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A companion series to the acclaimed Word Biblical Commentary
Finding the great themes of the books of the Bible is essential to the study of God's Word and to the preaching and teaching of its truths. These themes and ideas are often like precious gems: they lie beneath the surface and can only be discovered with some difficulty. While commentaries are useful for helping readers understand the content of a verse or chapter, they are not usually designed to help the reader to trace important subjects systematically within a given book a Scripture.
The Word Biblical Themes series helps readers discover the important themes of a book of the Bible. This series distills the theological essence of a given book of Scripture and serves it up in ways that enrich the preaching, teaching, worship, and discipleship of God's people. Volumes in this series:
Are written by top biblical scholars
Feature authors who wrote on the same book of the Bible for the Word Biblical Commentary series
Distill deep and focused study on a biblical book into the most important themes and practical applications of them
Give readers an ability to see the "big picture" of a book of the Bible by understanding what topics and concerns were most important to the biblical writers
Help address pressing issues in the church today by showing readers see how the biblical writers approached similar issues in their day
Are ideal for sermon preparation and for other teaching in the church Word Biblical Themes are an ideal resource for any reader who has used and benefited from the Word Biblical Commentary series, and will help pastors, bible teachers, and students as they seek to understand and apply God’s word to their ministry and learning.
119 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 10, 2025
Five stars for this one, although I preferred J. J. Collins's commentary, which I have in my library. I borrowed this one with the intent of evaluating whether I also wanted it in my library. I don’t think so. I bought the Collins commentary because Daniel's prophecies often come up in online discussions I participate in, and I wanted to have a scholarly commentary ready to refer to the relevant material. Collins's commentary is superior for this purpose, I think, to Goldingay's. Not only is it considerably longer, but the Explanation sections of the Goldingay commentary tended to wax theological. This is great if you are a Christian looking for inspiration linked to the book of Daniel, but not especially helpful for an unbeliever like me.
A second reason I read the book was to see if Goldingay had anything to say about two hypotheses introduced to me via Samuel Frost's commentary on Daniel. The first of these is that Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Great are the same person. Unless I missed it, Goldingay does not mention this hypothesis. Those who hold to the hypothesis make great hay out of the fact that Cyrus the Great was about 62 years old when Babylon fell (Daniel 5), the same age that Darius the Mede was said to be when he began to rule Babylon. But Goldingay does not believe the 62 years to be literal, suspecting instead that it symbolizes the 62 shekels which are the value of the words written on the wall in Daniel 5. This is a pattern for him; Goldingay also thinks the 490 years of Daniel 9 are not literal but symbolic, representing a man's lifetime (70 years) times the seven fold punishment of Leviticus 26.28
The second hypothesis that Frost's commentary introduced me to is the idea that the four different metals of the dream statue in Daniel 2 represent successive rulers rather than successive empires. Goldingay has a lot to say about this. He mentions B. D. Eerdmans's 1932 hypothesis that four Babylonian rulers are intended. He accepts this hypothesis, but modifies it, in part because it is difficult to decide which four of the five Babylonian rulers (Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-Merodach, Neriglissar, Labashi-Marduk, Nabonidus) would be intended. This is particularly true since only three Babylonian rulers are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-Merodach, Belshazzar). So Goldingay hypothesizes that the four kings in Nebuchadnezzar's dream statue are Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and Cyrus the Great.
One thing about this book that I didn’t like was that I thought the topics covered in the conclusion (Streams of Tradition Behind Daniel, The Book's Structure, The Book's Origin, The Book's Authors, The Book's Theological Significance) would have been better covered in the introduction.
But the bottom line is that there are important hypotheses that Goldingay covers in more detail that Collins does. So if you intend to be a Daniel specialist, you should probably have access to both volumes.
A second reason I read the book was to see if Goldingay had anything to say about two hypotheses introduced to me via Samuel Frost's commentary on Daniel. The first of these is that Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Great are the same person. Unless I missed it, Goldingay does not mention this hypothesis. Those who hold to the hypothesis make great hay out of the fact that Cyrus the Great was about 62 years old when Babylon fell (Daniel 5), the same age that Darius the Mede was said to be when he began to rule Babylon. But Goldingay does not believe the 62 years to be literal, suspecting instead that it symbolizes the 62 shekels which are the value of the words written on the wall in Daniel 5. This is a pattern for him; Goldingay also thinks the 490 years of Daniel 9 are not literal but symbolic, representing a man's lifetime (70 years) times the seven fold punishment of Leviticus 26.28
The second hypothesis that Frost's commentary introduced me to is the idea that the four different metals of the dream statue in Daniel 2 represent successive rulers rather than successive empires. Goldingay has a lot to say about this. He mentions B. D. Eerdmans's 1932 hypothesis that four Babylonian rulers are intended. He accepts this hypothesis, but modifies it, in part because it is difficult to decide which four of the five Babylonian rulers (Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-Merodach, Neriglissar, Labashi-Marduk, Nabonidus) would be intended. This is particularly true since only three Babylonian rulers are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-Merodach, Belshazzar). So Goldingay hypothesizes that the four kings in Nebuchadnezzar's dream statue are Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and Cyrus the Great.
One thing about this book that I didn’t like was that I thought the topics covered in the conclusion (Streams of Tradition Behind Daniel, The Book's Structure, The Book's Origin, The Book's Authors, The Book's Theological Significance) would have been better covered in the introduction.
But the bottom line is that there are important hypotheses that Goldingay covers in more detail that Collins does. So if you intend to be a Daniel specialist, you should probably have access to both volumes.
May 8, 2021
Helpful for some things. Provides a nice overview of the book and its themes. Sometimes the author has useful insights into how the book relates to itself and the rest of the canon. Overall he is much more helpful in understanding the first half of Daniel. However, Goldingay misses the mark in his over-reliance on interpreting Daniel through the historical events of its time and in his view that, "biblical prophecy does not generally give a literal advance portrayal of events" (96). These greatly narrow his perspective on the book and its possible interpretations.
May 9, 2022
Un très bon commentaire dans l'ensemble. Une fois que l'on est habitué à la forme particulière de cette série. Apparemment forme ayant une mauvaise réputation.
En effet un chapitre se décompose ainsi
Bibliographie
Traduction
Note de traduction/critique textuelle.
Forme (genre littéraire)
Structure
Contexte historique
Commentaire
Explication.
Dans les faits les informations sont ainsi donné au compte goutte, un peu ici un peu là. Dans un commentaire plus "classique" toutes les informations sur un verset étant généralement donné en une seule fois.
Dans les faits ça fait aussi qu'il n'y pratiquement pas de note de bas de page, à l'exception de référence.
Mais au final ce n'est pas si mal car avoir les informations une par une rend la chose bien plus digeste, notamment dans un livre comme Daniel où les informations historiques sont très nombreuses.
On évite aussi de sauter des détails intéressants qui autrement se seraient trouvés relégués en note. Donc possiblement dispensable.
Au final la forme me convient.
Pour le commentaire en lui-même Goldingay est excellent dans l'introduction (le survol des différentes interprétations au cours de l'histoire est très bon) et dans les chapitres de récit (Dan 1 à 6)
.
Pour la partie visionnaire (7 à 12) Goldingay a un peu plus de mal au départ. Cela étant du au fait que ce sont des textes qui se répondent beaucoup l'un à l'autre et qu'il est difficile de n'en commenter qu'un à la fois.
Mais au final Goldingay parvient à reprendre la main en utilisant des formes originales de commentaire (comme se mettre dans la peau de Daniel qui s'adresse aux lecteurs).
En effet un chapitre se décompose ainsi
Bibliographie
Traduction
Note de traduction/critique textuelle.
Forme (genre littéraire)
Structure
Contexte historique
Commentaire
Explication.
Dans les faits les informations sont ainsi donné au compte goutte, un peu ici un peu là. Dans un commentaire plus "classique" toutes les informations sur un verset étant généralement donné en une seule fois.
Dans les faits ça fait aussi qu'il n'y pratiquement pas de note de bas de page, à l'exception de référence.
Mais au final ce n'est pas si mal car avoir les informations une par une rend la chose bien plus digeste, notamment dans un livre comme Daniel où les informations historiques sont très nombreuses.
On évite aussi de sauter des détails intéressants qui autrement se seraient trouvés relégués en note. Donc possiblement dispensable.
Au final la forme me convient.
Pour le commentaire en lui-même Goldingay est excellent dans l'introduction (le survol des différentes interprétations au cours de l'histoire est très bon) et dans les chapitres de récit (Dan 1 à 6)
.
Pour la partie visionnaire (7 à 12) Goldingay a un peu plus de mal au départ. Cela étant du au fait que ce sont des textes qui se répondent beaucoup l'un à l'autre et qu'il est difficile de n'en commenter qu'un à la fois.
Mais au final Goldingay parvient à reprendre la main en utilisant des formes originales de commentaire (comme se mettre dans la peau de Daniel qui s'adresse aux lecteurs).
July 1, 2013
Splendid. Really good book. Deals well with the difference between signs and symbols as we think about the implications of the characters of the book.
Also very helpful for technical details.
Also very helpful for technical details.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews