THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. By JohnGoldingay. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021. Pp. xxvii +1033. Hardback. $75.00.

Goldingay, an emeritus professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, has written about many facets of the Hebrew Bible. In his sixty-four-page introduction to this new commentary, he addresses familiar matters of background, unity and composition, authorship and date, place of origin, occasion, and destination. In the discussion of canonicity, the author first reflects on the “message” of the book purported to be from Yahweh before looking at its various receptions at Qumran, early Christianity, and rabbinic literature. Other matters Goldingay considers in this introduction are the two main versions of the Hebrew text, particular theological emphases and themes, and the general contents of the book. The remainder of this sizable volume is devoted to commentary. Each unit begins with a bolded heading describing the contents and a summary of the place of the respective units within the book as a whole. This is followed by the author's own translation and judicious notes on text and form. All original languages are represented in transliteration. In the commentary proper, each verse is introduced with a bolded verse number, and the particular wording under consideration is clearly indicated in italic print. Footnotes are used, but critical interaction with scholarship is limited. Goldingay seems to display the fruit of his critical scholarship rather than evidence for it and with great effect for the reader's benefit. The complicated juxtaposition of prose and poetry notorious to Jeremiah is expertly adjudicated by the author in a way that does justice to the parts without losing sight of the whole. Goldingay's expertise in the breadth of Hebrew Bible prophetic literature ensures that intertextual points of comparison between Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Amos, and Hosea, respectively, are clearly bought out to the reader. The author is keen to read Jeremiah in his own historical context but also with an eye to its use as Christian scripture. He is astutely able to address both without doing injustice to either. Those looking for more technical treatment of the text may not find all they are looking for here, while pastors and preachers will find a well-informed and capable guide through Jeremiah written in a way that an informed reader can use to great advantage.