James R. Edwards
Author of The Gospel according to Mark (The Pillar New Testament Commentary (PNTC))
About the Author
James R. Edwards is professor of religion at Whitworth College, Spokane, Washington. He has written numerous articles in scholarly and popular journals and is a contributing editor of Christianity Today
Works by James R. Edwards
Associated Works
"Non-canonical" religious texts in early Judaism and early Christianity (2012) — Contributor — 7 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1945-10-28
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
- Places of residence
- Jamestown, North Dakota, USA
- Education
- Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv|1970)
Fuller Theological Seminary (PhD|1978) - Organizations
- Society of Biblical Literature
Members
Reviews
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 10
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 1,306
- Popularity
- #19,653
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 14
- ISBNs
- 28
- Languages
- 2
Although I've given this volume 5 stars, there are some serious editorial and publishing issues in the Kindle version (I have both Kindle and print versions) which significantly detract from the electronic work. The number of conjoined words is too numerous to list (a handful: "Israel'sojourn", Location 1513; "leper'entrance", 1586; "mininstryin", 1781; "orunusual", 2258; "ofthe", 8584; "Hellenisticworld", 8692; etc.). Toward the beginning of the Kindle version, numerous words beginning with "i" have some form of the word "Introduction" erroneously appended to it ("Introductionernal", Location 432; "Introductionerest", 432; "Introductionention", 446; "Introductionerpreter", 460; "Introductiono", 460; etc.). Similarly, in one paragraph spanning Locations 540 - 554, "Quintillian" is represented as "QuIntroductionilian" no less than six times. Other minor typos are far too frequent. However, the abundance of editorial or publishing errors are more of an annoyance and ultimately do not detract from the five stars that I give Edwards' work.
These Kindle-specific editorial and publishing errors get worse. There are four lengthy indices at the end of the book ("Modern Authors"; "Subjects", "Scripture References", and "Extrabibilical Literature"). In the print version, these indices span 38 pages of what looks to be small 9 or 10-point type at the end of the book. In the Kindle version, however, there are no page numbers (or Location numbers) at all, rendering this section useless. Whether this was a conscious decision (due to the fact that this Kindle version has no page numbers per se, but only Location numbers), or an outright error I do not know; still, it deprives the Kindle reader of a very powerful reference and access to Edwards' considerable scholarship.
It is this scholarship that makes the commentary so worthwhile. Opinion is supported with numerous erudite references; alternative views are also presented. Refreshingly, Edwards proves that scholarship is not mutually exclusive from orthodoxy; his theological views can be characterized as conservative. In the Series Preface, editor D.A. Carson sums it up better than I can: "Good commentaries on the canonical Gospels are particularly difficult to write. The demands are considerable: fine historical sense and theological maturity; working with diverse literary genres; a thorough grasp of both Jewish and Greco-Roman backgrounds; a command of the vast secondary literature without letting that literature dictate the agenda or swamp the reader with endless peripheral details. James Edwards meets these challenges admirably. His commentary reflects a lifetime of study, a quality of judgment that is knowledgeable and sure-footed. To all this he adds a quiet reverence for the text that is both appropriate and edifying."
My admiration for this book prompted me to look for a commentary on Luke in the same series; it does not yet exist. But I learned that Professor Edwards was working on it, so I emailed him for some additional information, and he graciously responded. His commentary on Luke is complete, and is in the hands of the editors at Eerdman's; hopefully it will be available this year. So while I await that volume, I've gone ahead and purchased the series commentary on John; and I further purchased Edwards' The Hebrew Gospel & The Development of the Synoptic Tradition, which further bolsters my respect for his scholarship.… (more)