Book Review: The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century

As one who avidly studied the first edition in the 1970s, and introduced my students to the second edition in the 1990s, I was delighted to learn about the third edition of the Jerome Biblical Commentary. Pope Francis writes in the Foreword: ‘The relationship between the Risen Lord, the community of believers, and sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians.’ The Lord ‘never tires of speaking’ his living word, and by hearing it ‘we are also encouraged to strengthen our bonds with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity.’ Biblical scholarship is a service of love for the community of faith. ‘The ministry of opening the word of God to God’s people is a sacred trust that demands serious study, deep love, and openness to the beauty and power of the Scriptures.’ These words in the Foreword remind us that the scholarly endeavours of so many are inspired by hearts that are open to hearing and understanding the Word. The Introduction to JBC21 is written by the four editors, John J. Collins, Gina HensPiazza, Barbara E. Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP. The involvement of women and men as members of the editorial team shows how Catholic biblical scholarship has embraced the talents of women. This is clear throughout the volume. In their introduction the editors point out that this is the third generation of The Jerome Biblical Commentary. The first edition appeared in 1968, shortly after the Second Vatican Council and inspired by it, and the second edition in 1990 as The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. From the start, the Commentary intended to present the Scriptures ‘from a Roman Catholic point of view.’ This may seem rather restrictive now. Would the contributors not rather consider that they are using the best methods of contemporary biblical scholarship in a Roman Catholic context? The Introduction heralds Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943) as the ‘Magna Charta,’ as often happens, but without acknowledging Providentissimus Deus of Leo XIII, the 50 years of which Pope Pius XII is commemorating. The early 20th century was indeed a time of suspicion in the Catholic Church, but it might have been far worse without Leo 1129404 ITQ0010.1177/00211400221129404Irish Theological QuarterlyBook Reviews book-review2022