Tight Fists or Open Hands?: Wealth and Poverty in Old Testament Law

by David L. Baker

Any Christian response to todays ever-growing problem of poverty around the globe must be firmly rooted in the teaching of the Bible. While books on various aspects of wealth and poverty in the Old and New Testaments have been published, so far there has been no thorough study of Old Testament law on the topic. David Baker argues here that an understanding of that law is not only fundamental for interpreting the entire Old Testament but is also assumed by the writers of the New Testament. Tight Fists or Open Hands? fills this gap in Old Testament scholarship and lays a foundation for considering the relevance of these laws to everyday life in the twenty-first century. / The heart of this book is a study of all the Old Testament concerned with wealth and poverty. Baker groups these laws together by topic, considering the similarities and differences between the Decalogue, Book of the Covenant, Holiness Code, and Deuteronomic Laws. He places these in the wider context of ancient Near Eastern law in order to make clear which attitudes are distinctively biblical. / Each section of Tight Fists or Open Hands? includes an extended conclusion that summarizes the main ideas, considers relationships with other biblical texts, and points to the significance of the laws for todays world. Bakers combination of thorough exegesis and modern application makes this book relevant to pastors, scholars, and students in a variety of courses.

Genres: Theology

435 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2009

Reviews

[W. Littlejohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very thorough exposition of the laws, but very thin on original reflection or interesting application. Also suffers from an annoying accommodation to the Documentary Hypothesis, though it is tame by the standards of OT scholarship.

In any case, an invaluable reference resource.