RECOMMENDED OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARIES by the Biblical Studies Faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary (OT list updated 2010; NT list updated 2017) Recommending commentaries on biblical books is something like recommending restaurants in a large city. Possibilities are nearly endless and depend in large measure on one’s taste and interests. But given a commitment to excellent critical scholarship and interpretation that serves theological interpretation for the life of the church, here are a few recommendations. It needs to be said that there are many more very good options than we can list here so none of these recommendations should be taken as necessarily excluding other candidates. So let’s begin our restaurant tour of commentaries. COMMENTARIES/MONOGRAPHS ON INDIVIDUAL BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT Genesis. For the book of Genesis, two excellent theological commentaries include Walter Brueggemann, Genesis, Interpretation (Westminster John Knox, 1982) and, more recently, Terence Fretheim, “Genesis” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 1 (Abingdon, 1994). I recommend Claus Westermann’s three-volume commentary on Genesis for those interested in a full range of discussion of critical issues, with emphasis on the European tradition of scholarship. Another example of a more in-depth critical and theological commentary is Gordon Wenham, Genesis 1-15 and Genesis 16-50, Volumes 1 and 2, Word Biblical Commentary (Word, 1987, 1994). Literary scholar Robert Alter’s Genesis, Translation and Commentary (Norton, 1996) offers a translation that seeks to keep close to the original Hebrew and a commentary with literary sensibilities. Exodus. A standard critical and theological commentary on Exodus remains Brevard Childs, The Book of Exodus, Old Testament Library (Westminster John Knox. 1974). Childs includes a full range of discussions on historical-critical matters, larger Old Testament context, New Testament context, and history of exegesis. It has weathered well over 30 years. Good theological commentaries include Walter Brueggemann, “Exodus” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 1 (Abingdon, 1994) and Terence Fretheim, Exodus, Interpretation (Westminster John Knox, 1991). Mention should also be made of Waldemar Janzen, Exodus, Believers Church Bible Commentary (Herald, 2000) and, for those desiring some very heavy-lifting in their study of the scholarship on Exodus, Cornelius Houtman, Exodus, Volumes 1-3, Historical Commentary on the Old Testament (Kok, 1993, 1996, 2000) (excellent and detailed reviews of scholarship and history of interpretation). For those desiring more heavy-lifting in their study of Exodus, Thomas Dozeman's Exodus, Eerdman's Critical Commentary (Eerdman's, 2009) is very well done and incorporates the latest in Pentateuchal scholarship. One should also mention Cornelius Houtman, Exodus, Volumes 1-3, Historical Commentary on the Old Testament (Kok, 1993, 1996, 2000) (detailed reviews of scholarship and history of interpretation) and William Propp's two-volume Anchor Yale Bible 1 commentary on Exodus 1-18 (Yale, 1999) and Exodus 19-40 (Yale, 2006) (extensive notes on translation and critical issues). Leviticus. This sometime overlooked book has been blessed by several recent and excellent commentaries. One fine theological commentary is Samuel Balentine, Leviticus, Interpretation (Westminster John Knox, 2003). Jacob Milgrom is a Jewish scholar who has spent a lifetime studying Leviticus. He published a three-volume commentary on Leviticus in the Anchor Bible series, but he has also released a more compact but still thorough one-volume commentary: Leviticus: A Book of Ritual and Ethics (Augsburg Fortress, 2004). One could also note two other possibilities from a more evangelical perspective: Gordon Wenham, Leviticus (New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (Eerdmans, 1979) and Walter Kaiser, “Leviticus,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 1 (Abingdon, 1994). Numbers. One scholar some decades ago called the book of Numbers the “junk room of the Bible” since he could not make sense of what seemed to be the disorganized jumble of genres and texts in Numbers. Fortunately, several recent commentaries have sought to revise that view with attention to the careful structure and theological fruit of this sometimes neglected book. Options include Dennis Olson, Numbers, Interpretation (Westminster John Knox, 1996); Timothy Ashley, Numbers (New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Eerdmans, 1996); Katharine Sakenfeld, Journeying with God, A Commentary on the Book of Numbers (Eerdmans, 1995), and Jacob Milgrom, JPS Torah Commentary on Numbers (Jewish Publication Society, 1990) among many others. Deuteronomy. The rich and theologically important book of Deuteronomy is well represented among commentaries. A sound critical and exegetical study is Richard Nelson, Deuteronomy, Old Testament Library (Westminster John Knox, 2002). An in-depth study of Deuteronomy that includes some history of its interpretation in history and culture is Mark Biddle, Deuteronomy (Smyth & Helwys, 2003). Good theological commentaries include Patrick Miller, Deuteronomy, Interpretation (Westminster John Knox, 1991); J. G. McConville, Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary (Intervarsity Press, 2002); Walter Brueggemann, Deuteronomy, Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries (Abingdon, 2001); and Dennis Olson, Deuteronomy and the Death of Moses, A Theological Reading (Wipf & Stock, 2005). Joshua. A fine critical and exegetical study of Joshua is Richard Nelson, Joshua, Old Testament Library (Westminster John, Knox, 1997), now available in paperback. L. Daniel Hawk, Joshua, Berit Olam, Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry (Liturgical Press, 2001) offers a more literary approach to Joshua. Judges. Recommendations for this Old Testament account of Israel’s judges like Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson include Dennis Olson, “Judges,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 2 (Abingdon, 1998); J. Clinton McCann, Judges, Interpretation (Westminster John Knox, 2002); and David Gunn, Judges, Blackwell Biblical Commentaries (Blackwell, 2005). 2 1-2 Samuel Commentaries: For the theological interpretation of 1-2 Samuel, start with Walter Brueggemann’s First and Second Samuel (Interpretation, 1990) or Eugene H. Peterson’s First and Second Samuel (Westminster Bible Companion, 1999). Antony F. Campbell has published a much more recent set of commentaries (1 Samuel, 2003; 2 Samuel, 2005) in the FOTL series. Campbell is sensitive to issues of the book’s development without losing sight of the fact that this text is a part of the Jewish-Christian canon. Normally, the Old Testament Library is a good theological series. However, for Samuel, the OTL volume by Hans Wilhelm Hertzberg (I & II Samuel) may overwhelm the pastor with too much historical and compositional data, although students with a more historically-oriented interest will find it helpful for tracing the lines of argumentation back through early twentieth-century European thought. Kyle McCarter’s very technical two book series is an invaluable resource for advanced students looking for text-critical data (I Samuel, 1980; II Samuel, 1984; Anchor Bible), and Ralph Klein’s 1 Samuel (Word Bible Commentary, 1983) is a good semi-technical volume in the same vein as Campbell’s. 1-2 Kings. Recommendations for this theological account of Israel’s history, from the death of David and the accession of Solomon in the 10th BCE to the release of Judah’s exiled king Jehoiachin in the 6th BCE, include: Choon-Leong Seow, “1-2 Kings,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 3 (Abingdon, 1999), an excellent literary and theological commentary; Richard Nelson, First and Second Kings, Interpretation (Westminster John Knox, 1987), which offers rich theological insights with pastors in mind; Terence Fretheim, First and Second Kings, WBC (Westminster John Knox, 2000); and Walter Brueggemann, 1 and 2 Kings: A Commentary (Smyth and Helwys Publishing, 2000). Isaiah. For most of the twentieth century, scholars have tended to treat the book of Isaiah in three parts—First Isaiah (chapters 1-39), Second Isaiah (chapters 40-55), and Third Isaiah (chapters 56-66). More recently, however, some commentators have deemed it important to read the book as a whole, regardless of the different origins of the parts. In this mold are the works of John Goldingay in the New International Biblical Commentary series (Hendrickson, 2001) and Brevard Childs in the Old Testament Library series (Westminster/John Knox, 2001). Also recent are the commentaries that focus on the history of the Bible and its reception. In this category are the Church’s Bible, with Isaiah edited by Robert L. Wilkens with Angela R. Christman and Michael J. Hollreich (Eerdmans, 2007) and John Sawyer’s The Fifth Gospel: Isaiah in the History of Christianity (Cambridge University Press, 1996). Jeremiah. For basic textual, critical and exegetical issues, a recent resource is Leslie Allen, Jeremiah (Old Testament Library)(Westminster John Knox, 2008). Two fine theological commentaries on Jeremiah and the God of Jeremiah are Walter Brueggemann, A Commentary on Jeremiah: Exile and Homecoming (Eerdmans, 1998) and Terence Fretheim, Jeremiah: Smyth and Helwys Bible Commentary (Smyth and Helwyx, 2002). Ezekiel. Daniel I. Block. The Book of Ezekiel. 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Erdmans, 1997. A useful work in the evangelical stream. Moshe Greenberg. Ezekiel 1-37 : a New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983, 1997. The first major