The International Bible Commentary
Hard cover, 7 x 10, 1,986 pp., PhP 1,850
Rights: Asia except Australia & New Zealand, US $ 50.00 (Net)

Editor: William R. Farmer
Associate Editors: Sean McEvenue, Amando J. Levoratti & David L.Dungan
Map Editor: André LaCocque

This book brings together many voices, Catholic and ecumenical, speaking from different cultural perspectives to interpret God's word in the Bible. These voices gather from South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, North America, Asia and the Philippines, have written their commentaries and articles from variety of perspectives so that the spirit of many world cultures can be experienced in the celebration of the Bible today.

The International Bible Commentary enables people to read and teach the Bible by helping them recover the ancient biblical truth in all its warmth and power, yet within modern contexts.

Read the Preface of the book.

From the Preface of the Book:

A Catholic and Ecumenical Commentary
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The idea of a Bible commentary that is both "Catholic" and "ecumenical" raises legitimate questions. From the outset the editors intended to produce "en ecumenical commentary for the twenty-first century" in the spirit of Vatican Council II . The chief aim of this commentary was to give was to give "scholarly assistance to pastors in all parts of the world."

Some believed that it was not yet possible to produce such a commentary. They said: "It is not possible to be Roman Catholic and ecumenical, at least not yet...." Others thought we were involved in an "eschatological vision," that "the unity we seek still lies before us."

The difficulties which faced the editors were deeply felt. On the one hand they had become convinced that the participation of scholars who were not Roman Catholics was not only desirable, it was essential if the commentary was to be truly Catholic. On the other hand how would it be possible both to be faithful to the magisterial teaching of the Roman Catholic Church on the Bible and to invite the participation of scholars who owed no allegiance to the Roman Catholic magisterium? There was also a practical issue: how to produce a work that would be both faithful to Roman Catholic teaching and useful to all Christians everywhere.

In order to explore the feasibility of such a commentary and the principles on which it should be based the editors decided to schedule a "Symposium on Biblical Interpretation." this took place at the University of Dallas in January 1992. Participants included scholars from all communions, coming from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, England, Canada, Nigeria, and the United States, women and men, thirty in all. In the light of this symposium and the subsequent discussion and reflection Professor David L. Balás drafted a mission statement for the commentary project. The statement concluded with the expectation that the resulting commentary would be "a truly Roman Catholic, and also a truly ecumenical, commentary for all nations."

This "Statement of Mission," has a historical document, represents the ideal. How far the editors and contirbutors have approximated this ideal if for others to judge. Certainly the willingness of Protestant and Orthodox scholars to work with Roman Catholics to produce a truly Roman Catholic and a truly ecumenical commentary on the Bible is a sign of hope. To make this possible, great change had to take place in the hearts and minds of many.

We are involved in an eschatological vision; the unity we seek still lies before us.

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About the Editors
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William R. Farmer
Emeritus Professor of New Testament, Perkins School of Theology
Research Scholar, University of Dallas

Farmer studied at Cambridge with C.H. Dodd while completing a degree in philosophy of religion and Christian ethics. His doctoral work at Union Thological Seminary was with John Knox. Farmer began writing on the social history of the pre-70 Judaism and thereafter entered the field of synoptic studies. From 1965 to 1989 he worked closely with Albert C. Outler. His recent publications focus on the problem of Christian origins. Farmer is a Guggenheim fellow and a fellow of the International Institute for Gospel Studies. He was invited visiting fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, in the spring of 1995.

David Laird Dungan
Lindsay Young Distinguised Professor of Humanities,
Department of Religious Studies,
University of Tenessee

An ordained Presbyterian minister, Dungan was born in China, the son of Presbyterian missionaries. He completed a degree in theology at McCormick Theological Seminary in 1962 and obtained his doctorate from Harvard Divinity School in 1967, working with Krister Stendahl and Helmut Koester. Hie early writings focused on the saying s of Jesus in the letters of Paul and on ancient documents relevant to the study of the gospels. He is broadly published in synoptic studies and is the author of the The History of the Synoptic Problem, from the Doubleday Anchor Bible Reference Library.

Sean McEvenue
Professor of Old Testament Theology,
Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

McEvenue's training with the Jesuits, mostly in Toronto, introduced him to biblical scholarship and the thought of the distinguished Jesuit theologian Bernard Lonergan. He completed his biblical studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, writing a doctoral dissertation in 1970 under the direction of Norbert Lohfink, S.J. His publications consist of books and articles centered primarily on the sources of the Pentateuch and focus on questions about truth and meaning of biblical texts. His main concern has been to exploit the clarity achieved in Lonergan's model of theological method in order to redefine the tasks og biblical interpretation.

Armando J. Levoratti
Professor of Old Testament,
Seminario Mayor, La Plata, Argentina

Levoratti is a member of the Pontifical Biblcal Commission and the editor of Revisita Biblica, the leading Latin American scholarly journal for biblical studies. With the assistance of his New Testament colleague Mateo Perdia he is the principal translator of the entire Bible from Hebrew and Greek published as El Libro del Pueblo de Dios, a version for the Argentinian people. He is also the editor-in-chief of Santa Biblica, an ecumenical study Bible published in 1995 by the United Bible Society and used throughout Latin America by both Protestants and Catholics. Professore Levoratti serves as a chief consultant of the United Bible Society.

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