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I have received recently, from Catalin Croitor the following message, and I thought it might be interesting for those working in the fields of Biblical studies.

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Dear Catalin,

I am contacting you with regard to the new online project I am spearheading–known as the Global Bible Commentary (GBC).  The GBC is intended to be the first online, free, user-generated, Internationally-based, verse-by-verse, and chapter-by-chapter commentary on the whole of the Old and New Testaments.  Like Wikipedia, the GBC will allow for thousands of individuals around the world to edit and add content to the site.  The GBC will summarize hundreds of previously published commentaries–both historical and contemporary–and so provide a major, free resource for preachers and teachers of God’s Word.

Currently I am looking for qualified contributors.  The basic assignment is for each contributor to take one year to work on the commentary on just one chapter of the Bible.

Let me describe the project more fully in the rest of this email message.  I am attaching here a short bio to introduce myself to you.

Throughout the world, preachers and teachers of God’s Word benefit from biblical commentaries in their ministry of the Word.  Yet many preachers simply do not have access to theological libraries.  What is more, those who do have access to such libraries may be overwhelmed at the number of commentaries that exist.  How many preachers will take the time to open up three, five, seven, or ten different works on a given passage of scripture?

So this raises the question as to whether it might be possible–through orchestrated, collective effort, in the fashion of Wikipedia–to create a free, online summary of the hundreds of existing commentaries?  And what if preachers, teachers, and Bible College and seminary professors throughout the world could also add their own original new insights on particular texts of scripture?  The end result would be a synthesis of the old and new.  It would include classic works (ancient, medieval, Reformation, early modern) and short extracts from works in the public domain that may be quoted without violating copyright.  It would also give brief paraphrases of newer, copyrighted exegetical works.  The idea is for the GBC to be a preacher’s commentary, touching only lightly on critical questions but giving full attention to the practical application of the scripture.  As a resource in global English, it would potentially reach a large number of preachers and teachers around the world.

The GBC will move forward in several phases.  The total project may last from seven to ten years.

The first phase will consist in the completion of chapter commentaries on all 1189 chapters of the Bible. Those who have done the “heavy lifting” in this way will be permanently recognized by name in the eventual published version of the GBC.

The second phase of the project is a kind of “open source” or “Wikipedia-style” period, where we invite Bible teachers, seminary faculty, rabbinical scholars, and scholarly priests and pastors from around the world to enhance, revise, and expand on the initial chapter drafts.

The third phase of the project is the period of “quality control.”  I will be recruiting well-qualified biblical scholars to do fact-checking and editing of the GBC online content.  It will be necessary to trim back any unnecessary duplication of material.  I expect that some of our GBC contributors could eventually end up as editors of published volumes—Genesis, Matthew, First Corinthians, etc.

The fourth phase of the project is publication.  The online version of the GBC will remain forever free of charge.  No payment will ever be neeeded for online access.  Yet because we plan to publish a printed version of this work, copyright assignment is needed from those contributing content.  It is only going to be possible to find a publisher if there is a legal entity that holds copyright, and this will be “GB Commentary, LLC.”

If you go to www.globalbiblecommentary.org, and then click on “Genesis,” you will see a sample chapter commentary on Genesis 1.  This chapter commentary runs to about 18,000 words and is broken down into various sections, so as to make it useful to different types of users.  Busy pastors and preachers might only have time to look at “Brief Quotations” and “Application.”  Others will be interested in “Theology” or “Typology” for a particular biblical chapter.  Others will be interested in historical and cultural “Background.”  This should give you an idea regarding the basic format for the GBC.

The goal in 2011-12 is to find contributors for each of the chapters of the Bible, and give each person a full year to elaborate and develop their contribution.  Already there are people from all over the world who are contributing to this project.  Signing up within the two weeks were a Presbyterian seminary professor from India, a theological teacher from Papua New Guinea, a scholarly pastor and Bible professor from Kazakhstan, and Ph.D. students from Brazil, China, and Scotland.

Contributors should have a strong work ethic and a willingness to dig deeply into existing commentaries, so as to provide a clear and thorough summary of the existing exegesis on a given chapter of the Bible.

Catalin, is there a chapter you would want to take on?  And can you help me get out the word throughout Europe, among those with good theological training, a love for God’s Word, and a willingness to work hard in reading and summarizing some commentaries on the Word?

I would appreciate your help in getting the word out regarding the Global Bible Commentary.  I am especially interested in recruiting contributors from outside of North America.  If you know of seminary faculty and/or Bible teachers in other global regions who might want to be involved, then feel free to forward this message to them.  They can contact me at: michaelmcclymond [at] gmail.com

I look forward to hearing back from you.

In Christ’s service,
Michael J. McClymond, Ph.D.
Saint Louis University

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I attach below a short biography of Dr. McClymond:

McClymond – Short Bio – Winter 2010

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