Interview with John Barton

Introducing The Oxford Bible Commentary

This is a one-volume commentary on the whole Bible. It is the first one-volume commentary to include all the books received as canonical in the Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox churches—all the books in the editions of the New Revised Standard Version labelled ‘with Apocrypha’. In addition it contains commentaries on selected post-biblical Jewish works such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, and on early Christian writings such as the Gospel of Thomas.

Who is the book written for?

A wide readership - anyone wishing to understand any biblical book at a more than superficial level. It is designed to be used by pastors in all traditions preparing sermons; by students both at university and in theological colleges and courses; by those training for lay ministry; by sixth-form and college teachers; and by anyone seeking greater understanding of the biblical text, whether this is for religious, cultural, or literary purposes. Readers will be equipped by it to go on to read more detailed commentaries with confidence if they wish. The commentary does not presuppose that the reader has a religious commitment to the Bible, though it recognizes that many will have.

Who are the authors?

More than seventy scholars have contributed. They are drawn from all branches of Christianity and from the Jewish faith, and from Europe, America, and Australia. This is therefore a fully international and ecumenical commentary. John Muddiman and I (the general editors) teach and research in biblical studies in the University of Oxford. We are both ordained in the Church of England. The advisory editors come respectively from Jewish, Catholic, Baptist, and Anglican backgrounds, and are all university teachers.

Does the book have one approach throughout?

The OBC is a critical commentary in the tradition of such works as Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, but the contributors have attended to recent challenges to the ‘historical-critical’ method and have engaged with literary, social-scientific, and ‘final form’ modes of interpretation. All expound the text accessibly and with a concern for its contemporary importance, as well as attending to technical questions of language and text. Each individual commentary adopts its own approach—there is no ‘party line’—but full information is provided about the general scholarly consensus even where commentators do not share it. Readers can thus be sure that they are not at the mercy of particular scholars’ whims.

Can the book be used with any Bible translation?

The ‘default’ text used by all the contributors is The New Revised Standard Version, but they refer to other (identified) versions or sometimes suggest their own translation in particular passages. In the case of the post-biblical Jewish and Christian literature a full translation is provided of all passages commented on. The commentary can also be used in conjunction with The Oxford Companion to the Bible and The Oxford Annotated Bible, and it ends with a Bibliographical Guide to Biblical Studies, listing all major works of importance in the modern study of the Bible.