Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary

Tyndale Old Testament Commentary

by J.A. Thompson

Thousands camped east of the Jordan, ready to cross it, eradicate a decadent culture and establish their own nation. Their remarkable leader Moses, soon to die, stood and spoke to them. He reminded them of their covenant relation to Yahweh their Lord, of Yahweh's mighty acts on their behalf, of the practical differences their loyalty to Yahweh should make. He implored them to be totally devoted to their Sovereign God.

The book of Deuteronomy records these speeches. "The sympathetic reader," writes J. A. Thompson, "cannot fail to be challenged by the persistent demands throughout the book that he should acknowledge the complete and sole sovereignty of God in his life. Nor can he fail to be touched by the noble concept of God that underlies the whole book."

Genres: Reference, Old Testament, Nonfiction, Religion, Theology

320 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1974

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I referenced quite a few commentaries in my sermon series on Deuteronomy, but three were particularly helpful. This one, by Thompson, was often a bit lighter than the others, but nevertheless would regularly spark a thought that the others had failed to do.

[Other commentaries I referenced: Craigie, McConville]

[Joe Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tyndale Commentaries are generally conservative and aimed at the layman. This volume pushes both boundaries just a bit. The introduction in particular tends to drone on a bit in that academic way as it goes fairly in depth engaging expert opinion on age and textual makeup of Deuteronomy. The idea of Mosaic authorship is generally dismissed, which is a bit far for me but reasons are given. Meanwhile the vocabulary had me chatting with my semi-smart phone for definitions. I suspect an seminary student could handle an of this with ease and there is something to be said for expanding knowledge and vocabulary even at the potential expense of a bottle of aspirin.

The chapter and verse commentary were worth wading through the intro. Doctor Thompson did a fine job of answering questions about the text with in depth and often insightful comments. There were even some questions left over in my mind from Exodus and Leviticus that became clearer to my less than academic mind.

While there are some bits of Deuteronomy that were not all that exciting, I'm sorry some laws lose something in 3000 years, and a few that were horrifying, the commentary managed to keep me pressing forward. The references to the New Testament were solid and appropriate and there were some theological moments that made me consider things in a new light. While this commentary might be a bit beyond the scope of a casual reader, it is worth attempting even if like me you have to occasionally gather in all your grey matter in one lump and demand that it all work together in order to understand some points.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pity J. A. Thompson, not only does he have to follow Gordon Wenham’s excellent commentary on Deuteronomy in the Tyndale Commentary series, but he has to write a commentary on Deuteronomy which is no easy book. Ultimately, I felt that this commentary was just so-so. Some things I would have changed:

1. Engage less with other contemporary writing about Deuteronomy, or keep it more to the footnotes. This is an exegetical commentary series, not an exhaustive treatment on all issues related to Deuteronomy. As one example he wastes a lot! Of time in the introduction discussing the various views on the date of Deuteronomy. This is unnecessary and his position ultimately becomes the typical scholarly mishmash of “well, it could go all back to Moses, but perhaps it didn’t, or much of it anyway,” Ugh. Don't waste my good reading time with things that should be relegated to a technical commentary on Deuteronomy (or to the trash heap of scholarly inquiry in my opinion).


2.Write more about Jesus. How does Jesus fulfill Deuteronomy? How does Deuteronomy prepare the way for Christ? You won’t really know after you read this commentary.

3.Connect the whole better. Mr. Thompson does pretty well with the parts of Deuteronomy, but not so well connecting all the parts to the whole (this is a common theme I have with commentary writers. They should be forced to take a semester of nothing but literature so they do a better job of literary analysis!)

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay.

[Sae-chan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess there is no way to make a difficult issue easy.