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Gerhard Von Rad
Crenshaw, James L.
193 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1978
About the author
James L. Crenshaw
42 books4 followersProfessor Crenshaw, who taught Old Testament at Duke Divinity School from 1987-2008, is one of the leading interpreters of wisdom literature in the Bible.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 19, 2023
A man who very few know has done more to bring the Hebrew Bible to the consciousness of the church than anyone else in recent history. At least that is the claim that James Crenshaw makes in his introduction to the life, thought and work of Gerhard von Rad (1901-1971).
Von Rad grew up in Germany in a time when the popular tide was turning against any mention or thought of the Hebrew Bible. Instead of stories of Samson, David, or Abraham, German youth were taught Germanic legends. Scholarship dismissed the Hebrew Bible and poured contempt on anyone who dared to study it. This made Gerhard von Rad determined to study it and to bring back to its place of prominence within the church and the greater culture.
Crenshaw gives a brief overview of von Rad's life and then begins to discuss the major contributions von Rad made to Hebrew Bible studies. Von Rad emphasized the historical background to the events described in the writings, the confession of faith that was evident therein and the major theological contributions.
Crenshaw is able to do in a few pages what many scholars would take volumes to do. He breaks down von Rad's work in easy to understand chunks. He is able to keep the academic language to a minimum. In doing so, he has created an introductory volume that benefits the reader very much. The reader is very quickly able to gain an understanding of the significance of von Rad's work and why it matters.
This book will not be of interest to a general reader, but for those who are interested in the Old Testament or in German theological thought or in von Rad in particular, I highly recommend this volume.
Grade: A
Von Rad grew up in Germany in a time when the popular tide was turning against any mention or thought of the Hebrew Bible. Instead of stories of Samson, David, or Abraham, German youth were taught Germanic legends. Scholarship dismissed the Hebrew Bible and poured contempt on anyone who dared to study it. This made Gerhard von Rad determined to study it and to bring back to its place of prominence within the church and the greater culture.
Crenshaw gives a brief overview of von Rad's life and then begins to discuss the major contributions von Rad made to Hebrew Bible studies. Von Rad emphasized the historical background to the events described in the writings, the confession of faith that was evident therein and the major theological contributions.
Crenshaw is able to do in a few pages what many scholars would take volumes to do. He breaks down von Rad's work in easy to understand chunks. He is able to keep the academic language to a minimum. In doing so, he has created an introductory volume that benefits the reader very much. The reader is very quickly able to gain an understanding of the significance of von Rad's work and why it matters.
This book will not be of interest to a general reader, but for those who are interested in the Old Testament or in German theological thought or in von Rad in particular, I highly recommend this volume.
Grade: A
March 3, 2014
G Von Rad has been helpful with recent working through questions of Hebrew (OT) history and tradition with respect to transmission and structure of text. Crenshaw provided a concise yet thick overview of Von Rad's work thus offering guidance on here to proceed to read further.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews