Book Review: A Commentary on Exodus

A Commentary on Exodus (Kregal Exegetical Library)
Duane A. Garrett
This commentary by Duane Garrett is theologically conservative and is another excellent additional to Kregal’s lineup. Besides it’s high view of scripture, there are several other aspects about this commentary I greatly appreciated.

• The Theological Summary of Key Points at the end of each passage section.
• The way he broke down the structure of each section along with his translation. For me, getting the big picture before diving into the details of the text is very important. This commentary accomplishes this very well.
• The 145 page introductory background information was very helpful and detailed.
• As other reviewers have pointed out, he helpful directs readers to the poetic sections of the book and explains them very clearly.

I had just a few minor quibbles with the commentary. I felt he tried to look for natural causes surrounding the ten plagues rather than seek to attribute them miraculous workings of an omnipotent God (even though the section is titled The Twelve Miracles of the Exodus).
I would have also like to see him deal with the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, but could not find it discussed at any length in the book.
A commentary’s layout is also very important to me and book is laid out very well. His outline of each chapter, the room in the margin for notes, and the use of footnotes (as opposed to endnotes) are small considerations that are important to me as I read along.
This is a fantastic commentary on Exodus. Scholarly but very readable. Detailed but not daunting.
Note: This book was provided free to me in exchange for an unbiased review.