(Part 1)

JBTM Book Reviews
168
In conclusion, Thomas E. Boomershine has written an exceptional commentary on Mark’s
passion-resurrection narrative and should be commended for his work. Despite the minor
grievance discussed above, The Messiah of Peace will stand as a magnum opus of performance
criticism and provides a clear example of how it can be applied to a text.
- Mark D. Cooper, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, Louisiana
NIV Zondervan Study Bible. Edited by D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015.
2880 pages. Hardcover, $49.99.
D. A. Carson is the general editor of the NIV Zondervan Study Bible. Carson received his
PhD from the University of Cambridge. He is a gifted and prolific writer, and his writings
have been published in fourteen languages, including German, Russian, and Spanish. He has
written or edited more than sixty books, published more than two hundred and sixty articles,
and edited three series: New Studies in Biblical Theology (IVP), Pillar New Testament
Commentary (Eerdmans), and Studies in Biblical Greek (Peter Lang). Also, he serves as
president of The Gospel Coalition and as a member of the editorial board of The Christ on
Campus Initiative. He is on the faculty of the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield,
Illinois, as Research Professor of New Testament, and he previously served as the academic
dean of the Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia. 1
The NIV Zondervan Study Bible (2015 edition), edited by Carson and written by more
than sixty scholarly contributors including three of whom are women (unlike previous
editions which had no women as study notes contributors), “aims to provide enough detail
to answer the questions that many readers raise when they read the Bible without indulging
in all the details that might be better left to separate commentaries” (Editor’s Preface, xxiii).
Thus, the 2015 edition has features common to a number of other study Bibles, such as the
complete text of a version of the English Bible (in this case, the New International Version, or
NIV), explanatory notes, biblical verse cross references, introductory articles on the biblical
books, charts, maps, graphical illustrations, pictures, and various other Bible study aids (e.g.,
a concordance). However, while the 2015 edition has features and study resources typical
of some other study Bibles, it is distinguished by the extensive information provided in its
2880 pages, the colorful and helpful way the information is displayed and organized, and the
availability of a digital edition with free and unlimited access for those who obtain a print
edition.
The 2015 edition provides a wealth of information for reading and studying the Bible.
¹“D. A. Carson’s Publications.” A Listing of Articles, Books, and Reviews, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/pages/d-a-carson-publications
[accessed June 27, 2016].