By Peter E. Enns - Exodus (The NIV Application Commentary)

by Peter E. Enns

Hardcover

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally would not look to this series, nor to this author (who has abandoned biblical innerancy), but this came highly recommended by Andrew Wilson, who has proven reliable in recommending other commentaries.

What is valuable in this commentary is almost entirely concentrated in the first 15 chapters of the book, where Enns does a pretty deep exegetical dive into some of the more perplexing passages. Oftentimes, he brought out details and insights that I found very helpful.

With that said, there are too many shortcomings to this commentary for me to recommend it. To give just two examples:

1) Instead of seeing the Bible as a platform for discussing theology, Enns was content in so many places to simply say, "Now is not the time to discuss X, Y, Z" (on predestination, for example). I will forever be perplexed by this tic among some academics.
2) Furthermore, Enns spends almost no time discussing the less than obvious in the entire second half of the book, which was extremely disappointing.

[Jonathan Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good commentary. Based on things I had heard about the author, I was afraid he would lean to the liberal, critical side of issues. I felt the book to be very fair and often when I expected him to take the more liberal approach, he refused to make a loud pronouncement. His approach shows appreciation for the nature of scripture and a respect for the reader to make their own decisions on some of those critical issues.