Andrew Steinmann

This is the latest volume of the Concordia Commentary Series that I've finished reading. Compared to my experience with The Song of Songs, this was a breeze. Granted, the narratives in the book of First Samuel are easier to read and understand than the poetry of Song of Songs. But Dr. Steinmann's text is also quite succinct and readable. He clearly lays out the nuances of the original texts (as far as a monolingual, novice scholar such as myself can determine, anyway) and then serves up a show more relatively brief commentary on each pericope. If only it had been published back when I helped lead that Bible class on the life of David! Ah, well, it'll be on my shelf should I need it again.
--J. show less

Another year, another Concordia Commentary read. Man, these things take a long time to read! Of course, it should be no surprise that this particular volume was a challenge because the book of Proverbs itself challenges the attention span. Dr. Steinmann did a great job of delving into the text and explaining its nuances, and all sorts of scholarly things. And, as should be the case with a Concordia Commentary, he made sure to point out Christ in every chapter. Still, I'm glad to have it on show more my shelf. Taken in small chunks, it was a delight to read. My few attempts to push through it, alas, resulted in drowsiness.
--J. show less

NO OF PAGES: 221 SUB CAT I: Canon SUB CAT II: Tanach SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: As someone who teaches in the area of canonization and textual history, I read Stienmann with great interest. He has shown, convincingly, that there was far less diversity with regard to the canon in the Greek and Roman periods that many have thought. The canon was in effect closed in the Persian period. This conclusion is scarely revolutionary. It is in fact very conservative. However, Steinmann arrives at it, show more not on doctrinaire grounds, but through a thorough examination of the evidence.

Several of Steinmann's suggestions are more novel, e.g., his understanding of the canon as a temple archive, and, his view that the Jewish canon was originally bipartate (law and prophets) and not tripartate (law, prophets, and writings).

The primary evidence is presented, in the original languages with accompanying translation. The book is well written in lucid style. The argument is presented in a compact but compelling way.

I can see I will have to adjust my teaching in the light of this presentation. Andrew E. Steinmann, Lutheran Pastor at Lutheran Home in Westlake, OH and Adjunct Professor at Ashland University takes the reader through a detailed examination of the evidence for the 'canon' of the Old Testament, that is, what was included or excluded and when. Was it as early as 500BCE or as late as 200CE? and who were the people or institutions responsible for deciding this? Steinmann examines evidence in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic from Jewish and Christian sources including the Talmud, Josephus, extant documents from the Qumran Caves and various Councils from 100 through 400 CE. The method of Steinmann's examination is to use this textual evidence to explain the organization of the Old Testament and to understand the books that were later grouped into the Apocrypha. The text is dense and intellectually challenging, requiring the layman and those unfamiliar with Hebrew and Greek to consult other sources when questioning the author's conclusions. Steinmann's conclusion speaks to a Christian scholarly audience, their scriptural tradition and religious acceptance of the Old Testament and its the Christian order of books. Some illustrations were printed upside down, otherwise, they are clear and readable.NOTES: Purchased by Brent Emery, (reimbursed by Beit Hallel) SUBTITLE: The Old Testament Canon show less

Technically, Dr. Steinmann's commentary on 2nd Samuel is a standalone book. Practically, it's really a the second volume of a set. The introduction and all of the scholarly background information of the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel is contained in Dr. Steinmann's previous book, 1 Samuel. This one simply jumps right in to the text. Once again Dr. Steinmann offers his relatively brief comments on the text, examining the events and people of the stories and how they reflect and relate to us show more today. The connector, of course, is Christ, as is brought out on just about every page. (Well, not the index and bibliography...
--J. show less