Ezra and Nehemiah

Yamauchi’s contribution is distinctive enough to make this commentary essential even alongside more recent technical works. Few commentators integrate Persian history, archaeology, inscriptions, papyri, languages and ancient institutions so naturally into verse-by-verse interpretation. His discussions of Sanballat and the Elephantine papyri, Persian administrative practice, Susa, Persepolis and official correspondence repeatedly illuminate details that otherwise remain little more than names or background. Particularly valuable is his careful treatment of intermarriage: he notes that foreign marriage itself was not universally forbidden in Torah, distinguishes racial identity from the danger of religious syncretism, and uses the contemporary Jewish community at Elephantine to demonstrate what such syncretism could look like historically. Yamauchi is more synthesizer than literary innovator and frequently interacts with Williamson and others, but his command of the Persian world gives him a contribution that none of the other 5/5 commentaries quite duplicates. An exceptionally useful historical companion to Ezra–Nehemiah.

Yamauchi’s commentary is a helpful guide for those who want to know more about the Persian period of Israelite history. His writing can help preachers to gain a well-rounded perspective on the text. [Full Review]