Volume 8, Number 2 · February 9, 1967
A New Catholic Bible
By Matthew Hodgart
The Jerusalem Bible
edited by The Reverend Alexander Jones
Doubleday, 2,064 pp., $16.95
After centuries of wandering in the wilderness Roman Catholic Bible scholarship has entered the promised land; and it is remarkable with what speed the final conquest has taken place. The Vulgate, still used by Ronald Knox in 1949, has been abandoned as the sole basis for vernacular translations; the American Revised Standard Version has recently been officially published for the use of Catholics; and now the editors of the Jerusalem Bible have made a fresh translation from the Hebrew and Greek, without showing any special deference to St. Jerome's Latin. This, however, is not just a plain text, but contains introductions to the various books and notes which have been taken from the French (Dominican) Bible de Jérusalem of 1956—'though revised and brought up to date in some places—account being taken of the decisions and general implications of the Second Vatican Council.' These editorial comments tell an interesting story:
Review, 2681 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |