Timothy R. Ashley. The Book of Numbers , 2nd ed. Mark A. Awabdy. Numbers ; Joel Barker and Steven D. West. Numbers: A Commentary for Biblical Preaching and Teaching

The recent appearance of three commentaries on Numbers in close succession offered the opportunity to review them together. For this review, I will summarize their formats, unique features, and approaches, as well as offer my overall appraisal of each work.ASHLEY. This standard commentary, first published twenty-nine years ago, has now been modestly updated. The update includes slight rewrites, expansions of the commentary, and the addition of roughly fifty newer sources, not present in the first edition. Ashley understands a three-part structure of the book based on geography, an interpretation that links the book with Exod 20–Lev 27. For general theological themes, he finds a neo-Brueggemann schematic of Orientation-Disorientation-New Orientation to be helpful. Like other volumes in the NICOT series, Ashley provides an original translation of each unit of text, followed by detailed text critical and grammatical notes. The exposition/commentary comes next. Scholarly issues are addressed in the footnotes. This combination is the bread and butter of the series. There is no separate application section, but theological insights are inserted throughout.Ashley holds that much of the book is based on historical memory rather than on the imagination of tradents. Unfortunately, the historical process of compilation is simply too complex to be recoverable (pp. 8–10). In comparison to the first edition, the second edition is more agnostic about the process of authorship/redaction, in the sense of not fighting against the documentary hypothesis to the extent the first edition did. For instance, in commenting on Num 13:16, the first edition reads, “At some unknown point, Moses put the insertion of the Yahwistic element” (p. 233), while the second edition reads “At some unknown point his name was changed by the insertion of the Yahwistic element” (p. 203).The font and layout are generally easier to read in the second edition, though in some cases, I found that individual lists were easier to follow in the first edition, which placed each item of a list on its own line rather than combining them into a paragraph (e.g., Num 13:1–16). But this is a minor point. There are two excurses in the volume (e.g., the large numbers and the arrangement of the Levites), and Hebrew is transliterated throughout. There is a single chart (the arrangement of the tribes together with their census numbers) together with a few tables.In sum, there are good reasons this commentary was updated: It is marked by a solid presentation about Numbers. Users can continue to use this proven resource profitably.AWABDY. This volume is Mark Awabdy’s third major study of a Pentateuchal book, being preceded by his earlier monographs on Deuteronomy (Immigrants and Innovative Law: Deuteronomy’s Theological and Social Vision for theגר, Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2, Reihe 67, Mohr Siebeck, 2014) and Greek Leviticus (Leviticus: A Commentary on Leueitikon in Codex Vaticanus, Septuagint Commentary Series, Brill, 2019). Awabdy combines detailed grammatical and text critical analysis, a strong evangelical tone, and redaction-critical views of authorship and development of the text. Awabdy is confident that scribes wrote Numbers, but much less confident about dates, and even less so about social and political contexts (pp. 16–18). I don’t find his view of authorship and redaction as compelling as those of Wenham, Moralis, or Harris, but the difficulties presented by the text are profound for anyone to explain. Considering the fact that the linguistic evidence supplies extensive support for an early date and new models of authorship question the role of elite scribes, this issue is far from settled.1Each unit of text begins with an overview, followed by translation (with a very full textual and grammatical discussion occurring in the footnotes), interpretation, and implications. The interpretation section provides an exposition of each sub-unit of text. In the Implications section, Awabdy examines key theological themes that the biblical writer grapples with and how Christians can respond. He does not shy away from linking to larger canonical and NT themes as well. Awabdy engages issues meaningfully without glossing over difficulties like ḥerem (Num 21) and even provides answers where he sees the text leaving a question hanging. At times I would have preferred that he do more to address historical difficulties, for example, the large census numbers, the “legendary” Nephilim, etc.Of the three commentaries reviewed, Awabdy’s contains the most visual elements, including thirteen figures, three maps, and thirty tables. He uses these to visualize the history of composition of Numbers, compare different travel accounts, summarize sharing the spoils of war, etc.Overall, this learned commentary provides a high level of engagement both with the text and with the Western intellectual tradition. It gives not only source/redaction critical discussion of each passage but also logical analysis of arguments, discussion of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, and engagement with Talmudic and Medieval rabbis.2BARKER/WEST. This dual-author commentary differs from the other two commentaries being reviewed in that it provides not only exegesis and theological reflection but also homiletical materials. Further, it differs from the first two commentaries by giving more consideration to conservative historical choices, such as substantial Mosaic authorship, while still laying out and working through interpretive options.Each unit begins with the following four preaching elements: a brief exegetical idea, the theological focus, a brief preaching idea, and a couple paragraphs of “preaching pointers.” The preaching pointers discuss how to effectively use the exegetical idea, theological focus, and preaching idea. After this beginning, each unit includes sections of literary structure and themes, exposition, theological focus, and additional preaching and teaching strategies. The strategies explore the exegetical and theological significance and contemporary connections of the passage, including lengthy discussions of NT links. Besides these, there are also ideas for creative presentation. Lastly, a section of discussion questions rounds out each chapter.Other features meant to serve the homiletician include providing an initial collection of all the homiletical elements at the beginning of the volume, occasional maps and reproductions of paintings, short excurses, and—paradoxically—providing key Hebrew terms in Hebrew script rather than transliterating them. (Transliteration helps those who don’t know Hebrew at all.)How does this commentary compare to other preaching commentaries? To be fair, I have not looked at other recent series, for example, from Hendrickson or Lexham. However, I have profitably used other established preaching series (e.g., Communicator and NIVAC series) alongside technical commentaries for several years. Each has its own set of strengths. In general, this volume contains fewer contemporary stories but significantly more homiletical and teaching/discussion material.In closing, these three commentaries present a range of evangelical interpretations of the book of Numbers. All can profitably be used by preachers and teachers to exegete the text and present a solid, theologically and textually informed exposition of the text for the people of God. To paraphrase Augustine of Hippo via Hebrew, קָח וְקָרָאת “Take and preach.”