Question/insight #45: "Why a WOMEN'S Bible commentary? Is God a respecter of persons?"

[BibleTexts note: This question from a fellow-participant in the "Ordination of Women" email forum was in response to my having quoted from the Women's Bible Commentary, near the end of my webpage commentary at http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/bd.htm.]

Response #45: That's a good question. Let's look at the precedent in Jesus' words in his various "commentaries" on "the kingdom." We have within the New Testament gospels:

"The disciples' commentary on the kingdom" by Jesus

• Matt 13:11
• Mark 4:11
• Luke 8:10
• Luke 12:32

• Luke 22:29,30

"Peter's commentary on the kingdom" by Jesus

• Matt 16:19

"Children's commentary on the kingdom" by Jesus

• Matt 18:1-6
• Matt 19:13-15
• Mark 10:13-16

• Luke 18:15-17

"Eunuchs' commentary on the kingdom" by Jesus

• Matt 19:12

"Tax collectors' and prostitutes' commentary on the kingdom" by Jesus

• Matt 21:31

"Scribes' commentary on the kingdom" by Jesus

• Mark 12:28-34

"Poor people's commentary on the kingdom" by Jesus

• Luke 6:20

"People Christianly healed commentary on the kingdom" by Jesus

• Luke 10:9

"Those born from above (or again) commentary on the kingdom" by Jesus

• John 3:3

"Those born of water and Spirit commentary on the kingdom" by Jesus

• John 3:5

Was Jesus a "respecter" (Greek: prosopoleptes, English: "one who shows favoritism"*, Acts 10:34) of persons, or was he simply addressing individual needs/issues and/or individual audiences?

* Barclay M. Newman, Jr., A Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament, New York: United Bible Societies, 1993, p. 155)

I do not see the Women's Bible Commentary, Expanded Edition, with Apocrypha, edited by Carol A. Newsom and Sharon H. Ringe (Atlanta: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) as showing favoritism. It simply addresses individual needs/issues and/or individual audiences -- and it does so in a manner that is at least as fair, honest, and genuinely scholarly as most other one-volume Bible commentaries. Of all the Bible commentaries that I have in my own research library **, not one is so absolutely exhaustive that it includes all that all of the other commentaries have. Each commentary includes material that its editors consider to be most important within the commentary's intended own scope and within their own editorial perspective -- whether that commentary is a one volume commentary of the entire Bible, a multi-volume commentary of a single book of the Bible, or a multi-volume commentary of the entire Bible. The Women's Bible Commentary not only includes much of the same basic information found in other high quality one-volume commentaries, but it also provides valid information and valuable insights that are not found in other commentaries. It is an excellent biblical commentary worthy of inclusion in any Bible student's library.

** For a partial bibliographical listing, browse: http://www.bibletexts.com/bibliogr.htm.

See also:

"Women's Bible Commentary: A reader's endorsement" at http://www.bibletexts.com/qa/qa045.htm

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