NEW COLLEGEVILLE THE BIBLE COMMENTARY OLD TESTAMENT NEW COLLEGEVILLE THE BIBLE COMMENTARY OLD TESTAMENT SERIES EDITOR Daniel Durken, O.S.B. LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert Harren, J.C.L., Censor deputatus. Imprimatur: W Most Reverend Donald J. Kettler, J.C.L., Bishop of St. Cloud, Minnesota, October 9, 2015. Design by Ann Blattner. Cover illustration: Death of Moses (detail) by Donald Jackson in collaboration with Aidan Hart and Sally Mae Joseph. Copyright © 2006 The Saint John’s Bible, St. John’s University. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Maps created by Robert Cronan of Lucidity Information Design, LLC. Unless otherwise noted, scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Other scriptures texts in this work are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition © 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permis- sion. All rights reserved. © 2015 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America. 123456789 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The new Collegeville Bible commentary. Old Testament / general editor, Daniel Durken, OSB. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-8146-3580-3 — ISBN 978-0-8146-3587-2 (ebook) 1. Bible. Old Testament—Commentaries. I. Durken, Daniel, editor. BS1151.52.N49 2015 221.7—dc23 2015028898 CONTENTS Preface ix Peter Dwyer Abbreviations xi Maps xii Introduction to the Bible 1 Gregory W. Dawes The Origins of the Bible 5 The Interpretation of the Bible 24 The Book of Genesis 63 Joan E. Cook, S.C. The Book of Exodus 133 Mark S. Smith The Book of Leviticus 204 J. Edward Owens, O.SS.T. The Book of Numbers 250 Irene Nowell, O.S.B. The Book of Deuteronomy 332 J. Edward Owens, O.SS.T. The Book of Joshua 378 Roland J. Faley, T.O.R. The Book of Judges 404 Roland J. Faley, T.O.R. The Book of Ruth 425 Irene Nowell, O.S.B. v Contents The Books of First and Second Samuel 438 Feidhlimidh T. Magennis The Books of First and Second Kings 508 Alice L. Laffey, S.S.D. The Books of First and Second Chronicles 586 John C. Endres, S.J. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah 639 Thomas M. Bolin The Book of Tobit 705 Irene Nowell, O.S.B. The Book of Judith 725 Irene Nowell, O.S.B. The Book of Esther 747 Irene Nowell, O.S.B. The Books of First and Second Maccabees 767 Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. The Book of Job 843 Kathleen M. O’Connor The Book of Psalms 895 Dianne Bergant, C.S.A. The Book of Proverbs 1047 Katherine M. Hayes The Book of Ecclesiastes 1111 Irene Nowell, O.S.B. The Song of Songs 1130 Irene Nowell, O.S.B. The Book of Wisdom 1143 Richard J. Clifford, S.J. vi Contents The Book of Sirach 1188 Jeremy Corley The Book of Isaiah 1255 Leslie J. Hoppe, O.F.M. The Book of Jeremiah 1336 Pauline A. Viviano The Book of Lamentations 1389 Irene Nowell, O.S.B. The Book of Baruch 1403 Pauline A. Viviano The Book of Ezekiel 1412 Corrine L. Carvalho The Book of Daniel 1461 Paul V. Niskanen The Book of Hosea 1482 Carol J. Dempsey, OP The Book of Joel 1506 John J. Collins The Book of Amos 1520 Carol J. Dempsey, OP The Book of Obadiah 1538 John J. Collins The Book of Jonah 1545 Irene Nowell, O.S.B. The Book of Micah 1552 Carol J. Dempsey, OP The Book of Nahum 1572 Carol J. Dempsey, OP vii Contents The Book of Habakkuk 1579 Carol J. Dempsey, OP The Book of Zephaniah 1586 Carol J. Dempsey, OP The Book of Haggai 1595 John J. Collins The Book of Zechariah 1608 John J. Collins The Book of Malachi 1653 John J. Collins Contributors 1669 viii Preface Fifty years after the close of the Second Vatican Council, with the pub- lication of this Old Testament volume of the New Collegeville Bible Commen- tary, Liturgical Press continues to respond to the call of the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation that “Access to sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful” (Dei Verbum 22). The New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament draws richly on the expanding field of scholars who are opening up the sacred Scriptures to ever-new generations of Catholics. Following the time-tested criteria of the Collegeville Commentary these scholars offer accessible and up-to-date interpretation of the Old Testament texts for pastoral ministers, catechists, preachers, students, and general readers who seek a deeper understanding of what Dei Verbum so beautifully describes as “a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonder- ful treasury of prayers” (15). The New Collegeville Bible Commentary traces its form and purpose back to 1960 with the publication of the Old and New Testament Reading Guides by Liturgical Press. In the 1980s the original series was replaced with the Collegeville Bible Commentary, and for the first time the series was offered in both individual booklets and in collected Old and New Testament volumes. The first two editions have sold more than two million copies combined, amply demonstrating their effectiveness and appeal. The third edition—the New Collegeville Bible Commentary—is now com- plete, and we are pleased to offer this Old Testament volume to complement the New Testament volume published in 2009. As the late Fr. Daniel Durken, O.S.B., editor of this third edition, said in concluding his preface to the New Testament volume in 2009: “May these commentaries, together with fre- quent reading of Scripture, inspire you and lead you to greater knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.” November 18, 2015 Peter Dwyer Fiftieth Anniversary of Dei Verbum Director Liturgical Press ix ABBREVIATIONS Books of the Bible Acts—Acts of the Apostles 2 Kgs—2 Kings Amos—Amos Lam—Lamentations Bar—Baruch Lev—Leviticus 1 Chr—1 Chronicles Luke—Luke 2 Chr—2 Chronicles 1 Macc—1 Maccabees Col—Colossians 2 Macc—2 Maccabees 1 Cor—1 Corinthians Mal—Malachi 2 Cor—2 Corinthians Mark—Mark Dan—Daniel Matt—Matthew Deut—Deuteronomy Mic—Micah Eccl (or Qoh)—Ecclesiastes Nah—Nahum Eph—Ephesians Neh—Nehemiah Esth—Esther Num—Numbers Exod—Exodus Obad—Obadiah Ezek—Ezekiel 1 Pet—1 Peter Ezra—Ezra 2 Pet—2 Peter Gal—Galatians Phil—Philippians Gen—Genesis Phlm—Philemon Hab—Habakkuk Prov—Proverbs Hag—Haggai Ps(s)—Psalms Heb—Hebrews Rev—Revelation Hos—Hosea Rom—Romans Isa—Isaiah Ruth—Ruth Jas—James 1 Sam—1 Samuel Jdt—Judith 2 Sam—2 Samuel Jer—Jeremiah Sir—Sirach Job—Job Song—Song of Songs Joel—Joel 1 Thess—1 Thessalonians John—John 2 Thess—2 Thessalonians 1 John—1 John 1 Tim—1 Timothy 2 John—2 John 2 Tim—2 Timothy 3 John—3 John Titus—Titus Jonah—Jonah Tob—Tobit Josh—Joshua Wis—Wisdom Jude—Jude Zech—Zechariah Judg—Judges Zeph—Zephaniah 1 Kgs—1 Kings Other Abbreviations Ant.—Antiquities of the Jews KJV—King James Version Apoc. Bar.—Syriac Greek Apocalypse LXX—Septuagint of Baruch NAB—New American Bible H.E.—Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica T. Moses—Testament of Moses xi xii xiii Bethel xiv A I Ai Jericho S I Ashdod L I N H A Jerusalem Mt. Nebo The Great Sea P A Lachish SALT N Hebron F Dibon Gaza O A SEA C IN A Juttah L Debir P B Arad Beer-sheba A THE O NEGEB M Sea of Rameses ESS Reeds ERN ILD ZIN Brook W OF SS Oboth G O RNE of Egypt S H E N ILDE R W SHU OF TE Punon Succoth TERNA U AL TE EX O ODUS R Kadesh- barnea M O N D E E X O Heliopolis D U SINAI S R Memphis O WILDERNESS U T OF PARAN E EGYPT Ezion-geber R e l e i Heracleopolis d a N N b S r e Dophkah? a A e a q v I i A R D f I The Exodus o M f EXODUS ROUTE Mt. Sinai l u ALTERNATE G EXODUS ROUTE 0 50 Miles 0 50 Kilometers LUCIDITY INFORMATION DESIGN, LLC xv xvi xvii xviii xix xx xxi Israel in the Time of the Hasmoneans xxii Introduction to the Bible Gregory W. Dawes INTRODUCTION The book we know as the Bible is not so much a single book as a library. It is a collection of books, written by different authors, at different times, and dealing with a wide range of concerns. We recognize this fact when we refer to the Bible as “the Scriptures,” a term that implies we are not dealing with one book but with many. Even our English word “Bible” was originally not a singular noun but a plural one, for it comes from the Greek term ta biblia, which means simply “the books.” Only very late in its history did the corresponding Latin word biblia come to be treated as a singular noun.