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Numbers: An Introduction and Commentary, By Peter Altmann and Caio Peres

Numbers

An Introduction and Commentary

Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries

4

by Caio Peres and Peter Altmann
Series edited by David G. Firth
Consulting Editor Tremper Longman III

Numbers
Hardback
$59.99
  • Length: 432 pages
  • Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.5 in
  • Published: March 11, 2025
  • Imprint: IVP Academic
  • ISBN: 9781514013656
Other Formats:

Two Scholars Reengage with Numbers in this Tyndale Commentary

The book of Numbers has had something of a renaissance in scholarly engagement in recent years. This Tyndale Old Testament Commentary volume by Peter Altmann andCaio Peres distills that conversation with sensitivity and rigor. With input from two authors from different contexts, it helps to illuminate Numbers for the contemporary reader while seeking to make God’s Word a source of blessing, nourishment, andhope for all.

The Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series is designed to help the reader of the Bible understand what the text says and what it means. The Introduction to each book gives a concise but thorough treatment of its authorship, date,original setting, and purpose. Following a structural Analysis, the Commentary takes the book section by section, drawing out its main themes, and also comments on individual verses and problems of interpretation. Additional Notes provide fuller discussion of particular difficulties.

In the new Old Testament volumes, the commentary on each section of the text is structured under three headings: Context, Comment, and Theology. The goal is to explain the true meaning of the Bible and make its message plain.

REVIEWS

"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 libraries of scholars, pastors, and preachers. I shall be consulting it repeatedly."Helen Paynter, director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence and tutor in biblical studies at Bristol Baptist College
"Altmann and Peres expertly guide the reader through the challenging wilderness landscape of Numbers. They combine an impressive array of perspectives: engagement with the best and most recent scholarship on Numbers, skillful 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."Dennis Olson, Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament Theology Emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary
"The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries are well known and highly regarded, not least for their 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."Brent A. Strawn, D. Moody Smith Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and professor of law at Duke University
"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 complexworld. 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."Adriane Leveen, senior lecturer emeritus in Hebrew Bible at Hebrew Union College
"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."Nathan MacDonald, professor of the interpretation of the Old Testament and fellow of St John's College at the University of Cambridge
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CONTENTS

General preface
Authors’ preface
Abbreviations
Bibliography
Introduction
1. Why read Numbers?
2. Is Numbers a book?
3. How Numbers fits into the Pentateuch and Hexateuch
4. The order of the material
5. Composition and compilation
6. How to read Numbers
7. Key concepts
8. Christian application of the book of Numbers
Analysis
Commentary
Additional notes
The large numbers in the census
The Levites
The firstfruits and firstborn offerings
The amounts of offerings

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ABOUT Caio Peres

Caio Peres is an independent researcher and missionary in Brazil.

ABOUT Peter Altmann

Peter Altmann presently serves as David Allan Hubbard Associate Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, California.

ABOUT David G. Firth

David G. Firth is tutor in Old Testament at Trinity College, Bristol. He is the author of 1 and 2 Samuel (Apollos Old Testament Commentary), The Message of Joshua, and Including the Stranger, and the coeditor of Interpreting the Psalms, Interpreting Isaiah, Words and the Word, and Presence, Power and Promise.

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