Books on the Old Testament, 1970

The past year saw the appearance of several notable Old Testament books, both for the general reader and for the more academically inclined. In the survey that follows, those works designed for the reader without a seminary education are marked with an asterisk (*); titles not so marked will often prove useful to the same audience, but their primary thrust is in the field of scholarly debate or technical commentary. Here then are twenty-two top books, including some from late 1969, followed by a listing of other titles of worth.

Pride of place of any list belongs to the New English Bible-Old Testament and Apocrypha* (Cambridge and Oxford). This monumental effort by an interdenominational team of British scholars has given us the first standard version of the entire Bible in the idiom of the modern English-speaking world. If that idiom is at times peculiarly British (e.g., “corn” for “grain” in Genesis 42:2), this is only to be expected, and the sense is usually as clear to North American readers as the RSV is to those on the other side. Much could be said about the relatively few disturbing features, but what will count in the long run is the way in which this new translation enhances communication of the Word of God to people for whom that voice is now silent or indistinct.

Readers of CHRISTIANITY TODAY will welcome, in second place, a completely revised edition of The New Bible Commentary*, edited by D. Guthrie and J. A. Motyer (Eerdmans). Although both the style of the 1953 edition and many of its contributors remain, a number of articles and book studies have been completely rewritten, usually by younger men. In the section of Old Testament introduction, articles have been expanded from four to six with the addition of essays on “The History of Literary Criticism” by the late E. J. Young and “Moses and the Pentateuch” by J. W. Wenham. Several important commentaries that appear in new form are “Genesis” by M. G. Kline, “I and II Samuel” by D. F. Payne, and “Amos” by J. A. Motyer; other articles (e.g., E. J. Young’s “Daniel”) are substantially untouched. Basic text for the commentary is now the RSV, and, in general, the articles are a bit more scholarly and less devotional. Critical positions, however, remain unchanged, with Moses still behind the Pentateuch (including Deuteronomy), Isaiah a unity, and Daniel written during the exile. American evangelicals would do well to notice that almost all contributors to this solidly conservative volume accept a late date for the Exodus.

HISTORY AND RELIGION OF ISRAEL From this point on we shall treat the books by category rather than in order of importance. Of special importance to evangelical readers is the release of R. K. Harrison’s Old Testament Times* (Eerdmans), a survey of the pre-history and history of Israel down through the first century. Readers will already be familiar with the author’s approach and effectiveness through his massive Introduction to the Old Testament, a book featured in last year’s list. There are no surprises in this year’s offering; the volume is a solid, readable, college-level textbook, fully cognizant of various scholarly positions but committed to a thoroughgoing evangelical position.

The publication of any book by the late Yehezkel Kaufmann is news. A new release gives us additional portions of his seven-volume Hebrew-language History of the Religion of Israel under the title The Babylonian Captivity and Deutero-Isaiah (Union of American Hebrew Congregations). The polemic against liberal Protestantism’s now dated evolutionary hypothesis is continued, with special attention given to the supposed “gentile” mission of “Second Isaiah.” Universalism, Kaufmann argues, pre-dates the exile, and furthermore, Deutero-Isaiah is a good orthodox Jew whose adherence to the ritual commandments renders fatuous any attempt to remake him in the image of a liberal Protestant. An extended discussion of Isaiah 40–66 (seen as a unity) is highlighted by a comprehensive discussion of the Servant Songs (the Servant can in no way be an individual!), and the book closes with two helpful appendices.

A third book on the history of Israel deals with the beginnings of nationhood. Rudolf Smend in Yahweh War and Tribal Confederation (Abingdon) pursues the thesis that Yahweh War rather than an amphictyonic cult center provides the original element in Israel’s tradition. Only the Song of Deborah is seen as a firm text from the period of the Judges, and from this limited source-material the picture emerges of a ten-tribe Yahwistic Holy War tradition, separate from the “central sanctuary” traditions and lacking an ark or other cult object as a focal point. Although the translation (by Max Rogers) is not always smooth, the book will make fascinating reading for those concerned with the continuing debate on origins (following the work of Alt, Noth, and von Rad).

THEOLOGY Easily the most important book for Old Testament theology (though its concern encompasses a broader field) is Brevard S. Childs’s Biblical Theology in Crisis (Westminster). Childs chronicles the rise of a distinctly American “biblical theology movement” in the years just following the Second World War, noting its strengths and weaknesses and finally its slow dissolution and collapse as a major force in the early sixties. In the challenge of the social revolution, both biblical theology and neo-orthodoxy became irrelevant as the focus shifted (a la Robinson and Cox) from “a theology of history in the past to a theology of history in the present, which means politics.” Childs’s own most important contribution comes in his refusal to surrender up a biblical theology. The question is rather: Where do we go in shaping a new biblical theology? The answer? Back to the Bible, in the context of the normative canon of the Christian Church (rather than “some form of positivity behind the text”), with a special reference to the great exegetical tradition represented by Calvin, Luther, et al. Although not primarily for the general reader, this volume deserves wide dissemination among evangelicals and should be read by every pastor concerned with biblical preaching today.

A short book with a value out of all proportion to its brevity is Claus Westermann’s The Old Testament and Jesus Christ* (Augsburg). This important study of the relation between the Testaments presents an alternative to the traditional practice of taking individual texts out of context, showing rather that Christ is relevant to the main portions of the Old Testament. The Servant Songs, for example, must be seen as part of the total thrust of the prophetic message in its original historical context, and a relationship to the New Testament arises when a fresh context duplicates the conditions of the old.

The theological motif of “rebellion and forgiveness” is reviewed in a compact book by Andrew C. Tunyogi, The Rebellions of Israel (John Knox). Although it is a very useful study of the theme, its value is somewhat limited by Tunyogi’s contention that the documents we have represent not the faith of a historically rooted Israel but the theology of the redactors who shaped the documents. The chasm between faith and history, so widely criticized in von Rad, is here even broader. For those able to overcome such a barrier, this is a valuable study of the working of divine grace both among God’s ancient people and through the children of the New Covenant.

INTERPRETATION Recently several important works dealing with the use of the Old Testament in church or synagogue have been published, two of which focus on Luther’s important contribution to Old Testament study. In From Shadow to Promise: Old Testament Interpretation from Augustine to the Young Luther (Harvard), J. S. Preus first traces the history of medieval hermeneutics from Augustine to the contemporaries of Luther and then devotes a second part to the young Luther, showing him breaking out of the medieval understanding of the Old Testament as merely Christological. A second book, Heinrich Bornkamm’s readable Luther and the Old Testament* (Fortress, translated from the German edition of 1948), is the first modern study of Luther’s considerable exegetical work on the Old Testament. In view of the many diverse hermeneutical traditions claiming descent from Luther, this book should be a “must” for those interested in biblical interpretation. Chapters on the “Old Testament as Mirror of Life,” “The God of the Old Testament,” and “The Old Testament as Word of God” are followed by an excellent, documented study of Luther’s “Christian” principles of biblical translation. Complete footnoting, bibliography, and a helpful appendix citing the reformer’s Old Testament interpretations and the texts in which they are available make this volume basic to further study.

Fresh study of historical interpretation (and especially that of Luther) inevitably leads to new interest in rabbinic handling of the same passages. The need for an objective and scholarly analysis of a methodology Luther neither understood nor accepted is supplied in John Bowker’s The Targums and Rabbinic Literature (Cambridge). Although the subject is by nature technical, the book is a model of clarity and intelligibility, providing for the non-academic reader a handbook of many uses. Part I of the study is an account of the growth and background of the Targums (Aramaic interpretive translations of Hebrew Scriptures), together with a helpful introduction to various other writings often referred to but infrequently defined (e.g., Tosefta, Tanhuma, Aboth de-Rabbi Nathan). Part II, the major portion of the book, consists of selected chapters of Genesis in the Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan, together with critical notations and variations. Several appendices are important for Old Testament study (e.g., “Recognized Variants in the Septuagint,” “The Seven and Thirteen Rules of Interpretation”). Bibliography and indices are complete.

COMMENTARIES Easily the most important original commentary of 1970 is William McKane’s large Proverbs: A New Approach (Westminster). Among the assets are: a new translation of Proverbs, an excellent study of Egyptian and Mesopotamian wisdom literature (150 pages), and a study of the development and forms of the literature in Proverbs. The latter is partially dependent on an historical reconstruction developed in McKane’s earlier book, Prophets and Wise Men (Allenson, 1965), conclusions that have by no means gained universal acceptance. Among the liabilities, perhaps the most striking is the contrast between the succinct, trenchant style of Proverbs and the prolixity of the commentator. The rearrangement in order of McKane’s form-critical conclusions may be a hindrance to some.

In the same series, a translation from German, Walther Eichrodt’s Ezekiel (Westminster), provides the first major commentary on that prophet to appear in English for over thirty years. The introductory matter is informative, including a history of the prophet’s time (594–571 B.C.), the form of the prophetic proclamation, and some notes on the prophet himself. The translation and commentary takes some liberty with the order of the text and even omits some verses considered secondary, but these are adequately covered in footnotes. Eichrodt’s views on the prophet-priest tension are most stimulating, and his exegesis is thorough.

While on the subject of Ezekiel we should mention a less ambitious but carefully done volume by John B. Taylor, Ezekiel* (Eerdmans and Inter-Varsity). Bible students will appreciate the excellent introduction covering major interpretative problems of Ezekiel (but in layman’s language) and giving a succinct overview of the prophet’s life and message. The commentary never loses sight of the prophetic commission as communicator of the Word of God, with the key note struck in the introductory comment, “God revealed Himself to Ezekiel, not by propositions regarding His character but in personal encounter … The false prophet can chatter glibly about God, because he has never met Him. The man of God comes out from His presence indelibly marked with the glory of his Lord.” Something of that same glory is sure to rub off on the one who will spend time with Ezekiel under the guidance of this small volume.

A second exposition designed for the general reader, Frank E. Gaebelein’s Four Minor Prophets: Their Message for Today* (Moody), represents the devotional commentary come of age. Though we might wish for this volume the same level of original scholarship demonstrated by Taylor (Gaebelein is heavily dependent on Pusey, von Orelli, Ellison, G. A. Smith, and others), we cannot fault the book for mishandling of material. The subtitle indicates the author’s interest, and in his capable literary hand Obadiah, Jonah, Habakkuk, and Haggai speak with penetrating clarity to the issues of 1970. Evangelicals who have been accustomed to flights of speculative fancy in prophetic interpretation will be surprised (and challenged) to find in Gaebelein’s Habakkuk a man belonging “to the noble company of those who care deeply about the ethical problems of their times.” This concomitant to the dynamic message “the just shall live by faith” marks the dual thrust of the entire book, giving us a fresh and contemporary look at four of the little-used Minor Prophets.

Our next selection, though not properly a commentary, is concerned with analysis of 264 passages from the Book of Job, giving alternate meanings based on Ugaritic (and other Northwest Semitic) grammatical and lexical studies. Not surprisingly, Northwest Semitic Grammar and Job (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute), by Anton Blommerde turns out to be a dissertation supervised by M. Dahood. No one today need be reminded of the caution required in such an undertaking (cf. James Barr’s various works, especially Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament, Oxford, 1968), and it should be noted that Blommerde has taken pains to realize some of the limitations in his kind of task. The principle behind his method is simple: The consonantal text of the Hebrew Bible must not be emended (contra the old Biblia Hebraica3), but the vowels are anybody’s fair guess. Such veneration of the Massoretic Text may ultimately prove a false idolatry, but for now it is a welcome change from the excessive freedom with which a past generation altered the reading.

MISCELLANEOUS Two important Festschriften were issued in 1970. Translating and Understanding the Old Testament, essays in honor of Herbert G. May (Abingdon), is edited by H. T. Frank and W. L. Reed and represents a primarily American contribution. J. Muilenburg studies terms for adversity in Jeremiah, M. Burrows decides that Jonah is a particular kind of satire, R. de Vaux opts for a late formation of Judah as it existed in the monarchy, G. W. Anderson contends that the Sinaitic Covenant, not an amphictyony, created Israel’s unity, W. F. Albright again finds donkeys but no camel caravans in the Late Bronze Age, H. M. Orlinsky fails to find internationalism in the Old Testament, and G. E. Wright appeals to Luther, Calvin, and even (indirectly) B. B. Warfield to reaffirm his conviction that revelation belongs to the realm of historical knowledge (and in the process he raps the “new evangelicals” for having produced little significant biblical, especially Old Testament, scholarship). Other contributors include J. P. Hyatt, W. F. Stinespring, D. Baly, and N. Glueck. Of equal stimulation is Proclamation and Presence (John Knox), edited by J. I. Durham and J. R. Porter, in honor of G. Henton Davies. Most of the contributors are European. N. W. Porteous discusses the personal element in biblical interpretation, R. de Vaux sums up recent research concerning the name YHWH, O. Eissfeldt suggests a reason for the apparent mixing of geographical references to Shechem and Gilgal in five passages from Deuteronomy and Joshua, J. R. Porter (following M. R. Kline) finds royal and dynastic features in the Deuteronomic narrative of Joshua’s installation as the second Moses, D. R. Ap-Thomas argues that Solomon’s parashim were mares rather than horsemen, W. Eichrodt suggests that Isaiah’s avoidance of the term “covenant” reflects not an ignorance of the concept but a concern that then-current misunderstandings of the idea not interfere with his call to covenant-faith, J. Bright examines again the prophetic “Confessions” in Jeremiah and concludes (contra Reventlow) that they represent a personal as well as a cultic form, and H. Cazelles discovers a Hurrian prototype for the return of the ideal king in Ezekiel. These contributors, together with G. Widengren, J. Weingreen, E. Wurthwein, J. Muilenburg, A. R. Johnson, and J. I. Durham, have given us a first-rate collection.

A third Festschrift undoubtedly equals in quality the two just mentioned, though I have not yet seen it. Near Eastern Archaeology in the Twentieth Century (Doubleday), edited by J. A. Sanders, honors Professor Nelson Glueck and, as the title and Glueck’s work would indicate, concerns itself more with archaeology than with interpretation.

Papers presented at a special Old Testament meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society have been edited by J. Barton Payne and published as New Perspectives on the Old Testament (Word). Several writers deal with the covenant, including K. A. Kitchen discussing forms of covenant in the late second millennium, M. G. Kline using the same background to find implications for the canon, and the editor discussing the covenant as the covenant of Yahweh. Near Eastern studies are represented by C. E. DeVries on Egyptian research, J. S. Wright correlating Esther and Persian/Greek history, W. C. Kaiser with a form-critical study of Genesis 1–11, and L. T. Wood again affirming an early date for the Exodus. Linguistic and textual articles by E. B. Smick (Ugaritic light on Psalms), B. K. Waltke (textual studies in the Samaritan Pentateuch), G. L. Archer (the Aramaic of Daniel compared with the Genesis Apocryphon), and R. L. Harris (Dead Sea Scrolls and the Massoretic Text) provide interesting reading. E. Yamauchi returns to a favorite subject in tracing early (eighth-fourth century B.C.) Greek influence in the Near East. D. Kidner looks at Wisdom literature in its Near Eastern setting; R. L. Alden summarizes publication on the prophets since 1945; and finally M. H. Woudstra, A. A. MacRae, and P. A. Verhoef discuss various matters of interpretation.

A solid contribution to Hebrew studies comes from the pen of Francis 1. Andersen as Volume XIV in the “Journal of Biblical Literature Monograph Series.” The Hebrew Verbless Clause in the Pentateuch (Abingdon) examines the grammatical form traditionally known as the nominal sentence in light of modern linguistic categories and formulates a set of rules for describing all kinds of verbless clauses possible in Hebrew. The author, a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, has demonstrated in this thorough study the kind of contribution open to an evangelical who is willing to do his homework.

These are just a few of the many Old Testament studies published last year. Although it is a rare book that can be called a publishing landmark, many of the contributions are solid and show the continued vitality of the field.

In the following space we list additional titles of significance, in the hope that each reader may find just that “plum” for his own taste.

BOYD, R. T., Tells, Tombs and Treasure* (Baker). Important only because it will circulate widely. Superficial and often dangerously misleading text accompanying some excellent archaeological photos. Pastors be warned.

CANSDALE, G., All the Animals of the Bible Lands* (Zondervan). A solid study by a zoologist who is also church-warden of All Souls, London.

DAHOOD, M., Psalms, Volume III. Covers Psalms 101–150. This year’s only offering in the “Anchor Bible” series.

DAVIS, J. J., The Birth of a Kingdom: Studies in I-II Samuel and 1 Kings 1–11* (Baker). Second in a series of Old Testament studies by this author. References are a bit dated, but the book is still valuable for the lay reader.

ELLISON, H. L., The Message of the Old Testament* (Eerdmans). Superb articles on the Old Testament here collected in book form.

FRETHEIM, T. E., Creation, Fall, and Flood* (Augsburg). Popularizes the variant treatments of Genesis 1–11. Critical, but with some discerning theological content.

GEHMAN, H. S. (ed.), Westminster Dictionary of the Bible* (Westminster). A complete revision of a major reference work after more than twenty-five years.

HOPKINS, I. W. J., Jerusalem: A Study in Urban Geography (Baker). Technical but reliable treatment of both modern and ancient Jerusalem by a specialist.

KRAELING, E. G., The Prophets (Rand McNally). A major study by an experienced Old Testament scholar.

LAPP, P. W., Biblical Archaeology and History* (World). The 1966 Haskell Lectures at Oberlin College on the relation between archaeology and the Bible. A good treatment for the non-professional.

LAURIN, R. B. (ed.), Contemporary Old Testament Theologians (Judson). A chapter on each of the authors of seven widely used surveys of Old Testament theology available in English. Very worthwhile.

PEARCE, E. K. V., Who Was Adam* (Paternoster). An anthropologist and theologian finds in the New Stone Age revolution a connection with Adam’s commission to “till the ground and keep it.”

SARNA, N. M., Understanding Genesis: The Heritage of Biblical Israel* (Schocken). A welcome paperback edition of the outstanding commentary on Genesis issued in recent years.

SIMONS, J., The Geographical and Topographical Texts of the Old Testament (Brill). Another expensive but foundational study that attempts a restoration of various geographical phrases or boundary descriptions.

WATTS, J. D. W., Obadiah (Eerdmans). Attempts a short history of Edom and finds in the successive oracles (outside of Obadiah) against Edom a developing role for that nation. Obadiah is seen in this context.

WOOD, L. J., A Survey of Israel’s History* (Zondervan). Meets the need long felt by American fundamentalists for a carefully documented history of Israel in which all the answers are “right.” Although some may feel his conclusions are far too facile, Wood is no obscurantist and has produced a valuable text for Bible school or class.

YOUNG, E. J., Isaiah, Volume II (Eerdmans). This posthumous work, long promised, has finally appeared, and the final volume is due soon. It is welcome news that the Old Testament portion of the “New International Commentary” is now moving forward again under the editorial hand of R. K. Harrison.

Carl E. Armerding is assistant professor of Old Testament at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia. He received the B.D. degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and the Ph.D. from Brandeis University.

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