Job (Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms | BCOTWP)

by Tremper Longman III

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2012

Overview

The Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms series is tailored to the distinctness of poetry and Wisdom literature. It provides students and pastors with a careful reading of the text and its theological implications. In this final volume in the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms series, Tremper Longman offers an accessible commentary on one of Scripture’s most intriguing books. With his deft exegetical and expositional skill, the resulting work is full of fresh insight into the meaning of the text.

In addition to the helpful translation and commentary, this volume considers the theological implications of the wisdom texts found in the book of Job as well as their literary, historical, and grammatical dimensions. Footnotes deal with many of the technical matters, allowing readers of varying interest and training levels to read and profit from the commentary and to engage the biblical text at an appropriate level. This built-in versatility has application for both pastors and teachers.

Job is both scholarly and readable, presenting an theological, historical, and applicable survey of the riches of Wisdom literature. In the Logos edition, each Scripture passage links to your favorite translation, and is easy to study side-by-side with your other commentaries. You can search by topic or Scripture with split-second results!

Key Features

• Emphasis on the message of the biblical book
• Special attention to poetic structure and literary devices
• Incisive comments based on the author's translation of the Hebrew text
• Exegetical rigor, incorporating linguistic, historical, and canonical insights
• Closing reflections on each section that explore the text's theological dimensions
• Textual notes that provide resources for advanced readers

Contents

Top Highlights

“Yahweh’s speeches are intended not to give Job an answer to the question of why he suffers but to reestablish the proper relationship between God and his human creature. Job has sought God to accuse him of injustice (40:8), but God, through a display of his power and wisdom, brings Job to the point where he ‘repents’ (42:1–6). He no longer seeks an answer to the question of his suffering: he simply bends the knee to God in submission.” (Page 65)

“The accusation is that Job is interested in God and God’s ways not for God’s sake but for Job’s own prosperity.” (Page 83)

“In sum, Job is a poetical book framed by a prose narrative. The prose narrative is highly literary” (Page 31)

“God is in the process of showing Job who is God and who is a creature.” (Page 427)

“But the accusation that she is like one of the foolish women is probably much more serious. She is like one who has no fear of God (Prov. 1:7), one who acts as if God does not exist (Pss. 14:1; 53:1). He has adopted the stance of the patient sufferer, the one who quietly waits for God’s restoration. Lamentations 3:22–33 describes such a sufferer.” (Page 90)

Endorsements

This latest gift from the trusted pen of Tremper Longman evinces the rare combination of stretching the most learned mind and touching the most tender soul. Grappling with the intricacies of this most difficult of biblical texts and the opaqueness of much of its theological argument, Longman offers here a work of inestimable pastoral and practical value.

—Eugene H. Merrill, distinguished professor of Old Testament studies, Dallas Theological Seminary

When a singular biblical text causes an accomplished commentarial hand to tremble in attempting to grasp it, we are struck with respect for both authors. Here a biblicist conversant with Wisdom literature sifts reams of earlier commentary to identify the genius of Job as a pointed poetic challenge to reducing Scripture to ‘retribution theology’ and thus allows the ‘voice from the whirlwind’ to move us from expecting answers to responding to an encounter.

—David B. Burrell, professor of comparative theology, Tangaza College, Nairobi

I have greatly benefited from Longman’s excellent new translation and commentary on Job. He masterfully guides the reader through the book’s challenging, complex grapplings with the question of undeserved suffering. All this grappling with suffering, he argues, is the means to a greater end: debating and exploring the nature of true wisdom. In his interpretations, Longman presents his own penetrating reflections and gleans rich insights from the vast world of Job commentary. He has a rare, enviable talent for presenting solid scholarship in well-written prose that is eminently understandable and immediately relevant. I highly recommend this volume.

—Stephen L. Cook, Catherine N. McBurney Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature, Virginia Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: Job
• Author: Tremper Longman III
• Series: Baker Commentary on the Old Testament
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2012
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. O.T. Job › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9781441255662, 9780801031076, 1441255664, 0801031079
• Resource ID: LLS:BCOTWP18JOB
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-08-20T00:12:22Z

About Tremper Longman III

Tremper Longman III serves as Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College. He has written over 35 books, including commentaries on Genesis, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Daniel, Nahum, and Revelation. His books have been translated into 18 different languages. In addition, as a Hebrew scholar, he is one of the main translators of the popular New Living Translation, and has served as a consultant on other popular Bible translations, including The Message, the New Century Version, the Christian Standard Bible, and the Common Bible. He has also edited and contributed to a number of study Bibles and Bible dictionaries, most recently The Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

He earned his BA from Ohio Wesleyan University, his MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary, and both his MPhil and PhD from Yale University. Dr. Longman and his wife, Alice, have three sons and eight grandchildren.