267 - Creation in the Old Testament

Creation in the Old Testament
By Bernard W. Anderson, ed.
Philadelphia, Fortress, 1984. 192 pp. $6.95.

Following his long-standing interest and significant publications in the study of creation theology in the Old Testament, Anderson has brought together a useful collection of essays (including some chapters from larger works) on this subject. His own contributions to the volume are no small part of its value, starting with an introductory essay on "Mythopoeic and Theological Dimensions of Biblical Creation Faith," in which he discusses such themes as creation of a people, creation as order, creation and creaturely dependence, creation and necreation, and in the context of which he identifies the contribution of the essays that follow to the larger discussion. Appropriately, Anderson concludes the volume with an essay on "Creation and Ecology" that is paired with one by George Landes on "Creation and Liberation."

While all of the other essays are valuable and deal with important aspects of the topic, the most important contributions for the audience for whom this work is designed, i.e. students, teachers, clergy, and general readers, are two works translated from German into English for the first time. One of them is a long section from Gunkel's Schopfung und Chaos, which is published here under the title "The Influence of Babylonian Mythology upon the Biblical Creation Story," and an essay by H.H. Schmid, which is published in a slightly abbreviated form (the new Testament section being omitted) under the title "Creation, Righteousness, and Salvation: 'Creation Theology' as the Broad Horizon of Biblical Theology." In addition to these pieces, Anderson includes Von Rad's "The Theological Problem of the Old Testament Doctrine of Creation," Eichrodt's essay on the opening verses of Genesis titled, "In the Beginning," "'Creation' Motifs in Ancient Hebrew Poetry" by the late Dennis McCarthy, "Biblical Reflection on Creator-Creation" by Claus Westermann, and "Observations on the Creation Theology in Wisdom" by H.-J. Hermisson.

The collection as a whole is genuinely informative and representative of both the scholars who have contributed to this subject and issues that belong to the center of its discussion. Anyone dealing with the subject of this volume will find it exceedingly useful.

Patrick D. Miller, Jr.,
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton, N.J.