SUGGESTION: The International Bible Commentary
A review from Amazon:
The International Bible Commentary: A Catholic and Ecumenical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century
"Bridge-building" is the major contribution of this unique work. It was
written by authors on all 6 major continents, excepting only Antartica.
Writers were drawn from Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox traditions.
The roster of contributors includes persons from developing countries
no less than affluent ones, and Third World scholars quite as
significantly as those from this country and Europe.
On one hand, the
commentary uses the New Revised Standard Version which was copyrighted
by the National Council of Churches in which Protestants figure
predominantly. On the other hand, it carries the "Imprimatur" and
"Nihil Obstat" of official approval from Rome and from the Bishop of
St. Cloud (MN).
Given how culture-bound and language-specific and
tradition-shaped all interpretive efforts are, one can easily see the
wisdom of this project. Interpretation enjoys enormous benefits by
this project's cross-cultural pollination of its work. Between the
covers of this one book we see bridges being built between northern and
southern hemispheres, between laity and clergy, between Church and
academy, even between experts who do not agree.
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This is a 1 volume non-technical commentary built on a 2-reading scheme - first for the overall view, 2nd for a detailed view. In this sense it is almost a Bible companion rather than a commentary. Lots of excellent front-end material. a partial TOC and partial list of contributors are given below:
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
