Walter C. Kaiser (with Tiberius Rata) has produced yet another wonderful commentary on God’s Word. Walking the Ancient Paths: A Commentary on Jeremiah is published by Lexham Press (2019) and is a stand-alone commentary that doesn’t belong to any specific series. It has some very technical aspects to it, and yet Kaiser touches on points of application from time to time as well. Perhaps it would be well-classified as a pastoral-technical commentary.
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Walking the Ancient Paths: A Commentary on Jeremiah
The book begins with a short introduction that covers Jeremiah’s early life, the composition of Jeremiah, the Septuagint text vs. Masoreteic text discussion, theological emphases in Jeremiah, and outline, and more. Though short, it’s very informative!
The book is then divided into eight sections:
- Prologue: The call of Jeremiah (1:1-19)
- The Personal Struggles of the Prophet (2:1-25:38)
- Increasing Unbelief and Opposition (26:1-29:32)
- The Restoration of Israel and Judah to the Land (30:1-33:26)
- The Call for Faithfulness (34:1-36:32)
- The Siege, Fall, and Aftermath in Jerusalem (37:1-45:5)
- Prophecies Against Nine Nations (46:1-51:64)
- The Fall of Jerusalem (52:1-34)
There is also a section on excurses found in the final pages of the book, along with a glossary, general bibliography, and Scripture index.
Format and Content
The format of this book is quite nice. The different sections are typically in bold print (instead of different chapters, there are many different subsections found within the above 8 sections). There is then a translation provided, followed by commentary on the individual verses (sometimes multiple verses are found together (i.e. 2:9-11). The verses are in bold, so that helps a lot when consulting this book for a specific verse or passage. It’s a very straight-forward format, and I really like it.
Kaiser uses a lot of Hebrew in this book, but it’s always next to the English translation. This means that the reader does not need to have any prior knowledge of Biblical Hebrew in order to benefit from this book. I also appreciate the many footnotes that are provided for more technical information in case the reader is looking for that level of study. Though this commentary offers plenty of technical discussion, it isn’t so technical that it’s only useful for scholars and academics. I believe that this commentary is very useful to both pastors and serious students of God’s Word. Kaiser does a great job (typical of his work) of explaining the meaning of the text so that the reader can rightly interpret and apply the text in their own life.
The book is a beautifully designed hardcover (no dust jacket) with nice, thick paper and a very readable font size. Lexham Press typically produces beautiful products, and this is certainly one of them.
I recommend this commentary as I’m sure that it will be of incredible help to the one who is looking to better understand the message of the book of Jeremiah, and to the one who desires to apply the message of Jeremiah to their lives.
Disclaimer: My thanks to Lexham Press for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Matt became a joyful follower of Jesus at the age of 21. He is very grateful to be a husband to Lindsey, and a father to four boys. He is an ordained minister (teaching elder) in the PCA. He previously served as a pastor of biblical counseling and is currently a corporate chaplain in southern Delaware. Matt received his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds an advanced certification in biblical counseling from the Association of Biblical Counselors. In his free time, he loves playing with his boys, traveling with his wife, and reading (and buying!) books.
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