"A trip across holy ground"... that is author John I Durham's phrase to describe a journey through the Book of Exodus, the stirring story that records the liberation of the Hebrews from their captivity in Egypt and stands as an important link between the Genesis account and subsequent history of the nation of lsrael. Composed as it is of pieces of narrative, sequences of laws, and a carefully ordered system of religious symbols, often marked by shifts of style and emphasis, the book nonetheless did not come together without guiding purpose or unified concept, says Dr. Durham. Unfortunately, for several generations, scholars have allowed themselves to be distracted by specialized concerns and have thus often failed to provide an understanding of the book as a whole. This well-balanced commentary reflects throughout the author's aim to show the theological unity of Exodus in its canonical form - the theme of Yahweh present with and in the midst of his people Israel. He gives careful, scholarly attention to such topics as:
- The evidence for the plight of lsrael in Egypt
- The call of Moses and the proof of Yahweh's Presence
- The institution of the Passover
- The exodus itself
- The relation of the Ten Commandments to the Book of the Covenant through Moses
- The symbolism of the tabernacle, Israel's portable temple.
Dr. Durham considers fairly the arguments about the structure, form, and date of the Exodus material as well as controversies over the factual nature of the narrative. Even more important, he has made it his priority to hear the ancient voice of a living faith speaking in this ancient narrative and to transmit it as clearly as he can to his own time and context. His success is borne out in a translation that is both the beginning and the objective of his commentary.
JOHN I DURHAM is Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Southeastern Baptist Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He has written widely on Old Testament themes, serving as Consulting Editor for the Broadman Bible Commentary and writing the volume on Psalms in that series. He has the Ph.D. from Oxford University and has done post-doctoral studies at Heidelberg, Oxford, Zurich, and Jerusalem.
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