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What commentaries—available from Logos—are your go-to studies when studying the third book of the Pentateuch?
If I told you I have a 'go-to' commentary on Leviticus, I'd be lying. However if I needed to check something in Leviticus I'd turn to Wenham in the NICOT first, then either Hartley in WBC or Rooker in NAC.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
Allen P. Ross Holiness to the Lord: A Guide to the Exposition of the Book of Leviticus - AVAILABLE ON LOGOS
Milgrom, Jacob. A Continental Commentary: Leviticus: A Book of Ritual and Ethics. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2004.
[Y]
I would not always recommend a more devotional commentary...only when they are outstanding, and I have personally benefited from them (moreso then the more academic offerings)...so it would be remiss of me not to mention...
http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/item_detail.php?4398
[Y]
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
Milgrom from the Continental Commentary series is in many respects a companion to his work in the 3 volume Anchor Bible set on Leviticus (over 2700 pages of exegetical goodness). I'd
all of Milgrom.
Rooker - NAC
Harrison - TOTC
Harris - EBC
Lindsey - BKC
A.P. Ross - Holiness to the Lord
[y] on both counts!
BTW: how long till you can break Milgrom out of the AYB?
Is it unusual for the same person to do a book of the Bible for two different commentaries? Or are the Continental and AYBC somehow connected?
AFAIK Paul, they are connected through the Author. The Continental commentary is dubbed a distillation of the AYB material.
Milgrom writes with a distinctly Jewish Flavor (See bestcommentaries which lists Milgrom Lower because of his overly critical stance).
By all accounts he is a stellar Levitical scholar.
The problem with Milgrom is not merely his critical stance, but that he cannot engage in Biblical theology because he doesn't hold Christian beliefs. If the purpose of all of Scripture is to point to Jesus Christ, Milgrom (and other Jewish and other non-Christian exegetes) miss the main point - however good their exegesis and understanding of cultic background and so on.
That said, we must understand the original meaning of the text if we are to truly see how the Scriptures point to Christ. In that, Milgrom can be a great help. But he could never be the main commentary I go to. I guess Wenham (NICOT) or Hartley (WBC) would be my first choice. But Rooker (NAC) makes up for Milgrom's lack without much repetition, so Milgrom+Rooker is a pretty powerful combination.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
Are you telling me I have to call it Tanakhian theology?
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
You can call it what you like [:)] - I know better than to start a discussion with you defining what I mean by 'Bible' [:D]
For the purposes of this discussion, I am content to allow commentators to speak for themselves regarding their approach to the Old Testament. Milgrom is quite open that his discussion of Leviticus is not one shaped by Christian or New Testament beliefs.
My library too has much that is non-Christian, and I recognise its value — as I hope I made clear above. But I also recognise its limitations, and for a Christian the limitations of a non-Christian approach are more pronounced in a commentary on the Biblical text than they would be (for example) in a Hebrew lexicon, or in a discussion of archaeology. Supplemented by Christian writers, Milgrom can wonderfully aid our understanding. But on its own, it can never be adequate for me - as Paul puts it (2 Corinthians 3:14-16) his understanding of Leviticus was veiled.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
And here I expected some scrollical comeback[;)] I don't really disagree with you - you just left such an opportunity, I couldn't resist.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."