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.
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This is a delightful commentary that covers the first 25 chapters of Jeremiah. Considering the unique background of its development, I am happy to be able to say that.
Peter C. Craigie was commissioned to write the WBC Jeremiah commentary. He had written the introduction and finished the commentary up to Chapter 8, verse 3 when he died in a car accident. The WBC editors then commissioned two other OT scholars to finish this volume: Page H. Kelly covered from Chapter 8, verse 4 to the end of Chapter 16, and Joel F. Drinkard finished the volume.
The resulting commentary is excellent and surprisingly consistent. I knew Craigie's part would be good because I had read his NICOT commentary on Deuteronomy and found that to be superb. After I finished Craigie's part, I continued to read where Kelley took over, and not having read anything by him, didn't know what to expect. However, I found it to be a smooth transition: Kelley was as good as Craigie! The same thing occurred when I moved into Chapter 17, where Drinkard took over; another smooth transition and continuing excellent commentary! The three authors and WBC editors did a superb job of producing a high-quality volume under complex conditions.
The preface states that the WBC's "layout, in clearly defined sections, has been consciously devised to assist readers at different levels." For each Biblical passage (usually from a couple to a dozen verses), there is a bibliography, the author's own translation, notes on the Hebrew text, a form/structure/setting section, a comment section, and an explanation. When properly done, this format works quite well, and Craigie, Kelley, and Drinkard all used the format exceptionally well.
The form/structure/setting section provides the technical organization of the passage, the comment section supplies the verse-by-verse exposition, and the explanation gives a summary or popular exposition of the passage. You can say that the form/structure/setting section is the leaves, the comment section is the trees, and the explanation is the forest--together they fully explain the passage.
I like the theological insights in a technical commentary such as the WBC and this volume on Jeremiah provided many. Following are three examples.
Craigie on child-sacrifice in ancient times: "And if we are horrified by the thought of child-sacrifice in the Valley of Hinnom, we need to ask whether it is so fundamentally different, in the taking of young life, from some of the casual forms of abortion that characterize many sectors of modern society." (p. 128).
Kelley on true greatness: "What is the measure of true greatness? The world today honors its scholars, especially those in the scientific field, its soldiers, its wealthy aristocrats, and its entertainers. Jeremiah regarded Israel's fascination with wisdom, power, and wealth as ludicrous and idolatrous. . . . The godly values--love, justice, and righteousness--put the values of wisdom, power, and riches into proper perspective." (p. 154).
Kelley on the sorrow of God: "This passage [Jer. 12:7-17] gives us a rare glimpse into the consternation and anguish that evil causes God. The anguish is especially acute for Him when His own people are responsible for it. . . . It is amazing to think that evil can cause God the same anguish that it causes man." (p. 185f.).
Although all WBC volumes are not equal in quality, I really like the WBC Series as a whole and the ones that I have read were excellent (Genesis by Wenham; Exodus by Durham; 1 Chronicles by Braun; 2 Chronicles by Dillard). Reading this commentary gave me a greater appreciation of Jeremiah and his ministry and a deeper love for God--time and money well spent.
Peter C. Craigie was commissioned to write the WBC Jeremiah commentary. He had written the introduction and finished the commentary up to Chapter 8, verse 3 when he died in a car accident. The WBC editors then commissioned two other OT scholars to finish this volume: Page H. Kelly covered from Chapter 8, verse 4 to the end of Chapter 16, and Joel F. Drinkard finished the volume.
The resulting commentary is excellent and surprisingly consistent. I knew Craigie's part would be good because I had read his NICOT commentary on Deuteronomy and found that to be superb. After I finished Craigie's part, I continued to read where Kelley took over, and not having read anything by him, didn't know what to expect. However, I found it to be a smooth transition: Kelley was as good as Craigie! The same thing occurred when I moved into Chapter 17, where Drinkard took over; another smooth transition and continuing excellent commentary! The three authors and WBC editors did a superb job of producing a high-quality volume under complex conditions.
The preface states that the WBC's "layout, in clearly defined sections, has been consciously devised to assist readers at different levels." For each Biblical passage (usually from a couple to a dozen verses), there is a bibliography, the author's own translation, notes on the Hebrew text, a form/structure/setting section, a comment section, and an explanation. When properly done, this format works quite well, and Craigie, Kelley, and Drinkard all used the format exceptionally well.
The form/structure/setting section provides the technical organization of the passage, the comment section supplies the verse-by-verse exposition, and the explanation gives a summary or popular exposition of the passage. You can say that the form/structure/setting section is the leaves, the comment section is the trees, and the explanation is the forest--together they fully explain the passage.
I like the theological insights in a technical commentary such as the WBC and this volume on Jeremiah provided many. Following are three examples.
Craigie on child-sacrifice in ancient times: "And if we are horrified by the thought of child-sacrifice in the Valley of Hinnom, we need to ask whether it is so fundamentally different, in the taking of young life, from some of the casual forms of abortion that characterize many sectors of modern society." (p. 128).
Kelley on true greatness: "What is the measure of true greatness? The world today honors its scholars, especially those in the scientific field, its soldiers, its wealthy aristocrats, and its entertainers. Jeremiah regarded Israel's fascination with wisdom, power, and wealth as ludicrous and idolatrous. . . . The godly values--love, justice, and righteousness--put the values of wisdom, power, and riches into proper perspective." (p. 154).
Kelley on the sorrow of God: "This passage [Jer. 12:7-17] gives us a rare glimpse into the consternation and anguish that evil causes God. The anguish is especially acute for Him when His own people are responsible for it. . . . It is amazing to think that evil can cause God the same anguish that it causes man." (p. 185f.).
Although all WBC volumes are not equal in quality, I really like the WBC Series as a whole and the ones that I have read were excellent (Genesis by Wenham; Exodus by Durham; 1 Chronicles by Braun; 2 Chronicles by Dillard). Reading this commentary gave me a greater appreciation of Jeremiah and his ministry and a deeper love for God--time and money well spent.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The opening three verses of the Book of Jeremiah may be entitled loosely a preface. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
cultic intercessor, divine lament, oracular introduction, contrastive parallelism, parallel laments, foe from the north, messenger formula, preceding lament, larger oracle, previous pericope, linen waistcloth, unrelenting judgment, prose oracle, judgment oracle, prose units, von jeremia, editorial unit, poetic oracle, temple sermon, early oracles, person masculine plural, enemy from the north, prose sermons, previous oracle, woe cry Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old Testament, Explanation See the Explanation, God of Israel, Queen of Heaven, Divine Warrior, Scholars Press, Winona Lake, New York, Bibliography Berridge, Neukirchener Verlag, Die Prosareden, Jeremiah's Poems, Alten Testament, Ancient Israel, Jeremiah Studies, King Josiah, Near Eastern, Northern Kingdom, Explanation Jeremiah, Basic Forms of Prophetic Speech, Bibliography Baumgartner, Echter Verlag, Literary Structure of Some Passages, Zion Jerusalem, Benjamin Gate New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The opening three verses of the Book of Jeremiah may be entitled loosely a preface. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
cultic intercessor, divine lament, oracular introduction, contrastive parallelism, parallel laments, foe from the north, messenger formula, preceding lament, larger oracle, previous pericope, linen waistcloth, unrelenting judgment, prose oracle, judgment oracle, prose units, von jeremia, editorial unit, poetic oracle, temple sermon, early oracles, person masculine plural, enemy from the north, prose sermons, previous oracle, woe cry Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old Testament, Explanation See the Explanation, God of Israel, Queen of Heaven, Divine Warrior, Scholars Press, Winona Lake, New York, Bibliography Berridge, Neukirchener Verlag, Die Prosareden, Jeremiah's Poems, Alten Testament, Ancient Israel, Jeremiah Studies, King Josiah, Near Eastern, Northern Kingdom, Explanation Jeremiah, Basic Forms of Prophetic Speech, Bibliography Baumgartner, Echter Verlag, Literary Structure of Some Passages, Zion Jerusalem, Benjamin Gate New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 60
books:
See all 60 books this book cites
- From Chaos to Covenant: Uses of Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah by Robert P. Carroll on 9 pages
- Prophets and Wise Men by William McKane on 7 pages
- Prophet to the Nations: Essays in Jeremiah Studies by Leo G. Perdue on 7 pages
- The Old Testament by Schaffer Frank on 6 pages
- Basic Forms of Prophetic Speech by Claus Westermann on 4 pages
See all 60 books this book cites
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