Bruckner, James K. Exodus New International Biblical Commentary, ed. Robert L. Hubbard. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008.
Tuell, Steven. Ezekiel New International Biblical Commentary, ed. Robert L. Hubbard. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2009.
I would like to thank Kathy Russ at Hendrickson for sending these review copies.
The first volume, Exodus, is written James Bruckner, Professor of OT at North Park Theological Seminary and also the author of the NIVAC on Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah.
The second volume, Ezekiel, is authored by Steven Tuell, Associate Professor of OT at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
The New International Biblical Commentary is a mid-level expositional commentary. The Hebrew text, in transliteration, is referred to a few times and every page. As one whose Hebrew knowledge is not yet at the level of critical engagement of major OT commentaries I found these volumes to be quite helpful. The intricacies of grammar are not discussed as in a more technical commentary, but it seems clear that the authors work from the Hebrew text in their exposition. The comments describe the meaning of important words, structure and theological issues while explaining well the narrative of the text. At the end of each section, their is an “Additional Notes” section where more technical data is discussed. Here you can often find notes on archaeology, geography, disputed word meaning or historical-critical matters. One excellent strength in both volumes is the authors’ abilities to discuss critical matters in the main comments in a way for the educated lay reader to understand. However, the one time I did not find this helpful was in the discussion of the Documentary hypothesis in the Exodus volume. When mentioned, it did not seem to add to reader’s understanding of the text. I assume from the rest of the format and content that these commentaries are aimed at pastors and educated lay people, since they would be most interested in the meaning of the final form of the text, the discussion of the sources seemed a bit missed placed. However, these two volumes represent the series well and surpass other OT expositional series such as NIVAC and TOTC series in their interaction with the text and their engagement of important theological and interpretive issues.
