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THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is for the minister or Bible student who wants to understand and expound the Scriptures. Notable features include:* commentary based on THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION;* the NIV text printed in the body of the commentary;* sound scholarly methodology that reflects capable research in the original languages;* interpretation that emphasizes the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole;* readable and applicable exposition.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 25, 2022
I have always enjoyed this series. It is readable and easy to navigate (contra Word's commentaries). This commentary on Mark by James Brooks was accessible and understandable. Many commentaries are rated for laypeople, ministers, and scholars. This one would fall into the first two categories. It is rare that one can read a commentary like a normal book, but I could this one. He interacts with some critical thought (i.e. those who doubt Jesus did or said certain things that Mark records) but in an easy-to-understand manner and he usually comes down on the conservative side. I especially like that he keeps the structure of the whole book in mind as Mark is so quick paced that it's easy to read it as just one scene to the next. I wouldn't call this a deep dive on Mark, but I would highly recommend it for personal study.
July 25, 2014
You can find my review here: http://wp.me/p3JhRp-cK
http://spoiledmilks.wordpress.com/201...
James' A. Brooks' Mark commentary under the New American Commentary series was one of the first in the series (1991). The NAC series is designed "to enable pastors, teachers, and students to read the Bible with clarity and proclaim it with power." How are we to go about reading the Gospel of Mark in a way that grows our faith and builds up the church body? It is Brooks' aim to answer that question to the serious student/teacher/preacher/layman who would read this commentary.
Much of what Mark says is found in Matthew and Luke. In fact, Mark has no beginning genealogy, no infancy/birth narrative, and may or may not even have a resurrection story. But we need to see that Mark has a story to tell, and Brooks' aims to show us what that story is.
(-) While Mark had a reason for the short size of his Gospel, I remain unsure of Brooks' reason for his short commentary. The book is only 276 pages. This doesn't have to be a negative, but Brooks spends more time on textual criticism than necessary for the pastor/teacher. Brooks gives 3 paragraphs on why Mark would have put Abiathar, while only giving a few sentences on how the Sabbath was made for man (while then giving more textual criticism on 2.27-28 before and after).
Brooks spends 3 paragraphs refuting those who refute the explanation of the Parable of the Sower coming from Jesus, and only 1 paragraph on the explanation.
He spends one paragraph explaining the word "go" and "woe" in 14.21 ("The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born"). There's more in there than just what "go" and "woe" mean.
Recommended?
While there is good to be found with Brooks (he does take an evangelical position, and can be read by the layman), Brooks falls too far into the details of the trees to see the overall map of the forest. For a book this size, there isn't enough information to warrant a successful grasp of the text.
[Special thanks to B&H Publishing for sending me this book for review! I was not obligated to provide a positive review in exchange for this book.]
http://spoiledmilks.wordpress.com/201...
James' A. Brooks' Mark commentary under the New American Commentary series was one of the first in the series (1991). The NAC series is designed "to enable pastors, teachers, and students to read the Bible with clarity and proclaim it with power." How are we to go about reading the Gospel of Mark in a way that grows our faith and builds up the church body? It is Brooks' aim to answer that question to the serious student/teacher/preacher/layman who would read this commentary.
Much of what Mark says is found in Matthew and Luke. In fact, Mark has no beginning genealogy, no infancy/birth narrative, and may or may not even have a resurrection story. But we need to see that Mark has a story to tell, and Brooks' aims to show us what that story is.
(-) While Mark had a reason for the short size of his Gospel, I remain unsure of Brooks' reason for his short commentary. The book is only 276 pages. This doesn't have to be a negative, but Brooks spends more time on textual criticism than necessary for the pastor/teacher. Brooks gives 3 paragraphs on why Mark would have put Abiathar, while only giving a few sentences on how the Sabbath was made for man (while then giving more textual criticism on 2.27-28 before and after).
Brooks spends 3 paragraphs refuting those who refute the explanation of the Parable of the Sower coming from Jesus, and only 1 paragraph on the explanation.
He spends one paragraph explaining the word "go" and "woe" in 14.21 ("The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born"). There's more in there than just what "go" and "woe" mean.
Recommended?
While there is good to be found with Brooks (he does take an evangelical position, and can be read by the layman), Brooks falls too far into the details of the trees to see the overall map of the forest. For a book this size, there isn't enough information to warrant a successful grasp of the text.
[Special thanks to B&H Publishing for sending me this book for review! I was not obligated to provide a positive review in exchange for this book.]
July 30, 2016
This was a required text for my class on The Gospel of Mark.
This was a helpful and mostly interesting commentary. It points out a lot of awkwardness and seeming inconsistencies in the text of Mark, but helps to explain that away. On occasion, the explanations were dismissive, as if the problems they were pointing out wouldn't be huge stumbling blocks to some people. Ultimately, this book opened up a deeper understanding of Mark and raised a lot of questions. This is definitely a good source for studying Mark.
This was a helpful and mostly interesting commentary. It points out a lot of awkwardness and seeming inconsistencies in the text of Mark, but helps to explain that away. On occasion, the explanations were dismissive, as if the problems they were pointing out wouldn't be huge stumbling blocks to some people. Ultimately, this book opened up a deeper understanding of Mark and raised a lot of questions. This is definitely a good source for studying Mark.
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April 17, 2009Mark (New American Commentary) by James A. Brooks (?)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews