Political theology is critical reflection on the intersections of religious, political and economic life, and in the Hebrew Bible it emerges in a broad range of topics - sovereignty, leadership, law, peoplehood, hospitality, redemption, creation and hope. The classic biblical literature has shaped the social imaginations of many peoples from ancient Canaan to global Christianity today, so this study also gives attention to key developments in the history of theBible's reception. Understanding the inner-biblical debates and their later interpretations will continue to be relevant for those who still live within the Bible's history of influence.

• Introduction


• 1. Social Contracts: The Formation of Political Sovereignty


• 2. Performance Indicators: The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah


• 3. Nation Dreaming: Deuteronomy and Joshua


• 4. Redeeming Eden: A Priestly Dialogue in Genesis-Leviticus


• 5. Intergenerational Trauma: Children of the exile


• 6. Mimicking Empire: Divine Administration in Isaiah


• 7. Legal Compromises: Imperial Contexts of the Pentateuch


• 8. Wise Reservations: Places of Understanding in Job


• 9. Colonial Inversions: Roger Williams and Wiremu Tamihana


• Postlude


• Bibliography


• Index

Mark Brett is a Professor of Hebrew Bible at Whitley College, the University of Divinity, in Melbourne, Australia. His recent books include Political Trauma and Healing: Biblical Ethics for a Postcolonial World and Decolonizing God: The Bible in the Tides of Empire.