The Editors’ Preface

For over five decades The Oxford Annotated Bible and its successor The New Oxford Annotated Bible have served generations of readers and students as a study Bible. That extraordinary longevity is eloquent testimony to its success. This fifth edition retains the format and features that have proven so attractive. At the same time, the field of biblical studies has not been static, and this edition is a thoroughgoing revision of the previous ones. In particular, the editors have recruited contributors from a wide diversity of backgrounds and of scholarly approaches to the biblical traditions. In order to present this diversity more fully, the introductions to the biblical books, the maps and charts, the annotations, and the study materials at the end of the book have been significantly enhanced.

For this edition the editors have thoroughly revised the study materials and commissioned new materials where appropriate. There is a new essay on “The Languages of the Bible,” and the table on “Calendars” has been augmented with an explanatory essay on the differing methods of accounting for time in the ancient world. “Parallel Texts” now includes parallels to the Synoptic Gospels in the Gospel of John. There is a table of “Chapter and Verse Differences” between standard English translations and the Hebrew Bible's numbering. As always, everything has gone through multiple readings by several editors and revisions by the editorial board and the contributors.

The editors recognize that no single interpretation or approach is sufficient for informed reading of these ancient texts, and have aimed at inclusivity of interpretive strategies. On a great number of issues there is a consensus among scholars, and the contributors have been encouraged to present such consensus when it exists. Where it has broken down, and has not yet re‐formed, alternatives are mentioned. Moreover, in order to respect the canonical status of various parts of the Bible for different communities, and to avoid privileging any book or part of the Bible, the editors have kept both introductions and annotations roughly proportionate to the length of the books, while recognizing that some parts require more elaboration than others.

The editorial process was collaborative. Each contribution was read in its entirety by at least three of the editors, and revised with a view toward consistency of tone, coherence of approach, and completeness of coverage. The editors have also wanted to allow the contributors’ own voices to be heard, and have avoided imposing a superficial uniformity of style and approach. Throughout, the editors have kept the needs of the general audience firmly in mind during the editorial stages, and the aim has been a congruity of experience as a reader turns from book to book and from section to section of the finished volume.

Contents of the Annotated Bible

The biblical text stands apart from any editorial contributions, in both placement and format. This will enable anyone who wishes to do so to read the text unprejudiced by editorial judgments.

The footnotes that are part of the New Revised Standard Version (indicated by an italic superscript letter after the word or phrase in question) are printed at the bottom of the right‐hand column of the biblical text on each page where they occur. In these notes, divergent textual readings and alternate translations are printed in italics. Abbreviations in the textual notes are listed on p. xxii. The phrase “Other ancient authorities read” means that the reading (i.e., the wording) of the passage is different in various manuscripts and early versions, and the word “Or” signifies that the Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, or Latin text permits an alternate rendering besides the one given in the text. (See “Textual Criticism,” p. 2241.)

Discussion of larger units in the Bible is provided by essays introducing each of them: “The Pentateuch,” “The Historical Books,” “The Poetical and Wisdom Books,” “The Prophetic Books,” “The Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books,” “The Gospels,” and “Letters/Epistles in the New Testament.”

Each book is preceded by its own introduction, which sketches the book's structure, main themes, literary history, and historical context, as well as broad lines of interpretation; they therefore present a clear overview and guide to reading. These introductions are organized so that they cover the same topics in the same order.

At the bottom of each page of the biblical text, in a different font from it and in a single column, are the annotations. The annotations are just that, notes rather than paraphrase or commentary, although these genres admittedly overlap. They are intended to enhance the reader's understanding of the text, providing essential information, background, and interpretation, rather than only summarizing what it says. The boldface headings delineate the larger units of the book and provide a detailed consecutive outline of its contents. The word or phrase being glossed is given in italics. Quotation marks are used for words quoted from elsewhere in the Bible as well as for transliterations of ancient languages. Since we desire each book to stand on its own, as much as possible the annotations are self‐contained. We have thus tried to avoid both cross‐references to fuller discussion elsewhere, and the misconception that a book or larger part of the Bible is merely a perfunctory reworking of other material, or that a particular passage can only be understood fully in the light of later biblical traditions. At the same time, we recognize that the Bible is often a progressive text, and that later parts of the Bible often contain the oldest interpretations of earlier traditions. The best starting point for interpreting a particular passage is often another passage, and we have encouraged contributors to point out interconnections in the biblical material by means of cross references. (The cross‐references that end with “n.” refer to the annotation as well as to the biblical text.)

A listing of abbreviations for the books of the Bible used in this edition is found on p. 21. The chapter and verse divisions in a reference are separated by a period; thus, Gen 3.8 refers to the book of Genesis, chapter 3, verse 8. Inclusive references are used for both chapters and verses; thus, Ex 1‐15 refers to the first fifteen chapters of the book of Exodus; Rom 11.33–36 to verses 33 through 36 of chapter 11 of the letter to the Romans; and so forth. Partial verses—either separable clauses, individual sentences where two or more are part of the same verse, or lines of poetry—are referred to with lower‐case letters; thus, Gen 2.4a means the first part (here, a sentence) of verse 4 in chapter 2 of the book of Genesis. When a book of the Bible is referred to within an annotation on that book, the name of the book is not repeated unless there is ambiguity.

In keeping with the general desire to take account of the diversity of the users of this study Bible, the editors have adopted two widely‐accepted conventions: referring to the first portion of the text as “the Hebrew Bible,” since it is a collection preserved by the Jewish community and that is how Jews regard it; and citing all dates in the notes as bce or Ce (“Before the Common Era” and “Common Era”) instead of bc or ad (“Before Christ” and “Anno Domini” [“in the year of the Lord”]), which imply a Christian view of the status of Jesus of Nazareth. Use of the title “Old Testament” for those books here designated as “the Hebrew Bible” is confined to instances expressing the historical view of various Christian interpreters. These conventions are followed in the study materials that the editors have produced; the translation has its own conventions, which may not be altered.

Several dozen maps and plans are interspersed in the biblical text. These will assist readers to locate important places mentioned in the text or to clarify the prose descriptions of such structures as the Tabernacle and the Temple.

The study materials at the end of the volume are a series of interconnected essays that provide background information for understanding the Bible, the processes by which it was formed, the contexts in which it was produced, and the ways in which it has been interpreted through the ages. These essays are followed by tables of rulers, of weights and measures, of the calendar (with an explanatory essay), of parallel passages in the biblical traditions, and “Chapter and Verse Differences” between English and Hebrew texts. There is also a brief bibliography to English translations of ancient writings that are referred to in the notes. A select chronology provides a quick reference for major events, rulers, and other persons contemporaneous with the biblical accounts. The study materials also include a glossary of important terms and concepts.

At the end of the book is a comprehensive subject index to all of the study materials, including the annotations. Finally, there is a set of fourteen color maps, with a separate index to them, that constitute a brief historical atlas of the Bible.

Acknowledgments

It remains to express our gratitude, first and above all to the contributors, whose learning has made this a work of which we are immensely proud. We are grateful, as always, for the support and careful work of all those at Oxford University Press who make it possible to publish complex projects such as this. Lisa Grzan and Claudia Dukeshire oversaw the entire process of editorial development and typesetting, as well as the production of digital versions of this edition. Mary Sutherland copy‐edited the entire text and prepared it for the compositor; Peachtree Editorial and Proofreading Service proofread the biblical text, and Debbie Ruel & Jan Maas proofread the study materials; 2k/denmark undertook the design and setting of the text. Erina Zadra oversaw the printing and binding process. Steve A. Wiggins and Donald Kraus handled all of the pre‐production editing with unequalled skill and serenity. We are grateful to them all.

michael d. coogan, marc z. brettler, carol a. newsom, pheme perkins – August 2017