The Genre of Biblical Commentary

The genre of biblical commentary is as old as the Bible itself, and remains very much alive as a point of illuminating contact between the ancient text and its modern readers. In this volume, fourteen international Old Testament experts reflect upon multiple challenges of contemporary biblical commentary as a scholarly endeavor. How does a commentator strike a balance between engagement with the biblical text and the commentary tradition that the text has generated over the centuries? How does academically rigorous commentary-writing remain relevant for pastoral and lay readers of the Bible? Ancient biblical writers are notoriously diverse in their theological and literary nuances. Modern readers approach the Bible from an equally wide spectrum of interests. How does today's commentator act responsibly for all the text's stakeholders?

John E. Hartley is widely respected for the multiple volumes he has produced with these questions in mind. This collection of essays appears in celebration of his accomplishments in the genre of Old Testament biblical commentary.

""We have many commentaries on Old Testament books, but little reflection on the genre itself, a lack remedied by The Genre of Biblical Theology, a collection of essays from writers who are insightful and experienced commentary writers. How fitting it is that this volume celebrates the career of John Hartley, a scholar who provided the academy and the church with important commentaries himself. This volume should be read by all those write and who read commentaries.""
--Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College

""The commentary has been the most enduringly popular genre of biblical criticism. In this welcome volume, leading scholars pull back the curtain and give readers an uncommon look inside their processes and the way they think about the challenges and craft of writing commentaries.""
--Christopher B. Hays, D. Wilson Moore Associate Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary


Timothy D. Finlay is Professor in the Department of Biblical Studies at Azusa Pacific Seminary. He is the author of The Birth Report Genre in the Hebrew Bible (2005).
William Yarchin is Dean's Endowed Professor of Biblical Studies at Azusa Pacific University. He is the author of History of Biblical Interpretation: A Reader (2011).