Locations of God

The Hebrew Bible is hardly what might be called a "unified" account of the national history of Israel. The texts, with their myriad genres and competing perspectives, show the forming and re-forming of Ancient Israel's social body in a number of geographical settings. The communities are shown in and out of political power. We read about in-fighting and peace, good kings and bad, freedom and subjugation. Ultimately, the Hebrew Bible is a text about nationhood and empire in the ancient world.

Critical reflection on the intersections of religious and political life -- which includes such topics as sovereignty, leadership, law, peoplehood, hospitality, redemption, creation, and eschatology -- can be broadly termed "Political Theology." In Locations of God, Mark G. Brett focuses primarily on the historical books of the Bible, comparing them with selected prophetic and wisdom books, setting all of them against the lived realities under the shadow of successive empires. Brett suggests that national ideas and their imperial alternatives were woven into the biblical traditions by authors who enjoyed very little in the way of political sovereignty. Using political theology to motivate the discussion, Brett shows us just how the earthly situation of ancient Israel contributed to its theology as reflected in the Hebrew Bible.

The Hebrew Bible is hardly what might be called a "unified" account of the national history of Israel. The texts, with their myriad genres and competing perspectives, show the forming and re-forming of Ancient Israel's social body in a number of geographical settings. The communities are shown in and out of political power. We read about in-fighting and peace, good kings and bad, freedom and subjugation. Ultimately, the Hebrew Bible is a text about nationhood and empire in the ancient world. Critical reflection on the intersections of religious and political life - which includes such topics as sovereignty, leadership, law, peoplehood, hospitality, redemption, creation, and eschatology - can be broadly termed "Political Theology." In Locations of God, Mark G. Brett focuses primarily on the historical books of the Bible, comparing them with selected prophetic and wisdom books, setting all of them against the lived realities under the shadow of successive empires. Brett suggests that national ideas and their imperial alternatives were woven into the biblical traditions by authors who enjoyed very little in the way of political sovereignty. Using political theology to motivate the discussion, Brett shows us just how the earthly situation of ancient Israel contributed to its theology as reflected in the Hebrew Bible.

"Mark Brett's excavation of Israel's evolving conceptions of nationhood and empire, sovereignty and hospitality, rule and redemption, and the role of these concepts in shaping and reshaping Israel's self-understanding and political life is remarkable. It is also timely, given the dramatic shifts in the imaginations of political communities that we see today. Locations of God should spark vital conversations among students of theology, political theory, international relations, and more." -- Luke Glanville, Australian National University and author of Sovereignty and the Responsibility to Protect

"In this important and original study, the author sets a series of political ideologies in the Hebrew Bible in relation to theological convictions about the location of God in the world. While throwing new light on development within biblical texts, this exceptional book has far reaching implications for such modern issues as covenant-making, sovereignty and human rights, and it develops a remarkable theology of place which deserves attention across a wide range of disciplines." -- Paul S. Fiddes, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Oxford

"Mark Brett's Locations of God is a courageous and truly illuminating tour de force. He shows the highly political nature of the Hebrew Bible, in which various concepts from various times and groups interact with each other. In a very modern way, Brett uncovers and explains these concepts, their interdependence and enduring significance. Undoubtedly, Brett's book is the new opus magnum for any political reading of the Hebrew Bible." -- Jakob Wöhrle, Professor of Old Testament, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany