Rolf P. Knierim is professor emeritus of Old Testament, Claremont School of Theology, and Avery Professor of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, California.
Ehud Ben Zvi
"This commentary by Rolf Knierim and George Coats is important in
two different but related ways. As a commentary on Numbers it is
undoubtedly a substantial contribution to the study of the book.
The discussions of the different units, including an extensive
treatment of the book as a whole, are insightful and
thought-provoking. Students of Numbers are well advised to read
this volume. This commentary is also a clear demonstration of the
concrete implications of foundational differences between past and
present form-critical studies. The commentary is proof positive of
the vitality of form criticism and its ability to adapt and develop
into a family of multi-faceted approaches. The authors' approach
combines some elements of traditional form-criticism with a strong
awareness of the book's literary character and of its world, a
focus on the shape of the final redaction of Numbers in its
Masoretic form, and an understanding that individual and generic
text structures represent semantic systems that cannot be
understood without taking account of the concepts that generated
them. Scholars interested in form-critical approaches as practiced
today are also well advised to read this commentary by Knierim and
Coats, whether their main interest lies in Numbers, the Pentateuch,
or other books in the Hebrew Bible." Antony F. Cambpell, S.J.
"Rolf Knierim and George Coats recognize that Numbers is a
'literary composite' reflecting 'the convictions of the many
generations' responsible for it. Aware of these many generations
and the 'seemingly incoherent organization of the work, ' they
nevertheless pay full attention to the shape and meaning of the
present biblical text, the 'final outcome' of the long growth
process of Numbers. Much will be learned from this commentary."
Thomas B. Dozeman
"This commentary on Numbers is an admirable addition to the FOTL
series. Rolf Knierim and George Coats have succeeded in maintaining
the delicate balance of the series between the study of literary
forms and the description of the author's social context, which
infuses the forms with conceptual and semantic meaning. The result
is a commentary both for the literary critic seeking a clear
description of the genres in Numbers and for the social historian
investigating the cultural forces at work in the formation of the
book." Burke O. Long
"This commentary brings renewed vitality to the classic tasks of
form criticism and shrewdly takes account of the changed world in
which form critics and the well-known FOTL series now must live.
Rolf Knierim and George Coats maintain consistent focus on
sociological aspects of literature -- the people and societal
conditions that generated conceptually and formally structured
texts. They precisely describe the literary nature of these texts
but at the same time carefully relate literary analysis to the
nuanced realities and interests of people who created the written
documents. This approach yields fresh insights into structure and
genre, rich connections to the history of Israel's religion, and
grounded access to theological ideas."
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