In this book Walter Brueggemann, America's premier biblical theologian, introduces the reader to the broad theological scope and chronological sweep of the Old Testament. He covers every book of the Old Testament in the order in which it appears in the Hebrew Bible and treats the most important issues and methods in contemporary interpretation of the Old Testament--literary, historical, and theological. As any reader of Brueggemann's work knows, he writers with an energy and freshness that few modern interpreters of Scripture can match. Here he turns his considerable skill to telling the story from the church's perspective as informed by the theological shape and shaping of the canon. In doing so, Brueggemann nudges contemporary interpreters into conversation with our Jewish brothers and sisters about the creative force of our shared biblical heritage.