Not every book lives up to my expectations; this one far exceeded them. Put this book at the top, or at least near the top, of those studies that provide the reader of the OT with the wide-angle lens through which to view all the twists and turns of the biblical narrative, from Genesis onward. Here is the big picture of how the twin themes of geography (Dominion) and genealogy (Dynasty) begin in Eden with Adam, stretch to the Promised Land and Abraham, narrow again in the temple and David, and find their culmination in Christ, the Son of David, who brings a kingdom that becomes worldwide.

One of the best Biblical Theology books out there. I could not put it down.

Many young Bible-students embark on pilgrimage from Genesis to Chronicles with fervor before finding themselves drowning in the swamps of Genesis’s genealogies. Even the most zealous may find themselves lost in the valley of uncertainty before Numbers 11, or the monotonous maze of condemnation in the Latter Prophets. To budding Bible-readers, however, Stephen G. Dempster’s Dominion and Dynasty offers a well-crafted exposition of the Hebrew Bible that demonstrates Dominion and Dynasty as its foundational marks. Dominion and Dynasty argues that this book is not a ragbag of religious writings, but a grand tapestry of texts that describes a narrative (Torah), explains through poetic commentary (Prophets and early Writings), then concludes and summarizes (latter Writings). Through the bulk of the volume, the author exposits this many-yet-one story, demonstrating that dominion and dynasty are the principle organizational categories of the Hebrew Bible. Bible-readers both new and old would profit from Dempster’s guidance as they traverse the Hebrew Bible.

This one is a right banger. What a phenomenal overview of the theology of the Old Testament (with a helpful link to Jesus and the New Testament at the end). It's also perfectly accessible, being not too complex and academic-y, and just the right length. How did so much good stuff get loaded into something so compact?

There's plenty of helpful stuff in here but unsurprisingly the main hooks are dynasty and dominion - that being the seed (Abraham/David) and the land/geography/rule. One takeaway that I only just really understood was how the return from exile in the OT isn't really a true, proper, return from exile. They go back but there's no Davidic king and they've still got some major sin problems going on. So it's not a real return from exile. Then it's different with Jesus. We have our Davidic king who is reigning, and his kingdom is eternal and growing. That's just one example. There's plenty more!

Do read it. If you're a member of St Helens church in London it's an absolutely brilliant companion to RML Overview and I'd really recommend picking it up and reading it over the summer or as you begin.

No book has helped me see the unfolding of progressive revelation through the Old Testament like this book. It has changed how I view the OT.

Excellent book that ties the story of the OT together in one clear and unifying narrative, using the Hebrew order of the canon. I highly recommend.

An excellent book on Old Testament theology. Dempster walks through the Old Testament highlighting the themes of dominion (pertaining to land) and dynasty (pertaining to descendants). He shows the Old Testament as a Text, as opposed to different texts combined into one. The book as been quite helpful in terms of understanding the Old Testament, going specifically into the books in the categories of the law, the prophets and the writings - and how each book contributes to the overall picture of God's plan, echoing the phrase, "I will be their God and they will be my people."

Wow. A great piece of academic literature that is engaging, intellectual, and such a great encouragement to a Christian. Highly recommend

“The biblical books, by virtue of their canonical unity and by virtue of their genre as literature, require a literary perspective”

“The concern for studying smaller and smaller sections of the biblical text… [has] resulted in a loss of perspective”

“just as an individual book within the canon can be read as text with a beginning, a body and a conclusion, with the various parts related to the whole and vice versa, so the canon should be read in the same way”


Stephen G. Dempster, in this volume, presents a biblical-theological overview of the Old Testament in light of the original Hebrew canon. He does a great job showing that reading the OT in light of the overarching, redemptive-historical direction of the plot enables us to see the OT the way 1st Century Christians (including Jesus and the Apostles) read it.

My biggest quibble with the book is the author’s very clear Baptist and/or Klinean Covenant Theology, by which he makes radical distinctions between the Mosaic covenant and the other dispensations of the Covenant of Grace. That being said, as covenant is not a major locus of his discussion, those remarks are fairly limited.

This is a great volume, and I highly recommend it for understanding how to read the OT in light of the NT, and how every book in the canon is part of a literary Text.

This book was personally my first book focused in on Biblical Theology and I couldn't put it down. The author shows you how going to the original organization of the Old Testament will lead you to an understanding that it is not telling many little stories alone. Rather there is one big story at play and the way in which that God is telling this one story is by sharing with you many different ones that play specific roles. I loved this book it is a must read for a better understanding of your Old Testament. If you struggle with some of the genealogies, different historical books, or maybe the prophets (any of the OT books really) this book will help you to zoom out and see how that book is helping tell the story of the OT.

A now classic evangelical theology of the OT from a canonical and literary approach.

One of the best 200 page summaries of the Old Testament. This book is succinct yet detailed in important places and highlights the parts of the Old Testament that the original authors and canonizers intended to highlight.