Brief Notices

BRIEF NOTICES EZEKIEL. By Bruce Vawter & Leslie J. Hoppe. International Theological Commentary. Pp. 218. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991. Paper. The International Theological Commentary series aims to offer "a theological interpretation of the Hebrew text" (p. viii). Although the authors of this volume stress the extensive redactional activity in the Book of Ezekiel, they state in their "Introduction" that "For the most part, no attempt at separation [of authentic from accretional materials] will be made in this commentary" (p. 10). Still one finds extensive discussion of the redactorial activity in their discussion of chaps. 1-5. In the subsequent commentary, such comments are kept to a minimum and the aim of expounding the canonical form of the text is more in focus. The two-prong ministry of Ezekiel to the Babylonian exiles is emphasized: his pronouncement of judgment before the fall of Jerusalem and his proclamation of restoration subsequent to that event. Although the theology of the individual sections is given, this reviewer wished there was a summary of the main theological points within the whole book of Ezekiel. Also a faux pas is the bibliographic listing of Jacobson's The Exagoge of Ezekiel (p. 214) which is the theatrical drama on the Exodus by the tragedian named Ezekiel and has nothing to do with the biblical person or book of Ezekiel! Kelvin G. Friebel Canadian Theological Seminary Regina, Saskatchewan S4T OH8 THE JOYS OF HEBREW. By Lewis Glinert. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Pp. xii + 292. Cloth, $22.00. Modeled after Leo Rosten's The Joys of Yiddish, this volume presents an alphabetical list of some 600 transliterated Hebrew expressions used in the contemporary Jewish diaspora, with brief comments on each taken from the full range of Jewish history. (Hebrew spellings are provided in an appendix.) Many entries include relevant quotations from various sources, both ancient and modem. Hebrew Studies 34 (1993) 233 Brief Notices A CENTURY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. By P. R. S. Moorey. Louisville: Westminster/lohn Knox Press, 1991. Pp. xvii + 189. Paper, $14.99. Brief surveys of notable excavations and descriptions of major figures in the field are included in this survey history of biblical archaeology, which covers the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Section titles such as "The Quest for Biblical Palestine," "Near Eastern Archaeology and the Bible: Confrontation and Controversy," and "The Passing of the Giants: A Growing Crisis of Confidence" reflect the authors effort to assess the dynamics of the facts on which he reports. L'IMAGE DANS LE JUDAISME. By Pierre Prigent. La Monde De La Bible 24. Pp. 23 + 7. Geneva: Labor et Fides, 1991. Paper, 42.00 FS. Centered on a description of how specific biblical incidents are portrayed in lewish iconography from the second to the sixth centuries and the incorporation of motifs borrowed from pagan sources, this volume also considers rabbinic attitudes towards the restrictions of the second commandment and the development of the synagogue. Other chapters are devoted to manuscript evidence, Dura Europos. and the Roman catacomb of the Via Latina. ...