Gedalya Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I know that this is difficult to answer but How would you compare and contrast the objective scholarship of the Anchor series vs the WBC series? Is there a theological bias in the WBC commentaries vs the Anchor series? Which one is more objective from the point of view of serious Bible scholarship? Which set is more up to date from the point of view of the most recent Bible scholarship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abram K-J Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Well... everything has theological bias of some kind, occasional protestations to the contrary notwithstanding. It would depend on what you mean by "serious Bible scholarship," though I don't think there's such a thing as academic objectivity at all. That aside (and sorry if it's an annoying answer), I think you'll find the quality in both Anchor and WBC varies from volume to volume. I just went through Psalm 23 in each, and Dahood's Anchor volume is far thinner (and less up-to-date, I think) than the WBC volume on Psalms 1-50. However, Anchor on John is hard to top, and both series tend in general to access so-called critical approaches of biblical scholarship. I wouldn't say one stands out over the other in the sense I think you are asking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gedalya Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 Abram, Thanks for your reply. I would disagree that "everything" has a theological bias. That's a pretty broad statement which I don't think would stand up in academic circles. "Serious Bible scholarship" means the scholarship of people like Jacob Milgrom, Moshe Greenberg, Nahum Sarna, Marc Brettler,Michael Coogan, Baruch Schwartz,John Collins,Adele Berlin,Yair Zakovitch, Sara Japhet, etc The type of scholarship one finds in the New Oxford Annotated Bible. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abram K-J Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I just think bias (theological or otherwise) is inescapable--that's all I meant. I realize that statement doesn't stand up in academic circles (I've tried!), but I simply take that to be a remnant of a well-meaning but hypermodernist quest for "objectivity" that postmodernism has yet to displace. But I'm happy to agree to disagree. Back to your OP: I think Anchor might be just a touch closer for the kind of scholarship you're asking about, though some of the volumes are getting older/dated now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gedalya Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 Abram, I would agree with you that scholars have biases, but I don't think one can say that "everything has a theological bias". I guess we disagree on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Weaks Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Gordon, Right, everything has biases. It's imperfect to say that every bit of secondary literature has 'theological' bias, per se. The difficulty with the question is that there's not uniformity within a commentary set. When there is a bit stronger dichotomy between theological doctrine over against literary critical methods, the WBC for sure leans towards traditionalism, etc. But, many of its volumes are still held in highest regard for their area in the most higher-critical arenas. That said, without a doubt, to your original question, the AYBD is considered more critical with less influence of biblical doctrine. (It's a bit of a apples-to-oranges, tho, since one's a commentary and the other a bible dictionary.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gedalya Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 Joe, Thanks for your response; Actually, I was referrring to the Yale Anchor OT Bible Commentary series and not the AYBD. But I guess tjhat they are both have the same approach to the Biblical text. In any event, I think that you are correct that "there is no uniformity within a commentary set" since the set is the product of many authors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Francis Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Well there will be bias and variation of points of view in any series... Generally WBC comes at the Bible from a moderate Evangelical perspective (some volumes are more liberal and others more conservative, but generally all have solid scholarship). Anchor comes at the Bible usually from a more strictly academic point of view. I have nothing against that but I will say it bothers me how uneven the series is. Some volumes are worth their weight in gold... others seem less detailed than a good study Bible. Sometimes I just scratch my head too... I know people I deeply respect who laud the Psalms as the best thing ever in Anchor, but whenever I use these volumes I come way from them with little value achieved for my reading them (the fault may well be with me). I think one would say Anchor is less uniform than many series. I consider it worth having but you are probably best to grab the volumes you want front he series. These are of course simply my impressions but I thought I would throw my two cents in.... -Dan PS:Forgive my little jpg I am nostalgic since our government axed the penny. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Weaks Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Actually, I was referrring to the Yale Anchor OT Bible Commentary series and not the AYBD. I'm an idiot. Though, yes, the same applies mostly for the Anchor Commentary series. Dan's insights are good, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fr. Rich Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 As others have said, it depends on the volume. In WBC, David J. A. Clines on Job is very thorough and for me at least really helpful. In the Anchor Yale commentaries Fitzmeyer on Luke is excellent and so are Ray Brown's volumes on John. Of course both of these sets cycle in newer commentaries from time to time. Fitzmeyer and Brown are classics but eventually, Anchor will have newer volumes on these books. The WBC is publishing newer (and very late) volumes on Acts. I have both sets and I use them both. If I could only buy one, I would start with the Anchor Yale volumes. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Burgess Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 "Serious Bible scholarship" means the scholarship of people like Jacob Milgrom, Moshe Greenberg, Nahum Sarna, Marc Brettler,Michael Coogan, Baruch Schwartz,John Collins,Adele Berlin,Yair Zakovitch, Sara Japhet, etc The type of scholarship one finds in the New Oxford Annotated Bible. In my opinion, if you're interested in a set grounded primarily in historical-critical scholarship, the AYBC is a slightly better option than the WBC. (Hermeneia would also be a better option, if it includes the biblical books that you're intererested in, and you have some background in the languages.) However, as several people have mentioned, all sets are uneven in their quality and trajectory; for example, the WBC includes David Aune's three-volume commentary on the book of Revelation, which has been described as "the last great historical-critical commentary," while J. Massyngberde Ford's corresponding volume in the AYBC is not as highly regarded. Also, I notice that several of the scholars you mentioned are Jewish; to my knowledge, all of the contributors to the WBC are Christian (although I haven't investigated this very thoroughly). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Stumpf Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 (edited) Abram, I would agree with you that scholars have biases, but I don't think one can say that "everything has a theological bias". I guess we disagree on that. How can anyone not - it just means the way you roll. And if you aren't rolling, you're dead. Edited July 18, 2014 by Ryan Stumpf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serpentium Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 (edited) with you guys it is so hard to decide if I buy or not AYB, now that is on a CRAZY sale!!! The price is so low...can't resist... $1499 -> $999 http://www.accordancebible.com/store/details/?pid=Anchor-OT-NT http://www.accordancebible.com/Anchor-Accordance Edited September 16, 2014 by Serpentium 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Mansfield Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Good News! The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 5th edition (mentioned in this discussion), is now available for Accordance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Allison Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) BTW, since Rick resurfaced this topic, let me mention that https://www.bestcommentaries.com is a great resource when you have a question about the value of any particular volume in a commentary set. Edited February 26, 2019 by Mark Allison 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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