The Jerome Biblical Commentary ed. by Raymond E. Brown, S. S., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S. J., Roland E. Murphy, O. Carm (review)

BOOK REVIEWS The Jerome Biblical Commentary. Edited by RAYMOND E. BROWN, S. S., JosEPH A. FITZMYER, S. J., RoLAND E. MuRPHY, 0. CARM. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Pp. 15~~. $~5.00. Even a first glance can hardly fail to indicate the astounding array of scholarship which has gone into this impressive collection. As one begins to probe more deeply into particular sections of the book, this initial reaction is pleasantly corroborated. What we have in this two-volumes-inone is a verse-by-verse commentary on the whole of Sacred Scripture. In many ways, it is a " modern " American counterpart of the mammoth A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture compiled by British scholars fifteen years earlier. The structure and format of the two works are similar, but their contents are notably diverse. In this diversity lies perhaps the most telling evidence to date of the progress of Catholic biblical scholars in America during the interim. The earlier commentary employed only three U. S. and two Canadian scholars; the Jerome Biblical Commentary has been written entirely by representatives of these two countries. A pertinent sub-title might well read, "North American Catholic Biblical Scholarship Comes of Age." The format is tidy and attractive, although the print is not as dark and clear as the British work. The articles and commentaries are numbered consecutively and divided into sections headed by large, boldface arabic numerals. This is, in fact, the only consecutive enumeration in the entire volume, as the pagination begins afresh with the New Testament portion. This system of numbered articles is a valuable aid to cross-references; however, this reviewer was disappointed that scriptural chapter-and-verse notations are not included at the top of each page to expedite the rapid finding of comments on specific passages. The Revised Standard Version has been followed for the titles of the books and the spelling of proper names. In the matter of titles, however, two exceptions occur to mar the consistency: Canticle of Canticles is retained for the Song of Solomon, and Apocalypse is retained for Revelation. The numbering of the Psalms is consistent with the RSV. Both scholars and serious students will find an amazing wealth of up-todate information in the assortment of introductory and auxiliary articles, which would of themselves make the book salable. In these articles, as also in the commentaries on individual passages, the reader will find the most recent literary and scientific data available. For example, the article on Inspiration and Inerrancy includes the opinions of Levesque, McKenzie, 58~ BOOK REVIEWS 583 Benoit, K. Rahner and other modern scholars-as well as a timely warning not to cling too tenaciously to the erstwhile rigid distinction between revelation and inspiration but rather to consider the latter term as containing the total influence of God upon the sacred authors. One is not surprised to find insights from the Qumran Community reflected in a variety of ways in the competent treatment of the Dead Sea Scrolls. If more examples of modernity are needed, the reader may consult the fine article of Robert North, S. J., on Biblical Archeology, which is accompanied by an excellent chart of key excavations in the Holy Land and elsewhere. The use of similar charts is typical throughout the volume. When the monumental Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible appeared in the United States in 1963, this translation of a Dutch work was hailed as a significant sign of the high standards of those American scholars who did the translating and adaptation. At the time, this reviewer noted a slight unevenness of quality in the treatment of the Old and New Testaments : the treatment of the latter seemed inferior to the quality of the handling of the Old Testament. This observation is not true of the Jerome Biblical Commentary; New Testament scholarship in Catholic circles in the United States has finally caught up with Old Testament advances. One verification of this remark is provided by the series of articles under the general heading Aspects of New Testament Thought by David M. Stanley, S. J., and Raymond E. Brown, S. S., covering such topics as: " The Titles of Christ"; "New Testament Eschatology"; "The Kingdom...