The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus

The biblical book Genesis is of course the most exciting and thought provoking books of the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, at least from a literary point of view. But Exodus comes a close second. And Dr. Nahum Sarna enhances the story with his brilliant commentary built from ancient and modern interpretations and his own unique abilities. Sarna includes an introduction discussing the book's title, which was drawn from the Greek translation of about 250 BCE, the division of the book into forty chapters, an idea taken from Christian Bibles,the three-parts that divide Exodus, the oppression of the Israelites, the exodus from Egypt and slavery, and the events at Sinai. He also discuses when the events occured. He includes twenty additional short discussions that preface the biblical narratives on subjects such as the birth and youth of Moses, the plagues, the Sinai covenant, and the Tabernacle. After the detailed well-written commnetary on the Torah verses, Sarna concludes his book with six discussions on subjects such as who were the Hebrews, the meaning of El Shaddai, and ancient near eastern laws and the bible. An example of Dr. Sarna's commentary is his discussion of the concept of "hardening Pharaoh's heart," which occurs exactly twenty times in Exodus, half attributed to the man's character and half to divine causuality. Sarna explains the phrase, tells why the verses speak of the heart rather than the mind, why half are assigned as God's work, and what the twenty occurrences mean.

I have most of the JPS series and found them to be tremendously insightful for research and study.

The best commentary on exodus that I have ever seen. This work makes use of literary analysis and comparative Semitics; intertextual commentary relating each book to other biblical books, and evidence from modern archaeological discoveries. Yet, it is also based on traditional rabbinic commentary! While accessible to lay people, it is based on the the highest standards of critical historical scholarship.