Nahum

Tremper Longman wrote the Nahum section of this multi-author commentary (1993). As with the whole series, he treats the exegesis and exposition separately, each running in parallel with the other, one on the top of the page and the other on the bottom. The exegesis deals with the Hebrew text and is scholarly in its approach. It's hard to read if you don't know Hebrew. The exposition is intended to be readable to anyone. Longman is very strong on the theological aspects of the divine warrior theme in Nahum. For those who want an exegesis based directly on the Hebrew, you might be more satisfied with Longman than with Patterson, even though it's briefer, but for those who can't handle the Hebrew it might be better to go with Patterson, who is more readable (even though he does use Hebrew without transliteration). What strikes me as thoroughly strange about this commentary is that the exegesis is on the Hebrew text and meant for scholars yet isn't too detailed. It picks out key details but isn't complete enough to count as a full-length scholarly commentary. Yet it's too difficult for someone less well-trained. The exposition is readable no matter who is reading it, but much of what supports the exposition is in the exegesis. It's for that reason that I can't recommend this commentary as a first choice for someone of any category of commentary reader. It's worth having as a supplement to a fuller and/or more readable work, but I don't put it as first place at either the popular or the scholarly levels. [Full Review]

I have mentioned the commentary edited by Thomas McComiskey several times in previous posts. The commentary on Nahum in this volume was written by Tremper Longman III. Like the other commentaries in this volume, this one is somewhat technical and requires some knowledge of Hebrew. Very helpful on literary aspects of the text. [Full Review]

Separate, but parallel, textual and expositional comments. Quality of commentary on each book will vary according to the contributor. Evangelical. [Full Review]