Work and Creativity

This work is remarkable in several respects. It is one of the very few studies on the theme of work in the Bible, although that theme is front and central in the creation story in Genesis. It is deeply engaged with European philosophy from Hegel to Ricoeur, to a greater degree than any biblical study I can recall. Finally, it articulates a model for a dialectical biblical theology, that rejects any univocal systematizing and insists on ambiguity and paradox. This is the crowning work of a very distinguished career by an urbane and learned scholar. -- John J. Collins, Holmes Professor of Old Testament, Yale University
André LaCocque has written an exceedingly subtle book on interpretation. This work has required him to bring into play his astonishing erudition as he mobilizes the great critical tradition of Western philosophy. His text is the tale of origins in Genesis 2-3. His theme is “work” as he ponders, in Genesis 2-3, first human generative work that co-creates with God the creator, and then work as drudgery that lacks any generativity. His method is dialectical, through which he shows that the narrative text will not allow closure or certitude, but only on-going interpretation. LaCocque’s accent on “share faber-ness” of deus faber and homo faber is the pivot of this welcome study. He here brings together a life-time of learning to show how biblical interpretation at its best engages both the resources and challenges of modern thinking. -- Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary