With the ongoing commitment of religious publishers to biblical commentaries and commentary series, not only is the sheer number of these volumes growing, but so in uncertainty about the proper format and genre of the commentary itself. Diversity in the style of commentaries suggests that the question of how one helps others read has many answers. Publishers are inclined to focus upon the character of the intended audience. The Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary, of which this volume is a part, uses a “multimedia” format to address an exclusively Christian audience that is committed to historical scholarship and comfortable with a complex visual style.

This commentary on Hebrews and James addresses this visual orientation by including pictures that illustrate theological and historical themes. For instance, the language of Christ being seated on the throne of majesty in Hebrews 8:1 invites the inclusion of Jovan Vasilievic’s eighteenth-century painting of Christ on the throne (p. 181). The call to peace-making in James 3:18 invites the inclusion of a 1978 photograph of Carter, Begin, and Sadat at Camp David (p. 378). In addition, the commentary page is visually busy. Several hundred “sidebars” in the volume include the aforementioned paintings and photographs, descriptions of historical context, word studies, scriptural quotations, charts, outlines, brief notes on the history of interpretation, and discussions of theological themes. An enclosed CD-ROM contains the entire commentary in Adobe format. All of this means that readers are not required or even expected to read the commentary straight through, but are encouraged to wander around in it. The volume has full indexes and the CD-ROM enables quick searches of the entire volume.

McKnight and Church have written two accessible and successful commentaries. Since the series is directed toward a wide audience, academic controversy is given a light touch and potential applications are explored in some detail. Nevertheless, the heart of both commentaries is a careful verse-by-verse analysis that explores the historical meaning of both Hebrews and James. In spite of the standardizing forces at work in commentary series, McKnight’s treatment of Hebrews and Church’s of James are somewhat different in their feel.

McKnight offers a balanced, informed, and rather traditional reading of Hebrews. While he is well-acquainted with the many debates about the origin and provenance of Hebrews, for the most part he avoids taking a definitive stance in these debates, leaving historical contexts imprecise. The author is unknown, although the text itself suggests authorial connections to Paul and a deep knowledge of scripture on the part of the author. The destination is likely to have been Rome, but this is not certain. The dualism that animates much of Hebrews admittedly recalls Plato and Philo without being in the end Platonic. Hebrews’ genre is that of a sermon in the loose sense of the word. Its theology results mostly from a christological reading of Jewish scripture. That christology is neither triumphalist or supersessionist, but is rather a combination of the idealism of the exalted high priest and the paradigmatic suffering and obedience of the crucified one. If there is a governing perspective, it is that the author has written an eclectic sermon to encourage Christians who are wavering in their faith.

By maintaining a consistent reserve in these debates, McKnight can read the diversity of perspectives and images in Hebrews without trying to systematize them all. The commentary itself reads as understated enrichment. McKnight devotes less exegetical energy to tracking the internal logic of Hebrews than he does to creating a scriptural context in which to read Hebrews. In this sense, McKnight implies a particular understanding of the purpose of his commentary. He is not offering a definitive reading of the text so much as he is offering resources and guidance for readings by other people--people who are not Greek scholars or ancient historians. Thus, McKnight devotes minimal attention to Greek syntax and includes only a handful of word studies. His general references to historical context are never determinative for his reading of Hebrews. He refers to the ancient world not to control the meaning of Hebrews but to enrich the reading. Thus, McKnight envisions non-specialist but energetic readers who will work on the text on their own. His commentary functions as invitation and resource.

Similarly, McKnight connects the text to the modern world mostly by pointing to the theological claims of the text, assuming that his readers will make the connections specific. For instance, in reference to Hebrews 5:1-10, McKnight asserts that “Jesus in his historical experience is a model for us. His faith and obedience are examples for us to follow” (p. 125). He does not state how that model will shape his readers and what precise behavior will result. He expects his readers to decide for themselves.

In comparison, Church’s reading of James is more aggressive and specific. Church employs John Painter’s configuration of the early Christian mission movement in order to locate the book of James in the centrist camp of the circumcision movement. While the book of James was probably not written by James himself, its theological position is consistent with his. Its theology is not based on Jesus as redeemer, but on Jesus as teacher and judge. Jesus teaches the royal law that, since it is from God, can renew and save.

This royal law is called by many names in James, including the word of truth, the implanted word, and the law of liberty. James assumes that God blesses the world through God’s law and that God will judge humanity according to that law. James offers salvation by collecting the reliable and challenging teachings of Jesus.

This account of the theology of James directs the content of the commentary. More so than McKnight, Church offers a specific reading and a governing interpretation of the text. While he gathers other images from the canon, Church’s primary context for reading the text of James is the text itself. He configures it into an ordered whole, centered around the concept of the royal law.

Church’s preference for a determined reading is even more apparent in how he draws connections to modern life. Church places the imperatives of James specifically and thoroughly into the context of modern racial and social politics. For example, in the “Connections” section on James 1, Church mentions Martin Luther King, Jr., the Memphis sanitation strike, the Alabama tax code, Habitat for Humanity, Koinonia Farm, Albert Schweitzer, John Greenleaf Wittier, HIV, sexual abuse, undocumented aliens, single parents, the elderly poor, and Hebrew slavery in Egypt. The “sidebars” include material from the Children’s Defense Fund, Family-to-Family, Samaritan Ministries, ACORN, and the full text of Whittier’s poem “O Brother Man!” In Church’s reading there is little doubt about the ethical import of the book of James. He brings his readers into the public arena, where they face racial, economic, and social injustice while hearing the call of Jesus’ royal law for peace and righteousness.

Hebrews and James, are, of course, different texts that invite different kind of readings. Hebrews, for instance, does not inspire the kind of political reading that James does. Nevertheless, to a great extent, McKnight and Church offer two different options for a commentary. McKnight encourages his readers to do their own reading by offering historical and literary resources and by effacing his own reading. Church, to the contrary, challenges his readers to respond to James’ call for peace and justice by articulating fully his own reading. Both approaches are, of course, traditional and familiar in commentaries. Thus, the two commentaries together effectively pose the question of how one person helps another to read.

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