Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 30, Daniel (goldingay), 408pp [Hardcover]

John E. Goldingay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 1989 | Series: Word Biblical Commentary (Book 30)

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 406 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 20, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849902290
• ISBN-13: 978-0849902291
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #333,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pride of Place goes to Goldingay! Academic, yet pastoral in application; highly insightful., September 13, 2008

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JJ - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 30, Daniel (goldingay), 408pp (Hardcover)

Goldingay has produced the most comprehensive commentary on Daniel to date. And we are still fishing out of his pond. This is stellar work by an academic who has the heart of pastor for application. Outstanding. Some may object to his dating, but it doesn't hurt his lucid exegesis and interpretation. Outstanding.

Goldingay draws out that the book of Daniel develops along two major themes: the exploits of Daniel and his friends as members of the royal court, and the revelations of the future given to Daniel. Goldingay holds that the prophecies had immediate meaning for the Jews and yet can be applied to future events as well.

Bauer, in his commentary on commentaries says, "Overall, the most useful commentary on Daniel for both preaching and teaching." That is high praise indeed. Goldingay emphasizes the dynamic interplay between the "stories" in Chapters 1-6 and the "visions" in Chapter 7-12. Those insights lead to solid interpretation. An Annotated Guide to Biblical Resources for Ministry (Annotated Guides (Hendrickson Publishers))

Tremper Longman III, in his book Old Testament Commentary Survey, makes special note of Goldingay's knowledge....calling it the most comprehensive commentary on Daniel, he adds, "He demonstrates an amazing grasp of the secondary literature of the time." He warns that avoiding this beefy work "would be a major mistake for such an important commentary on Daniel."

I concur. Grab this book however you can get it. Only those who want to hear only a narrow view of Daniel (along the lines of Left Behind series) will be disappointed with this rich study. Outstanding.
DrJJ

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterful Commentary on Daniel, April 20, 2011

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K. R. Sperling (Birmingham, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 30, Daniel (goldingay), 408pp (Hardcover)

John Goldingay is an Old Testament professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and a prolific author, writing popular books including Walk On, Men Behaving Badly, To the Usual Suspects, and After Eating the Apricot, and scholarly works such as the NIBC commentary on Isaiah, the 3-volume Baker commentary on the Psalms, and a 3-volume Old Testament Theology. He is currently writing "The Old Testament for Everyone" commentary series and has completed the volumes on Genesis; Exodus and Leviticus; Numbers and Deuteronomy; Joshua, Judges and Ruth; 1 & 2 Samuel; and 1 & 2 Kings.

BestCommentaries.com ranks Goldingay's WBC as the top Daniel commentary at 8.1 while the second-best is Baldwin's TOTC at a distant 6.8. Miller's NAC is third at 6.6 while the distinguished John Joseph Collins' Hermeneia received a 6.5.

After the table of contents and abbreviations is the introduction, which consists of a 16-page history of the interpretation of Daniel. There is no discussion of standard introductory subjects such as authorship, date, and canonicity. However, he does cover topics such as the book's origin, authors, and theological significance in a conclusion to the commentary.

In the commentary proper, Goldingay provides his own translation for each chapter of Daniel followed by notes on the Hebrew text. Next, following WBC's standard format, is the Form/Structure/Setting section. But instead of writing about form, structure, and setting in one combined section, he has his material divided under the subheadings "Form," "Structure," and "Setting." This is the first time I've seen this in any WBC volume.

Next is the Comment section. Goldingay's comments are organized verse-by-verse as is the standard WBC format. Finally, again following WBC's standard format, is the Explanation section. Here he went beyond the usual WBC format that combines all the author's explanations together under this heading--Goldingay has his explanations organized verse-by-verse in the same manner as in the Comment section. Again, this is the first time I've seen this in any WBC volume.

As an example of his elegant writing, in the explanation section on Daniel chapter 2, where the Babylonian sages did not know the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream so he sent out an edict that these sages were to be killed, Goldingay says: "The sages of Babylon descend from a matter-of-fact confidence, via bluster and disbelief, to a bewildered helplessness that faces the guillotine. Out attention now moves from these cartoon portraits to a picture in total contrast, of Daniel who models wisdom and piety, shrewd and astute before Arioch, bold and confident before Nebuchadnezzar, open in fellowship with his friends, believing and urgent in prayer, lofty and profound in praise, decisive and assured when he returns with an explanation of the dream, straight and trenchant in declaring both its origins in God's revelation and its content regarding Babylon's future."

I am a big fan of the WBC series and have read several WBC volumes (Genesis by Wenham, Exodus by Dunham, 1 Chronicles by Braun, 2 Chronicles by Dillard, Jeremiah by Craigie et al., Lamentations by House, and Ezekiel by Allen). This volume by Goldingay is the best and most enjoyable WBC I've read. It is scholarly, profound, elegantly written, and replete with theological reflections and practical applications. He uses the WBC format exceedingly well and the commentary can be easily read cover-to-cover.

I'll end with a sentence by Goldingay that is typical of his practical applications: "People in exposed positions such as Daniel's prove God's wisdom before gentile masters; how much more can ordinary people in the context of their ordinary pressures."

This is a masterful commentary. Very highly recommended.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars One sided perspective on Daniel, August 13, 2011

By 

Iona Sun (Detroit, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 30, Daniel (goldingay), 408pp (Hardcover)

I love the WBC series - which is the only reason I give this book at least two stars. This is my least favorite volume in the series. I will focus on two primary reasons for this view.

(1) Most of the WBC series tries to present the books with a broad perspective that allows for varied viewpoints, but Goldingay does not. This is disappointing since one of the hallmarks of the WBC series has always been a scholarship largely untainted with bias towards a particular interpretation.

Goldingay's perspective clearly directs his interpretation of the book. He views the book on two levels - one level relating to the events of the post-exilic period and another level relating to world events in a very general way (much like the idealist/spiritual view of the Book of Revelation). At points the author is practically condescending towards anyone who suggests that the book contains prophecies of specific historical events future from the post-exilic period (such as the rise of the Roman empire and the nations of Europe)... rather than general historical trends. This no doubt alienates a large percentage of the readership of this volume.

(2) Some of the author's perspective is clearly influenced by his dating of the Book of Daniel. Goldingay follows the tired, speculative, and generally disproven argument (an argument that still crops up on so many "skeptics" websites) that Daniel was written after - rather than before - the events described in the book actually occurred. As another reviewer pointed out, this hardly allows us to define Daniel as prophetic. (One could only wish the author and other skeptics would re-examine their so-called skepticism in the light of more modern research.)

If you agree with Goldingay's view of Daniel, then this will be a useful book. However, for those who disagree, this volume will have little value.