the close of the twentieth century. For most read-
ers this may seem like a minor flaw, but the impact of such a widely read commentary on the public only serves to perpetuate the limits in our descriptions of the divine and of humanity. LISA W. DAVISON LEXINGTON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesls- Malachi by David A. Dorsey Baker, Grand Rapids, 1999. 330 pp. $34.99 (cloth). ISBN 0-8010-2187-1. DORSEY'S STUDY OF THE LITERARY structure of the Hebrew Bible opens with a brief introduction to basic tools for literary study of the text before offering a chapter detailing how he sees the structure of each book. He follows the order of the Septuagint rather than the Tanak, thereby presenting a study much more suited to a Christian audience familiar with the Old Testament. His primary concern rests with the literary integrity of each book, and his chapters tend to paint the issues in broad strokes, making this book of greater interest to a lay reader than to a scholar. While Dorsey makes occasional use of Hebrew, the majority of his argument relies on English. A readable, if simple, opening section explains ways to identify units in biblical litera- ture. This presentation would not be new to any- one with a basic introductory course in the Bible, but could be useful in teaching a church school class or explaining biblical studies to a lay audi- ence. The application of these ideas in chapters on each book comes across clearly. For example, Dorsey lists a set of six markers that delineate Gen 1:1-2:3 from 2:4-4:26 (p. 49). Perhaps the greatest strength of the book is making the work of writers such as Robert Alter, Shimon Bar-Efrat and Meir Sternberg accessible to a wider audi- ence. However, in covering the whole Hebrew Bible, Dorsey tends to read redundandy and fails to focus on the nuances within each text that make the work interesting. His theologically con- servative perspective, reinforced by a stress on structural unity, suggested a more subtle agenda that could easily be overlooked by a reader not familiar with biblical studies. SANDIE GRAVETT APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA Jonah by Uriel Simon J PS Bible Commentary. Translated by Lenn J. Schramm. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1999. 96 pp. $34.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8276-0672-9. SIMON'S COMMENTARY IS a welcome addition to this excellent series. He begins with a lengthy treatment of the theme of the book and the his- tory of its exegesis. After considering several pos- sible themes that have been proposed by inter- preters of lonah throughout the agesatone- ment versus repentance, universalism versus par- ticularism, realization versus compliance regard- ing the call to prophesySimon concludes that the only theme that applies to the whole book is compassion: justice versus mercy. He describes Jonah as a "theological, prophetic story" (p. xx) not of ironic satire but rather of pathos. A sec- tion on narrative art is highlighted by a detailed analysis of structure and style. In the introduc- tion, Simon also discusses the literary function of the gentiles, the unity of the book, language, date, and links with other biblical books. The verse-by-verse commentary on the text builds on the elements of the introduction, including styl- istic and grammatical notes, textual criticism, various interpretations both ancient and mod- ern, and theological comments. The greatest contribution of this excellent commentary is Simon's development of the theme of God's compassion, not only for Nineveh but also for Jonah himself. The empha- sis on pathos provides for a more respectful treatment of the disgruntled prophet than a humorous interpretation. Simon's comments on various points of Hebrew grammar and on the literary artistry of the author will delight and enlighten the readereven non-specialists. His familiarity with the history of Jewish interpreta- tion is also a plus. The book is nicely laid out with Hebrew text, interspersed with commen- tary, like the others in this series. It is generally free of typographical errors with one exception: ^ s Copyright and Use: As an ATLAS user, you may print, download, or send articles for individual use according to fair use as defined by U.S. and international copyright law and as otherwise authorized under your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement. No content may be copied or emailed to multiple sites or publicly posted without the copyright holder(s)' express written permission. Any use, decompiling, reproduction, or distribution of this journal in excess of fair use provisions may be a violation of copyright law. 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