Oxford Bible Commentary vs NOAB

[Gedalya]

If I already have the NOAB what does the Oxford Bible Commentary add?

[R. Mansfield]

If I already have the NOAB what does the Oxford Bible Commentary add?

 

 

See my answer to your question here.

[Daniel Francis]

Two very separate creatures.... Done by very different scholars. There will be some overlap but lets look at a short passage to give us an idea.

 

 

 

Psalm 1     The first two psalms lack titles, which is unusual in Book 1 of the Psalter, and it is probable that they provide an introduction to the whole book of Psalms. Whether they originally formed a single psalm is very doubtful, however, in spite of an ancient Jewish saying that the first psalm begins and ends with a beatitude (v. 1 and 2:11). A few manuscripts of Acts 13:33 refer to Ps 2 as the ‘first’ psalm, which suggests that among some Christians either the two psalms were combined or they knew of texts which began with the present Ps 2. Certainly it seems likely that Ps 1 was placed here after Book 1 or the entire Psalter was completed.

It is similar to Ps 19:7–14 and 119 in its delight in the ‘law’, and probably is post-exilic. Whether it is correctly termed a ‘wisdom’ psalm, and whether it was intended for use in the cult are both uncertain. Perhaps it is best understood as a poem to encourage faithfulness to the religion of the Torah. Although often described as ‘The Two Ways’ (cf. v. 6) its tone is set by the initial, ‘Happy are those…’. The poet is convinced that the way of goodness is an attractive way, and it would be wrong to regard it as presenting a moralistic religion in which goodness is pursued for reward.

The structure is clear: vv. 1–3 describe the righteous, closing with the simile of a tree planted beside an irrigation canal, a comparison found in ancient Egypt and in pictures from the ancient Middle East. Although the phrases in v. 1 might ascend to a climax (‘walk’, ‘stand’, ‘sit’; ‘wicked’, ‘sinners’, ‘scoffers’) they may be simple poetic parallels. If the psalm is post-exilic, the reference to the ‘law’ may be to the written Pentateuch. The picture is of the pious reader speaking the words of the law half aloud until they become part of his being, rather than of silent and passive meditation. The point of the tree simile is that it flourishes, not that the fruit is a ‘reward’, despite the last line of v. 3, which speaks of the prosperity of the good man.

 

The wicked are described more briefly in vv. 4–5: the godly man is described in detail; the side glance at the wicked is but to light up the blessing of his life by contrast. The picture is of winnowing the corn, throwing it up into the air after it has been threshed by a flail or a threshing sledge, so that the wind will blow away the straw and the husks and allow the heavier grains to fall to the ground. v. 5 is uncertain. Most translations render the verbs as futures, although they do not differ from the form of many of the verbs earlier in the psalm, implying that the judgement is a future judgement by God. Some early Christian commentators saw a reference to the resurrection by translating the verb as ‘rise up’, perhaps influenced by the LXX. Since the general OT belief was that the dead went to Sheol and remained there (see PS G.13), this is unlikely unless the psalm were very late indeed. The reference appears to be to day-by-day judgements either by the elders in the gate, or possibly by God himself, and continues the description of the two types of people. This would form a better parallel to ‘nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous’. The verb translated ‘watches over’ in v. 6 is ‘knows’, with the sense of ‘takes care of’: other psalmists and the writer of Job will have to question whether life is always as simple as this.

 

The Oxford Bible Commentary. Accordance electronic ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 366-367.

https://accordance.bible/link/read/Oxford_Commentary#4775

 

Ps 1: The two ways. A torah or instructional psalm serving as an introduction to the Psalter, along with Ps !2. Both celebrate the saving presence of God—Ps 1 for the individual and Ps 2 for the Davidic king—who offers blessing and protection from the wicked. Unlike the following psalms, these introductory works lack a Davidic superscription, suggesting their secondary, editorial function. Using the metaphor of the two ways, one leading to life and the other to death, Psalm 1 declares that reciting God’s saving torah or teaching (in this case, including the psalms) keeps one on the path of life.

1–3: Any individual who adheres to the torah (law), the authoritative teaching contained in the psalms, and rejects the views of the wicked, is fortunate.

1: Scoffers, like the wicked and sinners, contemptuously dismiss God’s capacity to rule the world.

2: Meditate, lit., “recite”; ancients usually read aloud. Trees, possibly the trees in the Temple garden (Pss 52.8; 92.12–15) on Mount Zion, abundantly watered, symbolizing vitality (Pss 46.4; 65.9; Ezek 47.12).

4–7: In contrast to the well-watered and deeply rooted tree (a vertical image; cf. Jer 17.7–8) is the dry and wind-driven chaff (a horizontal image).

 

New Oxford Annotated Bible, Fully Revised Fifth Edition, ed. Michael D. Coogan, Accordance electronic ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018), 784.

https://accordance.bible/link/read/NOAB#7578

 

You can see similarities, as you would most any Study Bible and Commentary you placed side by side. But the OBC while published in 2001, the first year of this new century utilized the best scholars of it's time drawing primarily from the UK (although there are a handful from North America and Europe). The NOAB has been continuously updated and refined over the past 20 years with top scholars from the current generation. There is possibly the occasional author who has contributed to both but scanning the contributors very quickly no names popped out as on both volumes. Only you can decided if this volume is one that you would use. I have used this volume since I bought it in 2001, I occasionally find an insight shared in it that seems unique to the work even though I have numerous multivolume works that approach the Bible from many angles. I must admit that one reason I value some smaller volumes such as this one is I will get often times the most important insight that I would have to wade through numerous pages to get. I won't say that I consider this a must have but over all i think it is a 4 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ volume. Solid and most useful.

 

-dan

[Daniel Francis]

On a closer inspection there are four overlapping contributors I was able to find here they are:

Carol Meyers  Exodus (NOAB) Esther (OBC)

Amy-Jill Levine Tobit (NOAB) Judith (OBC)

Julia M. O’Brien The Prophetical Books, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (NOAB) Nahum (OBC)

David L. Petersen Joel, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (NOAB) Haggai (OBC)

 

-dan

Edited March 27, 2019 by Daniel Francis

[Gedalya]

Also, how different are the Oxford Companion and Dictionary from the NOAB?

[Unix]

BOTH resources are must-haves. OBC I rate a full five stars, its fantastic and I recommends it to everyone whether You have a small or large library and whether You like having many commentaries or not. It is a true time-saver. For long periods whenever I booted Verbum or Logos to read the Bible I read the OBC instead of the Bible itself, it so superbly says what the Bible means.

An excellent combo is to read for example NASB77 and for the OT Apocrypha either one of Confraternity Version, NAB70 or NABRE10 as well as the OBC. The OBC in this aforementioned combination replaces the need for a dynamic equivalent English Bible translation. Personally I use mostly NASB71 (or sometimes NASB72 which I have included only in a four version parallel Bible) or Confraternity Version (which is more formal equivalent than the subsequent versions) and the OBC.

If You can't have two English Bibles to cover the (Catholic) canon, You would want to go with the 1970 NEB - it is easily available. I use the NEB too.

I mentioned the competitor because anyway it doesn't sell the OBC anymore since about one and half Decades (nor do they sell NOAB).

 

I recommend basically all my friends to get Accordance (either by themselves and/or that I gift a few Basic Starter Collections) already just because of the available resources that about none competitors provide nor will. I hope to be contacted by all those who somehow have my contact information.

 

I don't have a lot of one-volume, two-volume commentaries or Study Bibles but the ones I have got I have compared the depth of and how they express the Bible stories and wisdom.

 

Usually not an indication at all about that something I'm posting is of importance (to the contrary I almost always want to omit it and previously a while ago now I was unaware of that I can omit it - I would have omitted half of the time): I'm attaching my signature to this post since I definitely dare to get googled on all I'm saying right here:

[Daniel Francis]

Also, how different are the Oxford Companion and Dictionary from the NOAB?

 

Neither tries to be a comprehensive dictionary but both are valuable. I personally also consider the companion a superior work to the Oxford Bible Dictionary also just released... The dictionary in the NOAB (more accurately called as it is labled a glossary ) by necessity must be exceptionally brief  while the companions entries are usually as verbose as any one volume Bible dictionary (or often comparing to the OBD more so). In fairness i chose christ which in the companion redirected me to Jesus, and Messiah but I shared Messiah since it was the most relevant and comparable.

 

Christ (Gk “anointed”), the translation of Heb mashiah, “messiah.” In the New Testament and in general usage, Christ always refers to Jesus of Nazareth.

 

New Oxford Annotated Bible, Fully Revised Fifth Edition, ed. Michael D. Coogan, Accordance electronic ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018), 2332.

https://accordance.bible/link/read/NOAB#23908

 

messiah (Heb mashiah, “anointed [one]”) a title for a king or other servant or agent of God (priest, prophet, or even the non-Israelite Cyrus in Isa. 45.1). In the Hebrew Bible, mashiah never refers to the future ideal king. Later the term came to be used of the expected savior of the Jewish people, and was taken over by Christians to refer to Jesus, whom they believed to be the messiah (Gk christos, “anointed”). See also Christ.

 

New Oxford Annotated Bible, Fully Revised Fifth Edition, ed. Michael D. Coogan, Accordance electronic ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018), 2341.

https://accordance.bible/link/read/NOAB#24138

 

Messiah. The term denotes an expected or longed-for savior, especially in Jewish tradition, where some applied it to the revolutionary Simon Bar Kokhba (d. 135 CE), the mystic Shabbetai Zevi (1626–1676), and other “false messiahs,” and in Christianity, where it is exclusively applied to *Jesus Christ.

The word is derived from the common biblical Hebrew word māŠı̂ah, meaning “anointed.” In Greek it is transcribed as messias and translated as christos. In the Hebrew Bible, the term is most often used of kings, whose investiture was marked especially by *anointing with oil (Judg. 9.8–15; 2 Sam. 5.3; 1 Kings 1.39; Ps. 89.20; Sir. 46.13), and who were given the title “the Lord’s anointed” (e.g., 1 Sam. 2.10; 12.3; 2 Sam 23.1; Pss. 2.2; 20.6; 132.17; Lam. 4.20). It is even used of *Cyrus, king of the *Medes and *Persians (Isa. 45.1). There is a possibility that some prophets may have been anointed (see 1 Kings 19.16; cf. Isa. 61.1), and according to some texts the investiture of *priests includes anointing too (Exod. 29.7; Lev. 4.3, 5, 16; Sir. 45.15), though this probably reflects political developments after the fall of the monarchy; the title is not normally given to priests or prophets. In a passage from Zechariah dated 520 BCE, where king and priest are described as “the two anointed ones,” the term māšı̂ah is avoided (Zech 4.14; cf. 6.9–14). By Maccabean times, however, it is used of the high priest (Dan. 9.26).

In its primary biblical usage, then, “anointed” is, virtually a synonym for “king,” in particular *David and his descendants, and it should be understood in the context of the royal ideology documented in the books of *Samuel, *Kings, and *Psalms, even when it is applied secondarily to priests and others. The king was appointed by divine command (1 Sam 10.1; 16.1–13; Ps. 45.7), and he was adopted as *son of God (2 Sam 7.14; Ps. 2.7; cf. 89.26). His own person was sacrosanct (1 Sam 24.6), the future of his dynasty was divinely protected (2 Sam 7.12–16; 22.51; Ps. 89.4, 36–37), and he was the unique instrument of God’s justice on earth (2 Sam. 23.3; 1 Kings 3.28; Pss. 45.4; 72.1–4; cf. 2 Sam. 14.4; 2 Kings 3.28). As with the ideals and the realities of *Zion, the *Temple, the priesthood, and other institutions, the gap between the ideals of Davidic *kingship and historical reality widened (e.g., 1 Kings 11.6; 2 Kings 16.1–4; 21.118; cf. Deut. 17.14–17), and eventually royal language and imagery came to be applied primarily to a hoped-for future king, whose reign would be characterized by everlasting justice, security, and peace (Isa. 11.1–5; 32.1; Jer. 33.14–26; Ezek. 37.24–28). Such a figure is popularly known as “the messiah,” and biblical texts that describe him are known as “messianic,” though the term “messiah” itself does not occur with this sense in the Hebrew Bible.

At the heart of biblical messianism is the idea that God intervenes in history by sending a savior to deliver his people from suffering and injustice. Influenced by the *Exodus tradition (e.g., Exod. 2.19; 3.7–12), the stories of *Joshua and *Judges (cf. Judg. 2.16, 18), and established religious institutions, this messianic hope crystallized into several models. The first is that of a king like David who would conquer the powers of evil by force of arms (Gen 49.10; Num. 24.17; Pss. 2.9; 18.31–42) and establish a reign of justice and peace (Isa. 9.2–7; 11.1–5). In some passages his wisdom is referred to (Isa. 9.6; 11.2; cf. 1 Kings 3.9; Prov. 8.15–16; 24.5–6), in others his gentleness and humility (Isa. 42.2–3; Zech. 9.9–10). Emphasis is on the divine initiative (2 Sam. 7.8–16; Jer. 33.14–16; Hag. 2.21–23) and on the result of the action, so that some visions of a “messianic” age make little or no mention of the messiah himself (e.g., Isa. 2.2–4; 11.6–9; 32.1, 16–20; 65.17–25; Amos 9.11–15).

Belief in a priestly messiah, son of *Aaron, who would arise alongside the Davidic messiah to save Israel, appears in the *Dead Sea Scrolls (e.g., 1QS 9.1). The mysterious figure of *Melchizedek (Gen 14.18) provides a title for one who is at the same time both king and priest (Ps. 110.4; Heb. 7). A third model is that of a prophet, anointed to “bring good news to the oppressed” (Isa. 61.1; 11Q Melch. 18; Luke 4.18). The belief that a prophet like *Moses would arise (Deut. 18.18; Acts 3.22), known as Taheb (“he who brings back”), is central to *Samaritan messianism (cf. John 4.25).

Finally, the tradition that the divinely appointed savior should suffer (Luke 24.26; Acts 3.18) has its roots in numerous *psalms attributed to David (e.g., 22; 55; 88), as well as in the traditional picture of Moses and the prophets as rejected and persecuted by their people (Exod. 16.2; 17.2–4; Jer. 11.18–19; 20.7–10; Matt. 23.37). The notion that his suffering or selfsacrifice is in itself saving (cf. Exod 32.32; Isa. 53.5, 10, 12) is given a unique emphasis in Christian messianism (e.g., Rom. 5.6–8; Gal. 3.13; cf. Acts 8.32; 1 Pet. 2.24–25).

JOHN F. A. SAWYER

 

 

The Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Messiah,” 513-514.

https://accordance.bible/link/read/Oxford_Companion#5153

 

-dan

(I only shared the messiah part due to wanting to make sure I stayed under the advised share size limits (OCB article on Jesus Christ is nearly 9000 words alone) but hope you get the idea).

Edited March 27, 2019 by Daniel Francis