Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha

by Gale A. Yee (Editor), Hugh R. Page Jr. (Editor), Matthew J.M. Coomber (Editor)

The Fortress Commentary on the Old Testament and Apocrypha presents a balanced synthesis of current scholarship, enabling readers to interpret Scripture for a complex and pluralistic world. The contributors bring a rich diversity of perspectives to the task of connecting solid historical critical analysis of the Scripture with sensitivity to theological, cultural, and interpretive issues arising in our encounter with the text. The contributors represent a broad array of theological commitmentProtestants, Catholics, Jews, and others. The introductory articles and section introductions in the volume discuss the dramatic challenges that have shaped contemporary interpretation of the Old Testament and Apocrypha. Individual book articles provide an introduction and commentary on key sense units that are explored through the lenses of three critical The text in its ancient context. What did the text probably mean in its original historical and cultural context? The text in the interpretive tradition. How have centuries of reading and interpreting shaped our understanding of the text? The text in contemporary discussion. What are the unique challenges and interpretive questions that arise for readers and hearers of the text today? The result is a commentary that is comprehensive and useful for preaching, teaching, and research.

Genres: Religion

1050 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Gale A. Yee (Chinese: 余蓮秀; pinyin: Yú Liánxiù; born 1949) is a Marxist feminist scholar of the Hebrew Bible. Her primary emphases are postcolonial criticism, ideological criticism, and cultural criticism. She applies feminist frameworks to biblical texts. An American of Chinese descent, she has written frequently on biblical interpretation from an Asian American perspective.

Reviews

[Michael Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let’s be honest. There are a multitude of commentaries on the market today to include multi-volume sets, one volume treatments of Scripture, and the approach of an Old and New Testament set. Thus, when a new commentary series, volume, or set comes on the market, it is always interesting to ascertain what this new entry has to offer that is different or for that matter the same as everything else available for purchase. Does the commentary provide a quick and simple overview or does it dig down deeper into the text, teasing out theological issues of importance that perhaps have been overlooked.

Fortress Press has recently released a commentary set that takes a look at the Old and New Testaments as well as the Apocrypha. For those not familiar with the Apocrypha, it is a collection of books written in the third to first century B.C. While not part of the Jewish Bible or most Protestant Bibles, they are part of the Roman Catholic canon and for that matter part of the Scriptures in some Orthodox churches.

There is much to enjoy in this two volume commentary set. The contributors to both volumes do an admirable job of explaining the main themes and issues of each section of Scripture. For instance, in the Old Testament commentary, there is a section that addresses the themes and perspectives of the Torah, the Historical Writings, Wisdom literature, and the Prophetic writings. As noted earlier, the Apocrypha is included as well in the Old Testament commentary and there is a helpful introduction to those books.

In the introduction to both volumes, it is noted that these commentaries seek “to provide students with diverse materials on the ways in which these texts have been interpreted through the course of history, as well as helping students understand the texts’ relevance for today’s globalized world. It recognizes the complexities that are involved with being an engaged reader of the Bible, providing a powerful tool for exploring the Bible’s multilayered meanings in both their ancient and modern contexts.” To that end, both volumes meet that stated goal as there is much information provided concerning each book of the Bible and the Apocrypha to include the various perspectives taken on the Scriptures on quite a number of important junctures.

There are some aspects of the commentary provided specifically in the Old Testament volume that I humble submit I found disagreement with, specifically in relation to the approach taken to the Genesis account as well as the support provided for the Documentary Hypothesis, heretofore noted as JEDP. It is stated that the Genesis creation account is “connected to the Babylonian myth the Enuma Elish and/or the battle between the Canaanite god Baal and Yam, each of which centers on order’s conquest of chaos.” Based on that belief, it is asserted that modern science cannot be found in Genesis nor can the text be utilized to address matters of a scientific nature. I would humble disagree that the Genesis creation account is specifically tied at all possible angles to an addressing of the Babylonian myth and thus has no relevant bearing on other issues. God provided us the how and why of creation, the how being related to matters of science and theology and the why related to matters of theology to include the need to reveal that God is the Creator over and above the popular pagan religious myths of that time period.

Additionally, the support of JEDP or the position that Moses did not write the whole Torah is another point upon which I found disagreement. This concept is largely rooted in noting the different names for God used in various places in the Torah, those providing supposed support for multiple authors over an extended period of time far beyond that of Moses. This type of approach makes the claim that a single author could not have used different names or addressed varying issues within his same body of material. Many scholars have noted the difficulties in supporting the JEDP hypothesis. Thankfully, the section devoted to this approach is short and does not reveal itself too much later in the commentary.

Outside of those two points of disagreement, I found most of the commentary provided by the contributors to be helpful and devoted to engaging the text in a consistent manner. With any commentary, there is bound to be points of disagreement, especially in a set of volumes where many have contributed their thoughts and ideas. These volumes are no exception to that rule. Those who read these commentaries will find a great deal of valuable information to include the variety of thought presented by scholars through the years. Some may find the commentary and information to be a bit on the scholarly end of the spectrum; however, students and scholars are the intended audience.

I appreciated the inclusion of some rather lengthy bibliographies at the end of each section. It is always valuable to assess the material from which the contributors utilized. Additionally, having additional resources noted that one can dig into is always a helpful addition. If anything, these lengthy bibliographies provide and introduce to the reader material for which they may not be aware is available. For the voracious reader, such material is always welcome.

This is a commentary set I would recommend for the Bible College and Seminary student and for the more seasoned believer. The material provided in these commentaries is helpful and the contributors do a good job of presenting both the interpretive tradition as well as come contemporary application. With that said, this is a scholarly leaning commentary set, focused on digging into matters of society, history, linguistics, and interpretive tradition more so than everyday application of the text. Even so, this is a commentary set worth wading into as there is much to glean from its pages.

I received these books for free from Fortress Press for this review. 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 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”