New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, G. J. Wenham. Leicester and Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity, 1994, xiii + 1455 pp., $
This commentary, first published in 1953 and substantially revised in 1970, now is offered in a third edition that is a worthy successor to its storied predecessors. While it retains the same name, it is virtually a new work: the editors state that "nothing remains from 1953 and little from 1970" (p. vii). The Bible text used as a base has moved from the RSV to the NIV, 51 commentaries are entirely new, and the remaining 15 are thoroughly revised. The 12 introductory articles from the second edition are replaced by seven new ones. Sometimes several of the former are combined into one of the latter. For example, revelation, canon, inspiration, authority, and hermeneutics are found in the single article on "Approaching the Bible" in the third edition, whereas authority, revelation, and inspiration -- but not canon or hermeneutics per se -- are covered in two articles in the second edition. However, a few articles have dropped out completely (e.g., ones on OT theology, wisdom, and intertestamental history). The new edition has 50 new maps and diagrams (versus nine in the second).
Forty-six contributors have produced the new edition (versus 51 in the second). Twelve of these also contributed to the second edition. The new edition is similar to its predecessors in its international make-up: its contributors are primarily from British Commonwealth countries, with a handful from the United States.
What can be said of the content and the theological stance of the new edition? No higher compliment can be paid it than to say that, in some respects, they are essentially the same as those found in its predecessors. That is, the same reasoned conservative stance on critical issues and the same lucid summaries of the contents of the respective books, with at least passing attention given to the most important cruxes of interpretation, is found in all three editions. The writing in all three editions is clear and uncluttered. On standard critical issues that divide conservative and liberal scholarship (e.g., authorship and date of the Pentateuch, historicity of Jonah, date of Daniel, authorship of the pastoral epistles), the contributors to the third edition still opt consistently for traditional conservative positions, but not without thoroughly surveying the options and giving positive evidences for their positions.
In some respects, the new edition moves beyond its predecessors. Most obviously, most of its articles are entirely new, and they take into account the scholarship of the last quarter century. The articles give a bit more evidence of engagement with the critical scholarly mainstream than some of those in the earlier editions, an indication that evangelicals themselves are becoming more engaged in the academy. One helpful new feature is the short bibliographies at the end of each article, with entries arranged in ascending order of complexity.
For almost two decades I have recommended the New Bible Commentary to students, pastors, and lay people alike as by far the best one-volume commentary in English. I will continue to do so with this new edition. It is truly a work made to last well into the 21st century.
David M. Howard, Jr.
(This article originally appeared in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 39.1 (Mar 1996): 149-50.)