NEW BIBLE COMMENTARY
Editors: D.A. Carson, R.T. France, J.A. Motyer, G.J. Wenham
IVP. 1,455 pages. £34.99
ISBN 0 85110 648 X
Because the Christian book market has now become so large, EN does not usually review reprints. However, we make an exception for this exceptional book. This is the eighth reprint of the 1994 revision of the New Bible Commentary (which first appeared way back in 1953).
The editors of this revision are a prodigious group of men and the commentary is a brilliant exercise in brevity and scholarship which takes readers quickly to the heart of the text for every passage of the whole Bible. The integrity of Scripture as God's Word is upheld with an intelligent and insightful concern to answer the arguments of Bible critics running throughout the text. Derek Kidner gives reasons for the unity of Isaiah. Douglas Stuart supports the historicity of Jonah's remarkable story. Donald Guthrie explains why he is unconvinced by theories of the non-Pauline authorship of the Pastoral epistles. If there is one question mark, it would be that I think the stance taken on the relationship between Genesis 1 and modern science, that they are 'answering different questions', is a little too trite and convenient.
But the book is a goldmine. Here you have the opportunity to read such gifted luminaries as Chris Wright on Leviticus, Alec Motyer on the Psalms, Sinclair Fergusson on Daniel, Douglas Moo on Romans, Moises Silva on Galatians, along with Bruce Winter bringing all his rich knowledge of first-century Mediterranean culture to an exposition of 1 Corinthians. I dream of taking a long holiday and being able to read through the whole thing!
The New Bible Commentary majors on exegesis rather than application. But it ought to be a first port of call for any preacher or home group leader grappling with a biblical passage. If we do not get our exegesis correct, it is likely that we will skew our application. It is a veritable treasure house of biblical understanding and balance. After ten years on the market it still deserves the widest possible readership.
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