Numbers

I can wholeheartedly endorse this comprehensive and fresh commentary on Numbers. Altmann and Peres offer other scholars, clergy and laypeople a collaborative, ethical and inclusive approach to Numbers in our increasingly pluralistic and complex world. They clearly appreciate and cite numerous scholars, as their bibliography suggests, who are now accessible in this one commentary. The reader can easily discover engaging intertextual references to other parts of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, as well as a detailed outline for major sections of Numbers. While explicitly stating their readings as shaped by their Christian faith, the enlightening comments of Altmann and Peres are useful to people of any faith or none.

Despite containing some of the most memorable texts of the Old Testament - the priestly blessing, the manna, the spies, the bronze serpent, Balaam and his donkey - Numbers is often avoided by modern readers. Altmann and Peres interpret this intriguing and beautiful book with historical and theological sensitivity, explaining its unfamiliar concepts and unravelling its difficulties. Pastors, teachers and missionaries, among others, will find it a sure-footed guide to the contemporary understanding of this text.

Altmann and Peres expertly guide the reader through the challenging wilderness landscape of the book of Numbers. They combine an impressive array of perspectives: engagement with the best and most recent scholarship on Numbers, skilful literary sensitivity to how Numbers works as an ancient "book", generative "readings in concert" between two or more biblical texts, theological and pedagogical insights for faith and life, and a Majority World postcolonial lens around issues of identity, empire and justice. One of the best commentaries on Numbers now available.

This fine commentary is the happy result of a collaboration between two scholars from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. As a result, the excellent technical commentary on the text is supplemented by sensitive pastoral reflections, which together will make the book an essential addition to the library of scholars, pastors and preachers. I shall be consulting it repeatedly.

The TOTC commentary is well known and highly regarded, not least for its accessible and manageable treatments of the biblical text. In this commentary, Altmann and Peres have hit those high marks while simultaneously including an immense amount of reflection and up-to-date research - all very well written and supremely crafted. The result is a remarkable achievement, with every page brimming with insight that repeatedly demonstrates the ongoing and contemporary utility of Numbers. I recommend it enthusiastically.