Deuteronomy: A Commentary

by Jack Lundbom

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2013

Overview

This milestone commentary by Jack Lundbom is intended for any and all readers who want to better know and understand the key Pentateuchal book of Deuteronomy, which has had a huge influence on both Judaism and Christianity over the centuries. For Jews, Deuteronomy contains the Decalogue and the Shema—“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one” (6:4)—supplemented by a code of primal legislation.

Deuteronomy is much cited in the New Testament and has come to occupy an important place in the life and doctrine of the Christian church. It lifts up important wisdom themes such as humane treatment and benevolence to the poor and needy and is rich in theology, calling repeatedly on Israel to reject other gods and worship the Lord alone as holy.

Besides drawing on language, archaeology, and comparative Near Eastern material, Lundbom’s commentary employs rhetorical criticism in explicating the biblical text. Lundbom also cites later Jewish interpretation of the book of Deuteronomy and makes numerous New Testament connections. An appendix contains all citations of Deuteronomy in the New Testament.

Key Features

• Offers readers a introduction to the book of Deuteronomy
• Employs rhetorical criticism in explicating the biblical text
• Provides numerous New Testament connections

Contents

• Name and Canonicity
• Text and Versions
• Qumran Scrolls
• Qumran Scrolls
• Deuteronomy Papyri
• Date, Composition, and Authorship
• Ancient Near Eastern Treaties
• Ancient Hebrew Rhetoric
• The Deuteronomic Law Code
• Deuteronomy and the Prophets
• Deuteronomy and Wisdom
• Theological Ideas in Deuteronomy
• The Book of Deuteronomy
• Deuteronomy and the New Testament

Top Highlights

“Hittite treaties typically contained six elements: (1) a preamble, introducing the speaker (cf. Deut 1:1–5); (2) a historical prologue (cf. chs. 1–4); (3) the stipulations (cf. chs. 5; 12–26); (4) provisions for depositing the document in the temple and a periodic reading (31:9–13, 26); (5) a list of the gods as witnesses (no parallel in Deuteronomy); and (6) blessings and curses (cf. chs. 27–28).” (Pages 20–21)

“As noted earlier, 2 Kings 22–23 is the climax to a First Edition of the Deuteronomic History, in my view a preexilic work.” (Page 18)

“The lawbook newly found in 622 was the much briefer Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32.” (Page 13)

“Priests, scribes, and prophets from the eighth to sixth century, all shared a common intellectual and rhetorical tradition, fully capable of producing the discourse and teaching of Deuteronomy.” (Page 20)

“This final expansion in our present book of Deuteronomy could have been completed in the latter years of Josiah, at the same time the First Edition of the Deuteronomic History was written.” (Page 16)

Endorsements

Deuteronomy, though still relatively unknown, is now at the center of the discussion of biblical theology. The great merit of Lundbom’s commentary is that it will make accessible to a broad scholarly readership theological themes that are essential for both Judaism and Christianity.

—Dominik Markl, adjunct professor of biblical studies, Jesuit School of Theology

This exhaustive work includes a fresh translation kept close to the Hebrew so as to bring out rhetorical structures lost in English since the King James Version. Each passage is accompanied by commentary, along with abundant referrals to further scholarship, focusing especially on delimitation, framing, keywords, chiasms, and inclusios determined both from the rhetorical criticism Lundbom is known for and from evidence in the ancient manuscripts. The extensive supplementary material at the start of the volume lays out moderate, cautious positions, conversant with the latest critical scholarship.

—Robert D. Miller II, associate professor of Old Testament, Catholic University of America

Product Details

• Title: Deuteronomy: A Commentary
• Author: Jack Lundbom
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2013
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Pages: 1064
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. O.T. Deuteronomy › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9780802826145, 9781532603709, 9781532603716, 9781532603723, 0802826148, 1532603703, 1532603711, 153260372X
• Resource ID: LLS:DTRNMYLUNDBOM
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:25:12Z

About Jack Lundbom

Jack R. Lundbom is an internationally respected authority on Jeremiah. He has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and held visiting appointments at Andover Newton Theological School, Yale Divinity School, The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and Uppsala University in Sweden. Lundbom has traveled and lectured widely in Europe, the Near East, Africa, and the United States. He has twice been a Fulbright Professor in Germany, at Universität Marburg in 1988–1989 and Universität Tübingen in 2002. His many publications include Jeremiah: A Study in Ancient Hebrew Rhetoric and The Early Career of the Prophet Jeremiah. He is a life member at Clare Hall, Cambridge University.