Mark S. Smith is professor of Bible and ancient Near Eastern studies at New York University. Previously he taught at Yale University, Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and Saint Paul Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Author or co-author of eighteen books, he is past president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America.
Smith’s writing is so clear and engaging that the wealth of his
scholarship is easily absorbed. The questions that lead into the
various sections help the reader focus. The blend of scholarship
and spirituality is flawless. An excellent commentary on this
significant biblical book.Irene Nowell, OSB, Adjunct Professor of
Theology, St. John’s University School of Theology
In his new Liturgical Press Commentary on Exodus, Mark S. Smith
puts his considerable learning at the service of the general reader
in clear, appealing fashion. He writes with unusual sensitivity to
the literary power of the text and finds multiple levels of meaning
in narratives that are often reduced to more narrow significance.
Across Exodus, for example, Smith finds deep connections among
original historical meanings and later Jewish and Christian
appropriations of the ancient text. Perhaps most unique about
Smith’s commentary are his theological insights into the laws and
regulations of Sinai as spiritual modes of connection with God and
community. He gathers the books main narrative components--escape
from slavery and laws of covenant life--and insists that they
present a complex, nuanced view of human freedom. Freedom is not
simply rescue from oppression; it is also freedom for covenanted
life with God and community as expressed in the covenant material.
Study questions at t
Just as Moses guided the people through the wilderness, so Mark S.
Smith guides the reader through the biblical story that describes
this adventure. He expertly uncovers this story’s place in the
literature of the Ancient Near East, its continued importance in
the religious thinking of the Jewish people, its impact on
Christian religion, and its value as a metaphor of the reader’s own
journey through life. Once again Exodus stands out as evidence of
God’s compassionate concern for the needy of our world.Dianne
Bergant, CSA Catholic Theological Union
Ask a Question About this Product More... |