Bill T. ARNOLD. The Book of Deuteronomy: Chapters 1–11. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2022. Pp. 660+xxxix. $60.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-2170-6. Reviewed by Nicholas R. WERSE, Baylor University, Waco, TX.

Bill Arnold’s commentary on Deuteronomy 1–11 offers another valuable contribution to the NICOT commentary series. Aiming to provide the highest quality scholarship and interpret the biblical text from a broadly defined “evangelical” understanding of the text’s authority as scripture, the NICOT series has an established reputation for a detailed engagement with the Hebrew Bible and robust discussion of key secondary scholarship relevant to its interpretation. Arnold’s volume begins the process of replacing Peter Craigie’s well-received 1976 commentary on the entire book of Deuteronomy. Of course, readers of Arnold’s commentary will quickly notice that whereas Craigie handled the entire book of Deuteronomy in a single volume (424 pages), Arnold engages only the first 11 chapters of Deuteronomy in a significantly longer volume (660 pages).

Following the standard NICOT format, Arnold’s commentary opens with a bibliography, followed by the introduction, which contains a discussion of the text’s background, compositional unity, authorship, occasion, canonicity, text criticism, theology, themes, and content analysis. Applying recent insights from the study of ancient scribalism from scholars such as Carr, van der Toorn, and others, Arnold recognizes both that the book of Deuteronomy has likely developed over a long period of scribal activity and that scholars should exercise “methodological modesty” when positing composition models for the text. Within this position of methodological modesty, he follows a familiar model that traces the development of Deuteronomy as beginning with a core version of Deut 6:4–26:19* that reflected the influence of the eighth-century prophets and circulated in the Northern Kingdom. This document developed over the coming generations as northern refugees brought it to the Southern kingdom following the destruction of Samaria, it intersected with the Hezekiah reforms, came to oppose the syncretism of Manasseh’s reign, and ultimately inspired Josiah’s reforms. He proceeds with the common assumption that the scribes behind Deuteronomy drew upon material from Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers; revising, condensing, and adjusting the material to serve the distinctive theological and literary purposes of the book of Deuteronomy. As a result, while he discusses some key diachronic matters within the commentary portion of the volume (e.g., the formation of 1:1–5 on pp. 91–92 and the addition of 4:1–43 on p. 227), he often does so in a way that presents these conversations in the secondary literature while reflecting his inclination toward this methodological modesty. Most of the commentary, therefore, focuses on examining the passages and verses as they function within the book of Deuteronomy, the Pentateuch, and the rest of the Hebrew Bible.

Within the textual commentary portion of the volume, Arnold opens each section with an original translation that includes extensive text-critical notes followed by a verse-by-verse textual analysis. The footnotes throughout engage with key secondary literature in a sufficient, though not overwhelming way. Throughout the commentary, readers will find excurses on key topics within Deuteronomy 1–11, including the numbering of the decalogue, the Shema, and the origins of the Sabbath. The volume concludes with the author index, subject index, and “index of scripture and other ancient texts.”

In conclusion, in keeping with the tradition established by the NICOT commentary series, Arnold’s volume on Deuteronomy 1–11 will be of immense value to scholars, students, and faith leaders, particularly those operating within a broadly-defined evangelical theological context or reading tradition. Of course, this orientation of the series does not limit the volume’s value for readers who do not identify with this reading tradition. The use of transliteration for Greek and Hebrew terms keeps the volume accessible for readers without familiarity with the Biblical languages, and Arnold’s accessible writing style is inviting for non-specialists.