Hosea-Jonah

Word Biblical Commentary #31

by Douglas K. Stuart

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 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

Written by top biblical scholarsFeature authors who wrote on the same book of the Bible for the Word Biblical Commentary seriesDistill deep and focused study on a biblical book into the most important themes and practical applications of themGive reader’s 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 writersHelp address pressing issues in the church today by showing readers see how the biblical writers approached similar issues in their dayIdeal 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.

Genres: Reference, Biblical Studies, Christian, Theology, Christianity, Old Testament

126 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 18, 1987

About the author

Douglas Stuart is a professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[David J. Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exhaustive, conservative, and immensely instrumental in exegesis.

[Nathan]

only jonah portion + general intro (~90 + 15 pages)

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

An immensely helpful volume from the author of the WBC volume on these minor prophets. This book gives thematic overview and discussion for Hosea—Jonah, providing the big picture in short compass. An excellent, under-the-radar companion to commentaries.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Word Bible Commentary (WBC), is an extreamly scholarly and many time critical Biblical commentary. I was introduced to them in my second year of Seminary and found them extremely useful in writing academic papers, in sermon preparation, and in Sunday school preparation. As this commetnary series grows in my collection so does my respect for the series as a whole.
A few years ago the word bible commentary switch Publishers again, and came under the ownership of Zondervan Publications. Under their leadership this series has seen a rejuvenation of sorts. While the format remains unchanged (providing a phenomenal bibliography, translation, notes on translation and setting, followed by comments and explanation), the binding of the book has changed as well as the addition of revised versions of previously released commentaries.
While the WBC is world renowned for its high academic pursuit of God’s Word, I was pleasantly surprised at its accessibility to the pastor and not just the academically-minded Bible scholar. In the book that I have the privilege of viewing is a revision of the 31st volume of this series containing the minor prophets Hosea-Jonah, by Douglas Stuart. While reading an assortment of passages in the various minor prophets, I was saddened to see a lack of commentary about each verse with regard to application and contextualisation. Yet on the other hand comments about the Biblical Hebrew language as well as syntax of each verse are indispensable information that is sorely lacking in almost every modern commentary.

While knowledge of the Biblical Hebrew language is handy when utilizing this commentary, it is not a necessary requirement for some utilization. With that said having a deep knowledge of the Biblical Hebrew will greatly enhance a readers ability to use this commentary. I highly recommend this commentary to pastors and scholars due to its thorough academic approach combined with its accessibility to academia and the pastorate.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Zondervan Academic Publishers in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

[Ian Minielly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Stuart hit it out of the park with the Commentary. One thing I really liked and kept a marker in for additional referencing with each chapter were the If/Then covenant curses. Stuart does a great job in the beginning going through the relationship between God and Israel and what the covenant meant and what it meant to break it. This was extremely valuable to me and throughout the commentary he regularly makes references to the curses by pointing back to the covenant and their failure to adhere to their agreed upon relationship, while also showing the very patience and love God holds out to them throughout.

[Joe Koehler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate Stuart's calling attention to the fact that prophets, artistic as they may be, each in their own right, did not seek to be "unique." Rather, Stuart argues that they all draw in different measure upon Torah, and more specifically, covenant blessings and curses. In other words, by reading and knowing well Lev. 26, Deut 4, 28, 29 and 32, one can gain greater understanding and insight from
most every piece of prophetic literature. "The prophets invent no types of curses or blessings"

[Ronnie Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm am currently studying through the minor prophets and this commentary was recommended as one of the best. I thoroughly enjoyed the commentary and insight. One regret I have is that I do not know Hebrew and therefore found some of the material too technical and "over my head". I do feel that it helped me in my understanding of Hosea, Joel, Amos Obadiah, and Jonah, and would wholeheartedly recommend it to others wishing to understand these minor prophets better.

[Shannon Hrinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Only read the Joel section)

Ligonier’s website recommended this as the top commentary on Joel and I wasn’t disappointed! I was warned that this series of commentary tended toward being technical and academic, but I did not have trouble understanding it. In fact, it brought clarity and depth to the book of Joel which I previously had never studied and knew very little about.

I recommend both the book of Joel and this commentary on it!

[Matthew Le Croissette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful on the detail of Hosea, some helpful insights on Jonah. Some ‘big picture’ in the little ‘explanation’ sections which is a nice change for a technical commentary, but the longer the book, the less useful that section.

[Sonny Sedate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Helpful with good details and exegesis- but poor editing. For example, the Jonah section consistently changes “fact” for “feet.” Having sentences like: “Despite the feet” and “in feet Jonah”… it’s just careless.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best technical commentaries I've referred to on Hosea

[Seth Lippert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough, informative, and balanced. An extremely helpful resource for Bible study preparation.

(This rating is only for the commentary on Jonah, as that is the only one I read.)

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Jonah portion and it was imminently helpful. Compared to other commentaries, it seemed a little light in sections where I wanted or expected more.

[Sagely · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only used the section of Stuart's commentary on Jonah. That said, I was impressed by the depth of scholarship and analysis in a commentary spanning five of the Twelve minor prophets.

Stuart errs on the said of literalism and historicism throughout the section on Jonah. Jonah reports events that did happen historically. Stuart notes the real possibility that this is a work of didactic fiction (which is my prejudice) without disbarring it. Even with this conservative bent, the work provides excellent historical and literary perspective on Jonah's story.

This is a commentary I'm happy I spent the money to add to my library.

[Greg Baughman]

I only read the Jonah portion of this book, and I found it a good compliment to Alexander. Stuart is more focused on the linguistics, making the two a good tandem to work from. I feel it bears mentioning, though, that Stuart is a kill-joy. All of the fun chiastic structures, theological use of certain words (like "evil"), and theological structure of the book is, for Stuart, not derived from the text but from the wishes of the theologian. I tend to disagree with him on this point, but it is good to have voices that keep us from getting too carried away.

[Peter Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good commentary. I am not a fan of the Word Biblical Commentary's format. However Stuart's comments are so solid it is worth reading. He does a marvelous job of linking these minor prophets with the covenant blessings and curses in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

[Joe Haack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I utilized his commentary on Jonah - it was my steady workhorse.