Let’s take a look today at Duane A. Garrett’s A Commentary on Exodus, from the Kregel Exegetical Library. I have additional volumes in this series, including the Judges-Ruth volume and 2 out of 3 volumes on Psalms. I’ll be upfront: I’m a fan of this series.
Moving from generic ideas to specific: this is a solid, hardcover book. It cries out to be carefully read and marked up with 722 thick, no-bleed through type pages.
AND IT HAS FOOTNOTES!!! This is good, for one is not forced to flip around to find what that little number refers to!
On to the specific content: Garrett clearly holds the text of Exodus as representing actual events. That may bother some, but it holds no bother for me, because I accept that as well. For me, there’s no value in a mythological Exodus, so I wouldn’t bother reading 722 page books about it. Neither would I understand writing a book of that length about it.
Garrett’s introductory material deals with items like the date of the Exodus. I find his viewpoint on the date of the Exodus helpful, though he leaves the question open. I also like the reasoning and information shared about the location of the Red Sea crossing.
This volume also features Garrett’s own translation of Exodus. As this is an academic/technical commentary, I find myself accepting this and seeing it as helpful. (I’m still not a fan of self-translation as the main text for devotional/popular works.) I don’t see anything earth-shattering or odd in the translations, but the slight differences force me to read slower.
In all, this is a helpful addition to the reference shelf. I’d recommend it for the pastor, Biblical studies student, or in-depth teacher. It’s probably not for the casual reader.
Book provided by Kregel Academic and Ministry in exchange for the review.
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To deal with SPAM comments, all comments are moderated. I'm typically willing to post contrary views...but I also only check the list once a day, so if you posted within the last 24 hours, I may not be to it yet.