Reading ancient texts is an endeavor that always brings immense hazards for the interpreter. This is especially so when one comes to the Biblical texts of the Old Testament since a historical gap of 2500-3500 years separates us, as readers, from the world of the text. Therefore, in order to understand the text in its historical context and to prevent us from importing our own worldview and culture into the text of scripture, it is important to study the cultural milieu in which the Biblical texts were originally composed. The value of these Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) background studies comes in having access to the common worldview that was shared across the cultures of the ANE. As a fuller picture emerges of the thought-world of the times, this can be applied to the reading of the Biblical text in order to catch nuances of significance that could not otherwise be caught. In addition, there are many instances in which faulty interpretations can be overcome by appeal to background material. In such instances, it often appears to be the case that texts were read in light of modern, Western culture. When parallel ideas or narratives can be uncovered in ANE texts, it has the potential to point towards a more culturally grounded interpretation than modern, Western interpreters can give based on their experience of the world.
For this reason, I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the new Zondervan Bible Background Commentary of the Old Testament (ZIBBCOT) edited by Dr. John Walton. The stated goal of the project is to open up the world of the ANE and demonstrate how an understanding of the shared culture across the region directly applies to our understanding of the Old Testament text. I've been looking forward to seeing how close the project comes to accomplishing its goals and so I was extremely excited when Zondervan offered me a review copy of volume 5 of the new series! So, with many thanks to the folks at Zondervan and their Koinonia Blog, I offer the following review of ZIBBCOT volume 5.
I should first note that John Walton has established an incredible team of OT and ANE scholars to contribute to this series. Contributors to volume five include the likes of J. Glen Taylor, Mark Chavalas, Alan Milard, Daniel Master, Andrew Hill, Tremper Longman III and Duane Garrett. Clearly, with such an all-star team of scholars, the academic quality of the volume can be expected to be extremely high.
While the caliber of scholar for this project is impeccable, the actual text of the volume is understandable at the level of a serious layperson. The commentary is not cluttered with untranslated Hebrew, Aramaic and other ancient Semitic languages. The prose at most points demands close attention but is not so obtuse as to be completely unintelligible for a layperson. Rather than commenting verse-by-verse or dealing with every major exegetical issue, the commentary focuses mainly on light that the ANE backgrounds can shed on the text of Scripture. To further this end, ZIBBCOT is full of high quality pictures and diagrams that illustrate something that is discussed in the comments. From ancient cuneiform cylinders to reliefs from Egyptian tombs to the iconographic imagery of Mesopotamia, the images span the breadth of the ancient world helping the reader enter into the world of the ANE and to literally see for themselves what the commentator discusses in the body of the commentary. Furthermore, the numerous sidebar articles zoom in on particular issues of significance related to the Biblical text and discuss them in greater depth.
The sum total of these features of ZIBBCOT means that the information that was once available only to specialist scholars is now made available to the layperson and pastor. However, this does not mean that this series is therefore not of use for those in the scholarly community. Copious end notes link the text of the commentary to the current state of the scholarly discussions. Therefore, if an issue or a text is discussed in the body of the commentary, the end notes will give scholars interested in further pursuing that issue a link to the original sources or a fuller discussion in a scholarly work. In this way, the series has immense value as an entry point for those scholars who are interested in gathering resources to go in depth on a particular issue or topic. So, in the end, ZIBBCOT proves to be a resource that is accessible enough that is will benefit those who preach and lead Bible studies in the Church but in depth enough that it will prove to be a valuable resource for scholars in the years to come.
It is often noted that there is a woeful neglect of the Old Testament in the Evangelical Church today. While I believe there are numerous reasons for this, a significant one is that to many, the world of the Old Testament and, therefore, the text of the Old Testament seem too remote and complex to understand. My hope as I read this volume of the ZIBBCOT is that God will use this resource as a tool for helping the Church recover the riches of the Old Testament.
