The Main Features of the UBC¶
The UBC is to have these main features:
Word count per biblical book¶
UBC material is meant to not exceed 2000 words per biblical chapter on average.
Version-free commentary material¶
The UBC material is not to be tied to any one version of Scripture, because it is meant to be translated and adapted into other languages. This means that the material should not cite any one version’s rendering of passages. Instead, it must refer to ideas in the passages.
When versions adopt a conflicting interpretation of a passage, and if this conflict becomes desirable to be noted in the commentary material, it should be done so in a reasonable fashion, without taking sides. The writer is free, of course, to point out any conceptual ramifications of particular interpretations.
Focus of the UBC¶
The UBC means to be a resource for the use of pastors, other church workers, and Christians advanced in biblical knowledge. It will present them with information and issues that will probably not surface from just a reading of the biblical text. This information is to be of the following sorts:
- cultural background implied by the text
- historical features implied or referred to in the text
- language features of the text
- implications of the text for biblical theology
- interpretative issues in the text
- significant textual problems, of the kind that versions must answer
- theological issues arising from the text
The Unlocked Bible Notes will also present some of the same kinds of information, but on a verse-by-verse basis. While not avoiding commenting on specific verses, the UBC is able to present material in a paragraph-by-paragraph or section-by-section approach.