Rather than devote space to the type of theological and exegetical comments found in most commentaries, this series focuses on the Hebrew text and its related issues, syntactic and otherwise. The volumes serve as prequels to commentary proper, providing guides to understanding the linguistic characteristics of the texts from which the messages of the texts may then be derived. In addition to this, Ruth , the newest volume in the series, handbooks on Amos , Genesis 1-11 , and Jonah are also now available.