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Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching
Ezra-Nehemiah: Interpretation (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching & Preaching)
Studies in the books of Ezra-Nehemiah have tended to become bogged down with such questions as, "Who came first, Ezra or Nehemiah, and were they contemporaries? When did Ezra make his journey to Jerusalem, how many trips did he make, and which route did he take?" In this commentary, the author undertakes a theological reading which emphasizes its character as narrative and story. He avoids rearranging the text and, with the exception of chapter five of Nehemiah, he seeks to understand the narrative as it was received. In general, Mark Throntveit avoids an overly historical approach to the text and presents a clear picture of Ezra and Nehemiah.
- GenresTheology
129 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 25, 2018
Surprised as I was by the slimness of the volume (by comparison, F. Charles Fensham's volume for NICOT is about twice as long), I enjoy Mark A. Throntveit's engagement on the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah for the Interpretation Bible commentary series. Whatever my evangelical predilections, I often find mainline voices refreshing on the Old Testament: they tend to be less willing to draw eisegetical moral teachings from characters and more interested on the "written-ness" of the texts, which is crucial for good exegesis anyways (other solid mainline OT readers include, of course, Walter Brueggemann and Ellen F. Davis).
Throntveit is highly sensitive to the chiastic structures of Ezra and Nehemiah, something I have never paid much attention to (especially as English prose and chapter-and-verse format makes chiastic forms harder to notice), following the three major cycles from Ezra 1 through Nehemiah 7 of building, renewal, and conflict. His textual and structural observations are superb and extraordinarily useful, especially for readers who have not spent a whole lot of time with these two books.
On a different note, I find the goals of the Interpretation commentary series obscure. Despite being broadcast as "A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching," I'm not entirely sure what in particular Throntveit provided that directly will feed into my teaching and preaching in any manner different than, say, Fensham's NICOT volume will. Is it the shortness of the volumes that is intended to be more accessible, more useful? Is it their efficient book reviews? (At to that point, Throntveit helpfully interspersed the work of H.G.M. Williamson and D. Kidner's commentaries throughout.) All this is to say that whereas Throntveit has supplied here an interesting and useful commentary for Ezra and Nehemiah, I'm not entirely sure of what makes the Interpretation series particular for the work of Teaching and Preaching, at least, in any way different from other series.
None of that devalues the work that Throntveit has done, which helps the reader to engage Ezra and Nehemiah in new and fresh ways, learning more about the original context of its composition, as well as its unique theological aims. At times, Throntveit makes too much supposition (like when he downplays the value of the imprecatory prayer), but these are rare. Most of the commentary goes right up to the text of the work, equipping the reader to better wrestle with the text's implications.
Throntveit is highly sensitive to the chiastic structures of Ezra and Nehemiah, something I have never paid much attention to (especially as English prose and chapter-and-verse format makes chiastic forms harder to notice), following the three major cycles from Ezra 1 through Nehemiah 7 of building, renewal, and conflict. His textual and structural observations are superb and extraordinarily useful, especially for readers who have not spent a whole lot of time with these two books.
On a different note, I find the goals of the Interpretation commentary series obscure. Despite being broadcast as "A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching," I'm not entirely sure what in particular Throntveit provided that directly will feed into my teaching and preaching in any manner different than, say, Fensham's NICOT volume will. Is it the shortness of the volumes that is intended to be more accessible, more useful? Is it their efficient book reviews? (At to that point, Throntveit helpfully interspersed the work of H.G.M. Williamson and D. Kidner's commentaries throughout.) All this is to say that whereas Throntveit has supplied here an interesting and useful commentary for Ezra and Nehemiah, I'm not entirely sure of what makes the Interpretation series particular for the work of Teaching and Preaching, at least, in any way different from other series.
None of that devalues the work that Throntveit has done, which helps the reader to engage Ezra and Nehemiah in new and fresh ways, learning more about the original context of its composition, as well as its unique theological aims. At times, Throntveit makes too much supposition (like when he downplays the value of the imprecatory prayer), but these are rare. Most of the commentary goes right up to the text of the work, equipping the reader to better wrestle with the text's implications.
November 12, 2020
Read through the Ezra stuff for work. A helpful commentary. If you're looking for deep exegesis of every word of every verse, there are more technical commentaries out there (Word Biblical commentary for example), but if you're looking for something that gets into the text, looks at the big picture & also doesn't shy away from the varying views that are held on these books, then this is a good place to start.
October 26, 2016
A helpful commentary. I'll probably be preaching Ezra-Nehemiah next year, and will look to this commentary for guidance.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews