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Title: The New Jerome Biblical Commentary
ISBN: 0136149340
Author:
Publicate Date: 1990-01
Publish: 1990-01
List Price: $94.40
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $59.43
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $43.00
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Excellent one volume Bible commentary
If I had to choose just one commentary of the Bible to use, I would pick the New Jerome. In fact, I now use it almost exclusively because it is so useful. It has many positives.
First, the New Jerome is exhaustive. It has large sized pages and still manages to fill up over 1400 of them! It includes detailed commentary for each book of the Bible and in many cases the notes run several lines just for one verse. In addition to going through the entire Bible, the NJBC includes hundreds of pages of articles ranging from the biblical texts, Old and New Testament apocrypha, Catholic biblical interpretation, history of Israel, Theology, Christology, St. Paul, etc. etc. In addition, each section provides numerous sources for those wanting to know more information. The text of the Bible itself is not included in the NJBC.
Second, the NJBC represents the best of modern, critical scholarship. Thus, it takes a dim view of Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, denies Pauline authorship of some of his traditional letters, etc. However, I would describe the notes as "moderate" in that the authors use critical study, but still frequently defend traditional positions (in line with the general Catholic position on biblical scholarship). In other words, you won't see any of the radical "Jesus Seminar" type stuff. However, the commentary could be shocking to some people and I think outside of serious biblical students, the NJBC would have little practical value (for example, they often leave Latin and Greek words un-translated).
The NJBC does have a few drawbacks. First, the quality of the commentary can be somewhat uneven since multiple authors are tackling many books and themes; some are clearly better than others. Second, the commentaries on the books are ordered by the alleged dates of the books, so you can't simply find them by looking up the traditional biblical order. This is a minor complaint, but aggravating on a practical level. Finally, the scholarship is a bit dated since the NJBC hasn't been updated in awhile.
Overall, this is an excellent one volume resource on the Bible, although it is primarily for those interested in biblical scholarship, not as a resource to understand the Bible on a practical level.
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2: Jerome
I have read many Biblical commentaries. I was looking for a Catholic Bible commentary, because I am Catholic but this Jerome commentary is the least organized and the most controversial; almost evasive in its format and content.
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3: Great Commentary
The NJBC is by far the best single volume commentary around. If you are a serious theological student and interetsed in good biblical research and scholarship then I highly recommend it. The contributions to it will help to broaden your search for accuracy and textual interpretation. The editors and folks who contributed to it have done an excellent job with the various exegetical criticisms to provide the user with the tools need for exegesis of any text. I recommend this along with Raymond Brown's INtrodcution to the New testament as a companion text.
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4: A Wealth Of Knowledge
One thing you get from this commentary is a wealth of knowledge not only from the bible but about the church fathers, Critical views of today and the past. Its a great reference commentary to understanding the bible more clearly. Im very happy with my purchase and would recommend it to all who seek to understand the bible more clearly.
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5: Jerome Biblical Commentary
The book is a must for anyone who is serious about the study of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. The articles are written by top of the line scholars, and the new edition brings scholarship up to date. It has always enjoyed a reputation for scholarhip.
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