Hey Clayton! Thanks for following up on Carpenter's commentary set. Overall, I greatly enjoyed it. As weird as it might sound, the structure and organization was very clear. That went a long way for me in grasping the content. There were areas where I felt Carpenter could have been clearer though. I.e., he would provide all the evidence he could and note how scholars could (appropriately!) land on either side of the fence on a given issue. However, he then wouldn't come down off the fence himself—at least not clearly (as he would say "this seems to close the case," followed by an opposite perspective having the comment, "this seems foolproof" [paraphrasing here of course]). I admire the clarity in which he provided the options, and I would not have had a problem if he had said "I'm on the fence here." The "both/and" scenarios made for a perplexing read in several sections as I tried to deduce what Carpenter's perspective was. Nonetheless, I still recommend it. That negative doesn't outweigh the positives of his careful analyses.
What did you think of that Exodus commentary by Carpenter?
Hey Clayton! Thanks for following up on Carpenter's commentary set. Overall, I greatly enjoyed it. As weird as it might sound, the structure and organization was very clear. That went a long way for me in grasping the content. There were areas where I felt Carpenter could have been clearer though. I.e., he would provide all the evidence he could and note how scholars could (appropriately!) land on either side of the fence on a given issue. However, he then wouldn't come down off the fence himself—at least not clearly (as he would say "this seems to close the case," followed by an opposite perspective having the comment, "this seems foolproof" [paraphrasing here of course]). I admire the clarity in which he provided the options, and I would not have had a problem if he had said "I'm on the fence here." The "both/and" scenarios made for a perplexing read in several sections as I tried to deduce what Carpenter's perspective was. Nonetheless, I still recommend it. That negative doesn't outweigh the positives of his careful analyses.