Psalms through Malachi

A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR CHRISTIANS: PART 6

This is the concluding half of a survey of notable books on the Old Testament. The first half, which was published in the last issue, dealt with Genesis through Job.

HEBREW POETRY An inexpensive introduction to the forms of Hebrew poetry is T. H. Robinson’s The Poetry of the Old Testament (Duckworth, 1947). For even more available summaries of the subject, one should not overlook a good Bible dictionary (Gottwald’s article in the Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible is excellent). Those with scholarly interests in the subject—and money for expensive books—will welcome reprint editions of Bishop R. Lowth’s classic Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews and G. B. Gray’s The Forms of Hebrew Poetry (KTAV). Finally, an excellent scholarly introduction to Hebrew poetry in the literary context of both Homeric and Old English parallels is given in W. Whallon’s Formula, Character, and Context (Harvard, 1969).

A good short introduction to Hebrew Wisdom Literature is contained in the AB volume on Proverbs-Ecclesiastes by R. B. Y. Scott, while W. McKane gives more extensive coverage on the wisdom of the Ancient Near East in his commentary on Proverbs (OTL, 1970). James Wood, Wisdom Literature: An Introduction (Duckworth, 1967) provides a good survey of the subject and is aimed at the non-specialist. Of special interest to evangelicals is an article by D. A. Hubbard in The Tyndale Bulletin for 1966; Hubbard gives an overview of the subject and suggests some areas for further study in the coming years.

PSALMS Other parts of Scripture speak to us; the Psalms speak for us. Capturing this devotional theme are the older commentaries of men like J. A. Alexander (currently in print by Zondervan) and C. H. Spurgeon (The Treasury of David, two volumes, Associated Publishers and Authors), and the more recent volumes by W. G. Scroggie (Pickering and Inglis, four volumes, 1948–51) and H. C. Leupold (Wartburg, 1959), though the modern reader will certainly want to supplement these works with contemporary material. For a wealth of philological detail (with special reference to Ugaritic backgrounds) there is nothing to match M. Dahood’s recently completed work in the AB (three volumes, 1966–70). Hebrew words are given in transliteration, but some knowledge of the language will greatly facilitate one’s use of this set. Those seeking a decidedly evangelical scholarly commentary will still resort, however, to E. W. Hengstenberg’s Commentary on Psalms (Clark, 1876).

Most modern commentaries have built heavily on the pioneering work of H. Gunkel and S. Mowinckel in discerning various forms within the Psalms and discovering the Sitz im Leben connected with each. A useful summary of this work, together with its author’s own commentary, is the theological treatise of A. Weiser in the OTL (translation 1962). Two first-rate but non-technical introductions to the Psalms are C. Westermann, ThePraise of God in the Psalms (John Knox, 1965), and C. F. Barth, Introduction to the Psalms (Blackwell, 1966).

Many a short book has been written on an individual psalm. An exemplary devotional treatment is D. M. Lloyd-Jones’s Faith on Trial: Studies in Psalm 73 (Inter-Varsity, 1965), while the best of the more technical studies is represented by the work of R. Sorg, Ecumenic Psalm 87 (Fifield, Wisc: King of Martyrs Priory, 1969).

PROVERBS For solid philological help on Proverbs save your money and buy W. McKane’s new contribution in the OTL (1970). Considerably less ambitious with regard to both exegetical and form-critical research, but superbly readable and useful, is D. Kidner’s introductory volume in the TCOT series (1964); this is certainly the best book for the beginner. An intermediate tool, including both Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, is the AB offering by R. B. Y. Scott (1965).

ECCLESIASTES A convincing interpretative argument for taking the book as a unity is given by Rabbi R. Gordis in Koheleth: The Man and His World (Jewish Theological Seminary, 1955). Add to this R. B. Y. Scott’s volume in AB (see Proverbs listing) and the older work of G. A. Barton (ICC, 1908) and you have the major works that are readily available.

SONG OF SOLOMON So many of the books on the Song of Solomon suffer from typological excesses. For an introduction to various ways of handling this enigmatic poem consult the essay “The Interpretation of the Song of Songs” in The Servant of the Lord and Other Essays (1952) by H. H. Rowley. An older work of continuing value is A. Harper’s volume in CB (1902); R. Gordis’s The Song of Songs (Jewish Theological Seminary, 1954) offers a good guide from a modern Jewish point of view.

THE PROPHETS Much has changed in scholarly conclusions regarding prophetism over the last thirty-five years, and one wishing to follow the debate might well begin with O. Eissfeldt’s essay on the subject in The Old Testament and Modern Study (ed. H. H. Rowley, Oxford, 1951). The classical nineteenth-century position that saw a wide divergence between prophetic religion (early) and priestly religion (post-exilic) has now been largely abandoned, and the whole question of the whence and why of the growth of prophecy is still in flux. A modern study taking account of material from the ancient Near East is W. F. Albright’s Samuel and the Beginnings of the Prophetic Movement (Hebrew Union College, 1961), though not all will agree with his distinctions between Samuel and the Elide priesthood.

No up-to-date conservative introduction to prophecy is available, though E. J. Young’s My Servants the Prophets (Eerdmans, 1952) is still valuable. A vivid contemporary treatment of the role of the prophet (though far too facile in its handling of complex critical questions) is given in S. H. Blank’s Jewish “adult education” handbook, Understanding the Prophets (Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1969). Prophecy in Ancient Israel by J. Lindblom (Fortress, 1962) is a very technical work that will be of interest to scholars but of little appeal to the novice. More theological depth together with considerable commentary, but only on those prophets who flourished in the Northern Kingdom, is found in H. L. Ellison’s The Prophets of Israel (Eerdmans, 1969), an introduction every evangelical should know. Finally, for a brief and balanced introduction and background for each of the canonical prophets, consult the same author’s Men Spake From God (Eerdmans, 1952).

One of the greatest needs of the day is for a comprehensive treatment of the subject of prophecy that is as ambitious in scope as the older work of P. Fairbairn, The Interpretation of Prophecy (Banner of Truth, 1856; reprint 1964), by one who is committed to the authority of the Bible and thoroughly at home in the world of contemporary biblical scholarship. Perhaps the volume by E. J. Young mentioned above will have to do for the present. Christ in Prophecy by P. Heinisch (Liturgical Press, 1956) is similar to Young in its devout approach and will prove helpful to many (though the author deals primarily with passages that are Messianic in the strict sense of the word), but it does not fill the bill entirely.

ISAIAH Questions of authorship and source analysis are dealt with in any standard introduction. Traditionally conservative views are amply covered in the works of E. J. Young: Studies in Isaiah (Eerdmans, 1954) and Who Wrote Isaiah? (Eerdmans, 1958). A three-volume commentary by the same author in the NICOT series (1965–71) provides historical-grammatical exegesis in the best tradition of the Reformers (with all Hebrew terms transliterated for English-speaking readers), but it fails to interact with contemporary scholarship to the extent it might. Other major series are incomplete. ICC (1912) by G. B. Gray continues only through chapter 27. The OTL for chapters 40–66 by C. Westermann (1969) is a valuable form-critical and theological study; material on the earlier chapters of Isaiah is still wanting. AB likewise offers only the latter portion in a volume by the Catholic scholar J. L. McKenzie (1968). Neither of the preceding matches, however, C. R. North’s The Second Isaiah (Oxford, 1964) for discussion of the Hebrew text of chapters 40–55.

For more conservatively oriented, devotional commentaries, the older work of J. A. Alexander (1846, Zondervan), the succinct volume by the British expositor W. E. Vine (Zondervan, 1946), and the recent, though yet incomplete, work of H. C. Leupold (Baker, 1968) may be used with profit.

JEREMIAH A comprehensive and conservative philological tool for minister or layman is the first volume in a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod commentary by T. Laetsch (1952). Critical interaction is almost totally lacking in this work; for that and a wealth of historical and theological material, John Bright’s commentary in the AB (1965) is the book to consult.

LAMENTATIONS Laetsch (see “Jeremiah”) also covers Lamentations. Other than this there is only N. K. Gottwald’s Studies in the Book of Lamentations (Allenson, 1962), which has a wealth of material.

EZEKIEL The student of this prophet is now offered meaty fare. For the best in-depth treatment, wait for the English translation of W. Zimmerli’s monumental German work; it will come in Fortress’s new “Hermeneia” series. Of nearly equal value is the OTL volume by W. Eichrodt (translation 1970). Recent works by conservatives, notably the TCOT (1969) by J. B. Taylor and The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Moody, 1969), by C. L. Feinberg, round out the feast. The latter is a dispensational study by an able Semitist, while the former is the best short, all-purpose book on the subject.

DANIEL There have probably been more books written on the prophecy of Daniel in recent years than on any other part of the Old Testament. Not all are of equal value, of course. Still the basis of any thorough textual study is J. A. Montgomery’s valuable commentary in the ICC (1927), though much helpful material of a similar kind is to be found in A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Daniel (Oxford, 1929) by R. H. Charles. Among modern interpretative commentators, N. W. Porteous (OTL, 1965) reflects whatever consensus there is among non-conservatives. In The Prophecy of Daniel (Eerdmans, 1949) E. J. Young argues from an evangelical amillennial position. A new book by J. F. Walvoord, Daniel, the Key to Prophetic Revelation (Moody, 1971), offers a dispensational alternative to Young. For a premillennialism with some variation from Walvoord, R. D. Culver’s commentary Daniel and the Latter Days (Moody, 1964) is a good starting point. For critical discussion one should use the standard introductions, supplemented by works of R. D. Wilson (especially Studies in the Book of Daniel, Putnam, 1917), H. H. Rowley (especially Darius the Mede and the Four World Empires, Univ. of Wales, 1959), J. C. Whitcomb, Jr., Darius the Mede (Eerdmans, 1959), and D. J. Wiseman et al., Notes on Some Problems in the Book of Daniel (Tyndale Press, 1965).

MINOR PROPHETSICC volumes are complete for all the Minor Prophets. Amos and Hosea are covered by W. R. Harper (1905); J. M. P. Smith, W. H. Ward, and J. A. Bewer treat Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Obadiah, and Joel (1912); and finally H. G. Mitchell, J. M. P. Smith, and J. A. Bewer comment on Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and Jonah (1911). Among conservative commentaries, the work of Th. Laetsch, The Minor Prophets (Concordia, 1956) offers help on structure and text, while the older (1860–77) work of E. B. Pusey, The Minor Prophets With a Commentary, recently reprinted (Baker 1950), is still helpful. A contemporary devotional treatment of Obadiah, Jonah, Habakkuk, and Haggai comes from the pen of F. E. Gaebelein in Four Minor Prophets (Moody, 1970), offering a model for application of prophetic truth to today’s problems.

Studies of individual books are not wanting, either, especially for such favorites as Hosea and Amos. On Hosea there is now J. L. Mays’s valuable book in OTL (1969), which enunciates theological themes; comparable in scope is the earlier work of J. M. Ward, Hosea: A Theological Commentary (Harper & Row, 1966). Finally, a short series of lessons with a value out of all proportion to its simple format is D. A. Hubbard’s With Bands of Love (Eerdmans, 1968).

For Amos the ICC may also be supplemented with the OTL contribution of J. L. Mays (1969). Equal to the standard of ICC for philological material is the work of R. S. Cripps, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Amos (second edition, Allenson, 1955).

A short but useful book on Obadiah comes from J. D. W. Watts, Obadiah: A Critical Exegetical Commentary (Eerdmans, 1970); of a different order but devotionally useful is the pamphlet by D. M. Lloyd-Jones on the message of Habakkuk entitled From Fear to Faith (Inter-Varsity, 1953). For Zechariah there is little recent material; M. F. Unger’s 1963 commentary (Zondervan) concentrates on Messianic prophecies but does not offer all that is needed for an independent study of the material.

SUMMARY It is by now apparent that contemporary Old Testament commentaries of quality are conspicuous by their rarity. Evangelicals will welcome the appearance of each new volume of AB and OTL, and look with keen anticipation for the appearance of the Fortress “Hermeneia” series, but special note should be made also of the quality and regularity of the forthcoming volumes of the NICOT. Apart from this there is no major effort combining scholarly discussion of textual and critical matters with a conservative commitment to Scripture. For many, the TCOT will meet a real need; but despite its unquestioned value, its brevity demands some greater effort from those who claim to find in the Old Testament the Word of God written. Herein lies one great task of the evangelical scholarly community in the days ahead.

Bride/Body/Temple

acanthus leaf,

architrave, triglyph

& metope,

ingots of light,

sheets of sun,

glass soaked with

light.

Tympanum,

recessed doorway lined

with stone saints

Ionic,

Doric,

Corinthian, the pillars,

pilasters, porticoes,

entablatures

& broken pediments

basilica

of claspt hands,

baptistry

of welldeep eyes

in which the world’s

immersed

nave

& transept,

chapels clustered,

narthex balancing

apse

the cross made

a space to hold

his body assembled,

to hold, o mystery,

the Bride

of the Word in joy

EUGENE WARREN

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