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  • From: "Reinhard G.Lehmann" <lehmann AT mail.uni-mainz.de>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: German commentaries
  • Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 07:10:55 +0200


> Hello all,
> What is/are the best German=language commentaries to the Tanakh in print
> today?
> Yours,


Dear Jonathan, Jim, and all,

I NEVER would say that "anything in the "Biblischer Kommentar" series
is worth getting" (Jim) - there are volumes among it that I refused to
buy until today, because they are not worth the paper and its price!
(you understand that I tell no names, I am a German).

I always tell my students that the choice of a commentarry depends on
budget, and the question: what kind of question do you want the
commentary to answer? And: Do you want to get answers from your
commentary, or do you want the commentary to show you a way how to ask
the right questions, even if the commentary's one is the worst you can
get? The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but
time and chance...

There are indeed very good OLD German commentaries, which are all
along outdated under aspects of comparative religion ore so called
'higher criticism' aspects, but are still very good in philological
questions. And there are a lot of modern German commentaries that are
fully abreast the latest scholarship and / or on a theological highway
directly to heaven ;-), but can not trust them ONE single hebrew word.

So you understand that I never would recommend a commentary series as
a whole.

I do not like modern commentaries much at all - not because I am
conservative ore something else (I am NOT!!), but because they have so
much missing in sound philology.

For Ezek, I like very much Zimmerli, but for Jeremia, I like most
Hollady (admittedly not German). 1 Kings: still Martin Noth, or
Wuerthwein. Genesis: ?????? (not Westermann, too big, too expensive,
too long-winded, and a lot of mistakes concerning Hebrew ­ so I take
that old Gunkel), Isaiah: the old Duhm (not available, but the best
feeling for language and good translations I ever have seen), or the
new Wildberger. Ex: H.W.Schmidt, Josh: Fritz, Judges: ?????, 1/2 Sam:
???????, Amos: Wolff, Psalms: ?????? (NOT Kraus - see what I wrote to
Westermann), Qohelet: Lohfink, and D. Michel (unfortunately
unpublished before he died last year), Song: Pope (not German, as you
know, but the best of all, the best German one is Keel, and H.-P.
Mueller) ...

I will give you no complete list of my favorites now (50 % of them are
not German), but any questions?

Best regards
--
*****************************************
Dr. Reinhard G. Lehmann
Lect. for Classical Hebrew and Aramaic
Johannes-Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz
D - 55099 Mainz
tel: +49 - 6131 - 39 3284
mailto:lehmann AT mail.uni-mainz.de
http://www.uni-mainz.de/~lehmann
*****************************************



  • Re: German commentaries, Reinhard G.Lehmann, 08/01/2000

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