Judges and Ruth: An Introduction and Commentary (Volume 7)

Tyndale Old Testament Commentary #7

by Mary J. Evans

The book of Judges presents Israel’s frailty, the nation’s need for deliverance, and God’s use of flawed leaders to guide his chosen people through a dark period of their history. The book of Ruth tells a smaller story within this narrative, showing God quietly at work in the lives of a few individuals. Mary Evans’s replacement Tyndale commentary places each book in its historical and canonical context, examines key theological themes, and addresses issues facing twenty-first-century readers.

The Tyndale Commentaries are designed to help the reader of the Bible understand what the text says and what it means. The Introduction to each book gives a concise but thorough treatment of its authorship, date, original setting, and purpose. Following a structural Analysis, the Commentary takes the book section by section, drawing out its main themes, and also comments on individual verses and problems of interpretation. Additional Notes provide fuller discussion of particular difficulties.

In the new Old Testament volumes, the commentary on each section of the text is structured under three headings: Context, Comment, and Meaning. The goal is to explain the true meaning of the Bible and make its message plain.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Christian, Biblical Studies

288 pages, Paperback

Published November 7, 2017

Reviews

[J Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an extremely disappointing entry in the Tyndale series. There are far too many unfounded and irrelevant hypotheses (e.g, “perhaps the writer was left-handed himself”) and glossing of difficult passages and simply leaving them as “ambiguous”. The worst part, though, is the continual attempts to engage in secular literary critique, referring to the “writer’s intent” and the “writer’s opinion”. While literary critique is fine, it is completely misplaced in what is supposed to be a commentary of a divinely-inspired, inerrant text. The historical references and elucidation of possible timelines and geography were informative, but, at a more important level, this really shouldn’t have been published under the Tyndale name.

[Joshua Reitano · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tyndale series never disappoints.

[Efrain Escalante · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the author did a great job providing insight on Judges. I liked that the author included a section about the context and the meaning.

[Jimmy Reagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume on Judges and Ruth by Mary J. Evans is the latest new one in the highly-respected Tyndale Old Testament Commentary (TOTC) series that is being completely revised. The volume it replaced was nearing 50 years old, and was done by Arthur Cundall and Leon Morris. Morris, who was a prolific scholarly writer on New Testament issues, handled Ruth in the older book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. No doubt, however, it was time for IVP to produce a new volume to keep the series up-to-date. Evans, who produced this new volume, has written a commentary on Samuel in IVP’s BST series several years ago.

As I read through the introduction to both Judges and Ruth by Evans, the strengths and weaknesses of the book became quickly apparent. When matters of history or sources were under discussion, I was completely unimpressed. When the discussion turned to background, theology, or other such matters, I found it quite readable and enjoyable.

In the Introduction to Judges, the author first tackles literary issues including overall structure. When she finally worked her way to recurring motifs, I found it quite interesting as well as a discussion of author’s intention. When overviewing canonical context, discussion of sources somewhat marred the relationship of Judges to Deuteronomy, Joshua, or Samuel. Particularly helpful was a discussion of all the surrounding tribes and nations and false gods found in Judges. The discussion of theological themes was solid, and even if I think more could have been said regarding the ethical issues facing readers today from the difficult Book of Judges, at least the questions were brought up. The commentary itself shared some of the same pluses and minuses as were found in the introduction, but there was real help to be found.

I found Evans more inspiring in the Book of Ruth. The background information was excellent as were the character studies. The theological discussion of themes found in Ruth was excellent, only falling short when discussing the Kinsman Redeemer. Her discussion of recurring motives brought up some things I hadn’t thought of before and was quite interesting.

This book is a solid entry in a great series!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series produced by IVP academic, is a highly respected Commentary series for the educated Layman on up. In the last decade IVP has begun a vast revision of this celebrate series. The newest volume in this sweeping revision is, Judges and Ruth, by Mary J Evans. Evans has taken the mantel from Arthur E. Cundall and Leon Morris who authored the previous volume of judges and Ruth. It might seem nigh impossible to replace these two theological giants yet Evans uses her masterful understanding of the Hebrew combined with cunning wit to explore these interconnected books for the glory of God.
With regard to the introduction to the commentary, Evans, does not spend a good deal of time on the authorship or introductory matters on the Book of Ruth yet in a stark contrast she spends over 36 pages on the introduction to judges. While judges, due to its size should have a larger introduction, Ruth which has common this author’s opinion, deeper theological insights, has a severely lacking introductory section.
Sadly it seems that’s the entire commentary on Ruth as a whole is very weak. This does not mean that it is not helpful, rather it seems to be a short summary of greater and just as recently published works, without many new theological insights or application points. This cannot be said of the commentary to Judges. Which is deep in its exegesis as well as application insights. While there are a few instances which I disagree with Evans on in regards to her study on Deborah, as a judge, the commentary proper as a whole is sound. I recommend this commentary to Layman as a great tool in preparation for teaching Sunday school as well as a great introduction for the pastor.