Commentaries
Showing 51–81 of 81 results
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Blessing Of Blessings
$29.95Add to cartGregory of Narek (c. 945-1003), a monk and a priest, is best known for his poetic works, and one of the few commentators on the Song of Songs, which was so great a focus among western monastic writers of the patristic and medieval periods. Living during a period of cultural and religious renaissance which preceded the Turkish and Mongol invasions of Armenia, and in a period of conflict between the non-Chalcedonian Christians of his native land and their Byzantine neighbors, Grigor worked from the Armenian text of the Song, which is slightly longer than the Septuagint or Hebrew versions and contains passages which vary from them. In his commentary Grigor traces themes and draws on other scriptural books to remind readers that every human person is endowed with an innate love for God, which in his words, ‘cannot be sapped.’
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Romans
$49.95Add to cartWhile widely acknowledged as the single most influential document in Christian history, Paul’s Letter to the Romans has also attracted the most comment. Standing at the head of Paul’s writings in the New Testament and so eloquently delivering his Gospel, Romans has presented Paul to generations of readers: from Augustine in the fifth century, through the Reformation era, down to the present day.
This commentary adopts a literary-rhetorical approach, viewing the letter as an instrument of persuasion designed to transform readers through a celebratory presentation of the Gospel. Reflecting upon the fate of Jews and Gentiles, Paul wins his audience to a vision of a God who always acts inclusively. The God who, in the person of Israel’s Messiah (Jesus), has acted faithfully to include the Gentile peoples within the community of salvation, will not fail to see to the eventual inclusion of Israel as well. In the victory of grace displayed already in the risen humanity of Jesus, the original design of the Creator for human communities and for the world begins to come true.
The interpretation of Paul’s letter to Rome has accompanied and stimulated the path of Christian theology down to today. Romans touches upon virtually all main issues of Christian theology as well as presenting a rewarding introduction to Paul. Byrne facilitates full access to Paul and his Gospel through the letter, allowing Christians today to hear Paul’s voice as intelligibly and powerfully as it has spoken to past generations. Includes an updated bibliography and appendix.
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Gospel Of Matthew
$44.95Add to cartMatthew wrote his Gospel from his perspective as a Jew. It is with sensitivity to this perspective that Father Harrington undertakes this commentary on the Gospel of Matthew.
After an introduction, he provides a literal translation of each section in Matthew’s Gospel and explains the textual problems, philological difficulties, and other matters in the notes. He then presents a literary analysis of each text (content, form, use of sources, structure), examines the text against its Jewish background, situates it in the context of Matthew’s debate with other first-century Jews, and reflects on its significance for Christian theology and Christian-Jewish relations. Includes an updated bibliography and appendix.
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1-2 Thessalonians
$29.95Add to cartThe letters First and Second Thessalonians are traditionally associated with the Pauline foundation of the Macedonian Church at Thessalonica. The first is seen as representing Paul’s earliest epistolary efforts and as providing two successive moments in his long relationship as advisor to that community. Soon after leaving the area for the southern province of Achaia, Paul addresses the concerns of the new Gentile converts and at a later period responds more directly to queries received from the thriving and successful community. The second document, written in Paul’s name and at a later date, attempts to calm the apocalyptic fervor of the community by reiterating its traditional eschatological and Christological teaching.
After treating these introductory matters, this study provides a new translation of each section of the canonical text, explains in notes the pertinent textual and linguistic features of the text, and then offers in a series of interpretive messages a literary, rhetorical, and thematic analysis of the biblical documents. The constant concern of this commentary is to provide assistance to modern readers in discerning the relationship between the authors and their intended readers. Short bibliographies suggest other important modern studies. Includes an updated bibliography as an appendix.
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Galatians
$39.95Add to cartPaul’s Letter to the Galatians has played a major role in the history of theology, especially in the Church’s teaching on grace, faith, and justification. This commentary argues that Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith is essentially social in nature and has important ecumenical implications for the Church today. In its original setting, Galatians established a foundation for the unity of Jewish and Gentile Christians: all are justified by the faith of Jesus Christ.
In addition to illuminating the historical situation that led Paul to write his Letter to the Galatians, this commentary pays careful attention to the rhetorical structure of this letter and its theological message. The author provides a fresh translation of Galatians, critical notes on each verse of the text, and a careful commentary of the letter in light of Paul’s theology.
Theories abound on the question of Galatians, why it was written, what it says, and what the implications of that message are. Yet few scholars have devoted themselves at length to this letter. What sets this work apart is the extent and detail of its scholarship. Includes an updated bibliography as an appendix.
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Acts Of The Apostles
$54.95Add to cartThe Acts of the Apostles is the second volume in the two-part writing scholars call Luke-Acts. It continues the story begun in the Gospel of Luke, showing how the Good News offered by Jesus was eventually extended “to the end of the earth,” so that Gentiles as well as Jews came to share in the blessings of God.
This commentary treats Luke-Acts as an apologetic history. It takes with equal seriousness Luke’s literary artistry and his historical interests, fitting his methods comfortably within the ancient standards of historiography. This perspective illustrates in particular that Luke’s historical narrative serves a definite religious intent. Tracing that intent through the specific contours of Luke’s story is the special contribution of this commentary.
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Gospel Of Luke
$44.95Add to cartWhat makes this commentary on Luke stand apart from others is that, from beginning to end, this is a literary analysis. Because it focuses solely on the Gospel as it appears and not on its source or origin, this commentary richly and thoroughly explores just what Luke is saying and how he says it.
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1st Corinthians
$49.95Add to cartOne of the most exciting of Paul’s letters, First Corinthians offers a vantage point from which modern readers can reflect on the diversity in Christian Churches today. In First Corinthians, Raymond Collins explores that vantage point as well as the challenge Paul posed to the people of his time-and continues to pose in ours-to allow the gospel message to engage them in their daily lives.
Paul introduces us to a flesh-and-blood community whose humanness was all too apparent. Sex, death, and money were among the issues they had to face. Social conflicts and tension within their Christian community were part of their daily lives. Paul uses all of his diplomacy, rhetorical skill, and authority to exhort the Corinthian community to be as one in Christ.
In examining Paul’s message and method, Collins approaches First Corinthians as a Hellenistic letter written to people dealing with real issues in the Hellenistic world. He cites existing Hellenistic letters to show that Paul was truly a letter writer of his own times. Collins makes frequent references to the writings of the philosophic moralists to help clarify the way in which Paul spoke to his beloved Corinthians. He also comments on some aspects of the social circumstances that shaped the Christians of Corinth.
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2nd Corinthians
$34.95Add to cartSecond Corinthians is often regarded as the most personal of Paul’s letters. In this letter Paul more than once fiercely counters the attacks of his opponents. He extensively describes both the quality and circumstances of his apostolic existence: the sufferings he endures, the opposition he encounters, and his continual care for the churches.
Second Corinthians is, therefore, highly significant theologically as well as autobiographically. This letter is an especially important document because of Paul’s ongoing reflection on his ministry. It is both profound in its content and style for its original audience as well as for today’s readers. It is a message that is relevant to Christians today.
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Gospel Of John
$44.95Add to cartNo other book of the New Testament has attracted as much attention from commentators as the Fourth Gospel. It has stirred minds, hearts, and imaginations from Christianity’s earliest days. In The Gospel of John, Francis Moloney unfolds the identifiable “point of view” of this unique Gospel narrative and offers readers, heirs to its rich and widely varied interpretative traditions, relevance for their lives today. Includes an updated bibliography as an appendix.
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1 Thessalonians Philippians 2 Thessalonians Colossians Ephesians
$16.95Add to cartVincent M. Smiles provides a fresh look at the early Church and the faith with which they approached their dynamic, diverse community. With a brief introduction to each letter, Smiles brings to light issues such as authorship, dating, and historical situation. Smiles focuses on similarities and contrasts-such as eschatology, ecclesiology and the status of women–within these diverse, yet unified letters.
A reading of these letters as “partners in a conversation” provides both an understanding and inspiration for today’s Christian society: inspiration to meet our challenges in faith with the same creativity as did the early Church.
With an understandable, yet comprehensive manner, this commentary will appeal to those interested in the changing early Church and its ancient wisdom.
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Gospel Of Mark
$29.95Add to cartIn The Gospel of Mark Fathers Donahue and Harrington use an approach that can be expressed by two terms currently used in literary criticism: intratextuality and intertextuality. This intratextual and intertextual reading of Mark’s Gospel helps us to appreciate the literary character, its setting in life, and its distinctive approaches to the Old Testament, Jesus, and early Christian theology.
“Intratextuality” means we read Mark as Mark and by Mark. Such a reading expresses interest in the final form of the Gospel (not its source or literary history) and in its words and images, literary devices, literary forms, structures, characterization, and plot. Reading Mark by Mark gives particular attention to the distinctive vocabulary and themes that run throughout the Gospel and serve to hold it together as a unified literary production.“Intertextuality” comprises the relation between texts and a textual tradition, and also referring to contextual materials not usually classified as texts (e.g., archaeological data). “Intertextuality” is used to note the links of the text of Mark’s Gospel to other texts (especially the Old Testament) and to the life of the Markan community and of the Christian community today.
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3rd Readings The Gospels
$70.99Add to cartPreaching pastors, ministers, and priests know how quickly Sundays come and go. The Lectionary Commentary will not slow the pace of the weekly calendar, but it will help assure that sermon preparation begins with a solid engagement with Scripture. Designed to “jump start” the difficult task of sermon preparation, this indispensable three-volume work gathers exegetical essays on biblical texts from the Revised Common Lectionary. Covering every Sunday of the three-year liturgical cycle, as well as Christmas Day, Epiphany, and Ascension Day, the readings are arranged in canonical order so as to be of use to all preachers.
Seventy-eight pastors, priests, and teachers from a variety of Christian traditions have contributed their insights to The Lectionary Commentary. Designed to answer the question What does the preacher need to know about this text in order to preach a faithful sermon from it?, each of their essays closely considers its specific biblical text, all the while remaining alert to the contemporary context in which the sermon will be spoken and heard. The result is an invaluable resource that will aid in the difficult task of facilitating a meaningful encounter between Holy Scripture and our modern world.
This volume, The Third Readings: The Gospels, provides exegetical commentary on the lectionary readings for the witnesses to Jesus Christ written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Also unique to this volume is an excellent essay by C. Clifton Black on Augustinian preaching and the nurture of Christians.
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Practical Commentary On Holy Scripture
$44.95Add to cartThis book is a great introductory Bible study all by itself – for it brings out the Catholic teachings that are hidden in Sacred Scripture! A famous book – one which received recommendations from 14 bishops when first published and which went through at least 16 editions – this commentary is not a work for scholars, but rather a very practical book for the ordinary Catholic.
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James
$64.95Add to cartIn his commentary on the letter of James, Hartin offers a unique approach toward understanding a much-neglected writing. Refusing to read the letter of James through the lens of Paul, Hartin approaches the letter in its own right. He takes seriously the address to “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (1:1) as directed to Jews who had embraced the message of Jesus and were living outside their homeland, Israel. At the same time, Hartin shows how this letter remains true to Jesus’ heritage. Using recent studies on rhetorical culture, Hartin illustrates how James takes Jesus’ sayings and performs them again in his own way to speak to the hearers/readers of his own world.
Hartin examines the text, passage by passage, while providing essential notes and an extensive explanation of the theological meaning of each passage. The value of this commentary lies in its breadth of scholarship and its empathic approach to this writing. The reader will discover new and refreshing insights into the world of early Christianity as well as a teaching that is of perennial significance.
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Acts : The Gospel Of The Spirit
$30.00Add to cartProlific author Justo Gonzalez takes us deeper into the idea that the Acts of the Apostles is really the Acts of the Holy Spirit. He inserts the text into its social context, discussing each verse in terms of its social, spiritual, and theological implications. This is a commentary ideally suited both to illuminating the book of Acts and to attuning readers to the on-going acts of the Spirit in our own time.
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Life In Christ
$29.95Add to cartIn Life in Christ Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household, presents a project of re-evangelization and spiritual renewal based on St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans. It is therefore neither an exegetical commentary nor a theological treatise, but goes straight to the heart of what animated the Apostle when he wrote this letter. His aim was not to give the Christians of Rome-and the Christians of later generations-a difficult text on which to exercise their critical wisdom but rather to impart a spiritual gift to them so that they would be strengthened and mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
At the beginning of the third millennium a new phenomenon is spreading through the Christian Churches which can only be the work of the Holy Spirit. Up to now Christians of different denominations have proclaimed Jesus Christ mainly in competition and rivalry with one another, thus compromising our testimony in the eyes of the world. Why should we not grasp this unique occasion to start proclaiming together with brotherly love our common belief in Christ, which is far more important than what still separates us? Pope John Paul II has espoused this project and has expressed the wish that all Christians take this opportunity “for fruitful cooperation in the many areas which unite us; these are unquestionably more numerous than those which divide us.”
Life in Christ is a contribution to the realization of this project. Father Cantalamessa has made the most of the insights and riches present in each one of the three main Christian traditions: Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant, avoiding those points not commonly shared by all believers in Christ, or at least by the majority of them. The Letter to the Romans lends itself to this aim because it deals with the basics of the Christian faith, leaving all the rest aside. It is the ideal basis for that “Common Witness” which is becoming more and more central to ecumenical dialogue. This is, therefore, a first and “partial” attempt to present a spirituality and a proclamation corresponding to the new grace of understanding and unity given to the Christians in the second half of this century.
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Liturgical Works
$39.99Add to cartAmong the manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls are numerousfragments of liturgical texts: daily and festival prayers, songs and praises, and other fascinating documents. This inaugural volume in the Eerdmans Commentaries on the Dead Sea Scrolls series explores these important ancient texts, throwing new light on the ritual life of Jews at the turn of the common era. Beginning with a general introduction to the Qumran library and Jewish liturgical traditions, James Davila situates the liturgical texts found at Qumran in their historical context in translation of these Hewbrew texts and provides detailed line-by-line explanations of each document. Throughout his book Davila shows how the Qumran liturgical texts draw on and develop traditions from the Hebrew Bible, and he explores their significance as background to Jewish liturgy, Jewish mysticism, and Christian origins. This volume and the complete commentary project will become the standard reference work on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
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12 Prophets Volume 2
$69.95Add to cartThis multi-volume commentary reflects a relatively new development in biblical studies. The readings of the books of the Hebrew Bible offered here all focus on the final form of the texts, approaching them as literary works, recognizing that the craft of poetry and storytelling that the ancient Hebrew world provided can be found in them and that their truth can be better appreciated with a fuller understanding of that art. As they have for centuries, people still turn to the Hebrew Bible to hear afresh the life-giving words of God’s everlasting convenant. Berit Olam (“The Everlasting Covenant”): Studies in Hebrew Narrative & Poetry brings to all interested in the Bible, be they lay people, professional biblical scholars, students, or religious educators, the latest developments in the literary analysis of these ancient texts.
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Judges : Studies In Hebrew Narrative And Poetry
$64.95Add to cartThe biblical book of Judges contains culturally familiar stories such as that of Samson and Delilah and Deborah and Baraq. But despite the popularity of these stories, other important stories in Judges such as that of Achsah, the raped pilegesh, and the final civil war are virtually unknown to the average reader.
Approaching Judges as a unified literary document, Tammi Schneider shows that the unity of the narrative reveals that when the Israelites adhere to the covenant established with their deity they prosper, but when they stray from it disaster follows. This is true not only in the Deuteronomistic refrains, as is recognized by many scholars, but in the whole book, and is reflected in Israel’s worsening situation throughout its narrative time.
Schneider also highlights the unifying themes in Judges. She emphasizes the role of gender, family relations, and theology expressed in the biblical narrative, and uses intertextuality to better understand the text of Judges and its context in the Deuteronomistic history and the Hebrew Bible.
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Introducing The Gospel According To Mark 8:22-16:20
$29.95Add to cartMark wrote “the beginning of the Gospel” for Christian who thought it was the end. For that he told them a story of another time when Jesus’ disciples thought it was the end but turned out to be the beginning. That is why the passion-ressurection of Jesus dominated the Gospel according to Mark. Using rhetorical and literary analysis, Father LaVerdiere introduces Mark’s story as the beginning of the Gospel as we enter a new millennium.
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Spirituality Of Perfection
$29.95Add to cartThroughout this century the Epistle of James has been viewed consistently as a disjointed set of instructions. In A Spirituality of Perfection Patrick Hartin differs from this approach by showing that the “call for perfection” provides a unifying meaning for the epistle. Examining the concept of perfection against the background of the Graeco-Roman world, the Old Testament, and the Septuagint, Father Hartin shows that perfection provides a key to defining the spirituality of the Epistle of James.
Father Hartin shows how the notion of perfection plays a key role in the definition of God, as well as the way one is called “to be in the world.” He adopts a fresh approach toward understanding the categories of wisdom, eschatology, and apocalyptic as they illuminate the epistle’s advice. He allows James to be read in its own right, instead of through the eyes of other traditions, such as Paul, and shows that what James intends by perfection is different from our modern understanding-that the concept of perfection unlocks an important self-understanding in Christianity.
Just as every generation of believers aims at putting its faith into action, A Spirituality of Perfection culminates with the question: “What direction does the Epistle of James give Christians of the twenty-first century for putting their faith into action?”
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Ezra And Nehemiah
$44.95Add to cartEzra-Nehemiah has been neglected in biblical studies, but it is important as one of the few windows into the Persian period of Israel’s history, the setting for so much of the final shape of the Hebrew Bible. To know this period is to know what influenced these redactors. In Ezra and Nehemiah Gordon Davies provides that knowledge using rhetorical criticism, a methodology that reveals the full range and progress of the book’s ideas without hiding its rough seams and untidy edges.
The purpose of rhetorical criticism is to explain not the source but the power of the text as a unitary message. This approach does not look at plot development, characterization, or other elements whose roughness makes Ezra-Nehemiah frustrating to read. Instead, it examines the three parts of the relationship-the strategies, the situations, and the effects-between the speaker and the audience. Rhetorical criticism’s scrutiny of the audience in context favors the search for the ideas and structures that are indigenous to the culture of the text.Rhetorical criticism is interested in figures of speech as means of persuasion. Therefore, to apply it to Ezra-Nehemiah, Davies concentrates on the public discourse-the orations, letters, and prayers-throughout its text. In each chapter he follows a procedure that: (1) where it is unclear, identifies the rhetorical unit in which the discourse is set; (2) identifies the audiences of the discourse and the rhetorical situation; (3) studies the arrangement of the material; (4) studies the effect on the various audiences; (5) reviews the passage as a whole and judges its success. In the conclusion, Davies explains that Ezra-Nehemiah makes theological sense on its own terms, by forming a single work in which a range of ideas is argued.
Biblical scholars as well as those interested in literary criticism, communication studies, rhetorical studies, ecclesiology, and homiletics will find Ezra and Nehemiah enlightening.
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Romans
$69.95Add to cartWhile widely acknowledged as the single most influential document in Christian history, Paul’s Letter to the Romans has also attracted the most comment. Standing at the head of Paul’s writings in the New Testament and so eloquently delivering his Gospel, Romans has presented Paul to generations of readers: from Augustine in the fifth century, through the Reformation era, down to the present day.
This commentary adopts a literary-rhetorical approach, viewing the letter as an instrument of persuasion designed to transform readers through a celebratory presentation of the Gospel. Reflecting upon the fate of Jews and Gentiles, Paul wins his audience to a vision of a God who always acts inclusively. The God who, in the person of Israel’s Messiah (Jesus), has acted faithfully to include the Gentile peoples within the community of salvation, will not fail to see to the eventual inclusion of Israel as well. In the victory of grace displayed already in the risen humanity of Jesus, the original design of the Creator for human communities and for the world begins to come true.
The interpretation of Paul’s letter to Rome has accompanied and stimulated the path of Christian theology down to today. Romans touches upon virtually all main issues of Christian theology as well as presenting a rewarding introduction to Paul. Byrne facilitates full access to Paul and his Gospel through the letter, allowing Christians today to hear Paul’s voice as intelligibly and powerfully as it has spoken to past generations. Includes an updated bibliography and appendix.
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1 Kings : Studies In Hebrew Narrative And Poetry
$69.95Add to cartThe narratives of Solomon and Jeroboam, of Elijah and Ahab, have fascinated readers for millennia. They are the principal foundation of our knowledge of the history of Israel during the early years of the divided monarchy, and their reliability and verifiability as historical sources have long been the subject of intense scholarly analysis and debate. But even apart from questions of historical authenticity, they are gripping stories of richly drawn characters caught up in the complex tale of Yahweh’s dealings with Israel: Solomon the wise is the builder of Yahweh’s Temple, yet he becomes an idolater; Jeroboam is chosen by Yahweh as king, yet he worships the golden calves; Elijah is a prophet second only to Moses, yet he tries to renounce his calling; and Ahab is the worst of Israel’s kings, yet shows traces of greatness. This study explores the narrative world created by the ancient Israelite author – the people who inhabit it, the lives they live and the deeds they do, and the face of God who is revealed in their stories.
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Interpreting The Old Testament
$24.95Add to cartThis introduction to Old Testament exegesis responds to the directives of the Second Vatican Council that instructs biblical interpreters to investigate the meaning the sacred writers intended to express. Thus it acquaints readers with an introduction to the methods commonly used in biblical scholarship today.
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Apocalypse
$24.95Add to cartThis interpretation is written in the conviction that the key to understanding this work is its literary form: revelatory narrative and allegorical narrative. It reveals the structure of the narrative and its basic underlying pattern of persecution, judgment and salvation. It shares with us the message that even as Christ passed through suffering and death to the resurrection beyond, so too may we.
