Over his illustrious career, Raymond E. Brown, S.S., Ph.D., was internationally regarded as a dean of New Testament scholars. He was Auburn Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He received over thirty honorary degrees from Catholic and Protestant universities worldwide, and was elected a (Corresponding) Fellow of the British Academy and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.In addition to serving as president of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Biblical Association, and the Society of New Testament Studies, two popes appointed Father Brown as the sole American on the Pontifical Biblical Commission. Some of the best known of his more than thirty-five books on the Bible are three volumes in the "Anchor Bible" series on the Gospel and Epistles of John, as well as the Anchor Bible Reference Library volumes "The Birth of the Messiah", "The Death of the Messiah", and "An Introduction to the New Testament", winner of the 1998 Catholic Press Association Award for Biblical Studies. Father Brown's untimely death on August 8, 1998, saddened all who knew him.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This is a great book! He goes through all the various issues (including whether the Sanhedrin had the right to impose capital punishment - an issue it is difficult to find works on) in a clear way and with impeccable scholarship. As easy to read for the layman as the theological scholar, because unlike some writers, R E Brown doesn't go overboard on his use of biblical languages.
A very useful book.
A very useful book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Aquinas
Format:Hardcover
The two volumes on the passion narratives represent Brown at his best and modern biblical scholarship at its best. One of the key insights I came away with from reading these volumes was how each gospel is like a lense through which we view Christ. We see him from one angle (Mark and Matthew - "Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachtani"), then another ("Into your hands I commend my spirt") and finally in the high christology of John ("It is consummated"). Like different camera shots, the gospels show us different facets of he who is True God/True Man.
In John, Jesus is always regal, he is always in control, he lays down his life, no one takes it from him. When he is arrested, he says "I am" and the soldiers all fall down at his words, a recognition of the presence of the Divine. In the synoptics, he is frail - Simon carries the cross for him; in John he carries his cross himself. In the trial scene in John he is the absolute master of events, the soul of Pilate is really on trial, Jesus is his judge.
There is much much more in this. Read and your view of the passion naratives will be changed and matured forever.
In John, Jesus is always regal, he is always in control, he lays down his life, no one takes it from him. When he is arrested, he says "I am" and the soldiers all fall down at his words, a recognition of the presence of the Divine. In the synoptics, he is frail - Simon carries the cross for him; in John he carries his cross himself. In the trial scene in John he is the absolute master of events, the soul of Pilate is really on trial, Jesus is his judge.
There is much much more in this. Read and your view of the passion naratives will be changed and matured forever.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
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8 reviews
47 of 49 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The SUMMA of Passion scholarship
6 Mar 2001
By A. Hogan
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
The late Fr. Raymond Brown,S.S.,of blessed memory, was the greatest scripture scholar this country has produced. Eriudite,brilliant,evenhanded,he searched for the truth,not easy answers. His BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH{which I still have as a $5.95 trade paperback from 1978},set the tsandard of modern american scripture scholarship. In this, the first of 2 volumes{as part of the magnificent ANCHOR BIBLE LIBRARY},Fr. Brown begins his passions study from the moment the Last supper begins. He open each section with a literal translation of the 4 gospels, then gives his commentary. With the massive footnotes,{and Brown's footnotes are more interesting then most studies},literally hundreds of pages of Bibliography,Fr. Brown dissects line by line,the content of each passage. Some of his insights are casually stunning{in all the scriptures there is only one other suicide besides Juds mentioned, that in II Samuel},his belief in the HISTORICAL accuracy of John's gospel,his hundreds of casual asides{the difference in the conjugation of certain verbs,one leaving Jesus passive, the other suggesting a proactive Jesus] These are just minor nuggets. This study will take one a long time to read,to digest. It is NOT an easy read.It is INFINITELY REWARDING. Raymond Browns scholarship far exceeds my ability to praise.Taken together, these two volumes are a testament to the faith and scholarship and brilliance of this man. BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best resource on the 36 hours before the crucifixion
21 Feb 2002
By Dr. Marc Axelrod
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
It's hard to believe that a guy could write 1500 some pages on 36 hours of a person's life. Yet it makes for fascinating reading, and Father Brown leaves few stones unturned in his penetrating look at the final hours of Jesus' earthly ministry. In volume one, he discusses the relationships between the first three gospels and the gospel of John, and then he proceesed on to a discussion of each gospel's passion narrative. Father Brown's main agenda is to get at the meaning of the biblical text as it stands. This is not to say that Brown shys away from discussing the historicity of a particular passage. Sometimes, he swims against the stream by leaving open the possibility of the historicity of a story (eg. that there really was a Jewish and a Roman trial of Jesus). And occasionally, he sees the passion stories as powerful metaphors rather than something that actually happened (cf John 18, when the crowd falls to the ground when Jesus says 'I am He.") Yet He is also rightfully skeptical about modern attempts to reconstruct what actually happened 1970 years ago. He prefers to let the text of scripture speak for itself.
This book is a huge, academic tome, and as rich and informative as it is, the reader better be prepared to make heavy weather of it. You could spend lots of extra time mining extra information out of all the footnotes and bibliographical references that Brown cites. But I could hardly recommend any other source for people who want to know more about the passion of Christ.
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Serious contemplation of the passion of Christ
4 Feb 2002
By Jeanine Narayanan
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The late Ray Brown is one of the most highly respected Christian scholars of our time. Although he was Roman Catholic his work is regarded very highly among non-Catholic scholars and he was a passionate but fearlessly clear thinker with a lucid and beautiful writing style.
This work is the culmination of a lifetime of serious study and contemplation of the four canonical Gospels. In it he contrasts and compares in great detail the passion stories as they play out in the three so-called synoptic gospels and the fourth, the Gospel of John.
This two-volume work is certainly not an "easy read" but is indeed rewarding and manageable by any general layperson with the will to perservere in study. For example, unlike some works of no greater scholarly attainment, it does not presuppose a knowledge of ancient languages, and can be read in isolation (with occasional use of a Bible), not sending you round to find background studies to try to make sense of what you are reading. I would recommend this work highly to anyone seeking a better understanding of the Passion of Christ.
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