The International Bible Commentary: A Catholic and Ecumenical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century, William R. Farmer(Editor)
a review:
What do readers engaged in pastoral concerns want to
know about the Bible? To this question men and women from many different
countries, continents, and languages have collaborated to supply an
answer in The International Bible Commentary (IBC)—a one-volume Bible commentary for the Church of the twenty-first century.
Initiated by international scholars as a Catholic and ecumenical, academic and pastoral enterprise, The International Bible Commentary
brings together many voices speaking from different cultural
perspectives to interpret God's word in the Bible. These voices,
gathered from South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, North America,
India, Asia, and the Philippines, have written their commentaries and
articles from a variety of perspectives so that the spirit of many world
cultures can be experienced in the celebration of the Bible today. A
ground-breaking achievement for pastors and preachers across the globe, The International Bible Commentary
enables people to read and teach the Bible by helping them to recover
the ancient biblical truth in all its warmth and power, yet within
modern contexts. The international strength of this work is confirmed by
the participation of publishers who are committed to producing editions
in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Polish.
The International Bible Commentary meets the specific needs
and requirements of pastors using a one-volume Bible commentary. In
addition to articles on text and the canon of the Bible, interpretation,
and biblical theology always asking "what does a pastor need to know
about these subjects?" essays on contemporary issues are also included,
such as Church and state, ecology and the Bible, justice, poverty, and
work. Pastors' guides tie together the biblical commentaries and the
general articles and focus on themes such as the Bible and preaching,
the Bible and liturgy, the Bible and Christian education, the Bible and
social action, and the Bible and pastoral care. The commentary takes
note of each biblical book's use in the Church's liturgy.
Scholars will also be impressed by the global methodological and systematic approach of The International Bible Commentary.
Using the modern historical-critical method, the commentators emulate
the exegetical approaches of early Christian scholars such as Irenaeus,
Tertullian, and Origen, and include information on how the texts have
provided vital guidance to the Church throughout the world. The International Bible Commentary
has prompted, for the first time, communication between commentary
authors and other experts, who have come together to critique each
other's work. This mutual enlightenment has enhanced the quality of each
presentation.
The International Bible Commentary meets the needs of the
general reader as well by translating the language of scientific
exegesis into language that is easy to understand. Through clear prose,
introductory articles, and commentary relevant to living the message of
the Bible today, The International Bible Commentary anticipates the questions of the modern reader, asking "What are his or her ideas, presuppositions, and expectations?"
The International Bible Commentary's general articles treat
selected questions about interpreting the Bible, while the body of the
text consists of commentaries on the books of the Bible presented in the
general order traditionally given those books in the first millennium
of the Christian era. Each commentary has two parts: First Reading and
Second Reading. The First Reading identifies the subject of the book as a
whole, which is necessary for grasping the real context and sense of
individual verses and chapters. The Second Reading fills out the general
insight with the passionate details of poetry and preaching and
history. Positioned throughout the commentaries are excursuses that
clarify key words and concepts. Sixteen pages of color maps and a series
of line-drawings especially prepared for this commentary highlight
sites of particular importance.
The teamwork approach to The International Bible Commentary
offers a sense of belonging to an international community of
interpreters who take seriously their accountability to God's people in
reading Scripture. Stressing that it is not enough simply to pass on the
latest scholarship on a text, the contributors to The International Bible Commentary
have made the statement of the scholar a life-giving word to the
reader. It is because of this distinctly collaborative effort that
pastors, preachers, and laypeople have in hand a means for making the
Bible come alive with relevant messages for the contemporary world.
The contributors to this work have been selected for their
scholarship and competence. Among the many distinguished contributors
are: S. Oyin Abogunrin, José María Abrego, SJ, Ofoso Adutwum, Jean-Noël
Aletti, SJ, Ana Flora Anderson, Pablo Andiñach, Gonzalo Aranda Pérez,
Eduardo Arens Kuckerlkorn, SM, Olivier Artus, Jesús Asurmendi Ruiz,
Santiago Ausín, David Balás, O. Cist., Giuseppe Bettenzoli, Maria Clara
Lucchetti Bingemer, D. Jeffrey Bingham, Joseph Blenkinsopp, Lawrence
Boadt, CSP, Normand Bonneau, OMI, François Bovon, Barbara Bozak, Georg
Braulik, OSB, Camilla Burns, SND de N, Antony Campbell, SJ, José
Cervantes Gabarrón, Enzo Cortese, OFM, John Craghan, Manual Díaz Mateos,
SJ, Donald Deer, Daniel Deffenbaugh, David Dungan, M. Timothea Elliott,
RSM, E. Earle Ellis, Erik Eynikel, Denis Farkasfalvy, O. Cist.,
Kathleen Farmer, William R. Farmer, Cain Hope Felder, Víctor Manuel
Fernandez, Reginald C. Fuller, Jean Galot, SJ, Florentino García
Martínez, Timothy Gollob, Mark Goodwin, Gilberto Gorgulho, OP, Adrian
Graffy, Paul Hanson, Daniel Harrington, SJ, Paul Hinnebusch, OP, Jan
Holman, SVD, Virgil Howard, John C. Hurd, Humberto Jiménez G.,
Hans-Winfried Jüngling, SJ, Charles Kannengiesser, John Karavidopoulos,
Roch Kereszty, O. Cist., Young Bong Kim, John Kloppenborg, Tomás Kraft,
OP, André LaCocque, Jan Lambrecht, SJ, Patricia LeNoir, Adrian Leske,
Armando Levoratti, Norbert Lohfink, SJ, José Loza Vera, OP, Margaret Y.
MacDonald, Temba L. J. Mafico, Francis Martin, Luca Mazzinghi, Sean
McEvenue.
The International Bible Commentary * is the first one-volume Bible commentary created specifically for pastors and preachers world- wide
* is a Catholic and ecumenical, international resource for the Church of the twenty-first century
* includes contributors from many Christian communions and six continents, including 32 countries
* uses the modern historical-critical method
* translates the language of scientific exegesis into the language of the common reader
* includes general articles that treat selected questions about interpreting the Bible
* includes essays on contemporary issues in addition to articles on
text and the canon of the Bible, interpretation, and biblical theology
* includes guides for pastors to relate the biblical commentaries and the general articles
* offers cross references to the books of the Bible
* includes concise commentaries on the books of the Bible
* clarifies how the commentary should be read
* defines key words and concepts in the Bible
* includes sixteen pages of full-color maps and a series of
line-drawings especially prepared for this commentary that highlight
sites of particular importance
Sean McEvenue is professor of Old Testament theology at Concordia
University in Montreal, Canada. His training with the Jesuits, mostly in
Toronto, introduced him to biblical scholarship and the thought of the
distinguished Jesuit theologian Bernard Lonergan. He completed his
biblical studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, writing a
Doctorate in 1970 under the direction of Norbert Lohfink, SJ. His
publications consist of books and articles centered on the sources of
the Pentateuch, and focus on questions about truth and meaning of
biblical texts. His main concern has been to exploit the clarity
achieved in Lonergan's model of theological method, in order to redefine
the tasks of biblical interpretation. He is the author of Interpretation and Bible, and Interpreting the Penteteuch, published by The Liturgical Press.
William R. Farmer is emeritus professor of New Testament at
Perkins School of Theology, and research scholar at the University of
Dallas. At Cambridge he studied with C. H. Dodd while completing a
degree in philosophy of Religion and Christian Ethics. His Doctoral work
at Union Theological Seminary was with John Knox. Farmer began writing
on the social history of pre-70 Judaism and thereafter entered the field
of synoptic studies. From 1965 to 1989 he worked closely with Albert C.
Outler. His recent publications focus on the problem of Christian
origins. Farmer is a Guggenheim Fellow and a Fellow of the International
Institute for Gospel Studies. He was an invited Visiting Fellow at
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, in the spring of 1995.
David Laird Dungan was born in China, the son of Presbyterian
missionaries. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he serves as Lindsay
Young Distinguished Professor of Humanities in the Department of
Religious Studies at the University of Tennessee. He completed a degree
in theology at McCormick Theological Seminary in 1962 and obtained his
doctorate from Harvard Divinity School in 1967, working with Krister
Stendahl and Helmut Koester. His early writings focused on the sayings
of Jesus in the letters of Paul and on ancient documents relevant to
study of the Gospels. He is broadly published in synoptic studies.
Armando J. Levoratti is Professor of Old Testament at the Seminario Mayor in La Plata, Argentina. He is a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the editor of Revista Bíblica,
the leading Latin American scholarly journal for Biblical Studies. With
the assistance of his New Testament colleague Mateo Perdía he is the
principle translator of the entire Bible from Hebrew and Greek published
as El Libro del Pueblo de Dios, a version for the Argentinian people. He is also the editor-in-chief of Santa Biblia,
an ecumenical study Bible published in 1995 by the United Bible Society
and used throughout Latin America by both Protestants and Catholics.
Professor Levoratti serves as one of the chief consultants of the United
Bible Society.
