Many thanks indeed to Bobby K. of Hendrickson for sending along a copy of Tremper Longman’s commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations. It appears as one of a series titled ‘The New International Biblical Commentary’. The whole of the New Testament is available and the Old Testament volumes seem to be appearing at a good pace.
As to the present volume, it begins with an introduction to the texts of Jeremiah and Lamentations with the usual who, what, when, where and why questions addressed. Authorship, date, provenance, historical setting, and all are fairly traditionally maintained but the meat and substance of the commentary, and where Longman does some genuinely excellent work, is in the exegeses of the pericopae.
Longman divides the book of Jeremiah into 97 sections. Each section receives its own treatment and then is supplemented, normally, with some further explanatory notes (called ‘additional notes’). Longman adopts the editorial purpose of the series of which this Commentary is a part when he writes as a believer and not simply as an academic or ‘observer’. ‘This approach marries probing, reflective interpretation of the text to loyal biblical devotion and warm Christian affection’ (p. xii of the editorial preface).
Regular readers won’t be surprised when I note that Longman’s introductory material doesn’t really offer anything new or particularly insightful in terms of his historical viewpoint. But, as I hinted previously, he does do some brilliant exegesis when he moves from historical considerations to exegetical concerns.
In order to use the commentary the reader will have to have a copy of the Bible at hand. Unlike many commentaries, this one doesn’t include the biblical text itself. This can be both a good, and a bad thing. One has to wonder, on the one hand, how many readers will actually sit with a Bible on one knee and the commentary in one hand and switch back and forth between them. On the other hand, the absence of the biblical text may allow more variation and therefore more interaction between scholar and student. However, my personal preference is that the biblical text be included in commentaries simply because it is immediately available thereby.
So, now, to some examples of Longman’s interpretation. At 1:4-8 we read ‘In his [Jeremiah's] weakness, God will make him strong. In God’s economy, it is not one’s inherent strength, abilities, or credentials that count, but rather God’s presence’ (p. 22).
Concerning 11: 18 ff – the first of Jeremiah’s Confessions, Longman adopts a rather von Radian reading and maintains that here we do indeed have a Confession of the Prophet. Many since von Rad have abandoned this way of reading the ‘Confessions’ – but in my estimation the von Radian line of interpretation is the correct one and hence Longman is here on the right track.
On Jeremiah 23:9-40, Longman notes of the false prophets that they ‘… bear a special burden of God’s anger because they make it more difficult for the people to discern the authentic divine message’ (p. 162). True indeed and of contemporary relevance considering the damage done by modern ‘false-speakers’ spewing disinformation in the name of God.
Longman’s best insights are reserved, though, for his explanation of 31:31-34 (pp. 210-213). He is plainspoken, concise, and correct in his assertions and no one reading this particular passage will be able to claim that they don’t understand it.
After examining Lamentations (and he does a fine exegetical job here too) Longman concludes the volume with suggested further readings. The list includes materials from the ‘right’ and the ‘left’ of the theological spectrum and for that open-ness to other viewpoints Longman is to be congratulated. He only overlooks one volume on Lamentations that he should certainly have consulted and included- Chris Brady’s “The Rabbinic Targum of Lamentations”. That one qualm aside, I can recomment Longman’s commentary. This, of course, could not be said of his History of Israel. But it’s only fair to commend what is commendable wherever and from whomsoever it arises.
