5. Studies on Specific Books

I. Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)

Bodner, Keith, An Ark on the Nile: The Beginning of the Book of Exodus (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), pp. 208. £60.00. ISBN 978-0-19878-407-4.

Using a narrative-critical approach, B. discusses the rhetorical artistry of Exodus 1-2. These two chapters serve as a transition from the book of Genesis and foreshadow the exodus event by offering a précis of the events surrounding Israel's habitation in Egypt. Despite various points of precariousness, the book of Genesis ends on an expectant note. Although Exodus 1-2 continues the narrative, the literary strategy varies explicitly. Moving from a place of refuge and growth, Egypt becomes a place of danger and oppression. Starting with the Abraham cycle and moving through the Joseph narrative, the author's careful analysis demonstrates appreciation of the rhetorical significance of Exodus 1-2. Unlikely characters, such as the multiple women who played a pivotal role for the life of Moses, are given prominence, while the new king in Egypt is unnamed and incognizant of Joseph. The actions of seemingly minor figures, whether Israelite or non-Israelite, are essential to the development of the narrative. Noting a variety of literary techniques, this book offers examples of repetition, coupling, irony, type-scene and wordplay in order to illustrate the depth of the opening chapters of the book of Exodus. The author works through the different scenes in Exodus 1-2 in a clear and cogent style. As the theological drama unfolds through the literary images of the two chapters, the narrative anticipates the departure of the Israelites from Egypt and the fulfilment of the divine promise given to Abraham.

Achitha John

Cocco, Francesco, The Torah as a Place of Refuge: Biblical Criminal Law and the Book of Numbers (FAT, II/84; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016), pp. xii + 185. €59.00. ISBN 978-3-16-154138-4.

This is the published version of a dissertation on the cities-of-refuge legislation in Numbers 35 completed under Jean-Louis Ska at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. The short study begins with some opening observations about biblical law including the usual observations that biblical law is not statutory law as we know it in modern legislations, and that biblical law is distinct from Near Eastern law in its attribution to God. The second chapter sets out a distinction between civil and criminal law and discusses the structure of the book of Numbers and its laws. The third chapter is the heart of the book and a detailed analysis of the individual terms and verses in Numbers 35. The final chapter compares the legislation in Numbers 35 with the cities-of-refuge texts in Exodus 21, Deuteronomy 19 and Joshua 20. There are some rather unfortunate typographical errors-Hebrew in Latin script, and that favourite of the automatic spell-checker ‘periscope’ -and some surprising bibliographical omissions, including Horst Seebass and Ludwig Schmidt's commentaries. More serious, though, is C.'s insistence that the passage presents Torah as the true city of refuge, and that YHWH'S concern for blood excludes the blood avenger. I could not find myself convinced by this attempt to allegorize the text so as to make it more palatable for contemporary readers.

Nathan MacDonald

Ebach, Ruth, Das Fremde und das Eigene. Die Fremdendarstellungen des Deut-eronomiums im Kontext israelitischer Identitätskonstruktionen (BZAW, 471; Berlin/ Boston: De Gruyter, 2014), pp. xii + 345. €99.95/$140.00/£74.99. ISBN 978-3-11-036173-5 (print), 978-3-11-039113-8 (e-Pub), 978-3-11-036232-9 (PDF); ISSN 0934-2575.

In this Münster dissertation E. examines the various ways in which that which is (seen as) alien, figures in Deuteronomy as pointers to how Israelite identity is constructed in the book, referring to theories by which the construction of the alien and of self-identity complement each other, and change with changing realities. The investigation is conducted on diachronic lines: the bulk of the book consists of three chapters covering respectively the pre-exilic core of Deuteronomy, supposedly exilic material (mainly chs. 1-3∗, 5-11∗, 28∗, 29∗), and post-exilic material (especially ch. 7). E. takes over no theories of redaction wholesale, but she is close to Eckart Otto: chs. 13∗ and 28∗ are pre-exilic Coverage is extensive, and conclusions are numerous; a few may be mentioned. In the Deuteronomic core, no religious danger was apprehended from the alien: the danger came from within. In exile, other nations rather than individual aliens act as a foil to Israel, if they obey the Law. In the postexilic material, ‘Israel’ is reduced to the returning golah, and the former nations are a cipher for Judaeans who remained in the land, who are seen as religiously dangerous. The work is thoroughly documented and argued. But it is rather narrow in outlook. It is taken for granted that both law and paraenesis must refer to contemporary realities, ignoring the narrative function of the Mosaic frame. The use of ‘Israel’ as a name for the Judaean population is not queried. ‘Exile’ is used as a chronological term without discussion.

Walter J. Houston

Gordon, Robert P., Genesis 1-11 in its Ancient Context (Grove Biblical Senes, 75: Cambridge: Grove Books, 2015), pp. 28. £3.95. ISBN 978-1-85174-930-0.

The remit of the Grove Biblical Series is to present ‘the best in current thinking about the Bible’ for the benefit of teachers and preachers in the local church. To achieve that in 20 pages is no mean task, but this author has what it takes to do it. Unlike commentators who assume that, because Genesis 1-11 describes the beginning of all things, it had no context, and those who tie themselves in knots over doctrine or confuse the reader with spurious detail so that we lose the thread, G. succeeds in a via media, firmly reminding us that these chapters did not just come out of the blue-they were part of a wider world with a long history-but never taking his eye off the contemporary context in which we read them. So we have ‘contemporary environmental problems’ (chs. 1 and 2), ‘contingent immortality … just so long as they maintain obedience to the creator’ (ch. 3), Cain's crime as failure ‘to overcome the impulse to do wrong’, and a message of ‘human responsibility, divine judgement and new beginnings’ as he differentiates the biblical Flood story from similar stories in the ancient world. In this way he enables us to see the wood for the trees, never letting us forget that the trees are there and very much part of the story-a salutary reminder to teachers and preachers lest they bump into them accidentally or simply walk round them as if they were not there. Excellent scholarship; a useful reading list; good value for money. No spoon-feeding, but a drawerful of ideas for preachers and teachers prepared to do a bit of hard work for themselves.

Alec Gilmore

Greenway, William, For the Love of All Creatures: The Story of Grace in Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge, UK: Eerdmans, 2015), pp. xvi + 162. $18.00/£11.99. ISBN 978-0-8028-7291-3. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]

G. concentrates on the flood and seven-day creation narratives, locating them as products of exilic questioning addressing spiritual rather than scientific issues. He examines the Enuma Elish and Hobbes’ Leviathan—‘creation narrative of materialism’—as well as the Epic of Gilgamesh. His overall concern is the care of creation and the love of all creatures. He rejects both sacrifice and ‘a tit-for-tat relationship’ with God and argues that the Flood narrative is wholly consistent with the critique of sacrifice found in Micah and Isaiah. He attacks anthropomorphic misreadings of the seven-day creation account which equate dominion with domination, noting that God intended all created life to be vegetarian. G. contrasts the primeval narratives with modern Western materialism which treats the whole world including ourselves as machines ‘living death instead of living life’. He admits that the seven-day creation account is idealistic, but not naively idealistic. But G. does not ignore evil and the suffering it brings. Instead of worrying about the problem of evil, we should focus on its reality. On no account should we say ‘yes’ to the brokenness of the world. He concludes that the primeval narratives offer ‘a spirituality accurate, reasonable, realistic, sophisticated and profound vision of evil and of faith that is the gift of grace’. While both texts have long been recognized as proclaiming God's grace, to centre his discussion on ‘the love of all creatures’ involves a radical new reading of both narratives which warrants further consideration.

Anthony Phillips

Hayes, Elizabeth R. and Karolien Vermeulen (eds.), Doubling and Duplicating in the Book of Genesis: Literary and Stylistic Approaches to the Text (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2016), pp. xiv + 209. $59.50. ISBN 978-1-5750-6454-3.

The essays in this volume emerge from the 2014 Vienna joint meeting of ISBL and EABS. Following an introductory essay by K. Vermeulen, ‘The Stylistics of Genesis’, the contents fall into three parts, as follows. Part 1 (‘Formal Doubles and the Whole’): G. Savran, ‘Double Request and Double Refusal: The Verb ‭דצפ‬ in Biblical Hebrew’; J. Grossman, ‘The Expulsion of Ishmael Narrative: Boundaries, Structure, and Meaning’; S. Hildebrandt, ‘The Proof-and-Play of Quoted Speech in the Conflicts of the Joseph Story (Genesis 37-50)’; C.L. Miller-Naudé, ‘The Intersection of Orality and Style in Biblical Hebrew: Metapragmatic Representations of Dialogue m Genesis 34’; and G.A. Rendsburg, ‘Alliteration m the Book of Genesis’. Part 2 (‘Thematic Pairs’): M. Bauks. ‘One, Two, or Three…? The Confusion of Trees in Genesis 2-3 and its Hermeneutical Background’; K. Vermeulen, ‘The Art of Blessing and Curse in Genesis 1-11 : Stylistic Patterns and their Ideological Motivation’; and Z. Shimon, ‘Distinguishing Abraham from the “Terahides”: The Ideology of Separation behind Etiology’. Part 3 (‘Doubling Plots and Duplicating Stones’): E.R. Hayes, ‘Whose World? Whose Time? A Text World Theory Examination of the Style and Message of Genesis 1:1-2:25’; K. Matskevich, ‘Double-plotting in the Garden: Stylistics of Ambiguity in Genesis 2-3’; and U. Nõmmik, ‘Inclusio in Genesis 28 and 32: Synchronically and Diachronically’. These stimulating papers are wide-ranging, covering numerous cruces m the text of Genesis, and showing among other things that apparent contradictions and duplications are frequently less indications of fragmented thought and multiple sources than of the subtleties of literary construction. The two papers which least conform to the expectations of the book's title (by Hildebrandt and Rendsburg) are brilliant examples of stylistic analysis unlocking hidden treasures in the biblical text.

Nicolas Wyatt

Longman, Tremper, III, Genesis (The Story of God Bible Commentary; Grand Rapids. MI: Zondervan, 2016), pp. xviii + 593. $36.99. ISBN 978-0-310-49607-6.

Tremper Longman III is Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, and this commentary is m a new series of which he is co-editor (with Scot McKnight for the NT). The commentary is evangelical in stance and aimed at an intelligent lay audience, and, though conservative, it is eirenical in tone. Each section of commentary has three parts. The first, entitled ‘Listen to the Story’. contains the NIV translation with a few general comments. The second, called ‘Explain the Story’, contains exegesis. The third, entitled ‘Live the Story’, is about modern application. With little discussion L. rejects source criticism and sees Genesis as a unity. Further. although frequently saying (especially with regard to Genesis 1-11) that not everything is to be taken literally, he seems to assume a higher degree of historicity in the text than is generally the case in modern scholarship. What sets this commentary apart from many is its thorough attempt to apply the message of the book to the life of the modern Christian. In this regard a remarkably wide range of topics is touched on. Those from an evangelical or other conservative Christian background seeking a thorough exposition of the text with thoughtful, homiletical comments will appreciate this commentary. But those seeking a more critical engagement with the problems of the text may come away dissatisfied.

John Day

Nicholson, Ernest, Deuteronomy and the Judaean Diaspora (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), pp. xii + 196. £58.00. ISBN 978-0-19-870273-3.

N. here presents m revised form several previously published pieces on Deuteronomy, together with a freshly prepared response to John Van Seters’ critique of N.'s 1994 article on the Deuteronomistic History. The essays on Deuteronomy are ‘Josiah and the Priests of the High Places (2 Kings 23:8a, 9)’; ‘Deuteronomy and the Babylonian Diaspora’; ‘Deuteronomy, the Prophets, and Scripture’; ‘The “Law” of the King in Deuteronomy 17:14-20’; and ‘“Do Not Dare to Set a Foreigner over You”: The King in Deuteronomy and “The Great King”’. N.'s piece on the Deuteronomistic History, ‘Story and History in the Old Testament’, is then reprinted, followed by ‘The Deuteronomistic Corpus: History or Story? A Response to John Van Seters’. N. 's careful and judicious scholarship shines through this collection, and the first five essays mesh together to provide a picture of Deuteronomy in its present form as an exilic production, reflecting the situation of a stateless group that was fearful of encroachment and loss of identity. Several of the essays argue for the exilic origin of distinctive features of Deuteronomy, including the demand for centralized worship, the law of the prophet in Deut. 18.9-22, and the so-called ‘law’ of the king (Deut. 17.14-20), which is not a law at all but a reflection on the nature of kingship as it has developed and failed. The response to Van Seters then reasserts N.'s position that the Deuteronomistic History is distinguished by its lack of critical perspective from Greek historiography as found in Herodotus. This is an extremely useful and readable volume that is clearly the fruit of many years’ reflection.

Deborah W. Rooke

Person, Raymond F., Jr, Deuteronomy and Environmental Amnesia (The Earth Bible Commentary, 3; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2014), pp. xii + 166. 1 figure. £45.00/€50.00/$75.00. ISBN 978-1-909697-58-4.

Environmental amnesia can be defined as a distorted, oppositional understanding of the relationship between nature and culture that comes about when humans become divorced from the land and forget their dependence on it. In this non-traditional commentary on Deuteronomy, P. avers that such amnesia, a consequence of urbanization. was present not only in the great Mesopotamian civilizations of the third and second millennia BCE but also among the urbanized elites who were responsible for producing Deuteronomy, and their amnesia is reflected m the dichotomies that are identifiable in Deuteronomy. Following a short methodological discussion of environmental herm-eneutics and ecological hermeneutics, P. discusses five themes that occur in Deuteronomy in which he sees evidence of environmental amnesia: the family household in history and according to the Deuteronomic distortion; land versus wilderness; Israel versus the nations; clean versus unclean animals; and urban versus rural. He then comments on a number of passages from Deuteronomy in light of the environmental amnesia concept: the ban m Deuteronomy 7; the sabbath year in Deuteronomy 15; war and environment in Deuteronomy 20; first-fruits and tithing in Deuteronomy 26; and eschatology in Deuteronomy 28 and 30. In all of these passages, except for Deuteronomy 7, P. sees attempts to counter the environmental amnesia (not cutting down fruit trees m times of siege, for example), although the texts are not free of its taint even as they try to allay its effects. This is a chilling, challenging and highly relevant reading of a foundational biblical text.

Deborah W. Rooke

Provan, Iain, Discovering Genesis: Content, Interpretation, Reception (Discovering Biblical Texts; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016), pp. 224. $22.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-7237-1. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]

Chapters 2 and 3 should be required for all biblical literalists, those who struggle to find ‘the correct reading’ of a Bible passage and those who are so sure they can tell them. In 50 pages P. provides an excellent summary of how the Genesis stories have been interpreted in a wide variety of documents, Jewish and Christian, over 2,500 years. Mainly but not exclusively, ‘the plain or literal sense’ has been the norm, with an occasional nod to the metaphorical, and other approaches emerging m medieval times, particularly m Judaism. Post-Reformation the driving force was ‘back to the sources’ with excellent summaries of eight different approaches from Source to Canonical and all stations in-between. In the next 70 pages P. unpacks Genesis 1-11 with a mass of useful information and some helpful insights of his own, including, for example, an alternative to the two-source theory of Creation (Gen. 1-2), suggesting they might well be the work of a single author telling the same story from a different angle with different emphases. So far so good. Chapters 12-50, however, I found less creative and challenging, and not a lot that you wouldn't find in the average commentary. The occasional explanation and significance of a Hebrew word and references to musical interpretations and artists’ presentations are to be welcomed but this section seemed somewhat episodic and left you wondering why he picked the ones he did. Overall, however, well-resourced and documented, with a sizeable bibliography and indexes of biblical references, pre-modern sources and authors. Good meat for both newcomers and diehard traditionalists.

Alec Gilmore

Regt, Lénart J. De and Ernst R. Wendland, A Handbook on Numbers (UBS Handbook Series; Miami, FL: United Bible Societies, 2016), pp. xi + 837. $20.00. ISBN 978-0-8267-0103-9.

This is a further volume m the UBS series of Helps for Translators and, like previous volumes, is designed to cater primarily for the needs of people translating into other languages, frequently languages which have had no previous version of Numbers. The authors draw on their wide experience of working with such translation teams in Europe (de Regt) and Africa (Wendland) to illustrate the types of problems likely to be encountered, not a few of which would be unlikely to occur to commentators without such experience of translation. In addition to using the expected range of lexicons, grammars, commentaries and articles, they also refer to a remarkably wide range of versions, not just from many confessional backgrounds m English but also others in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Dutch, Friesian, Afrikaans, Chewa and Tonga! Numbers is analysed into three main sections: 1.1-10.10, set m the desert of Sinai; 10.11-21.35, the journey from Sinai to the plains of Moab; and 22. 1-36.13, set in the plains of Moab. Every verse is discussed in detail, with frequent suggestions for tackling the problems of expressing the meaning clearly in the receptor language. This will certainly be a useful volume for Bible translators, and often an eye-opener for other users. The only cavil is that the paperback binding is hardly adequate for such a large book. The opening pages of the review copy started to come loose almost immediately. and in real-life translation situations, some rough handling is inevitable.

David J. Clark

Robson, James E., Deuteronomy 1-11: A Handbook on the Hebrew Text (Baylor Handbook on the Hebrew Bible; Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2016), pp. xii + 372. $34.95. ISBN 978-1-60258-573-7.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the Hebrew text of Deuteronomy 1-11. Like other volumes m the Baylor Handbook on the Hebrew Bible series (which includes handbooks on Genesis 1-11; Genesis 37-50; Amos; Jonah; Haggai and Zechariah 1-8; Malachi; Ruth and Esther), R.'s work offers the interested scholar and student the tools needed to properly read and understand the Hebrew text of these chapters. In the introduction, R. gives a brief overview of Deuteronomy, highlighting the hortatory nature of the book's opening chapters, the ‘natural break’ found between Deut. 11.32 and 12.1 and, as a result, the present volume's focus on Deuteronomy 1-11. R. then explains the handbook's layout, outlines the types of discourse found in these chapters, and concludes with a review of key terms and concepts found in the handbook. The handbook itself is broken down according to the two major speeches found in Deuteronomy 1-11, namely 1.1-1.49 and 5.1-11.32. Within these divisions, larger subsections are noted (i.e. 1.6-3.29; 4.1-40; 4.41-43; 4.44-49; 5.1-33; 6.1-25; 7.1-26: 8.1-20; 9.1-10.11; 10.12-11.32) and smaller literary units as well, but the core of the book, and indeed its relevance, is found in the detailed analysis of each verse with the parsing of verb forms and comments on morphology, syntax, grammar and discourse analysis. R.'s work will be an invaluable resource and companion for years to come, for students learning Hebrew and scholars interested in Deuteronomy and the ongoing debates concerning that biblical book.

Will Stalder

Saner, Andrea D., ‘Too Much to Grasp’: Exodus 3:13-15 and the Reality of God (Journal of Theological Interpretation Supplement, 11; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 2015), pp. xvi + 266. $34.95. ISBN 978-1-57506-397-3.

This volume represents S.'s revised doctoral dissertation m which she explores theological interpretations of the divine name (YHWH) as it is revealed in Exodus. The primary focus is on Exod. 3.13-15, and S. begins with an overview of previous arguments from von Rad, Childs and Frei. She concludes that etymological approaches to the divine name are ultimately lacking and that the most fruitful interpretations come from a canonical approach or reading the text with a ‘literal sense’. This is further explained m her following chapter which explores Augustine's interpretation of the divine name m Exodus. His ‘literal sense’ reading takes into account the words and context of the text, the reader's contemplation of God, and a Trinitarian framework that informs the passage. S. then offers her own exegesis of the tetragrammaton as it occurs in Exodus and argues that the divine name represents God's presence with the Israelites and his inability to be fully known. Her conclusions are similar to previous scholarship, but she highlights how her interpretation supports Augustine's hermeneutical approach. In the final chapters S. considers Moses as covenant mediator and how a Trinitarian doctrine might affect interpretation of the divine name. She might have engaged with Augustine more consistently throughout the book, but she offers a well-supported argument for a Christian hermeneutic in interpreting the OT.

Mark W. Scarlata

Note also the following books reviewed in other sections of this Book List:

Gertz, Jan C. et al (eds.), The Formation of the Pentateuch: Bridging the Academic Cultures of Europe, Israel, and North America — see p. 3

Hoffmeier, James K. et al (eds.), Did I Not Bring Israel Out of Egypt?’: Biblical, Archaeological and Egyptological Perspectives on the Exodus Narratives — see p. 30

Hopf, Matthias et al (eds), Heiliger Raum. Exegese und Rezeption der Heiligtumstexte in Ex 24-40 — see p. 113

Kessler, Rainer, Die Querverweise im Pentateuch. Überlieferungsgeschichtliche Untersuchung der expliziten Querverbindungen innerhalb des vorpriesterlichen Penta-teuchs — seep. 117

Kilchör, Benjamin, Mosetora und Jahwetora. Das Verhältnis von Deuteronomium 12-26 zu Exodus, Levitikus und Numeri — see p. 118

Kissileff, Beth (ed.), Reading Genesis: Beginnings — see p. 118

Mastnjak, Nathan, Deuteronomy and the Emergence of Textual Authority in Jeremiah — see p. 123

Smoak, Jeremy D., The Priestly Blessing in Inscription and Scripture: The Early History of Numbers 6:24-26 — p. 130

Weigert, Sebastian, Hebraica Veritas. Übersetzungsprinzipien und Quellen der Deuteronomiumübersetzung des Hieronymus — see p. 53

II. Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings)

Afoakwah, James Donkor, The Nathan-David Confrontation (2 Sam 12:1-15a): A Slap in the Face of the Deuteronomistic Hero? (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2015). pp. xvi + 308. Several tables and figures. €63.50/£51.00. ISBN 978-3-631-66186-4 (print), 978-3-653-05849-9 (e-book).

This curious volume began life as a doctoral dissertation at Tübingen completed under Walter Gross, setting out to examine 2 Sam. 12. l-15a and its seemingly negative portrayal of David in light of the fact that, for much of the Deuteronomistic History, David is the paradigm figure. This is an important issue which has prompted very different interpretations. Sadly, although A. is aware of some of this discussion, this volume is unlikely to aid in any resolution. One can readily enough forgive a second-language speaker for the sometimes curious English and high number of typographical errors. But there are points where A. seems not to have understood his sources. His starting point is that this passage is the only one where David stands under prophetic rebuke, an assertion that sits rather oddly with 2 Samuel 24. Moreover, his repeated claims of David's otherwise pure portrayal in Samuel is at odds with David's preparedness to use violence in 1 Samuel 25 or lying to Achish in 1 Samuel 28 (among other examples). Moreover, the interaction with secondary literature is poor, with the functional bibliography considerably narrower than that listed; a number of significant works are never actually mentioned. More curiously, A. treats the ET of L. Rost's classic work on the Succession Narrative as a later study by him than the German original, while other sources seem to be considered only through an admittedly excellent summary of recent research by W. Dietrich.

David G. Firth

Brenner-Idan, Athalya and Archie Lee (eds.), Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, I (Texts@Contexts, 5; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017), pp. xviii + 261. £75.00. ISBN 978-0-56767-1151-8 (hardback), 978-0-56767-116-5 (PDF), 978-0-56767-117-2 (ePub).

This latest contribution to an established series continues to be attentive both to the contexts of biblical texts and to the contexts of biblical interpreters. Contributors were asked to be ‘responsibly nonobjective’ (p. xi). In principle, the same biblical text may receive a multiplicity of readings, though this happens only sometimes. The twelve chap-ters come in two parts. Part One, ‘On Gender Relationships’, contains Charlene van der Walt, ‘Hearing Tamar's Voice-How the Margin Hears Differently: Contextual Readings of 2 Samuel 13.1-22’; Fernando Candido da Silva, ‘To Whom Do Jezebel's Remains Belong? Challenges for an “Organic Exegete” Facing Contextual Readings of 2 Kings 9.30-37’; Gale A. Yee, ‘Coveting the Vineyard: An Asian American Reading of 1 Kings 21’; Gilbert Okuro Ojwang, ‘Juridical Impotence in the Naboth Story in the Context of Kenya's New Land Laws’; Ingeborg Löwisch, ‘Gendered Genealogies in Response to Fractured Pasts: Inquiring Processes of Othering in 1 Chronicles 1-9 from a German Perspective’; Athalya Brenner-Idan, ‘Male Royals and their Ethnically Foreign Mothers: The Implications for Textual Politics’; Ora Brison, ‘The Medium of En-dor and the Phenomenon of Divination in Twenty-First Century Israel’; and Helen Leneman, ‘The Medium of En-dor Heard through the Medium of Music’. Part Two, ‘On Issues’, contains Archie Chi Chung Lee, ‘Cross-Textual and Inter-Textual Readings of 1 Chronicles 16.8-36’; Naomi Steinberg, ‘Children in the Hebrew Bible and the Case of Samuel: From Personal Experience to Analysis’; Yael Shemesh, ‘Running in the Bible’; and Heather McKay, ‘Clothing, Adornment and Accoutrements as Cultural and Literary Signifiers in the “Historical” Books’. The relative weight given to biblical text and contemporary context varies greatly between the essays. Overall this interesting collection seems somewhat miscellaneous in relation to the content of the biblical books under discussion.

Walter Moberly

Chapman, Stephen B., 1 Samuel as Christian Scripture: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016), pp. vii + 357. $36.00/£23.99. ISBN 978-0-8028-3745-5. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]

In this book, C. sets out to articulate a theological reflection on the ‘literary presentation of the biblical text’ of 1 Samuel (p. 29). To do so, C. must justify his use of 1 Samuel as a self-standing work. This portion of the book felt the most strained, leaving C. in a genuine tension between interpreting the book in light of its actual conclusion in 2 Samuel and interpreting the book on its own, ‘as if’ it was a whole book (p. 45). From there, he analyses carefully-and with brilliant literary insight-the narrative world projected by the text. Finally, C. reflects theologically on how 1 Samuel's narrative contributes constructively to Christian faith. He sees 1 Samuel as a crossroads in Israelite faith, where they must decide whether to adopt a ‘civil religion’ or to develop, as the narrator advocates, the ‘interior dimension’ of religious beliefs (p. 77). To that end, Saul distinguishes himself as a king with an ‘incapacity for personal faith’ (p. 239). These specific claims might be debated, but not without confronting the depth and breadth of literary analysis and theological reflection that C. brings to the table.

Matthew Lynch

Davies, Eryl W., Numbers: An Introduction and Study Guide. The Road to Freedom (T&T Clark Study Guides to the Old Testament; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017), pp. x + 85. £14.99. ISBN 978-0-56767-101-1 (paperback), 978-0-56767-103-5 (PDF).

This is a reissue, by the new publisher of the series formerly known as the Phoenix Guides to the Old Testament, of a work first published by Sheffield Phoenix Press in 2015, and reviewed in B.L. 2016, p. 62.

(Book List Editor)

Ditetch, Linda A., Authority and Violence in the Gideon and Abimelech Narratives: A Sociological and Literary Exploration of Judges 6-9 (Hebrew Bible Monographs, 75: The Bible and Social Science, 2; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2015), pp. xiv + 259. £55.00/$85.00/€75.00. ISBN 978-1-909697-82-9.

D. is to be congratulated for taking on a big task: an exploration of violence in Judges 6-9. The violence there, she contends, is Yahweh's tool (p. 145) that brings oppressions to an end by ‘bloody revolutions’. She begins by describing Judges as one of the ‘Hebrew Bible's most violent books’ (p. 1), an edited and reedited text (p. 31) with legitimate human and divine violence: Yahweh oppresses Israelites when they worship other gods and initiates a reversal of fortune by violent means of empowering a liberator ‘judge’. She adopts Pierre Bourdieu's concept of ‘field’ (space and setting) where characters compete for power and dominance, manoeuvre, and struggle for position using language and legitimate ‘violence in establishing and maintaining social order’ (p. 35). For those unfamiliar with Bourdieu, D. pauses from time to time to helpfully explain his theory, such as her imaginative and helpful example of an outdoor sports field (pp. 37-38). Focusing on the Gideon-Abimelech cycle, D. combines the ‘well established concepts of literary criticism’ (p. 57) with Bourdieu's field framework. In chs. 3 and 4, she outlines the economic, religious, and sociopolitical setting, followed by a Bourdieusian analysis of each story (p. 109). Most interesting is ‘Authority of Violence and the Question of Ethics’ and the final chapter about scribes, text producers, and an ‘author’ who is difficult to discern. According to D., the story of Gideon's interrogation of a youth who writes a list of names carries assumptions about ‘memory, writing and literacy’ (p. 200). A useful and challenging contribution to the discussion of violence in Judges.

Roger Ryan

Dozeman, Thomas B., Joshua 1-12: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, 6B; New Haven, CT/London: Yale University Press, 2015), pp. xiv + 627. 4 figures. £60.00/$100.00. ISBN 978-0-300-14975-3.

In this addition to the well-established Anchor Yale Bible Commentary senes, D. provides a detailed reading and discussion of Joshua 1-12. The structure of this commentary generally follows that of the series. In both the c. 100-page introduction and the c. 300-page commentary proper D. provides rigorous and nuanced discussions of a variety of issues relating to the text. Compositionally, he argues that Joshua was an independent book from the postexilic period with a northern point of view, and was a late addition to the former prophets. In terms of structure and themes he sees chs. 2-12 as a two-stage book: the progression of the ark (2-8) and the war against kings and royal cities (9-12). Text-critically he comments substantially on the relationship between the MT and LXX. Underlying all of this he fulfils his aim ‘to explore in more detail the nature, function, and causes of religious violence in the book of Joshua and to trace the ongoing interpretation of the central theme of religious violence in the literary and textual history of the book…’ (p. 94). This commentary will be an important and valuable resource for any thorough study of the first part of the book of Joshua.

William Ford

Edenburg, Cynthia, Dismembering the Whole: Composition and Purpose of Judges 19-21 (Ancient Israel and Its Literature, 24; Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2016), pp. xiv + 424. $71.95 (hardback), $51.85 (paperback). ISBN 978-1-6283-7126-0 (hardback), 978-1-6283-7124-6 (paperback).

E. provides a comprehensive analysis of Judges 19-21 which approaches the text from a variety of angles. Initially, structure and composition history are evaluated, leading E. to suggest that a primary narrative running through the chapters has been revised and expanded by interpolation prior to a secondary redaction. E. then contrasts virtual space in the narrative with archaeological evidence through examination of various place names, concluding that references to Bethlehem, Gibeah, Mizpah and Bethel reflect the circumstances in Judah during the Babylonian occupation and early Persian period (despite the pre-monarchic setting of the narrative). A valuable section of the monograph is E.'s detailed analysis of language and style where she suggests that the narrative in these chapters is Late Biblical Hebrew (LBH), which, through allusion and unmarked quotation, evokes former, classical-style literature. A lengthy chapter is devoted to intertexts and their significance, which alongside exploring familiar and more distant intertexts also seeks to expose LBH in intertexts. E.'s overarching argument is that these chapters are composed in the early Persian period and reflect the concerns of the postexilic period, among which is the tension between separatism and the idea of ‘all Israel’. However, numerous suggestive conclusions are made, many of which could easily be springboards for future research in this area. E.'s research is very thorough, well argued, and well contextualized; for example, prior to analysis, readers are given outlines of scholarly discussions concerning defining an intertext and Standard/Late Biblical Hebrew. As a result, this monograph is dense with contextualization and argumentation. However, this only makes it all the more worthy of scholarly consideration as an important contribution to the field.

Katherine E. Southwood

Firth, David, 1 & 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Study Guide. A Kingdom Comes (T&T Clark Study Guides to the Old Testament; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017), pp. xii + 94. £14.99. ISBN 978-1-35000-895-3 (paperback), 978-1-35000-897-7 (PDF).

This is a reissue, by the new publisher of the series formerly known as the Phoenix Guides to the Old Testament, of a work first published by Sheffield Phoenix Press in 2013, and reviewed in B.L. 2014, p. 75.

(Book List Editor)

Goldingay, John, Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone (London: SPCK, 2011), pp. xi + 197. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06128-0.

Goldingay, John, 1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone (London: SPCK, 2011), pp. xi + 196. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06129-7.

These two small books are part of a complete series of reader's guides by the same author-‘The Old Testament for Everyone’, four earlier volumes of which were reviewed in B.L. 2012, pp. 81-82, and the remainder of which are reviewed m the current issue on pp. 77, 88 and 95. G. is particularly well equipped to provide such guides, and he gives readers his own translation of the biblical text immediately followed by very sage and very insightful guidance into the meaning of each pericope. Words which may not be familiar or which deserve further explanation are printed in bold face and a glossary of those terms is found m the back of the volume. Maps too are provided as are outlines of each of the books. These volumes cannot be described as commentaries in the classical sense of that term. Rather, they are observations peppered with personal anecdotes by a gifted OT exegete. So, for instance, whilst discussing 1 Sam. 5.1-7.1, G. remarks, ‘When I used to read Bible stones to my young sons, they would sometimes ask “Did that really happen?”’ (p. 38). He goes on then to talk in plain and folksy language about the Ark and its adventures in Philistine possession. He also is not shy about incorporating NT passages and theological viewpoints in his explanation of OT texts. In many ways, then, G.'s little volumes are sermonizings, and preachers will find them most useful for sermon ideas. General readers, too, will find them useful. Academics, though, may well quibble with the many anecdotal intrusions and spiritualizing tendencies, for at many points we learn far more about G.'s life and times than we do about the text's, and the title's ‘Everyone’ is really more accurately replaced with ‘Christians’ because in point of fact G. is writing as a Christian for Christian readers of the Hebrew Bible. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But it should be pointed out that G.'s effort is intentionally parochial.

Jim West

Grabbe, Lester L., 1 & 2 Kings: An Introduction and Study Guide. History and Story in Ancient Israel (T&T Clark Study Guides to the Old Testament; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017), pp. ix + 111. £14.99. ISBN 978-0-56767-085-4 (paperback), 978-0-56767-086-1 (PDF), 978-0-56767-087-8 (e-book).

The introductory chapter (ch. 1) of this work sets forth the main approach to 1 and 2 Kings espoused here, and outlines various preliminary matters: the text of the books; the books of Kings and Israelite prophetic activity; the books of Kings and historiography; development of historical writing among the Greeks; some major commentaries on Kings. Chapter 2 concerns Kings and the Deuteronomistic History, concluding that the material from 1 Kings 16 to 2 Kings 17 contains only few passages of any length that seem to be straightforward historical narratives, but is rather dominated by prophetical stones or theological interests. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 then look in some detail to the issue of Kings and history m succeeding eras: Solomon to Omri; the Omride dynasty and rulers to the fall of Samaria; and from the fall of Samaria to the fall of Jerusalem. Chapter 6 is ‘Conclusions: The Books of Kings m Hermeneutical Perspective’, and deals successively with these books as history; Kings and theology; good kings and bad kings; various other interpretations of the ‘story’. Here it is acknowledged both that the ‘value of 1 and 2 Kings is and always has been theological’ (p. 95), and that most readers of them will have a hermeneutical concern-‘What does the text mean to me/us m my/our situations in the present time?’ (p. 95)-perhaps suggesting that what is a most useful study might have been of even greater usefulness if some of these wider theological issues had been given more consideration.

Michael E.W. Thompson

Mcconville, James Gordon, Joshua: An Introduction and Study Guide. Crossing Divides (T&T Clark Study Guides to the Old Testament; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017), pp. xii + 82. £14.99. ISBN 978-0-56767-097-7 (paperback), 978-0-56767-098-4 (PDF).

This is a reissue, by the new publisher of the series formerly known as the Phoenix Guides to the Old Testament, of a work first published by Sheffield Phoenix Press m 2013, and reviewed in B.L. 2014, p. 78.

Book List Editor

Philips, Richard D., 1 Samuel (Reformed Expository Commentary; Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2012), pp. xvii + 548. $34.99. ISBN 978-1-59638-197-1.

Standing m a long and distinguished tradition of Christian expository commentary on Scripture, and drawing on numerous similar studies of Samuel from the last two centuries, this substantial volume on 1 Samuel embodies the best of the tradition's strengths-close engagement with the narratives and characters, subtlety and nuance m the application of principles and of christological readings, and wide-ranging familiarity with the experiences of modern readers. Although evidently scholarly and familiar with the Hebrew, there is little interest to engage with questions of a more academic nature. so it is no surprise that the standard exegetical commentaries are only rarely referenced, if at all, and no bibliography accompanies the Index of Scripture and Index of Subjects and Names. The latter, though, will be particularly useful for locating the numerous memorable illustrations and stories used to expound the text. The commentary itself is divided into 43 sermon-length chapters, reflecting the origin of the book in expository messages delivered from the pulpit. These are in turn gathered under three standard divisions: chs. 1-7 (‘Last of the Judges’), 8-15 (‘A King Like All the Nations’), and 16-31 (‘A Man after God's Own Heart’). Page 1 gives as a title for 1 Samuel, ‘A King after God's Own Heart’, perhaps implying that the volume on 2 Samuel is already underway. This edifying and pleasantly readable study will not only benefit pastors of congregations, but also offer scholars a refreshing and at times sobering alternative to dry dissection of an ancient text; ‘through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks’.

James E. Patrick

Ryken, Philip Graham, 1 Kings (Reformed Expository Commentary; Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2011), pp. xvi + 619. $34.99. ISBN 978-1-59638-208-4.

This volume is composed of 46 expository sermons (preached to Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) on the narrative in 1 Kings, running from ‘King Me!’ (on Adonijah's attempt to become David's successor in ch. 1) to ‘Thy Word is Truth’ (on Micaiah's prophecy of Ahab's demise in ch. 22). The overall work is divided into three parts: Part 1 (‘King Solomon: Money, Sex, and Power’) contains 24 sermons on 1 Kgs 1.1-11.25, calling on Christians to learn-from Solomon's positive-then-negative example-that money, sex and power should be used wisely ‘for kingdom purposes’ and not foolishly ‘for selfish gain’; Part 2 (‘Divided Kingdom: The Wages of Sin’) contains nine sermons on 1 Kgs 11.26-16.28, warning Christians about the destructive consequences of sin-especially the sin of idolatry-among ‘the people of God’; and Part 3 (‘Prophet Elijah: The Power of Prayer’) contains 13 sermons on 1 Kgs 16.29-22.53, calling on Christians to learn-from Elijah's life and ministry-that prayer connects believers to the unlimited power of God. True to the stated goals of the Reformed Expository Commentary, of which indeed R. is one of the senes editors, these homilies aim to ‘instruct and inspire each Christian who reads them in joyful, obedient discipleship to Jesus Christ’ (p. xiii). Evidently, this is a book for the Church, not for the Academy or the Synagogue.

John Jarick

Sasson, Jack M., Judges 1-12: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries; New Haven, CT/London: Yale University Press, 2014), pp. xx + 593. $100.00/£70.00. ISBN 978-0-300-19033-5.

Whereas its predecessor in the Anchor Bible series dealt with the whole book of Judges m about 350 pages, this bulkier volume covers just chs. 1-12. It is suggested that the stories m Judges survived in part because they carried versions of history important to Israel but also because they were ‘accessible, as narratives, as theology, and as examples’ (p. 14). With regard to the book's composition, an interesting analogy is drawn with the Sumerian King List and, more generally, a feature of the commentary is its pointing to possible parallels in ANE documents. These are insights which S. is particularly able to offer. The policy behind the new translation is to strive ‘for easy comprehension without disregarding the original Hebrew construction’ (p. 29). But in the commentary there is plenty of help with the Hebrew text (given in transliteration) and other ancient versions. The Introduction is followed by the Bibliography, then a translation of all 12 chapters. In the ‘Notes and Comments’ which comprise the bulk of the book, the translation is repeated section by section. The ‘Notes’ often include an introductory remark identifying a key issue in the passage (e.g. Holy War, Amorites, angels and messengers). Then come endnotes and indexes. The book of Judges is not renowned for raising a smile, but the translation of 1.7, with Adoni-bezeq referring to 70 kings ‘scrapping under my table’, conjured up for this reader an inappropriate image of royal fisticuffs! There is a wealth of valuable material here.

Adrian Curtis

Note also the following books reviewed in other sections of this Book List:

Avioz, Michael, Josephus’ Interpretation of the Books of Samuel — see p. 103

Degear, Elizabeth Berne, ‘For She Has Heard’: The Standing Stone in Joshua 24 and the Development of a Covenant Symbol — see p. 108

Focken, Friedrich-Emanuel, Zwischen Landnahme und Königtum. Literarkritische und redaktionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen zum Anfang und Ende der deuter-onomistischen Richtererzählungen — see p. 111

Lesemann, Sven, ‘Und Gideon starb in einem guten Greisenalter’. Untersuchungen zu den hebräischen und griechischen Texttraditionen in Ri 6-8 — see p. 50

Patmore, Hector M., The Transmission of Targum Jonathan in the West: A Study of Italian and Ashkenazi Manuscripts of the Targum to Samuel — see p. 52

Southwood, Katherine E., Marriage by Capture in the Book of Judges: An Anthropological Approach — see p. 38

Taylor, Marion Ann and Christiana De Groot (eds.), Women of War, Women of Woe: Joshua and Judges through the Eyes of Nineteenth-Century Female Biblical Interpreters — see p. 132

Wirth, Raimund, Die Septuaginta der Samuelbücher. Untersucht unter Einbeziehung ihrer Rezensionen — see p. 55

III. Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea-Malachi)

Abernethy, Andrew T., The Book of Isaiah and God's Kingdom: A Thematic-Theological Approach (NSBT, 40; London: Apollos / Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016), pp. xii + 245. $24.00. ISBN 978-0-8308-2641-4.

A. is clear in his approach to Isaiah: it is not a Christian work but can be understood as a piece of Christian Scripture. Written from a clearly Christian standpoint, the book covers the theme of the kingdom in Isaiah, and identifies four features: God the king, the lead agents of the king, the realm of the kingdom, and the people of the king. A. uses a synchronic approach to Isaiah, dealing with the text in its received form but acknowledges the diachronic approach. The first three chapters deal with ‘God, the king now and to come in Isaiah 1-39’, ‘God, the only saving king in Isaiah 40-55’, and ‘God, the warrior, international and compassionate king in Isaiah 56-66’. Throughout, A. is careful to demonstrate the historical background to the texts he explains. In the fourth chapter, ‘The lead agents of the king’, he identifies three characters: Davidic ruler, servant, and messenger. This enables him to avoid getting too deeply into the debate as to whether any given passage is necessarily messianic. He argues that all three are distinct figures within the outlook of the book of lsaiah. In the final chapter, the argument is that God's kingdom will stretch over the whole universe and Zion will be the capital of his international kingdom. The people of the kingdom are those who have been purified and saved. A. succeeds in demonstrating that the kingdom is central to understanding Isaiah, and this book has a great deal to commend it in its careful exegeses.

Francis Loftus

Becking, Bob (ed.), Obadiah (Readings: A New Biblical Commentary; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2016), pp. xi + 166. £35.00/$60.00/€50.00. ISBN 978-1-910928-08-0 (hardback); 978-1-910928-09-7 (paperback).

This volume is not a commentary m the usual sense, but a collection of essays, in an apparently random order, about the book of Obadiah and recent approaches to understanding and interpreting it. It opens with the contribution of the editor (‘“To Translate Is to Transgress”: Obadiah Transformed into Post-Secular English’), namely his own translation into English. The result shows more what Becking would like Obadiah to have said than what he actually said. The translation itself is set out with each clause as a new paragraph so that there is no indication whatsoever of the paragraph breaks, speakers or addressees. Overall the result is a rendering that is not without interest, but which no responsible Bible translation agency could endorse. Nadav Na'aman (‘The Prophecy of Obadiah in Historical Perspective’) provides a clear account of the archaeological evidence for the events referred to m the prophecy, and the conclusions they could lead to concerning its date. He also offers a more traditional English translation of vv. 1-15, but again with no indication of paragraph structure. Eric Ottenheijm (‘“Sons of Esau”: Talmudic Readings of Obadiah 1.18’) makes an interesting examination of the use of Obadiah, especially v. 18, in nuancing Jewish interaction with Roman culture, especially in the third century CE. Gerne F. Snyman (‘Obadiah and a Hermeneutic of Vulnerability’) gives a somewhat rambling interpretation of Obadiah's exploitation of the ‘vulnerability’ of Edom in terms of its rupture of fraternal relations with Judah. This is set poignantly against the current situation in the author's South African background. Marvin A. Sweeney (‘Obadiah within the Book of the Twelve Prophets’) provides an intriguing discussion of the implications of the different placement of Obadiah in the MT and the LXX textual traditions within the Book of the Twelve. He does include an outline of Obadiah's structure, based on the common but impressionistic semantic criteria. Nicholas R. Werse (‘Crime and Punishment: A Semiotic Analysis of Judgment in Obadiah’) makes a perceptive analysis of the book following the semiotic approach of the Russian semiotician Yuri Lotman. His application of ‘the communicative functions of the relationships between the multiple systems of signification at work on the various linguistic levels of the oracle’ (p. 89) produces interesting results for elucidating the cohesion and coherence of the whole book. His (undiscussed) assumption is that the parallel passage in Jeremiah 49 is prior to Obadiah. Bradford A. Anderson (‘The Spatial Rhetoric of Obadiah’) provides a stimulating debate on the significance within the book of place and identity, of possession and repossession of the land, and of directionality and movement. He adds a consideration of the contrast between xenophobia and trauma compensation, which could prove relevant to such current issues as Scottish independence and Brexit, though he does not venture into such dangerous waters! Julia M. O'Brien (‘Edom as [Selfish] Brother’) focuses on Obadiah's use of the ‘brother’ metaphor for Edom, downplaying the tradition embodied in the Genesis account. She also questions the archaeological evidence often held to support the historicity of Obadiah's claims about Edom's behaviour towards Judah. She maintains that the ‘brother’ metaphor has political as well as (or more than) biological implications. One surprising feature of this volume overall is that none of the authors seems to be aware of a detailed linguistic study of the discourse structure of Obadiah published as long ago as 1991 in The Bible Translator 42.3, pp. 326-36, and now available free of charge at http://www.ubs-translations.org/tbt/1991/03/TBT199103.html?num=&numl=326&x=12&y=9. The whole volume would have benefitted from some sharper copy-editing and proofreading, though errors sometimes have their entertainment value, for instance on p. 47 where the Romance languages have become ‘the Romantic languages’!

David J. Clark

Berger, Yitzhak, Jonah in the Shadows of Eden (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2016), pp. xviii + 151. $60.00. ISBN 978-0-253-02129-8.

Based on a close analysis of a plethora of ‘Eden-related’ inner-biblical connections. B. advances the thesis that Jonah is presented as embarking on an ‘escapist quest for an idyllic, Eden-like existence’ (p. 1). However, given the text's multivalent nature, this, B. suggests, can be construed in two ways: (1) a moralistic Jonah resisting the Ninevites’ potential salvation, seeking a perfect Edenic realm instead, or (2) a pacifist Jonah running from a vengeful God in search of Edenic bliss without suffering. Either way, B. sees the book of Jonah as a meticulously crafted story drawing on a complex web of meaningful allusions. Having presented these two interpretations, he proceeds to offer a stimulating rereading of the thanksgiving psalm in ch. 2, which sees Jonah thanking God out of the paradisiacal haven embodied by the fish. The other Edenic havens found in the book are the Zaphon-like ship, the metaphorical divine mountain and the Eden-like plant. This is an absorbing exploration of inner-biblical allusions that leads B. to detect deeper levels of meaning in the story of Jonah. While perhaps not fully convinced of every single one of his interpretative moves, I found myself consistently intrigued by B.'s suggestions, many of which I would also regard as persuasive. Not only does his reading help to explain many of the more puzzling aspects of the story, it also accounts for some baffling details, such as the use and distribution of the different versions of the divine name.

Karl Möller

Block, Daniel I., Obadiah (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013), pp. 128. $19.99. ISBN 978-0-310-52933-0.

This is a reissue under a new title of B.'s volume on Obadiah: The Kingship Belongs to YHWH (in the Hearing the Message of Scripture series), reviewed in B.L. 2015, p. 76.

(Book List Editor)

Boda, Mark J., The Book of Zechariah (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament; Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge, UK: Eerdmans, 2016), pp. xxiv + 911. $58.00/£26.99. ISBN 978-0-8028-2375-5. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]

This massive, erudite and informative study of the book of Zechariah by one whose earlier work has already shown him to be a master of the subject will surely become a standard work. Its value lies not only in its detailed, thorough examination of the text verse by verse, but also in the author's constant larger vision of the structure of larger sections and, indeed, of the book as a whole. While giving full force to the variety of the material which is now present in the book, he argues that ‘Zechariah 1-14 should be treated as a single book’ (p. 28). Dependence upon (similar) earlier biblical material is to be found throughout; the prophetic ‘sign-act’ plays a key role in all parts; similar themes are developed within all the redactional material, and a theme is found in both chs. 1-8 and 9-14 of promised restoration from a difficult situation, through frustrations posed by both leaders and the whole community, to triumphant resolution for both Jerusalem and the nations. It is this combination of detailed and authoritative study of the text and the larger vision of the structure and purpose of the whole book which marks this as an outstanding contribution to the Zechariah corpus.

Rex Mason

Cruz, Juan, Who Is Like Yahweh?’: A Study of Divine Metaphors in the Book of Micah (FRLANT, 263; Göttingen/Bristol, CT: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016), pp. 274. €79.00 (print); €59.00 (PDF). ISBN 978-3-525-54047-3 (print), 978-3-647-54047-4 (e-book); ISSN 2198-1183.

In this slightly revised doctoral dissertation, C. investigates in a very thorough and convincing fashion the divine metaphors in the book of Micah. In his introduction, he outlines the key theories of metaphors put forward by Aristotle, Ricoeur and Harshav and notes in particular the strength of the theory of Harshav, who ‘incorporates Aristotle's one-word metaphor and Ricœur's sentence metaphor into a theory that is both complementary and encompassing’ (p. 46). It is Harshav's concept called ‘frame of reference (fr)’, which he defines as a ‘semantic unit of discourse that can link two or more discontinuous referents in a continuous relationship’, that informs C.'s investigation of divine metaphors in Micah (p. 46). Chapter 2 looks at the contributions of redaction and literary criticisms of Micah in light of the interpretation of metaphors. And after a preliminary look at the literary composition of Micah, C. suggests there is a need to recognize and examine further how and why there are divine metaphors in ‘tension’ (p. 71). Chapters 3-6 form the heart of C's monograph. Here he analyses the legal metaphors in Mic. 1.2-16 (ch. 3) and 6.1-16 (ch. 4) and the pastoral metaphors in Mic. 2.12-13, 4.6-7 and 5.1-4a (ch. 5) and 7.14-20 (ch. 6). C. concludes that there are ‘tensional metaphors’ and signs of conceptual incoherence throughout Micah. This is owed to the number of authors responsible for Micah's composition and the final editor's desire to preserve their perspectives. Any theology of Micah must take into account these ‘tensional’ divine metaphors.

Will Stalder

Dtetrich, Walter, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (IECOT; Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. 2016), pp. 286. €74.00. ISBN 978-3-17-020657-1.

This work on the seventh-century prophets is a translation (by Peter Altmann) of D.'s 2014 German commentary. The distinctiveness of this commentary series is its attention to both diachronic and synchronic perspectives. D. brings the two approaches together in a satisfactory manner. There is a brief introduction of the three prophetic books as part of the Book of the Twelve from synchronic and diachronic views, and each individual book has its own introduction. The commentary moves through the texts section by section. There is a fresh translation, textual notes, a detailed discussion of individual verses or groups of verses (synchronic), followed by an analysis of the section's compositional history. For all the books D. offers a precise account of the original prophetic core and the subsequent development in the exilic and postexilic (sometimes late post-exilic) periods. A brief synthesis returns to the final form of the text with the results of the diachronic analysis serving the understanding of the canonical text. The commentary is a model of clarity and careful judgement.

Nathan Macdonald

Eck, Joahim, Jesaja 1-Eine Exegese der Eröffnung des Jesaja-Buches. Die Präsentation Jesajas und JHWHs, Israels und der Tochter Zion (BZAW, 473; Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2015), pp. xvii + 410. €119.95/£89.99/$168.00. ISBN 978-3-11-040293-3 (print), 978-3-11-040647-4 (e-Pub), 978-3-11-040632-0 (PDF); ISSN 0934-2575.

This doctoral thesis (Catholic University of Eichstätt, supervised by Burkard Zapff) offers the most detailed discussion of Isa. 1.1-9 that I have ever encountered. E. begins by discussing the structure of Isaiah 1. In view of its interchanging speakers (divine oracles and prophetic words), E. argues that it constitutes a redactional rather than an authorial unity. As to its genre, E. challenges the common view that Isaiah 1 is a prophetic ‘lawsuit’ (rîb) and to be understood within the parameters of covenant theology. Rather, its vocabulary points m the direction of a wisdom setting. E. then offers an exhaustive exegesis of vv. 1-9 which leaves nothing to be desired. The discussion of v. 1 alone lasts 50 pages, exploring its content, structure, and inner-biblical allusions. Based on this analysis, E. concludes that also vv. 1-9 is a redactional unity, consisting of the sections vv. 1 / 2-4 / 5-7a, 8 / 7b / 9. Through a comparison with Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions, E. further suggests that vv. 5-7a, 8 form the earliest kernel of the pericope, stemming from the time of Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem. Turning to the message of Isaiah 1, E. argues that Isaiah 1 depicts Israel's sins against the weak in the society as a sin against YHWH'S righteous and universal rule. This message is further emphasized m Isaiah 6 through textual allusions to the Exodus narrative. Isaiah is being sent to Israel in the same way as Moses is being sent to Pharaoh. This is a painstakingly well-researched monograph; I frequently wished for more succinct discussions.

Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Eggleston, Chad L., ‘See and Read All These Words’: The Concept of the Written in the Book of Jeremiah (Siphrut, 18; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2016), pp. xiv + 194. $44.50. ISBN 978-1-57506-402-4.

Based on the author's Duke University doctoral thesis (supervised by Ellen Davis). this book argues for a theology of writing in the book of Jeremiah. The two main features of this theology are: (1) YHWH as the origin of the written word, and (2) a self-authorization of the text of Jeremiah in its references to itself (e.g. ‘these words’, ‘this scroll’). Along with an introduction and conclusion, E.'s work proceeds in four main chapters. In the first, he describes four theoretical understandings of writing (degeneration. progress, dictation, deconstruction), and argues that each is an inexact match for the culture and history of the ANE. The second chapter outlines the ‘chain of transmission’ in Jeremiah, focusing on the roles played by deities, scribes and prophets in the writing process. In the third chapter, E. discusses aspects of Jeremiah which refer to its own text or textualization. The fourth chapter then discusses the audiences in and of the book. In places, E.'s method is somewhat fluid as he moves between literary and historical arguments. The bibliography includes little material beyond 2009 and omits some authors who might contribute to the discussion, particularly regarding the text's account of its growth (e.g. Fischer, Schmid, Römer). This book will appeal to readers interested in writing and m theological approaches to prophetic literature.

William L. Kelly

Fox, R. Michael, A Message from the Great King: Reading Malachi in Light of Ancient Persian Royal Messenger Texts from the Time of Xerxes (Siphrut, 17; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2015), pp. xiv + 170. $49.50. ISBN 978-1-57506-394-2.

This fine study, a doctoral thesis written under the supervision of David Gunn at Texas Christian University, argues that Malachi should be understood as God's message of warning and threat to Judah, modelled after the (Persian) literary genre of a royal message. F. begins his study with the customary history of research, noting the scholarly disagreement pertaining to the form and the genre of Malachi, as well as the common view that Malachi is not great literature. To rectify this situation, F., adopting the methodology of Michael Ward (author of Planet Narnia), suggests that the notion of a ‘messenger’ is a root metaphor throughout the book, exemplified by the title of the book, and that this metaphor may function as a reading lens which, in turn, provides the key to its message: Malachi is a royal message (from God). F. then proceeds systematically through the book of Malachi and highlights imagery and metaphors which reveal this idea. These ‘messenger decorations’ fall into three categories: ‘brilliant decorations’ which are instances where the messenger root metaphor is obvious (e.g. the name of the book, the idea that God will send a messenger [3.1]), ‘bright decorations’ which support the former (e.g. the notion of ‘sending forth’ [3.1; 4.5]), and ‘subtle decorations’ which are only visible when reading Malachi through the messenger lens. F. concludes with some thoughts as to how this reading lens enhances not only the reader's understanding of the message of the book but also emphasizes its literary quality. Although not all examples convince, this is a valuable contribution to scholarship.

Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Fuhr, Richard Alan, Jr and Gary E. Yates, The Message of the Twelve: Hearing the Voice of the Minor Prophets (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2016), pp. xix + 360. $34.99. ISBN 978-1-4336-8376-3.

The opening chapters of this book explain the historical background of the Twelve Minor Prophets, their prophetic roles, the literary genres and rhetorical devices used. and the canonical unity of the Book of the Twelve. This is followed by twelve individual chapters examining the structure of the final form of each of the prophetic books, providing detailed exposition of the book's passages, and their overall theological meaning and application. The book concludes with a message for the Church today. There are some notable omissions: first, the book of Micah is absent from the introductory remarks about the unique features of each of the prophets (p. xvii); second, it does not consider the history of the formation of each of the prophetic books and of the Book of the Twelve as a whole; third, it has not used any of the valuable recent German scholarship on the subject; fourth, it might have been helpful to point out some dangers of accepting the prophets’ metaphors uncritically (for example, the authors state that ‘[t]he theological message of Hosea is wrapped m the clothes of metaphor’ [p. 84] without acknowledging that the marital metaphor in Hosea 1-2 might be used by modern readers to justify the violent behaviour of a wife-beating husband); and fifth, the authors’ claim that Mic. 5.2 prophesies Jesus’ first coming (pp. 24, 194-95) is not consistent with the overall theme of restoration m Micah. Nevertheless, the book may be used as introductory material for the study of the Twelve Minor Prophets.

Juan Cruz

Geiger, Mchaela, Ruth Poser and Charlotte Voss (eds.), Visionen im Dialog Der Schluss des Amosbuches (Am 7-9) (Stuttgarter Bibelstudien, 236; Stuttgart: Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk, 2016), pp. 144. Five photographs. €25.00. ISBN 978-3-460-03364-1.

Arising from a 2014 conference m Marburg, this worthwhile volume on Amos 7-9 includes five essays, framed by a brief foreword and bibliography. Georg Steins discusses judgment prophecy in Amos 7-9, seeing the visions as reflecting on the future of God's people after the catastrophe of the exile. Michaela Geiger contrasts the first pair of visions m Amos 7.1-6, allowing the merciful possibility of repentance, with the other two visions m Amos 7.7-9 and 8.1-2, envisaging divine punishment. Focusing on the prophetic outcry against destruction, Ruth Poser compares both of Amos’ pleas for divine mercy (7.3, 6) with Ezekiel's two objections against divine punishment (Ezek. 9.8; 11.13). Uta Schmidt contrasts the conditional offer of future salvation m Amos 9.7-10 with the unconditional offer in Amos 9.11-15. By reading the book of Amos starting at the end, Rainer Kessler considers the work's diverse parts as a radical unity. Viewing the book as a whole prevents the reader from presuming that Amos warned of unconditional disaster, since the book ends by providing some future hope.

Jeremy Corley

Gibson, Jonathan, Covenant, Continuity and Fidelity: A Study of Inner-Biblical Allusion and Exegesis in Malachi (LHBOTS, 625; London/New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2016), pp. xvii + 302. £90.00. ISBN 978-0-56766-514-0.

This revised Cambridge PhD thesis (supervised by Robert Gordon) aims to demonstrate how Malachi's inner-biblical interpretation of source texts in the Hebrew Bible informs and shapes his central theme of covenant. The detailed exegetical study adds to extant scholarship a focused discussion of inner-biblical allusion. The chapters are well structured and take the reader step-by-step, following G.'s rationale, from an in-depth text-critical analysis through to interpretation. Six disputations, contained in six units, are examined: one against the priests (1.6-2.9), three against the Judahites (1.2-5; 2.10-16; 3.7-12), and two against the unfaithful in the community (2.7-3.6; 3.13-21 [4.3]). An engaging discussion is also given for the covenant renewal (3.22-24 [4.4-6]). The criteria of G.'s decision whether or not a source text is chosen by the biblical author/redactor to be an allusion are the literary features, contextual similarities and development, and intentional reuse of a text, as distinguished from echo or correspondence or influence. G. aptly emphasizes the inadequacy in mere philological comparison and demonstrates that even the same vocabulary, depending on context and lexical distribution, can produce varied meaning and significance (p. 187). This exegetical principle is applicable to both intertextual and intratextual coordinates. A minor formatting problem is spotted (p. 196). G.'s work will serve the research community well for its comprehensive and engaging investigation.

Hedy Hung

Goldingay, John, Isaiah for Everyone (London: SPCK, 2015), pp. xii + 260. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06136-5.

Goldingay, John, Jeremiah for Everyone (London: SPCK, 2015), pp. x + 269. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06787-9.

Goldingay, John, Lamentations and Ezekiel for Everyone (London: SPCK, 2016), pp. x + 246. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06139-6.

Goldingay, John, Daniel and the Twelve Prophets for Everyone (London: SPCK. 2016), pp. x + 274. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06140-2.

G., a scholar with distinguished academic commentaries on Isaiah 40-66 and Daniel to his credit, here expounds the prophets for a lay Christian readership. These volumes are the last of the ‘Old Testament for Everyone’ books, all written by G., covering the entire Hebrew Bible (see above, p. 67). In each volume the text, after a short introduction, is divided into long sections with a complete new translation, followed by commentary with a strong homiletic emphasis. The translation is lucid and gritty, hewing close to the Hebrew; there are certain eccentric but defensible renderings, some of which are explained in the short glossary at the end of each volume: e.g. ‘Yahweh Armies’; ‘aide’ for mal’ āk; ‘Ephraim’ regularly for Israel the pre-exilic kingdom; ‘exercise of authority’ often for mišpāt, and ‘faithfulness’ for s^edāqâ. The commentary is personal in tone, always opening with a personal experience. G. does not surrender his scholarly integrity for the sake of easy acceptance, but naturally theological rather than critical issues are to the fore, and he pays serious attention to the religious, social and political relevance of the text for the present. He accepts the offensiveness of such passages as Ezekiel 16 and 23, while not quite bringing himself to call them misogynistic, but brings out the intention of the text. The volumes will serve their envisaged readership admirably.

Walter J. Houston

Houston, Walter J., Amos: An Introduction and Study Guide. Justice and Violence (T&T Clark Study Guides to the Old Testament; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017), pp. x + 115. £14.99. ISBN 978-1-35000-899-1 (paperback), 978-1-35000-901-1 (PDF).

This is a reissue, by the new publisher of the series formerly known as the Phoenix Guides to the Old Testament, of a work first published by Sheffield Phoenix Press in 2015, and reviewed in B.L. 2016, pp. 85-86.

(Book List Editor)

Lee, Suk Yee, An Intertextual Analysis of Zechariah 9-10: The Earlier Expectations of Second Zechariah (LHBOTS, 599; London/New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015). pp. xvi + 311. 6 tables. £70.00/ $120.00 (print); £69.99/$107.99 (PDF). ISBN 978-0-56739-999-1 (print), 978-0-56706-6633-3 (PDF).

This monograph is a revised version of L.'s PhD dissertation (McMaster Divinity College, 2012; supervised by Mark Boda). As the title indicates, it contributes to the growing body of scholarship focusing on intertexts and L. hopes that this work will encourage a similar analysis of the remaining chapters of Zechariah 9-14. She dates the corpus to c. 440 BCE and presents evidence to support the idea that much of the Pentateuch and the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah (her major source), Ezekiel and Psalm 72, in the form we have received them, existed by that time. She argues that the concurrent incorporation of Second Zechariah was the final stage of the formation of the book of the Twelve. Chapters 3-7 focus on discrete pericopes, 9.1-8; 9.9-10; 9.11-17; 10.1-5 and 10.6-12. analysing each against a number of intertexts. The discussion is detailed and the argu-ment well made, although I became increasingly sceptical that readers would recognize the allusions being identified by L., especially where she claimed that the host text was revising the meaning of the intertext, for example 9.12b and Deut. 15.18 (pp. 128-31). L.'s research leads her to identify the advent of Yahweh as divine King, the restorations of both an ideal Davidic kingship and an ideal people, the transformation of Judah and the restoration of Ephraim, as the expectations of Zech. 9-10, expectations which she suggests reflect the concerns of the (Davidic?) ruling class in the tiny province of Yehud still struggling under Persian imperial control. Whether the proposed future research will confirm this thesis is an open question.

Janet E. Tollington

Lundbom, Jack R., Jeremiah among the Prophets (Cambridge: James Clarke & Co.. 2013), pp. 153. £18.00. ISBN 978-0-2271-7407-4.

In this slim paperback L. draws upon his own voluinmous scholarship on the book of Jeremiah as well as his long-standing interest in rhetorical analysis of the Hebrew Bible in order to present an accessible orientation to the prophet Jeremiah. The author's explicit aim is to avoid burdening his intended audience of lay readers and beginning students with technical details and references to scholarly debates as he engages the biblical text. Thus, each brief chapter features a discussion of several Jeremianic passages as well as a clear exposition of their content, structure and relation to their wider context. With a consistent emphasis on placing the various narratives and oracles of the prophet within a precise historical context, the author's reconstructed portrayal is frequently given priority over the canonical order of the biblical material. While there is much to be commended in L.'s insightful exegesis and in his clear, economical presentation. there is perhaps some cause for concern when it comes to the potential use of this volume for a non-specialist audience or for beginning students. There is doubtless some value in avoiding technical, scholarly discussions for the sake of clarity and accessibility; however, given the contested nature of many details concerning the potential correspondence between particular texts and historical events involving the prophet Jeremiah, the failure to acknowledge alternative perspectives at times seems problematic.

Jonathan D. Bentall

Mills, Mary E., Jeremiah: An Introduction and Study Guide. Prophecy in a Time of Crisis (T&T Clark Study Guides to the Old Testament; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017), pp. vii + 95. £14.99. ISBN 978-0-56767-105-9 (paperback), 978-0-56767-106-6 (PDF).

This is a reissue, by the new publisher of the series formerly known as the Phoenix Guides to the Old Testament, of a work first published by Sheffield Phoenix Press in 2015, and reviewed in B.L. 2016, pp. 89-90.

(Book List Editor)

Min, Yoo Hong, Die Grundschrift des Ezechielbuches und ihre Botschaft (FAT, II/81; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2015), pp. xvii + 396. €94.00. ISBN 978-3-16-153858-2; ISSN 1611-4914.

In the publication of his PhD thesis (Kirchliche Hochschule Bethel, 2013), M. undertakes a composition-critical analysis of the book of Ezekiel, aiming at reconstruct-ting its original version (Grundschrift). He starts from the presupposition that the original composition of the book drew on pre-existing units that were self-contained and can thus be reconstructed; these were then intentionally arranged to form the original composition that was later supplemented gradually to form the present prophetic book (p. 9). The apparent uniformity of the book harks back to the author of the original composition. whom M. places in priestly circles passing on the prophecies of Ezekiel in the middle of the Babylonian exile. As to scope and message, M. states that the original version comprises an earlier collection of visionary accounts in 1.1-3.15; chs. 8-11; 37.1-14; and chs. 40-18∗, which have been combined with prophetic speeches. This combined material forms a prophetic historical narrative prophetische Geschichtserzählung, p. 272) that uses the golah as a literary figure (p. 268) to convey its message of Yahweh's royal reign and his provisions for the scattered people of Israel. The study succeeds m building on previous insights of Ezekiel research (the literary-compositional relevance of the visionary accounts, the literary function of the golah), and it develops a fresh approach at explaining the development of the book. Even though some of the analyses await more detailed review, this is a stimulating work that enriches our knowledge of the prophetic book and will contribute to further research in the field.

Anja Klein

Philips, Richard D., Jonah and Micah (Reformed Expository Commentary; Phillips-burg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2010), pp. xiv + 381. $29.99. ISBN 978-1-59638-114-8.

In the introduction to the Reformed Expository Commentary senes, it is asserted that they are ‘unashamedly doctrinal’. P.'s commentary lives up to this very well. However, the series introduction also claims to be ‘conversant with up-to-date scholarship’, which here is somewhat lacking. On Jonah, P. cites Calvin and theologians from his own tradition, such as Sinclair B. Ferguson, but seems to ignore important contributions in the field, such as the Anchor Bible Commentary (Sasson, Jonah). On Micah, however, there is more engagement with wider scholarship. That being said, P.'s focus is on defending his confessional stance, which is also part of the mission statement of the series. In both commentaries there is also a determined effort to read the NT back into the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. The result is a doctrinally focused series of homilies in relation to the two prophetic books in this volume, and one that will likely be well received in his reformed tradition. However, a greater dialogue with scholarship would undoubtedly strengthen P.'s own commentary, even if he disagrees with them.

Seth Cole

Phillips, Richard D., Zechariah (Reformed Expository Commentary; Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2007), pp. xiv + 351. $29.99. ISBN 978-1-59638-028-8.

I would not recommend this commentary to a pastor, teacher or Bible study leader who wishes to study or teach ‘God's infallible, inerrant Word’ (p. ix). This is because I believe that the aforementioned categories of men and women should have access to sound scholarship. A commentary that sets out to be doctrinal, redemptive-historical in its orientation, Christ-centred, and practical (which this senes seeks to be) would in my view nevertheless benefit from interaction with the Hebrew text and dialogue with up-to-date research. This commentary attests to neither. Instead, its claims are often uninformed and lacking nuance. Using Zechariah 3 as a test-case, Darius I is described as a ‘friendly ruler’ (p. 62) and the Accuser is identified with the Devil without further ado (p. 64). Last but not least, the use of ‘Jehova’ for YHWH IS indefensible (p. 63). Turning to Zech. 5.5-11, the woman in the ephah is identified with the ‘whore of Babylon’ m Revelations 17 without one word of explanation vis-à-vis this exegetical move (p. 127). As to its message, the pervasive focus of the commentary is sin and the need to repent. This focus is read into all texts. A case in point is Zechariah 4 where the temple imagery is used as a platform for a sermon on Jesus’ sacrificial high priestly duty (pp. 115-18), even though this pericope never mentions Joshua by name, let alone sacrifices. This book is on the whole a rather sad reading experience.

Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Prokhorov, Alexander V., The Isaianic Denkschrift and a Socio-Cultural Crisis in Yehud: A Rereading of Isaiah 6:l-9:6[7] (FRLANT, 261; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015), pp. 272. 1 table. €90.00 (print); €74.99 (PDF). ISBN 978-3-525-54044-2 (print), 978-3-647-54044-3 (e-book); ISSN 2198-1183.

This volume is a reworked Aberdeen PhD thesis supervised by Joachim Schaper. It is a careful and detailed treatment of the chosen text, using the fashionable socio-anthropological approaches alongside more traditional linguistic analysis. P. offers his own translation of the text. He concludes that this portion of Isaiah was a ‘continuous single layer text’ composed in the early Persian period (p. 143). He has interesting observations about Isaiah's ‘children’: that they inherit the prophet's special status as the holy seed (Isa. 6.13) and as signs and portents (8.18). There is a useful discussion of some key problems in translation (pp. 195-224): yhwh ṣb'wt, for which he proposes ‘Yahweh the Chief-combatant’; the many difficulties in 6.13b, for which he proposes ‘Now just as the terebinth and as the oak, which at Shallekhet were a sacred pillar among them, a holy offspring will be its sacred pillar’; š'r yšwb, which he renders ‘it is the remnant that is going to (re)turn’; and ‘mnw 'l as ‘it is with us that God is’. There is, however, only a very brief note on 'lmh. P. offers a section linking this text to other parts of Isaiah and to Micah 4, but it is surprising that he does not consider the other voices in the Enochic Apocalypse of Weeks, which might have led him to different conclusions about this part of Isaiah.

Margaret Barker

Roberts, J.J.M., First Isaiah (Hermeneia; Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2015), pp. xxix + 554, $69.00, ISBN 978-0-8006-6080-2.

Of the three Isaiah volumes in the Hermeneia series this is the second to appear, following Klaus Baltzer's commentary on Deutero-Isaiah in 2001 (reviewed in B.L. 2002, p. 60, following a review of the German edition in B.L. 2000, pp. 66-67), and like other volumes in this immensely scholarly ‘critical and historical’ series, it works systematically through all the familiar textual, literary-critical and historical issues. Between lengthy textual notes and bibliographies, the actual commentary seems occasionally rather brief, but it is written in a concise, accessible style, and is invariably well argued and frequently supported by meticulously handled archaeological data and ANE parallels. Discussion of the ‘peaceable kingdom’ passage (Isa. 11.6-9), for example, highlights the ‘emphasis on justice, good order, security and the well-being of the weakest members of society’, by citing in full five passages from Egyptian accession hymns and Mesopotamian texts celebrating the wonderful blessings that accompanied a particular king's rule, with passing references to Virgil's Fourth Eclogue and Psalm 72. Not everyone will agree with some of his rather conservative conclusions on matters of date and authorship: for example, a Tate seventh and very early sixth century’ date for the ‘Little Isaiah Apocalypse’ (Isa. 24-27) and the ‘oracle concerning Babylon’ (Isa. 13). But it would be hard to imagine how any future commentator could write a more accurate, balanced and comprehensive compendium of current Isaiah scholarship.

John F.A. Sawyer

Rogland, Max, Haggai and Zechariah 1-8: A Handbook on the Hebrew Text (Baylor Handbook on the Hebrew Bible; Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2016), pp. xii + 250. $29.95. ISBN 978-1-60258-674-1.

This commentary, intended for students of intermediate to advanced Biblical Hebrew, is the latest volume of the Baylor Handbook on the Hebrew Bible senes, which focuses on the linguistic features of the Hebrew text. The main section of this book, namely the analysis of the text of Haggai and Zechariah 1-8, is enclosed by an introducetion and an appendix, followed by a useful glossary of grammatical terminology. Before indicating the characteristics of this commentary and giving an outline of the study text. the introduction briefly discusses debatable issues, e.g. the Late Biblical Hebrew features of Haggai and Zechariah 1-8 and the genre of Haggai. The main section is divided into 15 units. Most units deal with a distinct passage by providing (1) an overview of the message and interpretative or textual issues, (2) R.'s translation of the text into English. and (3) the MT text, together with morphological, semantic, and syntactic analyses, verse-by-verse. The last unit, however, covers seven passages, namely Zech. 7.1-8.23, and does not offer an overview of each passage. The appendix speaks of three recurrent prophetic formulae in the study text. Although he tackles several textual problems by identifying the grammar of the text, R. overlooks certain difficulties, e.g. the absence of a conjunction waw between ‘Judah’ and the nota accusativi preceding ‘Israel’ (Zech. 2.2). Overall, this handbook is a practical teaching aid for a middle- to high-level Biblical Hebrew course.

Jo-Ping Hsiao

Seitz, Christopher R., Joel (The International Theological Commentary on the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments; London/New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark. 2016), pp. xii + 239. £55.00. ISBN 978-0-56757-073-4.

The commentary is split into two halves; the first part is a ‘clarifying guide to the book of Joel’ (p. 2) and the second half is the more usual ‘walk-through’ that does not fall into the trap of retelling the text. The approach throughout is a canonical one which includes considering the history of interpretation, drawing from the best of modern scholarship on the unity of the Twelve (while at the same time keeping the focus on Joel and its message) and addressing critical issues where appropriate. The commentator is explicit that ‘theological’ does not mean ‘homiletical’ or ‘applicative’, though a theological reading could give rise to that and, indeed, his final chapter of the guide on ‘The Living God of Joel in the Lived Life of the Church’ bears this out. One aim of the commentary is to demonstrate that the book of Joel self-consciously anticipates every generation of readers (p. xi). He states that the book of Joel transitions from natural disaster and judgment, where God's righteous judgement is expressed by using the traditional language of the Day of the Lord, to an overcoming by means of repentance—a normative process for Israel (pp. 35, 56, 57). Many other questions are addressed; for example, the ‘guide’ considers who Joel is, the ‘commentary proper’ the temporal issues in 2.18, Jonah and Joel, the pouring out of the Spirit in 2.28-32 (MT 3.1-5) and Acts and Joel. The book is informative, interesting and a worthy addition to the commentary shelves.

Julie Woods

Sweeney, Marvin A., Isaiah 40-66 (Forms of the Old Testament Literature; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016), pp. xx + 412. $55.00/£35.99. ISBN 978-0-8028-6607-3. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]

In line with the goals of the series, S.'s dense and careful study of the text of Isaiah 40-66 focuses on its formal structure and redactional character. It is in many ways a direct continuation of S.'s work on Isaiah 1-39 in the same series (reviewed in B.L. 1997, p. 82). S. opens his commentary with a discussion of the structure of the entire book of Isaiah. Of note, he argues in favour of a structural division between 54.17 and 55.1, thus seeing chs. 40-66 as divided into two main sections: 40-54 speaks of the realization of YHWH'S plan for worldwide sovereignty at Zion while 55-66 constitutes a prophetic exhortation to adhere to YHWH'S covenant. This division, however, stands at odds with the composition history of the same texts, where ch. 55 originally was composed to serve as the end of 40-55. The introduction further deals with matters of authorship and dating. S. argues for a dating of the entire Isaiah scroll to the period of Ezra and Nehemiah in the mid-fifth century to the early fourth century BCE. He further assigns all of Isaiah 40-55 to a single author in view of the perceived stylistic consistency of these 16 chapters. Turning to the actual commentary, S. proceeds through the individual units, discussing its structure, literary genre, setting (both historical and literary), and interpretation. Each section concludes with a substantial and very useful bibliography. The volume ends with a Glossary of Genres and a Glossary of Formulas. To be recommended.

Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Tiemeyer, Lena-Sofia, Zechariah's Vision Report and its Earliest Interpreters: A Redaction-Critical Study of Zechariah 1-8 (LHBOTS, 626; London/New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2016), pp. xiv + 278. £70.00/$120.00 (print); £69.99/$90.99 (PDF/e-book). ISBN 978-0-56766-522-5 (print), 978-0-56766-523-2 (PDF), 978-0-56766-883-7 (e-book).

This monograph is a companion to T.'s Zechariah and his Visions: An Exegetical Study of Zechariah's Vision Report (LHBOTS, 605; reviewed in B.L. 2015, p. 87) and she summarizes her original argument where it is fundamental to understanding this current study. The opening chapters engage with the history of research, with four proposals about the redaction of Zechariah 1-8, and with current scholarly interest in intra- and intertexts and allusions. T. clearly defines her use of terminology in light of the diversity of usage that exists within the field. Chapters 3-13 each consider one of Zechariah's eight vision accounts and associated vision reports following a similar pattern: division between image and speech; an attempt to detect echoes, allusions and influences; a discussion of the authorial unity of a pericope and/or of the connection between vision and oracle; and suggestions about the textual growth of each section. She acknowledges the lack of consensus about dating texts and thus the difficulty in determining the direction of connections identified. Her arguments are clearly made but I was not persuaded that the evidence supports the early date required for many of the texts she utilizes. She concludes that Zechariah received his visions prior to 520 BCE, wrote early individual additions to interpret aspects of them for his historical situation, and incorporated further additions c. 520 relating to the temple rebuilding. Five later sets of glosses, expansions and additions followed, the last being Zechariah 1-8's redaction into the Book of the Twelve. An interesting hypothesis that warrants further debate.

Janet E. Tollington

Tiemeyer, Lena-Sofia (ed.), Priests and Cults in the Book of the Twelve (Ancient Near East Monographs, 14; Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2016), pp. x + 257. $54.95 (hardback), $39.95 (paperback). ISBN 978-0-8841-4154-9 (hardback), 978-1-6283-7134-5 (paperback).

Following the editor's Introduction, the book consists of 13 essays, plus author and Scripture indexes and a list of contributors. That the focus on ‘Priests and Cults’ provides cohesiveness to the collection and is its major strength is indicated by the essay titles: Jutta Krispenz, ‘Idolatry, Apostasy, Prostitution: Hosea's Struggle against the Cult’; Mark Leuchter, ‘Hosea's Exodus Mythology and the Book of the Twelve’; Mark J. Boda, ‘Penitential Priests in the Twelve’; Jason T. LeCureux, ‘Joel, the Cult, and the Book of the Twelve’; Deborah W. Rooke, ‘Priests and Profits: Joel and Malachi’; Göran Eidevall, ‘A Farewell to the Anticultic Prophet: Attitudes towards the Cult in the Book of Amos’; Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer, ‘Attitudes to the Cult in Jonah: In the Book of Jonah, the Book of the Twelve, and Beyond’; Jason Radine, ‘The “Idolatrous Priests” in the Book of Zephaniah’; Lester L. Grabbe, ‘The Priesthood in the Persian Period: Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi’; Paul L. Redditt, ‘King, Priest, and Temple in Haggai-Zechariah-Malachi and Ezra-Nehemiah’; Jakob Wöhrle, ‘On the Way to Hierocracy: Secular and Priestly Rule in the Books of Haggai and Zechariah’; James Nogalski, ‘How Does Malachi's “Book of Remembrance” Function for the Cultic Elite?’; and Aaron Schart, ‘Cult and Priests in Malachi 1:6-2:9’. One need not subscribe to a strong theory of the redactional unity of the 12 minor prophetic books to engage with and benefit from these studies. The focus on priests, Levites and/or ritual is helpful in itself, even if like other themes that have been identified within the Twelve it cannot be traced evenly through all 12 books. Yet if they do not provide primary evidence for unity, these studies provide useful insights into the development of priesthood and cult. The texts that comprise the so-called Book of the Twelve must have developed, some from pre-exilic, some from exilic, and some from postexilic times, and have been brought together in stages before being more or less finalized, apart perhaps from later minor scribal alterations, by a late redaction. These studies will surely contribute to the study of cult and priesthood as they developed (or as they were in some measure idealized) over that lengthy period.

George Nicol

Wu, Daniel Y., Honor, Shame, and Guilt: Social-Scientific Approaches to the Book of Ezekiel (BBRSup, 14; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2016), pp. xii + 228. $47.50. ISBN 978-1-57506-437-6.

The present volume is the reworked doctoral thesis of the author, written under the supervision of George Athas at Moore Theological College. In his work, W. explores the use and function of the concepts honour (‭דבכ‬), shame (‭שןב‬), and guilt (‭הוע‬) in the book of Ezekiel (and the Hebrew Bible) against the background of their wider use in anthropological/social-scientific approaches to biblical studies. With regard to the book of Ezekiel, a contextual semantical analysis of the key terms is combined with a canonical approach. The author arrives at a clear definition of how each of the three terms function in the book: Honour is defined as ‘what YHWH deems of worth, is indicative of right relationship with him, and is defined in accordance with and in appropriate response to his ‭דבכ‬’, shame as ‘what in YHWH'S eyes falls/fails short of an appropriate response to his ‭דבכ‬’ and guilt as ‘the concrete expression of that failure’ (p. 174). W. not only shows in an exemplary way how anthropological/social-scientific approaches can enrich research on the Hebrew Bible, he also reflects on how his research can impact these approaches in return. Thus, he argues for a more complex relationship between honour, shame, and guilt, replacing a sometimes simplified classification of guilt cultures and shame cultures. Even though one wonders if a literary-historical differentiation of the instances and their use in the book of Ezekiel might not have led to a more nuanced view, this is a model example of how cultural studies contribute to our understanding of the Hebrew Bible.

Anja Klein

Youngblood, Kevin J., Jonah (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), pp. 192. $29.99. ISBN 978-0-31052-835-7.

This is a reissue under a new title of Y.'s volume on Jonah: God's Scandalous Mercy (in the Hearing the Message of Scripture series), reviewed in B.L. 2015, p. 88.

(Book List Editor)

Note also the following books reviewed in other sections of this Book List:

Di Pede, Elena and Donatella Scaiola (eds.), The Book of the Twelve—One Book or Many? — see p. 109

Glenny, W. Edward, Amos: A Commentary based on Amos in Codex Vaticanus — see p. 45

Hays, J. Daniel, The Message of the Prophets: A Survey of the Prophetic and Apocalyptic Books of the Old Testament — see p. 4

Kwon, Jiseong James, Scribal Culture and Intertextuality: Literary and Historical Relationships between Job and Deutero-Isaiah — see p. 120

Mackie, Timothy P., Expanding Ezekiel: The Hermeneutics of Scribal Addition in the Ancient Text Witnesses of the Book of Ezekiel — see p. 122

Mastnjak, Nathan, Deuteronomy and the Emergence of Textual Authority in Jeremiah — see p. 123

Mulroney, James A.E., The Translation Style of Old Greek Habakkuk: Methodological Advancement in Interpretative Studies of the Septuagint — see p. 52

Ristau, Kenneth A., Reconstructing Jerusalem: Persian-Period Prophetic Perspectives — see p. 37

Sharp, Carolyn J. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Prophets — see p. 11

Strine, C.A., Sworn Enemies: The Divine Oath, the Book of Ezekiel, and the Polemics of Exile — see p. 131

Valve, Lotta, Early Modes of Exegesis: Ideal Figures in Malachi as a Test Case — see p. 133

IV. Psalms and Wisdom (Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Job)

Brueggemann, Walter and William H. Bellinger Jr, Psalms (New Cambridge Bible Commentary; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014), pp. xxvi + 639. $39.99/ £24.99. ISBN 978-0-521-60076-7 (paperback).

This is a very fine commentary by two scholars who, over the years, have contributed so much to our understanding of the Psalms. The volume contains a valuable Introduction, which gives due attention to the genre of the various psalms, their cultic setting, the way in which many psalms reflect pressing social issues (such as oppression of the weak and the need for God to redress human power relations), and the place of particular psalms within the Psalter as a whole. The bibliography is helpfully divided into various sections, such as introductory volumes on the psalms, studies concerned with the literary emphasis of the psalms, and those focusing on theological and historical issues. The commentary on individual psalms is informed, readable and lucidly written. The commentary on each psalm is followed by a section entitled ‘Bridging the Horizons’ in which the authors relate the psalm in question to issues of contemporary concern, and these comments will undoubtedly fulfil the authors’ hopes, expressed in the Preface, to ‘help today's readers and hearers embrace these ancient texts in transforming ways’ (p. xxi). This is a volume that can be highly recommended as an insightful and important contribution to studies on the Psalms.

Eryl W. Davies

Dell, Katharine J., Job: An Introduction and Study Guide. Where Shall Wisdom Be Found? (T&T Clark Study Guides to the Old Testament; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017), pp. xiv + 111. £14.99. ISBN 978-0-56767-093-9 (paperback), 978-0-56767-095-3 (PDF).

This is a reissue, by the new publisher of the series formerly known as the Phoenix Guides to the Old Testament, of a work first published by Sheffield Phoenix Press in 2013, and reviewed in B.L. 2014, p. 95.

(Book List Editor)

Duguid, Iain M., Song of Songs (Reformed Expository Commentary; Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2016), pp. xxiii + 182. $22.99. ISBN 978-1-59638-948-9.

This is D.'s second commentary on the Song of Songs (see B.L. 2016, p. 104). The origins of the Reformed Expository Commentary lie in a ‘fresh need for the faithful exposition of God's Word in the church’ (p. ix) and D. does not hide the fact that he is writing for preachers. He adopts a mixture of an allegorical and literal approach: ‘to recognize the Song of Songs as wisdom literature that celebrates a great mystery in life, the mutual love of a man and a woman (Prov 30:19), yet that in this celebration will not only shape our thinking about human relationships but also show us profound insights into the love that Christ has for his bride, the church’ (p. xviii). Though he promises to pay close attention to the biblical text, such attention is quickly abandoned in favour of more doctrinal and spiritual paraphrases. The Christian reader in mind seems to be of the conservative sort: ‘The truth is that God can use sexual temptation and failure to bring us to a deeper understanding and appreciation of our need for his grace: our struggle with same-sex attraction, pornography, adultery, or other forms of sexual sin may be the means by which the gospel shines more brightly in our lives’ (pp. 164-65). Since D. opts for such a conservative approach and immediately identifies the relationship between the two protagonists as referring to wedlock, alternative (Christian) interpretations are no longer an option. The challenge that the Song of Songs poses for any theological interpretation is hastily given up, leaving the readers with little room to question beliefs and opinions. Lastly, the reader notices two curiosities: Karl Barth is missing from a commentary in the Reformed tradition and—in good imperial fashion— David Clines is described as a ‘British Old Testament scholar’.

Anselm C. Hagedorn

Dunn, Steven, The Sanctuary in the Psalms: Exploring the Paradox of God's Transcendence and Immanence (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2016), pp. xvii + 111. $75.00/£49.95. ISBN 978-1-4985-0799-8.

This short study belongs most appropriately to the range of recent interpretations of the Psalms which stress in particular the use of metaphor to express the often ineffable ideas of God's openness to and readiness to communicate with worshipers and suppliants, an approach associated in particular with the work of William P. Brown. D. sets out to consider in particular the idea of sanctuary, both as physical place and spiritual encounter, and to link with this the way that metaphors such as ‘wings’, ‘shadow’ and ‘shelter’ combine to convey a God simultaneously present and hidden, offering both protection and mystery. Unfortunately, D.'s approach is overly concerned with lists of examples, and cited passages are rarely set out, so that the reader must either work with a Psalms text to hand, or rely on the author's word that the texts effectively exemplify the points in question. It is in the end not clear that the theme proposed is more than one of several considered in a fairly wide-ranging, but rather unadventurous treatment. No doubt D. has provided a useful resource for further study of metaphoric approaches to the Psalms; it is a pity that he did not himself provide a more expansive and more clearly focused treatment.

Alastair G. Hunter

Goldingay, John, Psalms for Everyone, Part I: Psalms 1-72 (London: SPCK, 2013). pp. x + 236. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06133-4.

Goldingay, John, Psalms for Everyone, Part II: Psalms 73-150 (London: SPCK, 2014), pp. x + 237. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06134-1.

Goldingay, John, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs for Everyone (London: SPCK, 2014), pp. x + 254. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06135-8.

Goldingay, John, Job for Everyone (London: SPCK, 2013), pp. xii + 215. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06137-2.

These four volumes are part of G.'s ‘The Old Testament for Everyone’ series (see above, p. 67), which features an original translation of each text and an explanation of the text that begins with a personal anecdote or remembrance. The chatty introductions draw the reader into some surprisingly detailed discussions that include linguistic issues, matters of vocabulary, and theological reasoning. G.'s easy-going style belies the depth of these discussions, which range from explorations into the nature of Yahweh's cabinet and the term ‘satan’ in Job 1.6-12 to the cultural assumptions that lie behind ‘The Strong Woman’ in Prov. 31.10-31. Each volume begins with an introduction that covers background information and concludes with a glossary of select terms, many of a theological nature. While these small volumes might appear to be solely devotional in nature, this is not the case. G. engages his readers for theological purposes, but his careful translation, exegesis and explanations of the texts are full of depth and rich in background information, all presented in an engaging and readable style. OT scholars looking for interesting teaching examples will benefit from the carefully crafted explanations, many of which deal with difficult aspects of the text. Those responsible for teaching and learning in seminary settings will find this refreshing series to be a welcome stopping-off place. Finally, the ‘everyone’ in the series title is accurate, as these volumes are accessible and inviting to the curious lay person as well.

Elizabeth R. Hayes

Klangwisan, Yael Cameron, Jouissance: A Cixousian Encounter with the Song of Songs (The Bible in the Modern World, 56; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2015), pp. xxxii + 295. 7 figures. £50.00. ISBN 978-1-909697-24-9; ISSN 1747-9630.

The main purpose of this book—an exploration of the esoteric meaning of the Song of Songs, following on from the author's investigation of literal and symbolic meanings in her work Earthing the Cosmic Queen: Relevance Theory and the Song of Songs (Eugene, 2014; see B.L. 2016, p. 109)—is to deconstruct academic writing on the Song of Songs. It should be no surprise, then, that the author has chosen French literary theory as her deconstructing vehicle. Where surprises do emerge is in K. 's choice to place most of the energies of this interdisciplinary endeavour into an encounter between the poetry of the Song of Songs and that of the Jewish-Algerian-French writer Hélène Cixous. In doing so, K. challenges the notion that the Song of Songs can be interpreted at all, by exposing its poetry as far more enigmatic than is widely admitted. Perhaps the true contribution of this book is the success with which the author has merged the otherwise distant languages of biblical scholarship and continental philosophy. Through a Cixousian lens, K. offers the reader a highly dynamic, mythic, and subversive picture of the Song of Songs that in its presentation alone is aesthetically beautiful. The inclusion of Marc Chagall's works as well as careful placement of poetry make this book a delight to read.

Tarah Van De Wiele

Oeming, Manfred and Konrad Schmid, Job 's Journey: Stations of Suffering (Critical Studies in the Hebrew Bible, 7; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2015), pp. xiv + 110. $26.95. ISBN 978-1-57506-399-7.

Schmid provides an Introduction which considers the ‘fairy tale’ Prologue and the structure of the book of Job as a whole. He concludes that the message of the book is that who or what God is lies outside human grasp. In doing so, he argues that ‘the book of Job does bid farewell to certain types of theology—and we do not have to mourn their loss’. Oeming examines particular issues that arise in each section of the book. These comprise the Dialogues with Job's wife and his friends; Job's monologue in ch. 31; the reference to ‘the angel of intercession’ in Elihu's intervention (33.23-24); God's speeches to Job; and God's judgment in the Epilogue (42.7). He sees the Dialogues as studies in pastoral counselling; finds ch. 31 much closer to the Decalogue than might appear at first glance; introduces the concept of a ‘heavenly chest of grace’ in his discussion of 33.23-24; argues that in God's speeches no attempt is made to find guilt in Job or admit God's injustice; and holds that in the Epilogue Job is praised for speaking to God while the friends speak about God. While the work makes no pretence at covering all the issues raised by the book of Job, these studies make an original and challenging contribution to work on Job which will engender further critical debate.

Anthony Phillips

Oeming, Manfred and Joachim Vette, Das Buch der Psalmen: Psalm 90-151 (Neuer Stuttgarter Kommentar—Altes Testament, 13/3; Stuttgart: Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk, 2016), pp. 296. €28.00. ISBN 978-3-460-07133-9.

This eclectic commentary does justice to its foundational principles. Consequently, it displays an extensive gamut of fresh information regarding the literary formation of Psalms 90-151. The nine individual excursuses augment this eclectic quality by alluding to further connections with theology, art, literature and music. A terse introduction to the Fourth and Fifth Books of the Psalms follows the foreword. A well-formulated paragraph provides a transition from Psalms 2-89 into the following section (90-151): ‘In the failure of human kingship, the fragility of human existence becomes generally recognizable. Psalm 90 begins a new epoch in which healing is sought for the frail human being, which in the first place implies intercession’ (p. 13). The first excursus enlarges the discussion on the function of the Fourth and Fifth Books of the Psalms. The other excursuses are positioned between the compact chapters. They explore themes such as the theory of structural anger, angelology, the cause-and-effect connection (with a diagram), the kingdom of God, the Iuxta Hebraeos Psalter in the Vulgate, the Psalms in the Christian liturgy, their reception in the history of music (evidenced through Ps. 139), and Qumranic psalms. An excursus at the beginning of the commentary on Psalm 151 facilitates its understanding. The concluding chapter analyses the theology of the Psalms, pinpointing two indispensable aspects, the recognition of ‘psalmic hanging’ (cf. the Petersburg Hanging, the opulently covered walls of the Hermitage) and structural polyphony concerning the arrangement of the Psalms on the one hand, and psalm reading as voice formation on the other.

Bálint Károly Zabán

Pilch, John J., The Cultural Life Setting of the Proverbs (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2016), pp. ix + 278. $29.00. ISBN 978-1-5064-0679-4.

P. discusses the cultural life setting of Proverbs under the headings of ‘textual notes’ and ‘reading scenarios’. The primary concern of his book is the latter, under which he explores the context of each proverb in terms of the broader socio-cultural environment of ‘Middle East-North Africa’ (MENA), which he also refers to as the ‘circum-Mediterranean’. The exercise, bringing to attention various scenarios drawn from anthropological studies and from the broader cultural settings, is enlightening and interesting. A problem with the book's approach is that it risks anachronistic reference by drawing from The Social Science Commentaries on the New Testament (Fortress Press, co-authored by P. with Bruce J. Malinda and Richard L. Rohrbaugh), to provide counterparts to proverbs (pp. 173-223). The consensus that Proverbs predates the NT by several centuries, supported by P.'s own opinion that Proverbs predates Dan. 12.1-3 (c. 164 BCE; see p. 46), raises a question about the validity of reading proverbs in the light of the NT contexts. P.'s use of the NT to provide cultural insights into particular proverbs (e.g. the use of Mt. 19.14//Mk 10.13-16//Lk. 18.15-17 to explain ‘discipline’ in Prov. 25.17; see p. 135) may not always be, therefore, completely reliable. (The section on nepeš/soul on pp. 208-209 displays some editorial errors, namely typos and missing and incorrect punctuation, but these are quite obvious.)

Kai-Wen Karen Yuan

Robertson, O. Palmer, The Flow of the Psalms: Discovering their Structure and Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2015), pp. xxiii + 302. $21.99. ISBN 978-1-6299-5133-1.

R.'s book is a contribution to studies on the structure and redaction of the Psalms. After three introductory chapters on structural features of the Psalms, he addresses his main argument: the developing themes of the five books of the Psalms. He identifies these as: I. Confrontation (between God's kingdom and Satan's); II. Communication (between God's king and the nations); III. Devastation (of God's kingdom and king); IV. Maturation (through adversity); V. Consummation (of the kingdom). There is much that is good in this book, and much I agree with: the purposive nature of the final form of the Psalms; its eschatological agenda; the foundational nature of Psalms 1 and 2; the structural importance of the five-book format; the appearance of several messianic figures (including Ben Joseph); and more. On the other hand, ideas which have been in print for 20 years seem to be presented, in the foreword and the main text, as new discoveries, with little credit being given to their source. These include the messianic agenda of the collection and the presence in Psalm 80 of Ben Joseph, who despite frequent mentions, remains unassimilated into R.'s plan. There are some contradictions, including the surprising statement that the Psalter has no single plan (p. 21), which goes against what is said elsewhere. Nevertheless, R.'s book has useful insights into the structure and redaction of the Psalms, and particularly of its five-book format. These make the book a valuable contribution to the ongoing discussion.

David C. Mitchell

Ross, Allen P., A Commentary on the Psalms: Volume 3 (90-150) (Kregel Exegetical Library; Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2016), pp. 1040. $49.99. ISBN 978-0-8254-2666-7. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]

This volume completes the set of three commentaries on the Psalms by R., following vol. 1 on Psalms 1—41 (2011) and vol. 2 on Psalms 42-89 (2013) (reviewed together in B.L. 2014, p. 103). R. reiterates in the preface to his final volume that these commentaries are intended primarily for pastors, teachers and students, to aid with biblical exegesis and exposition. Each psalm is introduced with clear and detailed footnotes concerning textual variants and difficulties (without transliterations), akin to a simplified and abbreviated version of the textual notes in the Word Biblical Commentary series. R.'s translations stay reasonably close to the text, avoid dynamic equivalents, and rely on what he calls ‘traditional renderings’ (vol. 1, p. 13). For each psalm, R. offers brief discussions under the headings ‘Composition and Context’ and ‘Exegetical Analysis’ (a summary and outline), before the main verse-by-verse section entitled ‘Exposition in Commentary Form’, and a concluding section called ‘Message and Application’. The tone of the exposition and message sections is predominantly didactic rather than reflective, and his interpretations tend to squash some of the theological richness of the Psalms’ imagery. R.'s style of writing, while conversational and accessible, is rather flat and unengaging. The level of detailed engagement with other commentaries and articles seems to vary according to the psalm. There is a section at the end of the volume, arranged alphabetically (rather than by psalm), providing a highly selective list of studies on individual psalms or motifs, which (rather inconveniently) covers all three volumes.

Alison R. Gray

Willgren, David, The Formation of the ‘Book’ of Psalms: Reconsidering the Transmission and Canonization of Psalmody in Light of Material Culture and the Poetics of Anthologies (FAT, II/88; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016), pp. xvii + 491. €99.00. ISBN 978-3-16-154787-4.

It is commonly observed that Psalms study has moved towards attention to the shape and shaping effect of the Psalter, in a trend indebted to the comparative and interpretative work of Gerald Wilson. This tends to see the Dead Sea Scrolls evidence attesting to a two-stage canonization of the MT Psalter, starting with books I—III, in which messianic hope displaces the focus on Davidic kingship. In this published Lund PhD thesis, W. patiently explores the textual and artifactual evidence for these claims, and concludes that the case is not proven. He thus calls for a rethink about so-called canonical approaches to the Psalter, in the direction of acknowledging more diverse processes, of less discernible purpose. The weighty argument unfolds across 400 densely argued pages, in six main parts. Only the briefest hint may be given of focal topics and questions raised: What is an anthology and what difference does anthologizing make to any given item? How far do paratexts (prefaces, titles, etc.) point to anthologizing concerns? What does the actual and rather diverse DSS evidence show? (Less than the new-canonical view tends to claim, as W. demonstrates with tabulations of all the data.) Do Psalms 1-2 really function as a ‘preface’? (No, not in the way that we normally understand ‘prefaces’.) How do the ‘book’ dividers work? What do ‘hallelujah’ and ‘amen’ indicate in the Psalter? What is Ps. 72.20? (A ‘frozen colophon’, perhaps ending a first-half scroll?) There is much more, all well handled. To over-simplify, W. thinks the Psalter collects Psalms more like a recipe book collects recipes than a literary work recontextualizes individual texts. He finds some evidence for sub-collections, pre-Chronicles, which grow up for different reasons. The resultant ‘book’ of Psalms is more of a collection, conferring authority through the creative preservation of a tradition (p. 386) rather than providing a literary context. The wealth of data gathered and presented is impressive and useful. The argument that authorial or editorial intentionality cannot be shown very conclusively is largely persuasive. One question is how far the newer canonical approaches might still represent worthwhile reading strategies rather than recoveries of intended significance. Even so, such readings would benefit from meeting W.'s multiple challenges head-on.

Richard S. Briggs

Note also the following books reviewed in other sections of this Book List:

Barthelemy, J.D., Critique textuelle de l'Ancien Testament. Tome 5: Job, Proverbes, Qohélet et Cantique des Cantiques — see p. 42

Bassy, Karl-Heinz, Von Herder zu Duhm. Psalmenforschung im 19. Jahrhundert. Studien zur Forschungsgeschichte der Weisheitspsalmen — see p. 103

Bremer, Johannes, Wo Gott sich auf die Armen einlässt. Der sozio-ökonomische Hintergrund der achämenidisehen Provinz Yehud und seine Implikationen für die Armentheologie des Psalters — see p. 26

Brooke, George J. and Pierre Van Hecke (eds.), Goochem in Mokum / Wisdom in Amsterdam: Papers on Biblical and Related Wisdom Read at the Fifteenth Joint Meeting of the Society for Old Testament Study and the Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap — see p. 105

Gillingham, Susan, A Journey of Two Psalms: The Reception of Psalms 1 and 2 in the Jewish and Christian Tradition — see p. 112

Greidanus, Sidney, Preaching Christ from Psalms: Foundations for Expository Sermons in the Christian Year— see p. 147

Kaplan, Jonathan, My Perfect One: Typology and Early Rabbinic Interpretation of Song of Songs — see p. 116

Kwon, Jiseong James, Scribal Culture and Intertextuality: Literary and Historical Relationships between Job and Deutero-Isaiah — see p. 120

Stowe, David W., Song of Exile: The Enduring Mystery of Psalm 137 — see p. 131

V. Other Writings (Lamentations, Daniel, Ruth, Esther, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah)

Block, Daniel I., Ruth (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), pp. 291. Several diagrams and tables. $32.99. ISBN 978-0-310-28298-3.

The introduction describes the aim of this commentary series: to engage the biblical text using some form of discourse analysis (p. 10). B. argues for the book of Ruth as dating to the Josianic era, and views it as historiographic, written to bridge the gap between Judges and 1 Samuel. He sees it as a thoroughly ‘Davidic’ book on grounds of both content and canonical placement, whether that placement is between Judges and Samuel, before Psalms or after Proverbs. Structurally speaking, B. views Ruth as a four-act drama plus a short introductory paragraph and a concluding genealogy. The main commentary starts with B.'s own translation of Ruth, and then divides the text of Ruth into scenes which are treated under several headings: main idea of the passage, literary context, translation and exegetical outline (provided diagrammatically), comments on structure and literary form, and finally an explanation of the text. After the comments on the final element in each of the six larger structural divisions (introduction, four acts, conclusion) there is an additional section on canonical and practical significance, in which biblical theological themes and the text's modern relevance are explored. The commentary is conservative but not fundamentalist in its outlook; it is well documented with footnotes, and there are some helpful insights, though on occasion it seems overly descriptive and might have benefited from a tighter style of writing.

Deborah W. Rooke

Cudworth, Troy D., War in Chronicles: Temple Faithfulness and Israel's Place in the Land (LHBOTS, 627; London/New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2016), pp. x + 209. £65.00. ISBN 978-0-56766-650-5.

This is C.'s slightly revised Oxford doctoral dissertation, supervised by H.G.M. Williamson. It attempts to offer a more precise understanding of the Chronicler's doctrine of retribution by focusing on the relationship between the themes of temple faithfulness and war. C. argues that the all-important criterion by which Judean kings are evaluated in Chronicles is their attitude to the temple cult. Those who maintain its purity, and involve ‘all Israel’ in worship, are blessed by success in war and security in the land, regardless of their other shortcomings. Conversely, those who neglect the Jerusalem cult suffer setback and defeat. Amassing big armies and building strong fortifications quite often is not to be taken as a sign of divine blessing but a portent of troubles to come, since reliance on human power tends to distract Judean rulers from the only thing that can bring military victory, i.e. devotion to the temple. C. presents David as ‘pioneer and ideal king’ in ch. 2 and then divides David's descendants into four categories, giving a separate chapter to each: faithful kings (most notably Solomon and Hezekiah), unfaithful kings (like Saul and Ahaz), faithful kings who falter (i.e. Asa, Jehoshaphat, Josiah), and unfaithful kings who repent (Rehoboam and Manasseh). This is a useful investigation of what is clearly a very important aspect of the Chronicler's thought, although, arguably, it stands in danger of oversimplifying the Chronicler's position by presenting the link between temple and war as too rigid and absolute.

Tchavdar S. Hadjiev

Duguid, Iain M., Daniel (Reformed Expository Commentary; Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), pp. xiv + 236. $22.99. ISBN 978-1-59638-068-4.

The Reformed Expository Commentary has been in production for some years, but is only now coming to the attention of the B.L. The commentary on Daniel was one of the first OT books to appear in the series, but several others have also appeared in more recent years (for reviews of the other OT works in the series so far, consult the Index of Series in this issue of the B.L.). ‘Each volume in the series’, the dustjacket tells us, ‘provides exposition that gives careful attention to the biblical text, is doctrinally Reformed, focuses on Christ through the lens of redemptive history, and applies the Bible to our contemporary setting’. When applied to Daniel, that means that this volume treats the narrative half of this biblical book as providing a model for Christian believers living in an alien environment and the visionary half as pointing to the coming of Jesus Christ and the restoration to wholeness of a broken world. The volume is composed of 15 expository sermons (preached to Grace Presbyterian Church in Fallbrook, California), running from ‘When the World Does Its Worst’ (on Dan. 1) through to ‘How Long Will I Be Broken?’ (on Dan. 12). Each chapter of the Protestant-canonical text of Daniel is the subject of at least one sermon, while two chapters give rise to two sermons each (2.1-23, 24-49; 9.1-19, 20-27), and one verse calls for a special exposition (8.27, ‘How to Wait for God’). The overarching theme of the book is set at the very beginning (p. 1) as ‘Faith Enduring through Adversity’, so let the reader understand: these homilies are for readers of a thoroughly Christian persuasion, seeking inspiration to get through adverse times, rather than for readers of an academic bent, seeking elucidation of the ancient Hebrew and Aramaic text.

John Jarick

Duguid, Iain M., Esther and Ruth (Reformed Expository Commentary; Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2005), pp. xii + 201. $22.99. ISBN 978-0-87552-783-3.

Being the only two books bearing the names of their leading female protagonists to secure places in most Hebrew Bible codices, it is not unusual to see Ruth and Esther treated side by side or, as is the case here, in a single monograph. D. recognizes further parallels in themes such as God's providence and the away-from-centre elements of both stories. While in Esther the heroine is a Jewish woman who is located outside the land of Israel, Ruth is a foreign woman whose feats are accomplished, for the most part, in the land of Israel. Following a general introduction, D. offers ‘sectional’ commentary of the books, starting with Esther. True to the subtitle of this work, the texts are handled in an ecclesiastic expository manner with the final product being inclined towards a confessional reading. While this is not intended to rule out the value of the book in any way, it must be stated that methodologically speaking and in the general treatment of both texts, conspicuously lacking are the rigours that have come to be associated with academic engagement with biblical texts. Textual, historical and related questions are not given attention. While a strictly academic enquiry may benefit from the book, it is definitely a good resource for sermon preparation and for use in the confessional contexts such as is typical of the Church.

Tsaurayi Mapfeka

Fried, Lisbeth S., Ezra: A Commentary (Critical Commentaries, 1; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2015), pp. xviii + 468. £60.00/$95.00/€75.00. ISBN 978-1-909697-75-1.

This is the first in a series of projected critical commentaries from Sheffield Phoenix Press; it is also the first volume of a projected two-volume work on Ezra-Nehemiah. F. regards Ezra-Nehemiah as one book with at least two authors. She recognizes the key ancient texts which underpin the content. She is satisfied that both Ezra and Nehemiah existed and that Ezra was an episkopos for the Persian ruler; as such, he carried out Persian commands. F. accepts that the Exile took place, citing the archaeological evidence for this. For students of Ezra-Nehemiah, this is a thorough analysis. Care is taken to cross-refer to the LXX, Esdras A and Jewish sources (very often quoted in full, with helpful translations). The Introduction carries much of the argument and is supplemented by maps and careful historical analysis. The translation of the biblical book is based on the Masoretic Text. The analysis throughout is indeed critical, but there is a slight feel of conservatism about the work. On the question of whether Ezra founded Judaism through his bringing of the Torah, F. looks at the arguments stemming from Wellhausen and Meyer but concludes that the text does not support such an assertion and so ‘scholars must look elsewhere’ (p. 335). F. also deals in detail with the issues around the ‘Great Divorce’ in Ezra; she examines carefully the Greek and Persian practice in relation to intermarriage as well as the Torah.

Francis Loftus

Goldingay, John, 1 and 2 Chronicles for Everyone (London: SPCK, 2012), pp. xi + 208. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06131-0.

Goldingay, John, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther for Everyone (London: SPCK, 2013), pp. xi + 201. £9.99. ISBN 978-0-281-06132-7.

With these two volumes, the indefatigable G. continues in the task of producing short commentaries on the whole of the OT as daily reading for non-trained readers (for other volumes in the series, see above, p. 67). These books continue the format established for the series, with the text of each reading translated by G. (though in longer passages portions on which he does not comment are omitted), an anecdote that introduces the key themes in the passage before providing some exegetical guidance which is focused towards the line of application being developed. A glossary is also provided. Chronicles is divided into 54 readings, Ezra into 19, Nehemiah 20 and Esther 10. These are clearly not works to which one would turn when seeking detailed exegesis, but although G. does not parade it, there is clearly a good deal of reading and research which supports his work. Moreover, he also gives attention to passages which many contemporary readers tend to skip, and provides helpful comments on issues (such as divorcing foreign wives) which trouble readers without becoming trite. With these two volumes, G. clearly achieves the aims of the series in helping non-trained readers, though perhaps preachers looking for inspiration might also find value here.

David G. Firth

Heckl, Raik, Neuanfand und Kontinuität in Jerusalem. Studien zu den hermen-eutischen Strategien im Esra-Nehemia-Buch (FAT, 104; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016), pp. x + 463. €129.00. ISBN 978-3-16-154118-6.

In this well researched and clearly written monograph, H. examines the textual sources that underlie Ezra-Nehemiah in order to explore their authenticity and, more significantly, what message they convey to the reader. This investigation is part of H.'s wider exploration of the hermeneutical strategies that the redactors of Ezra-Nehemiah employed. H. argues that the extant presentation of the sources in Ezra-Nehemiah should be understood against the background of the conflict between the temple in Jerusalem and that on Mt Gerizim. This presentation emphasizes God's choice of Jerusalem (against Mt Gerizim). In particular, the use of the edicts, letters and lists in Ezra 1-6 demonstrates that the Persian monarchs legitimized the choice of the Jerusalem temple and that its rebuilding symbolized the end of Israel's trials brought on by Jerusalem's destruction and the ensuing exile. In addition, it stresses the continuity vis-à-vis the interpretation of the Torah between Ezra's interpretation (Neh. 8) shortly after the return, and the manner in which it was being interpreted in Jerusalem at the editors’ own time. It follows, according to H., that the material in Ezra-Nehemiah cannot be used for reconstructing the situation in early post-monarchic Yehud, even though a careful reading of the sources may shed light upon their original aim. For example, the list in Ezra 2/Nehemiah 7 may originally have enumerated those people involved in the building of the temple, without the connection to the returnees which is implied by its later reuse in Ezra-Nehemiah. To be recommended.

Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Jones, Edward Allen, III, Reading Ruth in the Restoration Period: A Call for Inclusion (LHBOTS, 604; London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2016), pp. xii + 224. £70.00. ISBN 978-0-5676-5844-9.

This monograph makes a number of arguments, including that Ruth is both type and anti-type of Israel's ancestors. For example, she is a type of Abram through migrating to an unknown land and a foreign bride who travels to meet her husband. Furthermore J. maintains that Ruth ‘refrains from sexual subterfuge’ and ‘Boaz refrains from illicit relations’ (p. 179). Another of the book's main arguments is that Ruth's portrayal in the book correlates with modern refugees who assimilate during periods of exile (in contrast with those who, like the Ezra group, idealize the homeland). Effectively, therefore, J. suggests that the narrative is designed to convince readers to welcome people like Ruth who desire to join the Judahite community. The book is, at times, poorly researched and lacks analytical clarity. For example, the so-called ‘sociological model’ used to establish the differences between assimilation in exile and upon return to the homeland is a mere four pages long and does not consider methodological questions when applying the material directly to Ruth. Moreover, J. does not engage with existing material within biblical scholarship which already uses models of migration and return migration in connection with assimilation. Furthermore, scholarly material consulted for discussion of the threshing-floor scene is somewhat sparse. Nevertheless, the chapter on inner-biblical allusions, which does offer readers some preliminary remarks contextualizing the question of what may be considered an inner-biblical allusion, provides some imaginative suggestions about possible intertexts.

Katherine E. Southwood

Klein, Ralph W., 2 Chronicles: A Commentary (Hermeneia; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012), pp. xixvii + 559. $68.00. ISBN 978-0-8006-6101-4.

A lifetime of research informs this detailed, insightful commentary on 2 Chronicles. Readers will be familiar with K.'s 2006 Hermeneia volume on 1 Chronicles (see B.L. 2007, pp. 81-82) and with the basic format of the series, which allows sustained attention to textual criticism and translation, text form and evolution, exegesis, and the text's afterlife. As the second volume in the sequence, there is no introduction as such, though K. does address contributions to scholarship since 2006. He concludes that Chronicles was composed after Ezra-Nehemiah, and he identifies the author as a member of the temple personnel in the first half of the fourth century (1 Chronicles, pp. 16-17). He specifies that this person cannot be identified with the writer(s) of Ezra-Nehemiah because of differences on intermarriage, the Davidic monarchy, the fall of Israel, and several other topics. Although it depends upon a wide variety of texts and genres, 1-2 Chronicles is a unified composition. Its relentless literary borrowing, he observes, sometimes generates the illusion of a patchwork, but this should not be confused with compositional or argumentative disunity. For K., Chronicles represents an ‘alternative account to the Primary History (Genesis-2 Kings) with no attempt to replace that history’ (p. 5). With respect to historical questions, K. steers around them, reserving most of his attention for the book's literary features and rhetorical objectives. One of the major rhetorical turns in the book, the nuances of which are hotly disputed today, is the writer's view of Samaria, on which K. observes that the book is more accurately characterized as ‘pro Jerusalem’ than anti Samaria (pp. 5-6), especially when it is contrasted with polemics against Samaria in other Second Temple texts (e.g. Sirach, 4Q372). This is an excellent commentary: well reasoned, technically proficient and erudite.

William A. Tooman

Koller, Aaron, Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), pp. xiv + 262. 1 figure, 7 tables. £64.99/$99.99. ISBN 978-1-107-04835-5.

K.'s theory is that the book of Esther was written originally as a provocative, political work intended to challenge the ‘conventional wisdom’ of Second Temple Judaism regarding Jewish identity, hopes of an eventual return and re-establishment of the kingdom of Israel. This, he contends, prompted oppositional reactions to it from various Second Temple Jewish communities, until in the post-temple period rabbinic reinterpret-tation sought to bring the book in its new-found relevance more closely into the bosom of the Torah. K. presents the anonymous author of Esther (whom he dubs ‘Marduka’) as a Persian Jew who by the very scenario and characters in his story deliberately undermines the centrality of the Davidic line and Jerusalem to Jewish identity, presents acculturation as the most effective forum for resistance, and replaces a divinely initiated exodus with a humanly engineered plan for survival in situ. The narrative was accepted but modified in the Alexandrian canon; by those who assembled the Hebrew canon, it was located immediately before Ezra-Nehemiah, which provided a corrective to it; in Qumran it was ignored; and in Graeco-Roman antiquity various other narratives were provided as rewritings of it, including Judith, 3 Maccabees and the Genesis Apocryphon. In the eastern Diaspora, however, and after the loss of temple and land in the second century CE, the book of Esther was considerably more pertinent, and this was what eventually led to it being appropriated and reinterpreted so thoroughly in the subsequent centuries of rabbinic comment. This is a lively and thoroughly engaging study that provides stimulating new ways in which to consider a perennially fascinating biblical book.

Deborah W. Rooke

Lau, Peter H.W. and Gregory Goswell, Unceasing Kindness: A Biblical Theology of Ruth (NSBT, 41; London: Apollos/Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016), pp. xvi + 212. $24.00. ISBN 978-1-78359-448-1.

The purpose of this work is to present a ‘detailed monograph treatment of the themes in the book of Ruth from a biblical-theology perspective’ (p. 1). The authors say ‘it is important to read each passage and book of the Bible on its own terms, deriving the meaning from each specific text, understood within its immediate literary, historical and cultural contexts’ (p. 2). Thus the main part of the work comprises consideration of various understandings of the setting and purpose of the book of Ruth, some being possible historical settings, others concerning proximity to other books of the Hebrew Bible. Thus there are chapters on: reading the book in the setting of the early restoration period; Ruth and the house of David; Ruth as a wise woman; the book of Ruth and the Psalter; famine in the book; God's hiddenness and human agency; redemption; the book of Ruth and God's mission. The concluding chapter affirms these various understandings of this book, the authors saying, ‘We found no evidence to suggest that these are incompatible ways of interpreting the canonical book of Ruth’ (p. 165). Lau and Goswell assert, ‘The rich variety to be found in Scripture is not to be viewed as a problem to be solved so much as recognized as a resource for hearing God's truth in whatever time or situation we find ourselves’ (p. 165). This is a useful study of various approaches to the book of Ruth, with its full references and bibliography a good basis for further studies.

Michael E.W. Thompson

Macchi, Jean-Daniel, Le Livre D'Esther (Commentaire de l'Ancien Testament, 14; Geneva: Labor et Fides, 2016), pp. 588. €49.00. ISBN 978-2-8309-1598-3.

This magisterial, absorbing commentary is based on the Masoretic text of Esther, which M. encourages us to read as well-constructed historical fiction, with suspense, humour, irony, sex and violence. He summarizes the textual challenges. Why were there so many versions? In what historical context was it edited? How to understand the themes, in reality tragic, and still topical? The first text of Esther, he suggests, was produced by diaspora Jews, living peaceably with their neighbours, in Alexandria in the Ptolemaic period. He dates the main proto-Masoretic text to a time when Jews were living in tension with Hellenistic tyrants, probably in Judea after the Maccabean war, arguing persuasively (against a widespread view) that the MT in its final form was not produced in the Persian period in which the narrative is set, but in the Greek period in a later historical context. The general themes, he points out, are strikingly contemporary: problems of identity of people who are oppressed; the terrifying discriminatory rhetoric which dehumanizes or presents them as dangerous aliens; the ease with which this can tip over into genocidal horror. M. outlines the reception history of Esther until the eighteenth century, highlighting its considerable importance for Judaism compared to Christianity, and for a later period, points comprehensively to other works. In appendixes, he analyses the six additions to the MT which feature in all the Greek and Latin translations and which themselves serve as a valuable commentary on the narrative.

Fleur Houston

Widder, Wendy L., Daniel (The Story of God Bible Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), pp. xviii + 264. $29.99. ISBN 978-0-31049-129-3.

This entry in the ‘Story of God’ Bible Commentary series is a solid example of thoughtful conservative reading of Daniel in dialogue with a reasonably wide range of scholarship. Let the reader understand. The resultant strengths are of course: attention to multiple options for resolving historical conundrums, and a willingness to engage popular appropriations of the book as rather less than helpful. For those befuddled by the Saddleback Church ‘Daniel Plan’ diet, for instance, W. will take them through both its merits and its irrelevance as a way of reading Daniel. Weaknesses are the persistent drive to maximal historicity (via a non-dogmatic affirmation of sixth-century authorship, including accurate reference to a surprisingly named ‘Darius the Mede’), an underplaying of the satirical potential of the text, and a tendency to appeal to humility at precisely the points where the historical road gets hardest (thus a conspicuously brief treatment of 11.40-45). Intriguingly, Daniel's ability to interpret dreams is mapped directly to Christians’ ability to understand God in ‘the written word of Scripture’ (p. 57) without apparently noting what a shift that is. The book is written in a somewhat informal register: ‘God … does not … play “Whack-a-mole” with antichrists’ (p. 15) being one particularly startling example. The ‘story of God’ dimension seems mild, and does not obviously play into broader questions of canonical reading; thus this reviewer could not discern quite what gap this commentary series seeks to fill.

Richard S. Briggs

Note also the following books reviewed in other sections of this Book List:

Brenner-Idan, Athalya and Archie Lee (eds.), Samuel, Kings and Chronicles — see p. 64

Davidovich, Tal, Esther, Queen of the Jews: The Status and Position of Esther in the Old Testament — see p. 108

Embry, Brad (ed.), Megilloth Studies: The Shape of Contemporary Scholarship — see p. 109

Giffone, Benjamin D., ‘Sit at my Right Hand’: The Chronicler's Portrait of the Tribe of Benjamin in the Social Context of Yehud — see p. 30

Goldingay, John, Daniel and the Twelve Prophets for Everyone — see p. 77

Goldingay, John, Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone — see p. 67

Goldingay, John, Lamentations and Ezekiel for Everyone — see p. 77

Jonker, Louis C., Defining All-Israel in Chronicles: Multi-levelled Identity Negotiation in Late Persian-Period Yehud — see p. 31