Mark

This is a brilliant although sometimes idiosyncratic commentary on Mark. Marcus argues that the main motif of the Gospel is the connection between the “way of Yahweh” in Isaiah and the “way of Jesus” in Mark. This New Exodus is acted out as Jesus makes His victorious march to Jerusalem. But, as Isaiah prophesied, “The Servant’s suffering is the divinely appointed means for the realization of the dominion of God.” [Full Review]

 

Arguably the best mainline, non-conservative commentary on Mark. [Full Review]

It was a decade ago (1999) when the first volume (Mark 1–8) of Joel Marcus’s excellent commentary on the Gospel of Mark in the Anchor Bible Series was published. I reviewed it for the Journal of Theological Studies (see JTS 53 [2002]: 191–96). Since then, his second and final volume has been eagerly anticipated. In these intervening ten years, the Markan commentary industry has been in full production, with English-, French-, and German-language commentaries being published at the rate of almost one a year (e.g., those by É. Trocmé, É. Cuvillier, J. R. Donahue and D. J. Harrington, J. R. Edwards, R. T. France, F. J. Moloney, C. Focant, C. S. Rodd, L. Schenke, M. E. Boring). Given the competition, then, as well as the dedication, perseverance, consistency, and informed scholarship that such a long-term project entails, it is a great pleasure to report that this concluding volume by Marcus, now Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Duke Divinity School, lives up to all expectations, preserves its place as one of the foremost English-language commentaries on this fascinating but enigmatic Gospel, and commendably carries forward the aims of the prestigious series in which it appears. Under the wing of Yale University Press since 2007, and with John J. Collins as general editor, the Anchor Yale Bible series seeks to bring the most recent biblical scholarship to as wide an audience as possible, and academics, pastors, and general readers are unlikely to be disappointed with this, the latest volume in the series. [Full Review]

[Full Review]