Excerpt from
The International Bible Commentary
A Catholic and Ecumenical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century
William R. Farmer, Editor; Armando Levoratti, Sean McEvenue, and David L. Dungan, Associate Editors; André LaCocque, Map Editor
© The Order of St. Benedict, Inc., Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced by any means, without the written permission of The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321.

Preface

A Catholic and Ecumenical Commentary
The idea of a Bible commentary that is both “Catholic” and “ecumenical” raises legitimate questions. From the outset the editors intended to produce “an ecumenical commentary for the twenty-first century” in the spirit of Vatican Council II (see Salvan Manifesto, 1990, reprinted below). The chief aim of this commentary 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 (reprinted below). 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,” as a historical document, represents the ideal. How far the editors and contributors have approximated this ideal is 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.

A Brief History of the Commentary Project
The idea for this commentary was born in the mind and heart of Dom Bernard Orchard, O.S.B., of Ealing Abbey, London, in the spring of 1990. Orchard had served as editor of the first edition of A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (London, 1953) and believed that the time had come to bring out a new edition. At that time Orchard and William R. Farmer were serving as co-chairmen of an ecumenical research society, the International Institute for the Renewal of Gospel Studies. Orchard wrote Farmer proposing that he consider assuming the editorship of this publishing project. In due time it became clear, however, that what was needed was not a new edition of an existing English commentary but a completely new and globally oriented commentary in the spirit of Vatican Council II.

In Salvan, Switzerland, on August 5, 1990, the fellows of the institute decided to endorse the proposal for “An Ecumenical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century,” which, with Farmer as general editor, would have as its chief aim “scholarly assistance to pastors in all parts of the world.” The fellows of the institute called upon all concerned for the support needed to bring this project to a successful conclusion within seven years, “to allow two full years for worldwide distribution in several major languages by the year 2000.” Ben F. Meyer, a fellow of the institute, recommended his long-time friend and colleague Sean McEvenue of Concordia University in Montreal as the Old Testament editor.

The institute sought an academic base for the commentary project in a Catholic university with an excellent department of theology. The first choice of all concerned was the University of Dallas. For over twenty years this university had played an important role in a regional faculty research seminar on the Development of Early Catholic Christianity under the mentorship of Professor Albert Outler of Southern Methodist University. Basing the commentary at the University of Dallas would assure it the academic support of a large number of scholars in the Southwest who had learned to work together in the best ecumenical tradition of the post-Vatican II era.

The University of Dallas agreed expeditiously to the proposed arrangement. On January 13, 1991, on the campus of the university, a board of directors was formed “for the purpose of promoting and doing whatever shall be deemed necessary to complete and publish before the end of this century a new commentary on the whole Bible, after the manner of and in the spirit of A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953). . . .”

In addition to the “Symposium on Biblical Interpretation” mentioned above there were two other conferences that deserve mention in this brief history.

(1) During February 18–20, 1994 a “Pilot Conference” was held on the campus of the University of Dallas. The purpose of this conference was to provide the opportunity for a limited number of contributors to have the first drafts of their work discussed by other scholars, including experts in related disciplines such a pastoral theology, patristics, history of doctrine, and liturgy.

(2) What was learned at the “Pilot Conference” was thereafter perfected and applied on a much wider scale eighteen months later at the Pontifical University of Nijmegen, in the Netherlands, during an extended conference held August 6–16, 1995. Through the ecumenical vision and generosity of a German Catholic missionary society it was possible for Protestant and Catholic contributors from Africa and Asia to join contributors from Europe in discussions that were illuminated by intercultural dialogue, which in turn facilitated and contributed to the formation of the first truly international Bible commentary. The editors met with twenty-six contributors from Asia, Africa, and Europe to discuss the latest drafts of each of their commentaries. This step was unusual; most commentaries are written with no communication among contributors. Contributors were divided into three groups, each meeting for three days. For each three-day session there was a special panel of experts representing related disciplines present to participate in the discussion of each commentary.

On the basis of these Nijmegen discussions the editors formulated guidelines for all the contributors working on their commentaries, in light of which they were urged to make final revisions. If there is a certain coherence and excellence by which the commentaries in this book are marked it is in no small measure due to the careful and lively collegial work carried out in these preparatory sessions (Dallas, 1992, 1994, and Nijmegen, 1995).

A Catholic and Ecumenical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century

Statement of Mission
The International Bible Commentary intends to be “Catholic.” This last term is to be taken both with a capital “C,” i.e., Roman Catholic, and with a lower case “c,” i.e., universal. As universal it will not limit itself to the resources of any one nation or continent, but intends to be truly international, including contributors from around the world, and published simultaneously in English and Spanish and in other languages as well. Its ecumenical perspective implies that it intends to profit as fully as possible from the contributions of non-Catholic exegesis and exegetes.

The Commentary will be written not only (though also) for scholars; in fact it will address all the educated faithful, and especially pastors and teachers who should enable the faithful to find in the Bible the living and life-giving word of God.

As a “catholic” commentary in ecumenical perspective for the twenty-first century, it intends to make full, though not uncritical, use of all the resources of the human mind and of all the disciplines available to us today for an understanding of the writings of the Bible, such as philology, history, archaeology, literary criticism, philosophical hermeneutics, etc. For, as Vatican II’s “Constitution on Divine Revelation” also affirmed, speaking of the Interpretation of Sacred Scriptures (chapter III, #12), “the exegete must look for that meaning which the sacred writers, in given situations and granted the circumstances of their time and culture, intended to express and did in fact express, through the medium of a contemporary literary form.”

However, without detracting from the above task, and in accordance with a growing ecumenical consensus on the part of all exegetes who consider the Bible “Sacred Scripture” inspired by the Spirit of God, the Commentary intends to pay “no less attention . . . to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture” (ibid.) within which the individual writings and texts have their full “canonical” status and meaning. Furthermore, again in accordance with its catholicity and ecumenical perspective, the Commentary intends to seek a fuller understanding of the biblical writings, “taking into account the tradition”—and traditions— “of the entire church” (ibid.). The “Wirkungsgeschichte” of the Bible within the whole spectrum of Christian history (including not only its inexhaustible fruitfulness, but also its often conflicting interpretations—and misinterpretations) cannot be treated with any claim to completeness in a one-volume commentary, but the serious consideration of its essential lines belongs to its “Catholic” as well as “catholic” and ecumenical integrity.

Inasmuch as the Commentary intends to be authentically “Catholic” it will be guided by the teaching office of the Roman Catholic Church (Magisterium), with due attention, of course, to the varying degrees of authority with which such a teaching is proclaimed. It has to be kept in mind, however, that whereas the Catholic Church has a substantial body of definite teaching on the essential doctrinal content of the biblical message, “there are but few texts whose sense has been defined by the authority of the Church, nor are those more numerous about which the teaching of the Holy Fathers is unanimous” (Pope Pius XII, encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu [September 30, 1943] #47). Thus non-Catholic collaborators to the Commentary should feel assured that, within the framework of the general principles of interpretation described in the preceding paragraphs, they can proceed with full freedom. At the same time, they should have understanding for the duty of the editors to assure that, on those issues where definite Catholic teachings would be treated, the official Catholic view is clearly presented. General articles, e.g., on inspiration, canonicity, etc., will present faithfully the Catholic viewpoint(s), but include also a fair account of the main directions of the ecumenical spectrum.

Following these principles, The International Bible Commentary will be a truly Roman Catholic, and also a truly ecumenical, commentary for all nations.

The Salvan Manifesto
On the eve of the close of a century dominated by imperial conflict, worldwide expansion of communism, the Holocaust, and the nightmare of atomic annihilation, we look back on one bright moment of enduring hope—Vatican Council II. This reconciling event in the history of the Church has opened up promising possibilities for reducing meaningless conflict in human affairs. All who take their guidance from the decrees of this Council are bound together by the vision of a better future for the human family and its environment on this precious little planet in God’s Great Universe.

Confident that God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and that in Christ’s holy Catholic Church of which we are baptized members, the world has its redemptive goal prefigured, we joyfully confess what we see with the eyes of faith. We see God’s Holy Spirit at work in his Church in all its parts, but above all in the reforms of Vatican Council II. It is too soon for us to speak with confidence about the role of the Church’s option for the poor in the unmasking and collapse of international communism. But the blood of Christ’s martyrs shed on this altar marks a turning point in Church history and for us serves to validate the decrees of the Council. We take courage in a reforming Church chastened by the cries for justice raised against our human greed by the voices of the oppressed.

As fellows of an ecumenical institute chartered to contribute in a scholarly way to the renewal of Gospel studies in our time, we propose to cast our lot with the reforming Church of Vatican Council II. We believe that this Council was a gift of God to a lost world. In response to the work of the Holy Spirit through the reforms of this Council with its emphasis on the importance of the Scriptures, we propose to produce and publish “an ecumenical commentary for the twenty-first century.” Drawing upon the best in evangelical and Catholic scholarship, we intend to produce a commentary which will have as its chief aim scholarly assistance to pastors in all parts of the world who seek to find in the Scriptures the spiritual resources they need as they face a hungry Church which assembles for worship with but one question in mind: “Is there any Word from the Lord?”

We call upon all concerned for the support that will be needed to bring this project to a successful conclusion. Work will begin in 1991 and is expected to be completed within seven years so as to allow two full years for worldwide distribution in several major languages by the year 2000.
—Salvan, Switzerland, August 5, 1990
David Dungan, William Farmer,
Ben Meyer, Bernard Orchard,
David Peabody, Philip Schuler
(Fellows of the International Institute
for Renewal of Gospel Studies)