Proverbs [Hardcover]

Tremper Longman III already has produced excellent commentaries on Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Daniel. This commentary on Proverbs (for the BCOTWP, for which Longman serves as editor) is no exception! The introductory section on the authorship and compilation of Proverbs is extremely informative and will undoubtedly change many readers' preconceived notions about this book for the better. Longman's theological insights are excellent, especially for Christian readers. He fully interacts with other Proverbs commentators such as Fox, Waltke, Murphy and others (It's a shame that Fox's commentary on Proverbs 10-31 was not available for Longman to interact with when he was writing this commentary). Longman's interaction with other commentators is so exhaustive that this commentary is easily the BEST single-volume option currently available. He skillfully extracts the most informative insights from each of the other works. In addition, he uses insights from other scholars to support many of his interpretations and graciously disagrees with some of their exegesis when warranted. Longman wisely restrains his own interpretations of many passages and reminds readers that the original context in which many Proverbs were first written is uncertain. He stresses the importance of Proverbs as a book whose verses are to be applied wisely after one has pondered the context of a given situation. Only then can a Proverb be employed. This commentary models careful, cautious interpretation and application beautifully! Pastors and teachers will find the topical appendix at the end of the book extremely helpful. As with the other volumes in this series, the linguistic insights are eye-opening and the tone of the writing is extremely pastoral and readable. I greatly appreciated his occasional reminders that although Proverbs was historically addressed to a male Jewish audience, its message is equally applicable to females as well. He carefully demonstrates how to tailor certain passages to both males and females a few times throughout the book. Pastors and rabbis addressing mixed congregations will find this helpful. His discussion of the epilogue in Proverbs 31:10-31 concerning the ways in which wisdom affects all aspects of life for anyone who typologically makes her their 'wife' is outstanding! It will surely allow that beautiful chapter to serve a greater purpose throughout the year instead of relegating it to hackneyed Mother's Day sermons! Excellent illustrations are provided throughout the text that will make preaching and teaching from Proverbs a delight rather than a burden. Crafting substantial lessons and sermons just became MUCH easier given the immense assistance with making legitimate application that Longman provides throughout the book. At times, it seemed like I was being taught how to properly interpret and apply Proverbs by a seasoned expositor, which is a definite plus for any commentary! This volume is a repository of penetrating insight and theological reflection that rescues Proverbs from being an alleged book of supposed timeless 'promises' akin to the cliched slogans that one encounters in fortune cookies. Readers desiring more detail should consult the two-volume Proverbs commentaries from Bruce K. Waltke (NICOT) and Michael V. Fox (Anchor Bible). They offer more exhaustive linguistic discussion from a Christian (Waltke) and a Jewish (Fox) perspective.

Longman's commentary on Proverbs is simply great. The introduction alone is worth the price. He takes what could be a dry academic work and makes it interesting and readable. His explanations are understandable, his scholarship outstanding, and the topical appendix is wonderfully useful as a teaching resource.

It's hard to find which commentary to buy because 1) there are so many out there, 2) they are expensive and 3) even if you did have the money, you rarely have the time to look through more than 3 commentaries when putting together a sermon or bible study. I purchased Walkte's NICOT and Longman's Baker Commentary. I was worried that they would overlap too much, but they actually supplement each other well. In Walkte's verse by verse commentary, he deals more with the Hebrew, Parallelism and historical context. Longman deals more with the application. So, to have both is very helpful. Also, they both have topical studies. Some examples are laziness, wealth, lacking sense, adultery, etc. All in all, I find having these two commentaries sufficient to speak on Proverbs. There is so much you can talk about on Proverbs. And so, I don't think you need more than two or three commentaries to get you started on the right track in regards to application.

The only reason I didn't give it a 5 was because it wasn't verse by verse and so a little short. But, sometimes, less is more! And with Waltke, you don't need Longman to be verbose. Then, there really would be too much overlap and filtering to do.

A 5 in my mind is Goldingay on Psalms in the same Baker Commentary Series. It does what Waltke and Longman do in one book. Half the price and less filtering, flipping through each book!