The commentary by Professor B. S. Childs of Yale on the book of Exodus represents a major attempt to break new ground, both in its understanding of the biblical book itself and also in its conception of the purpose of the commentary writer . It is readily evident that the task Professor Childs has set himself is a mammoth one, and everywhere the reader becomes impressed with the thoroughness and care with which the task has been carried out. in consequence a vast store of biblical and theological learning is compressed into the book making it an invaluable guide to the book of Exodus in its contents and in the way they have been understood by Jews and Christians. The preacher will find a rich collection of comment to provoke further thought and reflection. However, the more traditionally critical biblical scholar will also find a great deal that is fresh here regarding the modem understanding of the book of Exodus. in particular the amount of attention given to tradilio-historical and redaction-critical aspects of the text provides a welcome supplementation to the information already available in other commentaries The final evaluation of its success as a new form of commentary will no doubt lie in its value to the teacher and preacher. However, it has much to say to the scholar, and it will undoubtedly command a wide readership and make a very durable contribution to Old Testament scholarship' (The Expository Times). This remarkable book, the product of nearly twenty years of research, study, and reflection, inaugurates a new age in the exegesis of biblical literature . Here is a complete commentary in which each and every important critical and theological problem is considered. Its redaction-criticism is fresh, but the author's insistance that redaction-criticism influences exegesis is even newer. It is in the setting of disciplined learning and well-argued scholarly discourse that the theological work is developed. That, too, is an innovation, as anyone familiar with what passes for theological writing, biblical or otherwise, knows. In a word, Childs now has set a new standard for future commentaries' (Journal of Jewish Studies).
