JBTM Book Reviews59Using Longacre and Hwang’s analysis of the discourse structure of Jonah, Youngbloodargues that the book h<strong>as</strong> been constructed in two parallel halves: Jonah 1–2 and Jonah 3–4.Within each half of the book there are three scenes: stage setting, pre-peak episode, and peakepisode. In both stage-setting episodes, Jonah receives the word of the Lord. Although he refusesto fulfill his commission in the first half of the book (1:1–1:4a), Jonah gives way to God’swill in the second half (3:1–3b). In the pre-peak episodes, Jonah interacts with two differentgroups of Gentiles: the sailors and the Ninevites. When faced with possible destruction, bothgroups willingly and eagerly turn to Jonah’s God for deliverance (1:4b–2:1b; 3:3c–10). Jonah,however, persists in his rebellion. The contr<strong>as</strong>t between Jonah and these Gentiles cannot bemissed. In the book of Jonah, there is an ironic inversion: God’s own prophet will not obeywhile everyone around him does. In each of the peak episodes, Jonah engages with God inprayer. This takes the form of a thanksgiving psalm in chapter three, and a prayer of complaintin chapter four. In the second half of the book, unlike the first, Youngblood perceives a fourthscene. The narrative concludes with a post-peak episode, wherein God leaves Jonah and thereader with an object lesson concerning his mercy and grace.Youngblood’s commentary on the book of Jonah admirably accomplishes the t<strong>as</strong>ks set forthin the series introduction. He h<strong>as</strong> written with both the serious student and the p<strong>as</strong>tor inmind, and he h<strong>as</strong> provided his readers with a skillful and attentive reading of the discourse andrhetorical features of Jonah. There are, however, some shortcomings in the commentary.In his introduction, Youngblood notes that the macrostructure adopted for his analysis isb<strong>as</strong>ed on the findings of Longacre and Hwang (38n41). Though he adapts the b<strong>as</strong>ic structureand language used by Longacre and Hwang (stage setting, pre-peak episode, and peak episode)their divisions of the text are different. Youngblood, for example, contends that the stage settingmaterial extends from 1:1–4a and 3:1–3b, where<strong>as</strong> Longacre and Hwang list 1:1–3 and3:1–3 <strong>as</strong> the material included in the stage setting scenes. 1 Youngblood does not acknowledgethat a difference between the two structures exists. The matter is further compounded by thefact that he inconsistently divides the text at different places in the book. In his translation atthe beginning of the commentary, he begins a new paragraph at 1:4 instead of placing 1:4awith the preceding paragraph, <strong>as</strong> his structure suggests (21). He also presents two charts withdifferent divisions on the same page without any clarification (39).A second, related critique concerns Youngblood’s understanding of the word whyh (“and itw<strong>as</strong>”) <strong>as</strong> a discourse marker. The presence of whyh in Jonah 1:4b and 2:1c serves <strong>as</strong> his primarysource of evidence that a structural break occurs. He does not, however, inform the reader thathis divisions of the text deviate from the near scholarly consensus that 1:4a and 2:1a function<strong>as</strong> the beginning of a new unit, nor does he interact with competing discourse considerationssuch <strong>as</strong> the N + qatal construction in 1:4a which Longacre and Hwang view <strong>as</strong> creating a shiftin scenario. Readers familiar with the discourse features of biblical Hebrew will be left wonderingwhich factors served <strong>as</strong> the tipping point for one interpretation over another.1Robert E. Longacre and Shin Ja J. Hwang, “A Text-Linguistic Approach to the Biblical HebrewNarrative of Jonah,” in Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Analysis, ed. Robert D. Bergen (Winona Lake, IN:Eisenbrauns, 1999), 342.
JBTM Book Reviews60Finally, while the commentary is thoroughly researched, Youngblood perhaps could haveinteraced more with divergent interpretations, either in the body of the text or in the footnotes.Though he does interact with various options on occ<strong>as</strong>ion, it does not happen often. Whiledetailed engagement with differing interpretations may have been beyond the scope of thecommentary, it nevertheless leaves the reader with the impression that all are in agreement withYoungblood’s reading of the rhetorical and discourse features of Jonah.Despite these nitpicky criticisms, students and professors of biblical Hebrew will benefitfrom Youngblood’s incorporation of the findings of the best articles and commentaries available,while p<strong>as</strong>tors will find the volume to be accessible in its presentation of the discourse,literary, and rhetorical features of the Hebrew text of Jonah. Many resources written with bothserious students and p<strong>as</strong>tors in mind tend to either be inaccessible to the uninitiated becauseof their technical nature and use of jargon, or to sacrifice all vestiges of scholarship, leaving thereader with little meat. Youngblood’s commentary is guilty of neither and would be a welcomeaddition on the shelf of anyone studying the book of Jonah.– Jacob N. Cerone, Southe<strong>as</strong>tern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NCObadiah: The Kingship Belongs to YHWH. By Daniel I. Block. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,2013. 128 pages. Hardcover, $19.99.Daniel I. Block is Gunther H. Knoedler Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton Collegein Wheaton, Illinois. His other recent publications include Beyond the River Chebar: Studies inKingship and Eschatology in the Book of Ezekiel and By the River Chebar: Historical, Literary, andTheological Studies in the Book of Ezekiel. Block h<strong>as</strong> several other publications in the area of OldTestament studies, including work <strong>as</strong> a senior translator for the New Living <strong>Translation</strong>.The goal of Obadiah: The Kingship Belongs to YHWH is to examine the rhetorical and theologicalagend<strong>as</strong> of the text. The author intends to address the theological message of the biblicaltext in its context of the canon. An examination of the theological message will also reveal theimplications for the Christian reader (9-10).Obadiah: The Kingship Belongs to YHWH begins with an introduction to the book of Obadiah.The introduction addresses the historical background, <strong>as</strong> well <strong>as</strong> the rhetorical structure ofthe text. Block distinguishes the difference between the prophet who gave the oracle and theperson who recorded the oracle on a scroll. Despite this distinction, Block attributes the messageto YHWH. Block holds to the date of Obadiah being in the time of exile due to the factthat the crimes of Edom are related to their treatment of the people of Judah after Jerusalem’sfall (22-24). Obadiah’s message is focused on the judgment of Edom but is also intended to rebuildthe hope of Judah toward YHWH and his promises (35). Block’s introduction addressesthe time and setting surrounding the message of Obadiah, giving the readers a context aroundwhich to understand the book.
Change language