Customer Reviews

Esther (The NIV Application Commentary)

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While preparing to teach an adult Sunday school class on Esther, I bought this book sight-unseen through Amazon (though I had a notion it would be worthwhile, since the publisher is Zondervan and the author went to Westminster Theological Seminary). Now that my study on Esther is finished, I can't think of another tool I relied on more heavily than this one (except for the Bible, of course!); I sometimes felt that I should just stop teaching and buy every person in my class a copy of Jobes's excellent book.

It's extremely well-informed, marshaling a vast assortment of scholarly material from other writers; yet it's also quite contemporary, with extended passages applying the text to modern-day life. Best of all, it's level-headed and perceptive; she really wants to understand the book, and thus brings no particular preconceptions about how this or that event should be interpreted.

One thing I learned in my teaching is that Esther is one of the most cryptic books in the Bible, with many thorny issues about which the Biblical writer himself does not care to editorialize. Jobes brings a refreshingly open-minded approach to these issues, and really makes you think, think, think. Yet she never veers from her obvious conviction that this is the infallible word of God. It's quite exhilarating! I kept reading huge chunks of her analysis aloud in class. One of these days I'll track her down and write a letter expressing my gratitude.

If you're a fan of Esther, and especially if you plan to teach or preach on the book, YOU NEED Jobes's terrific analysis. I found it indispensable.

Dr. Jobes' volume on Esther is my favorite in the Old Testament NIVAC series. I completely disagree with the "Not a good commentary" reviewer below, especially the remarks suggesting Dr. Jobes casually dismisses biblical and historical evidence (her dissertation was on the relationship of the LXX Alpha-text of Esther to the MT).

On the contrary, I found the commentary to be loaded with historical and cultural information that is indispensible to a proper understanding of the text as the original audience would have understood it. Also, as another reviewer has already mentioned, Dr. Jobes really makes you think. I particularly enjoyed her discussions on Divine Providence.

The only criticism I have to offer would be that her handling of eschatological topics is very "Reformed", where my preference is for "Progressive Dispensationalism." I wouldn't suggest you not purchase the book because of that though.

All in all, this is a fantastic commentary from a first-rate scholar!

Well done. Jobes places us in the Persian palace helping us to understand the strange surroundings. She is forthright in her presentation of the facts and situations, even though the author of Esther is spare with details and explanations.

Jobes cautions the reader not to be hasty in making 21st century moralistic conclusions about Esther and friends, something that I have noticed other commentaries on Esther do not shy away from. She highlights things in the story of Esther that the casual reader as well as other commentators overlook: the reversals of destinies, the fascinating chiastic structure of the book, and relationships between men and women.

Jobes easily and naturally invites you to see the providence of God in a book where His name is not mentioned. And she makes the exciting story of Esther even more so as we see it related to the completed story of salvation.

Scholarly commentaries appeal to intellectuals, whereas the NIV Application series enables Pastors and Bible teachers to understand the text and relate it to real people. This volume is one of the best of the series. It explains the unusual story of Esther and why this story matters today. Karen Jobes helps us see that the main character is One who is never mentioned by name--God, who is working behind the scenes, causing His providential plan to work out through His people. I thought this commentary was clear, thorough, and very helpful. I wasn't looking for an analysis of the original Hebrew, because I was preparing sermons, not a new translation of the OT. This is one OT book you don't see a lot written about, which makes this commentary all the more valuable.

Great commentary. A real help in preparing Sunday School Lesson or just studying a biblical text.

I am very disppointed with Dr Karen Jobes's 'Esther', because hardly found exegesis on the literary features and structure, making her work lack of text analysis and aesthic quality; furthermore no fresh insights from the book's exegesis and application portion. The fact is Esther is very much a text favoured by exegetes who expounds so much insights with close reading and ideological reading strategies.

I strongly doubts the ability of Dr Karen as exegete especially her exposure in current paradigm of biblical interpretation.

I have always believed that a commentary is suppose to lift up the text, and teach about the text and honor the context. I was severely troubled by Ms. Jobes analysis of the text, where she seem to through biblical facts to the side and throw historical proof out the window. I would consider myself to be a conservative Christian, not traditional, and I felt that this was nothing more than liberal propaganda that degraded the biblical truths of the text. I am disappointed and will never refer to Ms. Jobes writing again.