"First, McConville is to be commended for the clarity with which he delineates the central importance of biblical confession of one God for political theology. Without appreciation for what within the Bible is the first commandment, it is impossible to construct the foundation for a theo-political vision that is both faithful to biblical tradition and beneficial to the people God's disciples are called to serve. Second, by identifying sedakah (righteousness/justice) as lying at the heart of God's nature, and by extension, being built into the very structure of all creation and all humans ('image of God'), McConville provides profound insight into that which enables the Bible to offer hope for a peaceable and just world order. Finally, McConville's interpretation of the laws constituting the Torah as applications of Israel's understanding of earthly institutions as responses to God's creational purposes, rather than as timeless rules reflective of a timeless order (as in the Egypt of the Pharaohs), opens up the Bible's legal traditions for contemporary moral reflection. Similarly, his explanation of the balancing of powers between judiciary, monarchy, priesthood, and prophecy in the Deuteronomistic polity (regarding which he acknowledges indebtedness to S. Dean McBride) directly relates to present-day political-philosophical debate." -Paul D. Hanson, Interpretation, July 2010.