John BERGSMA and Brant PITRE. A Catholic Introduction to the Bible. Volume 1: The Old Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2018, pp. 1060. $54.95 hb. Reviewed by Leo MADDEN, Ohio Dominican University, Columbus, OH 43219

This book is an enormous work of scholarship and religious conviction that fills a longstanding lacuna in Old Testament studies. Most introductions to the Old Testament seem to imitate the works of Otto Eissfeldt (The Old Testament: An Introduction, English translation 1965) or Bernhard Anderson (Understanding the Old Testament, 5th edition 2006): the former emphasizes literary genres and the history of the emergence of the text; the latter folds the books of the Old Testament into a broader story of the history of Biblical Israel. Neither style is satisfactory to many readers of the Old Testament who wish to read these texts in a way that recognizes their place within the Canon and their use in liturgies and rites. This massive work by Bergsma and Pitre, both of whom earned Ph.D.s from the University of Notre Dame, approaches the Old Testament through multiple methodologies, but everything is in service to the needs of Catholic scholars, catechists, and educated faithful.

The opening chapter of the work (“The Vision of this Book,” pp. 7-15) sets forth its overall purpose: to apply the general principles of Biblical interpretation in the Catholic tradition as elaborated by Pope Benedict XVI in his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Verbum Domini (September 30, 2010). The authors intend to present an “integrated” approach to the Old Testament and the New Testament, that is, they emphasize the canonical connections between texts and ideas in both sections of the Bible, they make use of the historical-critical method, they bring forth comments on texts from a wide variety of authors from the history of Christianity, and they identify where in specific liturgies or rites passages from the Old Testament are included.

The structure of the book is rather straightforward. After two chapters that deal with introductory matters (“The Vision of this Book” and “Introducing the Old Testament”), the authors devote a chapter to each book of the Catholic Canon of the Old Testament (with the exception of the Twelve Minor Prophets, treatment of which constitutes one whole chapter). Each chapter follows the same basic sequence: after a few introductory remarks, the authors present the literary structure of the Biblical book, then a general overview of its contents, then consideration of historical issues, then reflections on the its place with the living tradition of the Catholic Church, and finally a chart that identifies precisely which texts of that Biblical book appear in which Catholic liturgy or rite. Each chapter concludes with a lengthy bibliography; the most notable section of the bibliography is published versions in English translation of the commentaries on the Biblical book by Church Fathers (e.g., St. Jerome, St. Hippolytus, Theodoret of Cyrus, just to name three of dozens).

In the opening chapter of the book, the authors announce that this book can be put to use by a wide range of people, with different backgrounds and interests. One of the intended audiences is discussion groups in a parish setting, and I can imagine that the book will support such meetings in these three ways:

Each chapter contains sidebars that focus on specific matters of contemporary controversy, e.g., “Where Do We Get the Concept of the ‘Scapegoat?’” (p. 215), “Can ‘Evil’ Come from a Good God?’” (p. 541), and “Does Ezekiel Condone the Abuse of Women?” (p. 846). I can imagine discussion groups in a Catholic parish engaging in lively discussions on these matters!

The section of each chapter entitled “In the Living Tradition” offers readers a marvelous illustration of how the study of the Old Testament through typology works: the authors identify an image or theme present in that Biblical book and they then discuss how that image or theme aids in the understanding of the mystery of God’s Revelation in Jesus. Again: parish discussion groups will be enriched by this feature of the book.

The section of the each chapter entitled, “In the Lectionary,” can serve as a never-ending resource, by which the laity can understand the logic of the Church as she connects one passage from a book of the Old Testament with a Psalm, or a letters of Paul, or especially a passage from a Gospel. In this manner, the reader can appreciate how the Catholic tradition invites the faithful to encounter large swaths of Bible on a regular basis.

Yet I point out one weakness. As summarized above, each chapter contains a section called “Historical Issues.” Some chapters by their very content contain more information and discussion of an historical nature (such as the chapters on Genesis, Exodus, and the historical books). The authors present the most historically optimistic assessment of the Biblical data. To be sure, the authors do include opposing viewpoints (e.g., from “minimalists” such as Thompson and Lemche), but 95% of their assessment of historical matters reflects the views of “maximalists.” Indeed, the most frequently cited historian of the Old Testament is Kenneth Kitchen (On the Reliability of the Old Testament, Eerdmans, 2006). I wonder why the authors never cite the work of Lester Grabbe (Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? Continuum, 2007) or William Dever (What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It? Eerdmans, 2001, along with many other books), whose evidence and arguments would have bolstered their conclusions.

The authors have performed a great service for Catholic scholars, educators, and faithful. I hope that the sheer size of the book does not dissuade anyone from using – and enjoying – all that it offers. Readers who profit from this resource will surely look forward to its companion volume on the New Testament.