Exodus

This commentary has some really good sections and I am glad I own it. In many places I found myself underlining line after line packed with good insights and / or application. There were other places I found myself skimming however. This would not be a good first commentary if one wanted to study the whole book as it is not as thorough as others and is a bit uneven in its treatment (though that is not necessarily a fault of the commentary). But I highly recommended it as a supplement to a more complete commentary.

Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997. Pp. xii + 275, Paperback, $18.00, ISBN 0664252559. E. Theodore Mullen Indiana University Indianapolis, IN 46202 It is always important to evaluate a book with a careful eye to its purpose. This is especially true of J. Gerald Janzen's Exodus. As part of the Westminster Bible Companion series, Janzen's book is "intended to help the laity of the church read the bible more clearly and intelligently (p. xi)." The reviewer must note that he is not qualified to judge whether Janzen is successful in this task. Janzen has succeeded in producing an interpretation of Exodus that will help general readers appreciate some of the literary intricacies of the book and to understand some of the themes that run throughout the biblical texts. Janzen identifies the literary structure of Exodus in the following pattern: A Chaps. 1-24 Oppression, Redemption, Covenant B Chaps. 25-31 Planning a Place for Presence 1 A Chaps. 32-34 Sin, Redemption, Covenant 1 B Chaps. 35-40 Preparing a Place for Presence 1Given the perspective and purpose of the work, it is not surprising that sections A and A 1receive the overwhelming majority of attention. Indeed, sections B and B are treated in under forty pages of text, a large part of which is taken up by the biblical passages themselves. [Full Review]