The Africa Bible Commentary is a unique publishing event. It is the first one-volume Bible commentary produced in Africa by African theologians to meet the needs of African pastors, students, and lay leaders. This commentary provides a contextual, readable, affordable, and immensely useful guide to the entire Bible.
Interpreting and applying the Bible in the light of African cultures and realities, the Africa Bible Commentary furnishes powerful and relevant insights into the biblical text that transcend Africa in their significance. Now, this revised and updated second edition, almost twenty years after the release of the first, continues to bring powerful and relevant insights into the biblical text.
The Africa Bible Commentary gives a section-by-section interpretation. This provides a contextual, readable, affordable, and immensely useful guide to the entire Bible. It is a one-volume commentary on all the books of the Bible developed in Africa by African scholars. The aim of the Africa Bible Commentary is to relate the Bible to African realities of today.
On Monday, 19th June 2006, in Cape Town, South Africa, the Africa Bible Commentary was officially launched on African soil. Pieter Kwant, the International Programme Director of Langham Partnership International (UK), who co-sponsored this project, gave a short history of the exciting events that led to the birth of this $1.2 million commentary project.
The General Editor of the commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, used the story in Acts 8 of the Ethiopian eunuch asking Philip about the man in Isaiah 53 to tell us that many other Africans asking similar questions would now have their questions answered by this new commentary. He was, however, quick to warn us against any over-optimism about this book project because of the now familiar adage, “If you want to hide anything from an African, put it in a book!”
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The guest speaker, Caesar Molebatsi, challenged the audience to ensure that this commentary leads us to an authentic biblical Christianity in Africa. Since then I have given the commentary “a good look” and thought of sharing some of my findings with our readers.
Key Features and Contributions
The first pleasant surprise I had when I opened the commentary was to find two well-known Zambian Baptist pastors - Joe Kapolyo and Joe Simfukwe - among the seventy African scholars who wrote parts of this commentary. Joe Kapolyo wrote the commentary on the Gospel of Matthew while Joe Simfukwe wrote an article on Funerals and Burial Rites. Both of these works are fine pieces of scholarship.
The other contributors came from all over Africa - Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Congo DR, Ghana, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malagasy, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leon, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe - 23 countries in all. They sneaked in one “African American”, who did the two articles on widows, to complete the list.
We were also informed during the official launch of the commentary that the contributors were 70% male and 30% female. Then in terms of denominations we have evangelical Anglicans, Baptists, Church of Christ, Lutherans, Methodists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, etc. Conspicuous by its absence on the list of nations is South Africa, arguably the country with the strongest economy on African soil.
Be that as it may, I do not know of any other work on African soil that has brought together so many African Christian scholars from such a variety of African countries. In Christ, we are truly united.
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Readers who are familiar with the one-volume commentary, The New Bible Commentary published by Inter-Varsity Press, will find many similarities between that commentary and the Africa Bible Commentary. One of them is that the commentary is written from the perspective of conservative evangelical scholarship.
Tokunbo Adeyemo stated at the official launching of the commentary in Cape Town that the authors had to work within the doctrinal basis of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa. That is most refreshing because such scholarship is rare on African soil. The two major voices we are hearing today are either Liberal (in the seminaries) or extreme Charismatic (in the churches). This commentary steers clear of both of these positions, which, in my opinion, do not respect the finality and sufficiency of Scripture.
So, anyone wanting a conservative evangelical commentary with a peculiarly African flavour will definitely find it in this commentary.
Theological Stance and Unique African Perspective
As a reviewer coming from a Reformed Baptist position, I went straight to those “critical” passages that are foundational to the five Sola’s of the Reformation to see how they are commented on. I will readily admit that I came away fairly satisfied. Clearly, the commentators allowed the passages they were commenting on to speak for themselves - however uncomfortable that might be - which is an important aspect of conservative evangelicalism. Even the passages in Romans and Ephesians that teach God’s sovereignty in election and predestination are handled faithfully. Romans chapter 9 is brilliantly handled!
However, it should not come as a surprise to the readers of this magazine to know that the commentary does not take a cessationist position on the extra-ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit. The contributors assume that the extra-ordinary gifts of the Spirit are still in operation today. Thankfully, they do not give a wholesale commendation for what is happening today. Instead, as they write about them, they are constantly cautioning against the abuse of such “gifts” which is so rampant today in Africa.
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What makes this a commentary for Africa is the way it is applied to the African context. All the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, are made to speak to us as Africans. The articles on various issues that are very relevant to Christianity in Africa are a great delight to read.
Subjects such as HIV and AIDS, funerals, circumcision, street children, inheritance of widows, witchcraft and demons, lobola, tribalism, polygamy, land, debts, etc., will not be found in your average commentary from the West (or the East) but they are all handled in this one volume. The wealth of information that the contributors have managed to put together in so little space is just incredible.
If one wants a small compendium of articles dealing with the many issues that challenge Christians in Africa today, then this commentary should have a place on their shelves. Of course, because of the limitation of space, it is not surprising that some of the articles fail to deal with the issues in a satisfactory way.
Critical Reception and Endorsements
This monumental work of biblical scholarship is filled with helpful insights into God’s Word that every pastor, Bible teacher, and Christian will benefit from. A publishing landmark. . . . Its foundation is biblical, its perspective African, and its approach to controversial questions balanced.
Standing out are authors like Rick Warren and John Stott. Rick Warren is the author of The Purpose Driven Life which has sold over 25 million copies world wide and is the best selling hardback book in the history of America. If you do not know John Stott then you deserve a belated welcome to planet earth!
The only African on the list of the five recommenders is a high court judge in Nigeria, Justice James Ogenyi Ogebe. We should not blame the publishers for this. It should simply tell us that we African Christians do not know our own home-grown authors.
Hence the publishers used authors from the USA and Europe to assure us of the high quality and trustworthiness of authors in our own back yard. We need to develop the whole area of publishing and marketing of books on African soil. Only then will this tendency of using people in the USA and Europe to recommend African books to us reduce.
I intend to use it myself in order to gain African insights into the Word of God. -John R. A rich and valuable contribution to biblical knowledge and understanding. A good and readable blend of excellent scholarship, heartwarming spirituality, and relevant application. It challenges African Christianity, and wider, to a necessary commitment of heart, mind, and will. -Dr. This outstanding volume is a landmark for African Christianity. -Dr. Christopher J.H.
Contributors
The Africa Bible Commentary brought together over 100 gifted scholars from across the continent. Here are some of the contributors:
- Daniel K. Bourdanné (Chad)
- Moses Douglas Carew (Kenya)
- Luciano C. Chianeque (Angola)
- Felix Lack Chingota (Malawi)
- Emily J. Choge Kerama (Kenya)
- Issiaka Coulibaly (Cote d'Ivoire)
- Seblewengel Daniel (Ethiopia)
- Dachollom C. Datiri (Nigeria)
- Youssouf Dembélé (Mali)
- Pierre Ezoua (Cote d'Ivoire)
- Aiah Dorkuh Foday-Khabenje (Sierra Leone)
- Bulus Galadima (Nigeria)
- Musa Gotom (Nigeria)
- Tewoldemedhin Habtu (Eritrea)
- Paul John Isaak (Namibia)
- Nathan Nzyoka Joshua (Kenya)
- John Jusu (Sierra Leone)
- Zamani B. Kafang (Nigeria)
- Joe M. Kapolyo (Zambia)
- Tesfaye Kassa (Kenya)
- Mabiala Justin-Robert Kenzo (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Eraston Kambale Kighoma (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Jean Koulagna
- Samuel Waje Kunhiyop (Nigeria)
- E. Kingsley Larbi (Ghana)
- Lawrence Adenyi Lasisi (United States of America)
- Laurent Loubassou
- Maggie Madimbo (Malawi)
- Makoto Lloyd Mautsa (Zimbabwe)
- Joseph N. Mavinga
- Isaac K. Mbabazi (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Rosemary Wahu Mbogo (Kenya)
- Ray Motsi (Zimbabwe)
- Gift Mtukwa (Kenya)
- Sicily Mbura Muriithi (Kenya)
- Kevin Muriithi Ndereba (Kenya)
- Célestin Musekura (Rwanda)
- Patrick Moses Musibi (Kenya)
- Augustine C. Musopole (Malawi)
- Dwight S. M. Mutonono (Zimbabwe)
- Noël K. N’Guessan
- Abel Laondoye Ndjérareou
- David K. Ngaruiya (Kenya)
- Samuel Ngewa (Kenya)
Publication Details
Title: Africa Bible Commentary
Author: Tokunboh Adeyemo
Publisher: Zondervan
Print Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 1616
Language: English
ISBNs: 9780310591344, 9780310264736, 9789966805782, 0310591341, 0310264731, 9966805788
Tokunboh Adeyemo is the executive director of the Centre for Biblical Transformation having served previously as General Secretary for the Association of Evangelicals in Africa. He holds a Ph.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary as well as an honorary doctorate awarded by Potchefstroom University for his outstanding Christian scholarship and leadership.
This commentary is a one volume work covering the entire canon, so it usually offers concise, but insightful treatments. The commentators often point out cultural aspects that I miss, and thus help me get more out of the text. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a solid one-volume commentary.
There are so many times when the author is going into detail, but does not expand. Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent commentary. I just wish there was more.
