faith tradition as well. What could this total disaster mean to this people and their faith?
Brueggemann writes "These poets not only discerned the new actions of God that others did not discern, but they wrought the new actions of God by the power of their imagination, their tongues, their words. New poetic imagination evoked new realities in the community.
Brueggemann notes Jeremiah's focus on grief - grief in contrast to a numb denialism, as a necessary acknowledgement of change, but also as a crucial part of embracing newness.
"Jeremiah's vitality comes precisely from his passionate conviction about the power of God to work a newness in the zero hour of loss and exile . . . only grief permits newness."
Ezekiel, a contemporary of Jeremiah, covers much of the same ground, but writes with a greater toughness - to Ezekiel God seems a bit more remote. Brueggemann's Ezekiel is focused on God's holiness, a God who will not be mocked, a God who is "free" and not beholden to people's religious expectations. This is the God we see in the Gospels, a God undomesticated by the expectations of the Pharisees but is free to act unexpectedly but always with holiness. For Brueggemann, this is a revelation which should bring great hope.
Brueggemann's insight into Isaiah is the prophet's interest in memory. The "imperial consciousness" is a consciousness of amnesia, of numbness, of bland pacification. It was the prophet's role to remind the exiled community in Babylon of their home and the spiritual identity tied to it. Isaiah mocks the gods of Babylon (as Moses once did the Gods of Egypt) and calls them to come home. Brueggemann draws comparisons to Jesus and MLK:
"The poetry of 2 Isaiah dreams of homecoming and begins to nullify Babylonian definitions of reality. The parables of Jesus initiate dreams of homecoming and begin to subvert the oppressive social institutions and presuppositions of his day. The oracles of Martin Luther King Jr. dance about Stone Mountain and begin to cause trembling in the racist structures of the day..."
This is a heavy, scholarly work, but really helpful in understanding the insights of the prophets and their application to the current day. Brueggemann does not spend much energy drawing parallels to our American context (in this book anyway) but the applications are not unclear. Near the end, he leaves us with this insight:
"The ideology of the empire thrives on global, cosmic sin. Second Isaiah . . . is based on the slave narratives from Exodus. It invites to "some kind of larger freedom" Such a larger freedom is a possibility for exiles, but only where the slave narratives are re-entered and claimed as ours - even in a foreign land.
The poet in exile sings his people to homecoming. And that is a theme to which the exiled church in America is now summoned. The gospel is that we may go home. Home is not in the consumer militarism of a dominant value system. Home is also not in heaven, as though we may escape. Home, rather, is God's kingdom of love and justice and peace and freedom that waits for us. The news is we are invited home (Luke 15:17). The whole church may yet sing: "Precious Saviour take my hand. Lead me home!"
"The Prophetic Imagination" was a scholarly meditation on the prophets and indeed the whole arc of Hebrew scripture.
Brueggemann is amazing at sketching out broad paradigms through which to view scripture and our very reality. He posits a tension between what he calls with slight nuance the royal consciousness, the dominant consciousness, or the imperial consciousness and then the prophetic alternative consciousness of enlightened spirituality.
The royal consciousness, a consciousness we are all inescapably drawn to, is a mindset of power dynamics, consumerism, "false fields of perception and idolatrous systems of language and rhetoric." It is the reality we meet in Pharoah's Egypt, later in Israel's own Solomonic monarchy, the second temple system, and our current American imperial reality.
The task of prophetic ministry [displayed by Moses, the prophets, Jesus, and contemporary prophets like MLK and others] is to nurture, nourish, and evoke an alternative consciousness of pathos and compassion, a call to care, a covenanting with neighbor, an embrace of a "free" God, and a shared joy of God's kingdom.
There is obviously so much more to that excellent book, but I need to put down a few words about this "sequel."
The Hopeful Imagination covers some of the same ideas, but is a deeper dive into the three major prophets specifically (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah). The Prophetic Imagination was a broad survey of Brueggemann's insights - the view from 20,000 feet; The Hopeful Imagination is a closer examination of these ideas in those specific Prophetic works.
The Prophets are poetic, highly imaginative (imagistic?), responses to Babylon's destruction and enslavement of Jerusalem in 587 BCE (Jeremiah, Ezekiel) and the end of exile and return of the captives (Isaiah). The fall of Jerusalem cannot be overestimated as an existential shock to the people of Israel and complete shock to the faith tradition as well. What could this total disaster mean to this people and their faith?
Brueggemann writes "These poets not only discerned the new actions of God that others did not discern, but they wrought the new actions of God by the power of their imagination, their tongues, their words. New poetic imagination evoked new realities in the community.
Brueggemann notes Jeremiah's focus on grief - grief in contrast to a numb denialism, as a necessary acknowledgement of change, but also as a crucial part of embracing newness.
"Jeremiah's vitality comes precisely from his passionate conviction about the power of God to work a newness in the zero hour of loss and exile . . . only grief permits newness."
Ezekiel, a contemporary of Jeremiah, covers much of the same ground, but writes with a greater toughness - to Ezekiel God seems a bit more remote. Brueggemann's Ezekiel is focused on God's holiness, a God who will not be mocked, a God who is "free" and not beholden to people's religious expectations. This is the God we see in the Gospels, a God undomesticated by the expectations of the Pharisees but is free to act unexpectedly but always with holiness. For Brueggemann, this is a revelation which should bring great hope.
Brueggemann's insight into Isaiah is the prophet's interest in memory. The "imperial consciousness" is a consciousness of amnesia, of numbness, of bland pacification. It was the prophet's role to remind the exiled community in Babylon of their home and the spiritual identity tied to it. Isaiah mocks the gods of Babylon (as Moses once did the Gods of Egypt) and calls them to come home. Brueggemann draws comparisons to Jesus and MLK:
"The poetry of 2 Isaiah dreams of homecoming and begins to nullify Babylonian definitions of reality. The parables of Jesus initiate dreams of homecoming and begin to subvert the oppressive social institutions and presuppositions of his day. The oracles of Martin Luther King Jr. dance about Stone Mountain and begin to cause trembling in the racist structures of the day..."
This is a heavy, scholarly work, but really helpful in understanding the insights of the prophets and their application to the current day. Brueggemann does not spend much energy drawing parallels to our American context (in this book anyway) but the applications are not unclear. Near the end, he leaves us with this insight:
"The ideology of the empire thrives on global, cosmic sin. Second Isaiah . . . is based on the slave narratives from Exodus. It invites to "some kind of larger freedom" Such a larger freedom is a possibility for exiles, but only where the slave narratives are re-entered and claimed as ours - even in a foreign land.
The poet in exile sings his people to homecoming. And that is a theme to which the exiled church in America is now summoned. The gospel is that we may go home. Home is not in the consumer militarism of a dominant value system. Home is also not in heaven, as though we may escape. Home, rather, is God's kingdom of love and justice and peace and freedom that waits for us. The news is we are invited home (Luke 15:17). The whole church may yet sing: "Precious Saviour take my hand. Lead me home!"
November 15, 2012
READ NOV 2012
It may be small (133 pages) but it is packed. Excellent work, maybe more relevant today (2012) than when it was first published in 1986.
It may be small (133 pages) but it is packed. Excellent work, maybe more relevant today (2012) than when it was first published in 1986.
November 16, 2016
A detailed analysis of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and 2nd Isaiah drawing parallels between the exiled nation of 6th Century B.C. and Christians today stuck in a Babylon of consumerism and empire. Very detailed, but interesting for theologians and clergy. This is probably a bit too detailed for those looking for overviews.
January 6, 2025
As a sequel to prophetic imagination this was a powerful exploration of the prophetic ministry and its relevance in today's world. Brueggemann's insights challenged me to envision a future filled with hope and transformation, while also acknowledging the reality of how things are now. Highly recommended for those seeking a deeper understanding of prophetic imagination and its impact on society.
May 9, 2024
This is a dense book- packed with insight that feels timely decades after it was written. Bruggemann’s exploration of the feeling of exile, as well of the need for grief and new expressions examined through the prophetic poetry of Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah (2) is very insightful.
June 10, 2017
An excellent book. Exile in the 6th Century BC and the prophets who wrote in that context have just as much to teach us in the 21st Century! A very hopeful book in our currently turbulent times.
Read
August 4, 2011One can appreciate the way Brueggemann reads the Bible. For all of Evangelicalism’s rejection of Plato and its (rightful, if not always self-understood) suspicion of Hellenism, Evangelicals are thoroughly Platonic when it comes to thinking about the Biblical text. Evangelicals see the Old Testament as one seamless unity in which all texts[i] have equal applicatory power to the life of the believer. Brueggemann shows how untenable that view is. While sensitive to the fact this is God’s word, these texts reveal a highly dynamic sitz em leben. Not only do many texts of the Old Testament—moral and civil texts at that—not easily apply to today’s life, they didn’t even apply to the life of the “Old Testament” believer in many cases.[ii]
His Thesis
Brueggemann’s thesis is helpfully summarized in the final pages of the book: Jeremiah urged “grief” in order for newness to come out of brokenness, a brokenness caused by idolatry. Ezekiel posited God’s holiness as the only ground of hope, for only God’s holiness remains “undeconstructed.” 2nd Isaiah points the way back from exile with new community, new hope, and both by way of a “new memory” (131-133).[iii]
Brueggemann argues that 587 B.C. is a break in Israel’s prophetic history (2). After the Babylonian exile, the Prophets had Israel’s text—or better her “collective memory”—in a different way. For example, it would not have done any good to preach the covenant promises of Deuteronomy 28-30 to the captive community without radically altering the way they are applied. Therefore, the prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel—had to draw upon new applications of Israel’s older memories. The older stories still work, but they have to work in a new way.
An Hegelian on Crack?
There are some difficulties with Brueggemann’s project. Brueggemann sets forth the prophet as the critic of the Bourgeois. The prophet calls against the moral and theological compromise in the power circles. That is good and there is no problem with that. It appears, though, that there must always be a prophet who is critiquing a system that is always corrupt and is calling forth a new system which, too, will soon become corrupt.
It is not fair to critique an argument simply based on the implications of how some will apply the argument—and I largely agree with what Brueggemann is saying. However, it would have been interesting to see how he develops the same true insights in a new setting. In other words, it would have been helpful for him to “imagine” a more normative, yet morally just setting in which these prophetic insights could play.
Conclusion
Unlike other academics, Brueggemann writes with a rare passion for the “church” (leave that word undefined for the moment). He rightfully points out the liberal compromise (prostitution) with modernity and the conservative compromise with the status quo. He calls attention to our idols: sexual myopia, technology, and power. Following the early critics of modernity, he sees economics, justice, and sex as interconnected.[iv] Unfortunately, while Brueggemann is interacting with the text at all times, he is rarely doing exegesis. He is giving the reader excellent applications of certain texts, but is not always interpreting the text.
[i] Or depending on one’s perspective in the Theonomy debate, all texts under a certain subset of “the law” (e.g., moral, ceremonial, civil).
[ii] Greg Bahnsen pointed out the same thing, something that I repeatedly point out to theonomists and constitutionalists when they use 1 Samuel 8 against the idea of monarchy.
[iii] While it remains outside the focus of Brueggemann’s project, N. T. Wright’s “return from exile” theology is a helpful supplement to Brueggemann’s correct insights.
[iv] For a conservative analysis of the above triad, see E. Michael Jones’ works
His Thesis
Brueggemann’s thesis is helpfully summarized in the final pages of the book: Jeremiah urged “grief” in order for newness to come out of brokenness, a brokenness caused by idolatry. Ezekiel posited God’s holiness as the only ground of hope, for only God’s holiness remains “undeconstructed.” 2nd Isaiah points the way back from exile with new community, new hope, and both by way of a “new memory” (131-133).[iii]
Brueggemann argues that 587 B.C. is a break in Israel’s prophetic history (2). After the Babylonian exile, the Prophets had Israel’s text—or better her “collective memory”—in a different way. For example, it would not have done any good to preach the covenant promises of Deuteronomy 28-30 to the captive community without radically altering the way they are applied. Therefore, the prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel—had to draw upon new applications of Israel’s older memories. The older stories still work, but they have to work in a new way.
An Hegelian on Crack?
There are some difficulties with Brueggemann’s project. Brueggemann sets forth the prophet as the critic of the Bourgeois. The prophet calls against the moral and theological compromise in the power circles. That is good and there is no problem with that. It appears, though, that there must always be a prophet who is critiquing a system that is always corrupt and is calling forth a new system which, too, will soon become corrupt.
It is not fair to critique an argument simply based on the implications of how some will apply the argument—and I largely agree with what Brueggemann is saying. However, it would have been interesting to see how he develops the same true insights in a new setting. In other words, it would have been helpful for him to “imagine” a more normative, yet morally just setting in which these prophetic insights could play.
Conclusion
Unlike other academics, Brueggemann writes with a rare passion for the “church” (leave that word undefined for the moment). He rightfully points out the liberal compromise (prostitution) with modernity and the conservative compromise with the status quo. He calls attention to our idols: sexual myopia, technology, and power. Following the early critics of modernity, he sees economics, justice, and sex as interconnected.[iv] Unfortunately, while Brueggemann is interacting with the text at all times, he is rarely doing exegesis. He is giving the reader excellent applications of certain texts, but is not always interpreting the text.
[i] Or depending on one’s perspective in the Theonomy debate, all texts under a certain subset of “the law” (e.g., moral, ceremonial, civil).
[ii] Greg Bahnsen pointed out the same thing, something that I repeatedly point out to theonomists and constitutionalists when they use 1 Samuel 8 against the idea of monarchy.
[iii] While it remains outside the focus of Brueggemann’s project, N. T. Wright’s “return from exile” theology is a helpful supplement to Brueggemann’s correct insights.
[iv] For a conservative analysis of the above triad, see E. Michael Jones’ works
February 20, 2021
This was a summertime read for me, it was an illuminating and creatively insightful read. There were a few points to quibble over, but it was overall a very helpful read. Although I read it over a summer, the kind that is enjoyed on a sunny porch with lemonade, don't be deceived, this book is not a "breeze." Be prepared to think hard, but relax, it's also deeply enjoyable.
July 18, 2019
This book is in many ways similar to Brueggemann's The Prophetic Imagination, but differs in several important ways. First, it really explores the context behind each prophetic voice, showing how and why the words have been chosen. While The Prophetic Imagination showed how the pathos in Jeremiah and the newness of 2 Isaiah were important, this goes beyond that to show how exactly they are articulated. It also adds in the voice of Ezekiel. And here I think Brueggemann seems to negate the premise of the rest of the work. Instead of rejecting monarchical understandings of God and the established order, Brueggemann promotes a "toughness" of God. God is seen to be primarily self-concerned and independent. This independence is not freedom; it is the alienation of creation from creator. I cannot believe that this form of "holiness" can be grounds for hope. Luckily, the other sections do provide meaningful bases for understanding and acting on behalf of God, but the Ezekiel section prevents the book from presenting a coherent message.
January 19, 2011
In this book Walter Brueggemann looks at the three most prominent prophets during the period of the Jews' exile in Babylon after and around the time of 587 B.C. What links Jeremiah, Ezekiel and 2nd Isaiah is that in different ways each one spoke to the exiles. Jeremiah focuses on how God sent them into exile but continued to love them. Ezekiel focuses on God's holiness and freedom and the fact that he is calling them to recognize that God does not exist simply for their benefit, but that they are to follow Him. 2nd Isaiah focuses on the theme of homecoming and speaks to those exiles who may have accommodated themselves to ways and values of the empire and might not want to return to the ways of Yahweh. In each case Brueggemann relates the prophets tot he North American church which he says is also a church in exile though in many cases it does not know it. Brueggemann does a good job of exegeting the text in its context and helps the reader make the connection to today.
April 12, 2013
Strong points: He brings out the conflict in these prophetic texts well. He takes a few key passages and helps you to look at what the prophets were really facing.
Also, Brueggemann (like Fretheim) does a good job of bridging audiences; I am sure that he is usually surrounded by seasoned theologians, but as a young minister I am able to follow his points pretty easily.
My beef: If you read primarily mainstream theology and Christian living books, Brueggemann will ruffle your feathers.... At times he strikes me as intentionally contemporary in thinking, but he does have some good things to say.
My favorite quote in this one: "God is not a code word for what is going to happen anyway."
Also, Brueggemann (like Fretheim) does a good job of bridging audiences; I am sure that he is usually surrounded by seasoned theologians, but as a young minister I am able to follow his points pretty easily.
My beef: If you read primarily mainstream theology and Christian living books, Brueggemann will ruffle your feathers.... At times he strikes me as intentionally contemporary in thinking, but he does have some good things to say.
My favorite quote in this one: "God is not a code word for what is going to happen anyway."
September 26, 2013
My second time with this vital, powerful, hopefully honest troubling book. Two of Brueggeman's key themes--hope and imagination--are carefully explored. For anyone thinking seriously about how church and gospel have been co-opted by American imperialism, this is essential reading. It is not for the complacent. Prepare to be challenged.
September 23, 2024
If I could only give it a 10 out of a 5.
Life- and perspective-changing. Have read it again & again at different seasons in my life and each time a different prophet (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah) speaks out. It definitely serves to energise one's dulled and domesticated ideas of God.
The chapters on Ezekiel is particularly needed in today's society.
Life- and perspective-changing. Have read it again & again at different seasons in my life and each time a different prophet (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah) speaks out. It definitely serves to energise one's dulled and domesticated ideas of God.
The chapters on Ezekiel is particularly needed in today's society.
August 21, 2013
Very dense, but makes the point that poetry is a needed skill of prophets in order to show a way out of exile. A lot of respect for brueggemann and his skill with the text. Just wish he had more skill in his prose (the same wish I have for NT Wright).
September 24, 2023
Unlike any book I have read, I think Hopeful Imagination demonstrates the intra-canonical conversation of the Bible. Brueggemann captures the drama of each prophet’s message and how it effects the Israelites.
April 14, 2010
I love this guy!
August 27, 2013
Insightful book into Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Isaiah providing one paradigm from which to understand and then apply to our lives today.
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