Catholic Bible Commentary

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I believe this to be the right place to post this since it is a question about scripture. More specifically - scripture study. There are many bible commentaries out there, but I am looking for, let’s say first, an authorized bible commentary, one that is authorized by the Churhc, but moreover one that goes into depth regarding the translation methods used to take the scripture text from the initial text, Greek, Aramaic, into the current vernacular. I guess I am looking for a real good, in depth study bible or a matching bible commentary that parallels the NAB or NRSV(Catholic) bibles.

Thank you,
Pax et bonum

Kevin W.
 
There is no official Church Bible Commentary. If such a thing was produced (and I doubt it ever would be) it would leave people with the impression that this is the definitive interpretation of every single verse of the Bible. The Church would never want to stifle the Word of God in such a way as to imply that the richness of Scripture can be exhausted or delineated into a single volume.

That said, there are many fine commentaries and Bible studies that do not contradict Catholic teaching. I would list the Haydock commentary, the previously mentioned Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, and the Navarre Bible commentary as good starting places.

You might also try the online resource Biblia Clerus. It was developed by the Congregation for the Clergy and it points you to writings from the Church Fathers and the documents of the Magisterium for each passage in Scripture. It is most helpful. That’s probably the closest thing to an “official” commentary on Scripture that you would find.
 
Thank you for all of your responses. I heard about the Navarre and the Ignatius. I have to first get my hands on them to make sure they are good for me. I’ll also look at the Haydock - never heard of that before. By the way, I shouldn’t have used the word ‘official’ to imply I was looking for a book that necessarily had an Imprimatur or Nihil Obstat, etc., but one that is more closely aligned with our teachings/faith etc. I read the Matthew Henry, and Zondervan titles but was wondering if there was something more.
Thanks again and God Bless.
 
I’ve got the Navarre New Testament and the Ignatius New Testament.

The Ingatius explains the scripture.
The Navarre points more to church fathers statements relating to scripture.

I recommend the Ignatius. (and its cheaper)
 
Another good one is the Catholic Commentary of Sacred Scripture This one is just coming down the pike, so there are only four volumes available thus far. But, it’s off to a good start.

Note, this CCSS and the Navarre are a bit more in depth than the Ignatius Study Bible. That’s mainly because the Ignatius Study Bible is a Study Bible, not a commentary per se.
 
Well Joe, thank you for that too. Actually I want something more ‘in depth’. I am interested in more than what you find in the margins of the NAB, for instance. Thanks again and God Bless and Happy Advent!
 
Brett1980 said:
I’ve got the Navarre New Testament and the Ignatius New Testament.

The Ingatius explains the scripture.
The Navarre points more to church fathers statements relating to scripture.

I recommend the Ignatius. (and its cheaper)
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Navarre does WAY more than point to Church Fathers…It goes into the meaning of the text…and also Church documents as well…

I have both …and use both.

And the New Navarre Expanded edition is also very good (it is a new work).

scepterpublishers.org/product/index.php?FULL=526
 
Joe_5859 said:
Another good one is the Catholic Commentary of Sacred Scripture This one is just coming down the pike, so there are only four volumes available thus far. But, it’s off to a good start.

Note, this CCSS and the Navarre are a bit more in depth than the Ignatius Study Bible. That’s mainly because the Ignatius Study Bible is a Study Bible, not a commentary per se.
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I also recommend this one too. And actually the 5th one just came out…Matthew! Just got it a week or so ago.

It is good to have all three (Ignatius, Navarre and the other)…for they do not “replace each other” but are very complimentary.

For Navarre you can see at www.scepterpublishers.org

As for being “Faithful to the Church” all three are.
 
Thanks for all the contributions.

What do yo think of Sacra Pagina?

I am a bit disappointed with CCSS, it seems to put Church tradition prior to the interpretation of the text (eisegesis not exegesis).

Navarre is great for what it aims to do.
 
Joe_5859 said:
Another good one is the Catholic Commentary of Sacred Scripture This one is just coming down the pike, so there are only four volumes available thus far. But, it’s off to a good start.

Note, this CCSS and the Navarre are a bit more in depth than the Ignatius Study Bible. That’s mainly because the Ignatius Study Bible is a Study Bible, not a commentary per se.
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Yes! The Catholic Commentary of Sacred Scripture is fantastic. Also, if you prefer the NAB, this commentary uses the NAB as its base text. Highly recommended commentary series! 👍
 
I was on the css website today and didn’t see any refernce to volume on matthew…I will have to look again tonight…but thanks for this great info from all of you… the meaning of the words and the translations …or how the myriad scholars translated documents central to my personal research and attet to get closer to God thru his word. my wife is taking our boys out tonight so I have some time to visit my local cath book store on the way home… pax et bonum…

I am typing on a ver small phone so I apologize if this is messy.
Bookcat said:
I also recommend this one too. And actually the 5th one just came out…Matthew! Just got it a week or so ago.

It is good to have all three (Ignatius, Navarre and the other)…for they do not “replace each other” but are very complimentary.

For Navarre you can see at www.scepterpublishers.org

As for being “Faithful to the Church” all three are.
Click to expand...
 
I picked up the St. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. The store I go to didn’t have the Navarre. They said they sell out every time they get them in. They had the one volume or book by book versions there but they didn’t actually seem that in-depth to me. I hope that the Navarre expanded edition is more comprehensive. I found a St. Jerome commentary. That was in depth but it was about 100 bucks. I was wondering if you had any comments about that version before I plunk down a large bill.

But until then, I have the St Ignatius to keep me interested.

Thanks.
 
NoelFitz said:
Thanks for all the contributions.

What do yo think of Sacra Pagina?

I am a bit disappointed with CCSS, it seems to put Church tradition prior to the interpretation of the text (eisegesis not exegesis).

Navarre is great for what it aims to do.
Click to expand...
I’m a big fan of the Sacra Pagina commentaries. I’m working on the commentary on Mark and have used other commentaries in the series (Revelation; I Peter, II Peter and Jude; etc.). The authors of these commentaries use the historico-critical method, but I have not encountered them engaging in any attempt to “rationalize” miracles and the like. An excellent series IMHO.

I also like individual commentaries in the Anchor Bible series: anything by Raymond Brown, S.S. (John, Letters of John), Joseph Fitzmeyer, S.J. (Luke, Acts), or Luke Timothy Johnson (James, I and II Timothy). These tend to have much, much longer scholar notes than the Sacra Pagina commentaries, which tend to hit the sweet spot for me: great scholarship, pastorally sensitive, enough notes to support the interpretation of the text.
 
Thank you, your comments are well received. I am going to look up your suggestions tonight, now that the kids are in bed. Quiet time!
 
Well, my local Catholic bookstore called, the Navarre(expanded) is in. I’ll go out tonight and take a look at it. I am also eyeing the New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Either one will keep me busy for a few weeks.

Thanks,
 
Thanks, I picked up the New Jerome Commentary. Pretty in-depth. Reading through Matthew. - when I have time - I have three sons!
 
As a covert this is a question I have had often too about the best Catholic commentaries. I have, in the past, used commentaries extensively in scripture study to prepare for teaching and preaching and I was an advocate of the historical-critical method. It was my eventual disillusionment with those methods that led somewhat to my conversion. Pope Benedict XVI (as Josef Ratzinger) had done a great job of challenging the historical-critical methods alone. He points out that any methods that take the scripture away from the tradition, liturgy, sacraments, church, etc in which they were written and formed into a canon…is far from scientific as it claims. To remove scripture from its proper context inevitably leads to practical atheism. For a great introduction to this debate, see the Letter and Spirit series - especially volume 2.

With that said, I have tried to find a commentary that fits that approach of taking the good of historical-critical methods within the proper context. It is not that the methods are bad, it is that they cannot be taken alone without the governing of the proper context for scripture study.

I know the latest Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series attempts to strike just such a balance. I think the Navarre series does as well. What I like in particular about Navarre is the RSV basis - which I think is superior for serious scripture study over the NAB - but some may disagree with me on that of course. Also, the Catholic Commentary series is still in development so there may be a wait until you can get the volume you want for a particular book.

I have recently been trying to take a sampling of the Sacra Pagina series - from what I have heard and read, it seems to buy into the historical-critical method with less of the desired context…which, to me, makes it little different than the many Protestant commentaries I have encountered. That could be an unfair judgement since I have not really sampled enough of it to make a blanket statement. I’d welcome contrary opinions. The thing that does impress me about Sacra Pagina though is its more technical and detailed study. I think the others are sufficient for most but for the real depth of study I have to favor Sacra Pagina - with the caveate to keep context in mind.
 
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