THE American Old Testament scholar Professor Walter Brueggemann has died, aged 92.
A statement on his website said that he “passed away peacefully” on Thursday. He is survived by his wife, Tia, his sons, James and John, and their families.
Professor Brueggemann wrote more than 100 books, which include The Prophetic Imagination (1978), Message of the Psalms (1985), and Theology of the Old Testament (1997). His more recent books include A Wilderness Zone (Books, 8 April 2022), Interrupting Silence (Books, 22 June 2018), and God, Neighbour, Empire (Books, 15 September 2017).
Born in Tilden, Nebraska, in 1933, Professor Brueggemann, who was ordained in the United Church of Christ, spoke often of the influence of his father, a German Evangelical pastor.
At the time of his death, Professor Brueggemann was William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary, in Atlanta, Georgia, where he had served on the faculty from 1986 to 2003.
The President of Columbia, the Revd Dr Victor Aloyo, Jr, paid tribute in a letter published on the seminary’s website. Professor Brueggemann, he wrote, “has had a distinguished career as a prominent biblical interpreter, recognized for his contributions to rhetorical criticism of biblical texts”.
His current successor in the same chair, Professor Bill Brown, said that Professor Brueggemann had “single-handedly redefined biblical scholarship for the good of the Church and world. . . Countless students and pastors have been transformed by Walter’s teaching and writing. . . We are all in Walter’s debt for his prophetic imagination, creative words, profound wisdom, prolific energy, and sheer grace.”
The publishing director of Hymns Ancient & Modern, David Shervington, said: “Walter Brueggemann was a towering voice in biblical scholarship whose prophetic imagination and theological depth shaped generations of readers. It was an honour to publish several of his books under our SCM Press imprint, and to witness, even in a small way, the impact of his voice on the Church and the world.”
