Abstract
This heavy and extensive third volume of a commentary on the Book of Psalms is written by Allen P. Ross from Beeson Divinity School (Samford University), Birmingham, Alabama, ‘with pastors, teachers, and serious students of the Bible in mind’ (p. 11). Thus, the purpose, aim, and approach of the commentary is described by its main audience. Of course, that may imply some disappointments among specialists in the Psalms and raises hopes and expectations of those not knowing much about this very popular and influential book. But such an evaluation is shallow and deceiving at the same time and may just be a first impression after a first glance of some of the translations and comments. Programmatically, Allen P. Ross provides fine philological explanations of Hebrew words and phrases and mentions variants and differences in the Greek translation, the Septuagint, for those who are not experts in biblical languages. Consequently, the informed reader finds many very useful observations about and explanations of linguistic phenomena in the main text and in the notes on every page; and so the translations themselves are directly commented upon. Every psalm is dealt according to the same pattern: English translation, remarks on its composition and context, and exegetical analysis, the last with a summary and an outline. Then follows a detailed commentary ‘in expository form’ as Ross calls it, i.e., a section-for-section explanation and analysis. Every psalm commentary ends with hermeneutics on its message and application, often with references to passages of the New Testament.
The commentary comes with an index of Hebrew word studies and a comprehensive bibliography and is aimed at pastors/preachers, teachers, and students, and Ross does not hide his own Christian confession so that the book becomes a manifestation of it. Nevertheless, due to its rich philological observations and details in the footnotes, it has much to offer for everybody who is seriously interested in the Book of Psalms, also researchers and academic experts.