What do you think?
Rate this book
Tyndale Old Testament Commentary #21
Jeremiah & Lamentations
With the ancient Near East in a state of ferment and the nation of Judah experiencing a succession of political crises, God stationed a man on the scene to speak the divine word. Jeremiah was called by God to the unhappy task of telling an unheeding nation it was going to be judged and destroyed. Often he seemed to despair, yet he continued to utter God's truth fearlessly, leaving as part of his spiritual legacy a demonstration of a man's ability to make religious life an essentially personal relationship with God. The structural analysis of this commentary, along with the historical and cultural background it provides, opens up to modern readers one of the Old Testament's most fascinating books.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
4 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 22, 2015
The Tyndale Commentary series, published by IVP, continues its revision in this successful replacement volume for Jeremiah and Lamentations. In fact, this volume is superior to the R. K. Harrison volume it replaces–if for no other reason, it gives us 373 pages to 240. The longest of the Prophets needed those extra pages for sure.
There are fine, succinct Introductions for both Jeremiah and Lamentations. The section on historical background was well done and fits Jeremiah into Israel’s history, as well as international influences. His life and ministry covered the final dark days of a people who had little time left for the Lord all the way through their overthrow and subsequent captivity. This history explains the hard words we often find here and makes more poignant the promises of restoration.
Their is only a little talk of redaction as the author lands on the text as we have it for commentary purposes. This is far superior and spares us the endless speculation some commentaries are compelled to encumber us with. There are other helpful discussions: the key word “turn”, how “falsehood” in false prophets is a recurring theme, and suffering which hits prophet and people alike. Finally, the New Covenant and Jeremiah in the New Testament finish out the helpful introduction.
The commentary proper offers thoughtful help. Perhaps you will still find some passages with less commentary than you wished, but that is likely only because Jeremiah is so long. Still, you will find it worth consulting.
In my opinion, this commentary is not quite as good as another commentary published by IVP and aimed at a similar audience, “The Message of Jeremiah” by Christopher Wright. Still, multiple helps on Jeremiah are so beneficial, and at this price how could you go wrong? I recommend it!
I received this book free from the publisher. 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.
There are fine, succinct Introductions for both Jeremiah and Lamentations. The section on historical background was well done and fits Jeremiah into Israel’s history, as well as international influences. His life and ministry covered the final dark days of a people who had little time left for the Lord all the way through their overthrow and subsequent captivity. This history explains the hard words we often find here and makes more poignant the promises of restoration.
Their is only a little talk of redaction as the author lands on the text as we have it for commentary purposes. This is far superior and spares us the endless speculation some commentaries are compelled to encumber us with. There are other helpful discussions: the key word “turn”, how “falsehood” in false prophets is a recurring theme, and suffering which hits prophet and people alike. Finally, the New Covenant and Jeremiah in the New Testament finish out the helpful introduction.
The commentary proper offers thoughtful help. Perhaps you will still find some passages with less commentary than you wished, but that is likely only because Jeremiah is so long. Still, you will find it worth consulting.
In my opinion, this commentary is not quite as good as another commentary published by IVP and aimed at a similar audience, “The Message of Jeremiah” by Christopher Wright. Still, multiple helps on Jeremiah are so beneficial, and at this price how could you go wrong? I recommend it!
I received this book free from the publisher. 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.
September 20, 2021
Read this book primarily for its coverage of Lamentations which was helpful and brief.
May 31, 2020
This book is a bit long at the tooth and it is tough to write about Jeremiah and Lamentations for the non-seminary student which is roughly who the Tyndale series is for. Isaiah has much about the Messiah, Ezekiel's visions are fascinating and Daniel is replete with end times significance. While all these things are marginally true of Jeremiah, much of the book is simply prophecies about the terrible things about to happen to Israel and the terrible things that happened to the prophet. Lamentations is equally depressing.
Trying to explain and make relevant such a book is not easy. Dr. Harrison does a competent job on this thankless task but is constrained by a tight page count. The intros to both books are quite educational though very brief. The actual commentary is competent but sometimes uneven. In a sense like the Isaiah commentary before it, you get the feeling of a longer and more technical commentary that had been cut down. Some passages are covered in overview while other times the book delves into Hebrew word study that is possibly too advanced for the intended audience. Solid as a part of a fine series, but there are probably newer and better single volumes available.
Trying to explain and make relevant such a book is not easy. Dr. Harrison does a competent job on this thankless task but is constrained by a tight page count. The intros to both books are quite educational though very brief. The actual commentary is competent but sometimes uneven. In a sense like the Isaiah commentary before it, you get the feeling of a longer and more technical commentary that had been cut down. Some passages are covered in overview while other times the book delves into Hebrew word study that is possibly too advanced for the intended audience. Solid as a part of a fine series, but there are probably newer and better single volumes available.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews