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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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Downhill Spiral,
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This review is from: Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 13, 2 Kings (Hardcover)
The two books of Kings in the Hebrew Scriptures were artificially divided--by the general limits of scrolling, as the author observes--which accounts for a nearly uninterrupted downward trajectory of Israel's kingship that continues through both volumes. Although both commentaries come from the World Biblical Commentary series, our work at hand [volume 13] was composed by a different author from 1 Kings, T.R. Hobbs. The format, however, remains the same-translation, grammatical analysis, setting and form, verse commentary, and theological overview of each chapter or periscope. The bibliography is exhaustive, and while the work targets a professional audience [e.g., educators] there is much here of use for a motivated lay person who wishes to study the Bible with literary and theological precision.I am going out on a limb here and assuming that very few readers begin Biblical search with 2 Kings. My assumption would be that the reader of this commentary has digested an overview of the Hebrew Canon in general and is somewhat familiar with what has already transpired. 2 Kings begins, so to speak, in the middle of things. It is the second half of a five century narrative of the kings of Israel. 1 Kings begins with the glory of Solomon; 2 Kings ends with the Babylonian Captivity. Clearly the challenge of any commentator is an explanation of what happened. For the Deuteronomistic author of Kings, the theological reason for the decline of Israel, including its division into northern and southern kingdoms and ultimate subjugation, was the failure of its kings to preserve the Law, worship, and humility before Yahweh. True heirs of David and Solomon were hard to come by. To use an American analogy, there were a dozen Warren Harding for every Theodore Roosevelt. Josiah is a notable exception, though as Hobbs comments, even this king's efforts at reform are too little and too late. [343] Centuries of neglect, indifference, active idolatrous dalliances, social injustice and regional involvements with pagan neighbors were culminating toward an inexorable denouement. One example: the repeated recourse to exchange the temple's worship finery for political expediency. One is hard pressed to imagine Joshua resorting to such tactics. The reader will probably surmise that 2 Kings comes to us through a particular religious and cosmic outlook. This does not diminish the work in any way, but it does raise questions about what else was undermining this royal line. Hobbs provides insightful information regarding both the dating of the narrated events--vis-à-vis other known happenings in the Middle East--and the demographic/military/political developments of Israel's neighbors. It is more than a little surprising, for example, to read that Israel conducted treaties and other intercourse with its old nemesis, Egypt, when pressures on other fronts became precarious. It should be recalled, too, that from a pagan/secular vantage point, Israel had lost its virginity the day that Joshua led his armies across the Jordan to claim a settled populace by the sword. It was a nation to be reckoned with, bought off, or subjugated as circumstances warranted. 2 Kings also provides evidence of the internal social developments in Israel, for better or worse. Temple practice was developing a hierarchy of sorts, with inevitable innate tendencies toward structure and stasis. The need for radical revival may have been a major role in the Deuteronomic emergence of the two great prophetic figures of Kings, Elijah and Elisha. Elijah had figured prominently at the conclusion of 1 Kings, and his protégé Elisha, the "Man of God," dominates the opening chapters of 2 Kings. Elisha's miracles are breathtaking, though even this gargantuan figure of the book seems to stand outside the currents of the historical flow. Hobbs does note, however, that Isaiah and other classical prophets were preaching in the final segments of the age of kings, prophets with a different emphasis and certainly a different style by the seventh century BCE. A third factor is the division of Judah and Israel. Already an accomplished fact at the opening of 2 Kings, Hobbs traces the interworking of north and south, a strange and lengthy period where two parallel monarchies claim a real, if at times tenuous, claim to the legacy of David. At times the two units worked together; more often, the weaker northern kingdom created innumerable economic and defensive liabilities upon Judah. It is a strange and ultimately fatal state of affairs, and neither the commentator of 1 Kings [DeVries] nor 2 Kings [Hobbs] in this series ever really approaches this arrangement philosophically. Hobbs goes to great pains to coordinate the dating of the parallel kings, but I feel this misses the bigger question. The end of the line of kings, north and south, comes to an end in approximately 588 BCE. The northern kingdom, not surprisingly, falls first. But Hobbs gives valuable background into a very confusing state of affairs. Judah was in effect already a vassal state of Assyria and found itself enmeshed in a seven nation fight for dominance of the region prior to the seizure of thousands of its citizens by Babylonia, a situation made worse by a belated and ill-conceived Judean revolt after the first transportation. Hobbs' volume appeared in 1986, and its sources range through the mid twentieth century. Although several more recent commentaries on Kings have appeared, I have not found any to have focused exclusively on 2 Kings alone. The quality of the work makes this a worthy investment with a valuable shelf life for the foreseeable future.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Merely a History Book,
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This review is from: Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 13, 2 Kings (Hardcover)
A well written commentary on 2Kings. That is what I call a commentary of high standard evangelicalism combining both faith and scholarship and showing respectful treatment of biblical history. Hobbs considers 2Kings to be a composition of only a single author. For theological reasons the assumed author has placed emphasis on several topics - Elijah, Elisha, Jehu, Hezekiah and Isaiah, Josiah - from the source material available which he has dealt with more in-depth rather than other events more important in the view of modern historians. Hobbs offers a lot of explanations on the Hebrew, discusses different opinions, but focuses mainly on the major issues and has produced an in-depth commentary.
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