This commentary in the Interpretation Bible Commentary series by Carol Bechtel is another option for those looking for a critical commentary on the Book of Esther. Strangely enough, it’s strongest competition is another book by the same publisher, WJK, in the OTL series by John Levenson. While not as astute or lengthy as the OTL volume, it does in some ways build upon it.

Bechtel begins her Introduction by examining what she calls the vital statistics of Esther. In that section, she discusses versions of Esther, date and historicity to which she is hostile, followed by discussion of form and structure. She summarizes well other scholar’s opinions and even shares Levenson’s fine chart on structure. She decides Esther is a work of historical fiction, and turns to theological themes without really developing her own exact structure. Her points on theological things are unique and interesting. She sees a discussion of “a healthy sense of proportion” as the main theological thrust of Esther. Next, she discusses the theological implications of the challenge of living a faithful life in an unfaithful culture, followed by one on the power of the written word. I found these insights to make a real contribution to our thinking about Esther. I didn’t, however, get as much out of her final section on reading, preaching, and teaching the book of Esther.

The commentary proper was well written. Though it didn’t have the theological punch of the Levenson volume, it would still serve as a fine backup volume to it if you are studying the point of view of the critical camp of scholarship.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Jon Levenson has written in the Old Testament Library (OTL) series one of the very best commentaries available from the critical camp on the exciting Book of Esther. As a conservative reviewer, any critical commentary on Esther grates on my nerves more than usual because of critical scholar’s disdain for Esther’s history, but if you are like me and want at least one of the better critical commentaries in your library on every book of the Bible, you should probably consider this one.

There’s no doubt that Mr. Levenson writes with skill. When he says in the first paragraph, “it is also a tale of the ascent of an orphan in exile to the rank of the most powerful woman – and perhaps even the most powerful person – in the Empire and, arguably, the world”, his writing prowess becomes clear.

He begins his discussion in the Introduction on the plot of the Book of Esther. I thought his comment that there’s more narration than quoted speech as compared to similar biblical stories as perceptive. He gives a great overview of the plot. Next, he tackles structure and style and after surveying various scholarly opinions, he gives an outstanding visual representation of his thought of the structure of the Book of Esther. I can’t follow him in all his thoughts about the messages of the book of Esther, but he does give much food for thought. I totally disagree with his discussion of historicity. He gives a fine summary of the textual history of the book of Esther, though he could be disagreed with at points.

Though it has some of the same critical conclusions as the Introduction, the commentary proper is illuminating and thought-provoking. Let’s just say that he provides what I’m looking for in this type of commentary. You might want to check it out.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Careful, detailed, cautious, seasoned, thorough – these are the first words that come to my mind after perusing this latest volume in the Apollos Old Testament Commentary series. Mr. Alexander has literally spent his career in the Book of Exodus. Beyond his background in Exodus, the author’s preface states: “I write from a position of believing that the book of Exodus carries an authority that is of divine origin, being more than simply the product of a human author.” In admitting his bias, he makes me feel that I’m in better hands.

For years I’ve been hearing that we should expect a major, conservative exegetical work for Mr. Alexander on Exodus. From what I can see, he has lived up to the hype. It seems that Exodus has been blessed with more pastor-friendly volumes than top exegetical works that the scholars would salivate over. Mr. Alexander has managed to write in the commentary sections material that will please pastors while his lengthy discussions of form and structure on every passage would give the scholars all they could hope for.

I genuinely enjoyed the Introduction. He began with a section on what he called the Exodus Story that exposed the big picture and showed the author particularly adept at theological observation. His discussion of the literary context of Exodus, the relation of Exodus to the rest of the Old Testament, and especially the section on relating Exodus to the New Testament were all brilliant. After that, he got more into the scholarly issues like structure, authorship and date, and criticism. I feel more comfortable with Moses having written Exodus than he does, and can’t be as generous to some critical scholars as he is, but he clearly describes the boundaries of the discussion. He seems to want to date the Exodus in the 15^th century BC, but a few arguments that didn’t impress me pushed him into the 13^th century BC. His section on the text of Exodus was short as he deals with so many things in the commentary itself.

Mr. Alexander well handles the Apollos commentary framework. Each passage has his own translation that focuses more on pointing out unique things in the text rather than flowing English, appropriate notes on the text, all followed by an extensive form and structure discussion that ranges from worthwhile information to interacting with esoteric, critical viewpoints. Next, we find a commentary section that is of great value followed by a shorter explanation section that is helpful to expositors.

There’s not many reviews out there before mine, so I will venture a prediction that this volume will be highly respected and important for decades to come. I highly recommend it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This revised edition of Gordon Fee’s highly-respected commentary on First Corinthians in the New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT) series should be in every pastor’s library. I’ve used the old edition in my studies for some time, and I’m glad to see it revised to now extend its life several more decades. Fee is an acknowledged master of commentary writing. In other words, he knows how to argue his points and be interesting in every passage.

Though the bibliography is greatly expanded, the Introduction has not changed much since the original edition. I appreciate such an engaging Introduction in only 20 pages that really hits on what I’m looking for in the introductory material. He begins by describing the city and its people and transitions beautifully into the problem the Corinthian church faced. I’m not sure I fully reject, as he does, that this letter is a response to divisions becoming parties in the church. His proposed reconstruction that the problem is between Paul and the church itself is at least interesting, even if we can’t fully agree with it. There’s so much learning to be found whether you agree with that or not.

He covered critical questions in two paragraphs. I loved it! In one power-packed paragraph, he completely dismantles many of the critical theories floating around about the Corinthian letters today. From there, he dives into theological issues and begins with eschatology. He discusses the gospel and ethical life, and ends with the church itself. It’s good all around.

I found more editing and updating in the commentary proper. The overall conclusions are unchanged, but it is spiced up a bit. I still can’t agree with his extreme egalitarian viewpoint on some of the text (for example, check out page 545 for his somersaults on the idea of “head”). I can’t follow him in chapters 12 through 14 when he talks about his views on the Spirit, nor can I accept his excising of 14:34-35. That’s not a reasonable way to dodge a text you don’t like. Even with those caveats, this is a top-flight commentary.

At minimum, this is a top-three commentary among all commentaries on the Book of First Corinthians. Some of my friends say it’s number one. In any event, every pastor needs it at hand. You simply can’t do without it!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

I’ve already gone on record giving Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (3^rd ed.) a high rating. Now the publishers have prepared an outstanding workbook to go along with that fine textbook by Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard for those taking a hermeneutics class. As the cover states, a combination of study questions, practical exercises, and lab reports make this workbook the perfect complement to those using the textbook.

The workbook is flexible in that you wouldn’t have to do every exercise listed. Teachers can pick those they feel most appropriate. Some exercises are merely a template where the passage suggested could be substituted by the instructor for another passage.

This workbook increases the value of the already excellent textbook. I predict a wide usage of textbook and workbook and warmly recommend both.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This commentary is one of the best we have today on Deuteronomy from a critical perspective. Just as the Interpretation Bible Commentary series is known for, Mr. Miller scours Deuteronomy for all kinds of helpful theology. Though I could not agree with several of the critical views represented here, I found in this book many thoughtful, well-written insights.

The Introduction begins with the meaning of the name Deuteronomy. If you are like me, you may not enjoy the source criticism found in the section “how did Deuteronomy come to be?”, nor the section on authorship. When Mr. Miller turns to discussing the literary setting of Deuteronomy and explaining what Deuteronomy is about, he becomes much more helpful in my opinion. He covers material about structure in a helpful way. The final short section explaining why we should read Deuteronomy gives eight fine reasons why we should. I agree with all eight reasons he gave.

As you might have guessed, the real value of this book is in the commentary proper. You will continue to cross critical presuppositions with which you may not agree, but the probing theological nuggets that others miss is why you will likely enjoy this volume.

As a conservative pastor who likes to have a few commentaries on each book from the critical camp to be well-rounded in my studies, I find that this volume is one of the best of that kind of which I’m aware. Plus, as I said before, he really will bring out theological reflections worthy of pursuing that you won’t find anywhere else. In fact, I’d rate this volume as one of the better of the Interpretation Bible Commentary series of the several that I have seen. For these reasons, I recommend this book.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This book is one of the very best in the Interpretation Bible Commentary series. This series is one from the critical camp that is aimed at preachers and teachers and is best known for its theological help. Terence Fretheim has received several accolades for this work on Exodus.

The Introduction begins with the big picture of what we have in Exodus. He describes Exodus is both a Pre-Christian and a Christian book. He gives great insights on the correlation between Exodus and the New Testament. Further, he comments on how we might honor both in the interpretive process. Next, he tackles the critical perspective of Exodus. While I could never agree with most of his conclusions, he still noted things worthy of tracing like the key transitional sections. There is even less I could agree with him in terms of history – he’s much too skeptical there.

The Introduction turns itself back toward great helpfulness when it offers a discussion on the theological task that we will find in Exodus. His discussion of the leading theological issues is eye-opening even if you couldn’t agree with every conclusion he makes. Still, this section alone makes the Introduction worth reading.

The commentary itself would fall into the mid-length category, but is especially theologically perceptive. For example, I thought he made some brilliant comments about the interaction between Pharaoh’s own hardening of heart and the Lord’s hardening of his heart. Taken as a stimulus for ideas rather than a straightforward guide, the commentary section will be beneficial to you.

If you are a conservative Bible student like me, I would suggest that you will still enjoy this book on many levels although you will find some paragraphs completely subversive. Not only is this commentary well written, but the author pulls out thoughts that others miss. You will be the richer for interacting with it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.