Numbers

This two-volume commentary is especially helpful in understanding Numbers in its ancient Near Eastern context. Written by a leading Jewish scholar, it also interacts heavily with the Hebrew. [Full Review]

Baruch Levine's Anchor Bible (1993, 2000) may be the most in-depth commentary on Numbers in recent years (in English, anyway). I have great respect for Levine in terms of the learned kind of work he does, but his presuppositions seem to me to be a little outdated, and he focuses so much on source criticism that I don't think there's a very large percentage of his commentary devoted to anything I find valuable in a commentary. He is fairly strong on historical background, philology, and textual criticism, but there is next to no attention to theology. He takes the book to come largely from priestly hands in the post-exilic period. It's one of the most important academic works on the book, but I don't recommend it for those who just want some help in preparing to teach the book in Bible studies or sermons. [Full Review]

Large commentary with ancient Near Eastern detail and philological discussion. Strong on textual backgrounds to the diverse types of material. [Full Review]