Book excerpt: The Old Testament provides powerful ways of thinking and seeing. Preeminent Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann considers the artistry of 1 and 2 Kings as it mediates between history and faith. Walter Brueggemann has spent many years engaged with the composition and imagination of the Old Testament, pondering the ways of power in church and society, and he makes clear that those issues of in the ancient texts pertain to contemporary times. The chronology of the kings is complex and fractured in detail. Brueggemann reports upon the length of years of rule for each king as given in the text. At the same time, he situates each king according to a critical chronology. While the book proceeds text by text, special focus is placed upon Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, and Josiah as models of faith. Brueggemann provides a useful guide for the reader to maneuver between flat history and absolute faith. Written in commentary form, 1&2 Kings invites the reader to view fresh ways of faithful insight and wisdom. Written by accomplished scholars with all students of Scripture in mind, this innovative new commentary series is designed to make quality Bible study more accessible. Pastors, professors and students of Scripture are discovering that this commentary is a wonderful new tool for enhancing interpretation. Walter Brueggemann served as the William Marcellus McPheddeis Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.