Back around Christmas time, I created a wish list for things
I wished were available, but simply
were not. Among other things, I wished for “a good, scholarly edition of the Bible
translated by LDS scholars.” Well, it appears that I am about to have my wish
granted, at least in part, along with much more. Just today, BYU has unveiled a
New Testament Commentary Project. It will involve multiple scholars and will
provide a new translation and also offer extensive commentary.
A group of Latter-day Saint scholars has joined forces to produce a multi-volume commentary on the New Testament along with a new rendition of the Greek New Testament texts. Planned to take several years to complete, this series will combine the best of ancient linguistic and historical scholarship with Latter-day Saint doctrinal perspectives.
The first volume to be published is, perhaps strangely, on the last book in the New Testament, The Apocalypse of St. John, by Richard
Draper and Michael Rhodes. It is currently slated to be available in ebook form
within a few months.
This promises to make comprehensive use of both New
Testament scholarship and Mormon scripture.
This commentary will be the first to combine such a breadth of scholarly expertise in the New Testament coupled with Mormon scripture. The series will examine each book in the New Testament almost word by word, exploring relationships between the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.
A Conference is slated for May 15 at BYU where several
participants will present and discuss the project.
It looks to be a promising new enterprise. Any Latter-day
Saints interested in New Testament studies will surely want to keep an eye on
this project.
It has been in the works for a good many years.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it has, otherwise they wouldn't have a volume ready to publish in the next couple of months. But the conference announcement just went out today, and the website is brand spanking new. Hence, it is just now getting it's formal "unveiling." In any event, I was entirely unaware of it until today and wanted to publicize so that others would also know. I'm sure I'm not the only interested party who is just now learning about it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting.