Abstract
This book is aimed at ‘anyone…who desires to buy a commentary,’ but there is a particular focus on theological students who are building up a library for future Christian ministry (p. 2). Longman is upfront about his own evangelical stance (p. 2), but this does not appear to cloud his judgment. He can be appreciative of commentaries from other perspectives and critical of those from his own.
The survey covers commentaries on the books of the Hebrew/Protestant canon, ranging from academic to popular, from ‘critical’ to ‘evangelical’ (the terms Longman typically uses). Although the survey is not intended to be exhaustive, Longman doesn’t indicate the criteria for inclusion. Each entry includes a brief description, indicating the level at which it is written and the basic theological stance of the author. Longman also indicates the types of issues dealt with (e.g., historical background, philology, exegesis, literary analysis, theology, etc.) Longman then indicates whether the commentary is suitable for laypersons, ministers, or scholars. The commentary is then rated on a five-star scale.
There are three sections: the first is a survey of one volume commentaries, the second is a general description of commentary series, the last section deals with individual commentaries. There is an author index. Overall, the survey is very useful, but there are several shortcomings. One is the number of commentaries omitted. Given Longman’s own theological stance and his target audience, it seems strange that he includes nothing from the likes of Dale Ralph Davis or John L. Mackay. Other omissions are C. L. Seow’s commentary on Job and the second volume of Fox’s commentary on Proverbs. His review of Proverbs 1-9 concludes with the statement, ‘The only drawback is that it covers just the first nine chapters. Hopefully, we will not have to wait too long for the rest of the commentary to appear’ (p. 78). It has appeared - in 2009! Another omission is any indication of the theological viewpoint of the commentator. Within both of the two poles that Longman identifies there is a wide variety of theological positions, and these will surely affect the author’s interpretation. It is also not clear how the star-rating relates to the description given. For example, Aalders’ commentary on Genesis may be ‘dated’, but we’re told it ‘retains its value as a theological commentary,’ and indeed it ‘shows great exegetical skill and theological insight’. So why only give it 1.5 stars (p. 19)? We learn that between the commentaries by Wenham (3.5 stars) and Hamilton (4.5 stars) ‘Genesis is well covered’ (p. 21). But why no mention there of Waltke, to whom he gives five stars?
Longman advises that commentaries should be treated as helps to be used with discretion (p. 3). If Longman’s survey is treated in the same way, it will not doubt be helpful to guide to the available literature.