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The Navarre Bible #1
The Navarre Bible: The Pentateuch
This volume helps you make the first five books of the Old Testament a vital part of your spiritual reading and practical growth in the Christian life. It contains the full English and Latin texts of these books, along with extensive and faithfully Catholic commentaries. Like other volumes in the world-renowned Navarre Bible series, these commentaries draw on Church documents, the exegesis of Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and the works of contemporary spiritual writers — particularly St. Josemaría Escrivá, who initiated the Navarre Bible project.
820 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 25, 2012
I have previously read parts of the Navarre series but have started to read from the beginning now. It is a great Bible that provides a deeper understanding/explaination of the verses including references to other verses, the Catechism, and theological writings.
March 23, 2021
My mother called me back in December; she had just embarked on reading the Bible with her friend and was puzzled and confused by Genesis 6:1-4, "...the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took to wife such of them as they chose"—Wait, what? That's in the Bible?—I couldn't believe it. It sounded strange and bizarre.
Taken out of context, passages like those that can cause a reader to dismiss the divine inspiration of scripture.
That's when I knew, if I was going to try to attempt to read the Bible, I'd need a knowledgeable companion. I'd need the context, and the annotations, of the many exegetes who have wrestled-with and debated Scripture for millennia before me.
I would need to frame the words of God against the backdrop of Church teaching and traditions.
And I'd need to understand how the words of the Old Testament relate to the covenant of the New Testament.
For my 2021 Biblical journey—my first attempt to read the entirety of the Bible—I'm lucky to have the companionship of Fr. Mike Schmitz and his "Bible in a Year" podcast.
But prior to listening to each day's podcast, I like to do the readings on my own. For that, I find the guidance of the Navarre commentary to be critical.
An absolute must-have on any Catholic bookshelf.
Taken out of context, passages like those that can cause a reader to dismiss the divine inspiration of scripture.
That's when I knew, if I was going to try to attempt to read the Bible, I'd need a knowledgeable companion. I'd need the context, and the annotations, of the many exegetes who have wrestled-with and debated Scripture for millennia before me.
I would need to frame the words of God against the backdrop of Church teaching and traditions.
And I'd need to understand how the words of the Old Testament relate to the covenant of the New Testament.
For my 2021 Biblical journey—my first attempt to read the entirety of the Bible—I'm lucky to have the companionship of Fr. Mike Schmitz and his "Bible in a Year" podcast.
But prior to listening to each day's podcast, I like to do the readings on my own. For that, I find the guidance of the Navarre commentary to be critical.
An absolute must-have on any Catholic bookshelf.
April 13, 2023
This volume is part of a great set of commentary. The entire set of commentary is put together by faculty members of the University of Navarra - School of Theology, each experts in their own domain.
There's a good balance between historical and devotional commentary, a little more towards devotional but sufficient technical material for those who enjoys biblical history and also to place Scripture passages into context. Some commentaries are quoted from Church documents, Church Fathers and saints. This is great since it helps link the centuries of wisdom from the multitude of church literature to the Scriptures (some of which I didn't realize they existed). One can easily explore further from the references given. As always, quotations from St Josemaria Escriva (mostly from his literature such as The Way, Friends of God) touches on the practical aspects of modern life.
There are areas where the meaning of the texts are vague and the team does not skip over, but provides sufficient explanation on the points of uncertainty. One can certainly explore further from other scholarly literature. The commentaries at times read like a sermon (in a positive sense). A few commentary parts are a little difficult to connect with the text and require some mulling over.
There are two maps at the end of the book. These can be supplemented with online maps such as bible portico.
There's a good balance between historical and devotional commentary, a little more towards devotional but sufficient technical material for those who enjoys biblical history and also to place Scripture passages into context. Some commentaries are quoted from Church documents, Church Fathers and saints. This is great since it helps link the centuries of wisdom from the multitude of church literature to the Scriptures (some of which I didn't realize they existed). One can easily explore further from the references given. As always, quotations from St Josemaria Escriva (mostly from his literature such as The Way, Friends of God) touches on the practical aspects of modern life.
There are areas where the meaning of the texts are vague and the team does not skip over, but provides sufficient explanation on the points of uncertainty. One can certainly explore further from other scholarly literature. The commentaries at times read like a sermon (in a positive sense). A few commentary parts are a little difficult to connect with the text and require some mulling over.
There are two maps at the end of the book. These can be supplemented with online maps such as bible portico.
April 7, 2020
Not a light read by any means, but a great help in understanding this ancient tome.
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February 20, 2017"Why were these books [Pentateuch] put together? The first thing to realize is that the very motive behind their composition around Deuteronomy at this time was the nostalgic anguish for the lost bicamerality of a subjetively conscious people." Julian Jaynes, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews