This commentary has its moments, both good and bad. Durham is remarkably erudite in his translation of and critical notes on the Masoretic Text and its textual variants, and while somewhat brief, is concise in objectively surveying the history of critical & redaction analysis behind any given passage. His general attitude towards the text of Exodus follows in the tradition of Childs' canonical criticism: his concern is with the text as it is received in its canonical form, not with any status -- or lack thereof -- that deconstruction might accord it.

The weakness of this volume, however, lies in the content of Durham's "commentary" itself: the author seems to devote a considerable majority of his attention and energy to cross-referencing other major (and minor) related works, and to simply narrating the existing account; that is, less attention seems to be given to the meaning of the text, theological or otherwise, and more to simply re-telling the story.

This is not to discredit the work that is evident behind this volume: the obvious extent of research that belies this commentary is all too evident. Added pluses are the extensive running bibliographies throughout. All things considered, however, one would be wise to consult other commentaries in addition to this one.

John Durham has provided a commentary in keeping with the rich tradition of the Word Biblical Commentary series. This 516 page commentary of Exodus presupposes the divine nature and inspiration of the text. While Durham gives information about sources of the finished text (Source Criticism), he approaches the text of a "Canonical" method, dealing with the text as it has come to us in its current form. His emphasis is on extracting the theological meaning of the text as opposed to defending or debunking various theories about the historicity of the book or particular events within it. For example, Durham doesn't get caught up in the debate about where the Red Sea was, or if this was a real historical event. He focuses on the meaning of that event for Israel, and the latter Christian community that would also consider the event apart of their faith heritage. Durham uses his own translation which provides a hosts of insights about the original language uses in the canon. This book will be a valuable resource for scholars who are searching for a reliable example of Canonical Criticism of Exodus. It will also be helpful for the pastor or Bible teacher who seeks greater theological understanding of Israel and her dramatic beginnings.