# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_December 1864_S354
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

354 Proposal and Specimen for the Preparation of a Bible Commentary, etc.

to read diligently and often the prefaces of Dr. Luther to the books of Holy Scripture, "for in these, even when they are quite short, he shows the main point and the most important matter of each so clearly and splendidly that you could not gain as much understanding from other long commentaries even if you spent an equal number of days on them." Next Porta gives, in the order of the biblical books, a detailed reference showing where an explanation of them is to be found in Dr. Luther's writings. Further, he calls attention to the importance of the marginal glosses, which give great light and understanding even though they may seem short and slight, and finally adds the following: "I would also faithfully advise beginning preachers to pay diligent attention, in lectionibus scriptorum Lutheri (in reading Luther's writings), to where he has expounded obiter (in passing) sayings and sacred examples, and to note these in their Bibles next to the texts; for where this is done, I do not doubt that they will assemble such a splendid Glossa ordinaria on the Bible as no one will write or produce, however much he may hope to; and would to God there were people who believed this and followed it — it would richly and well repay the effort."

Similar proposals have also been made later by well-known theologians. Thus Mich. Walther, in the dedication of his officina biblica of the year 1636, sought to move the King of Denmark "to have Luther's Bible reprinted in such a way that the most necessary, useful, and thorough glosses and explanations, taken from Mr. Luther's writings, might be added to the text." Fr. Gruber, in his Theologia Lutheri of the year 1657, praises the Count of Waldeck for having already made arrangements for the preparation of such a splendid work.

Such a work was first brought about by A. Calov in his German Bible, which appeared in 1682 in three folio volumes, in which, however, he gives not only Dr. Luther's explanations but also, where such were not to be found, his own, without however distinguishing the latter from the former by any mark. About the same time Spener, with the help of several friends, worked out a similar work, which however never appeared (see his Deutsche Theologische Bedenken IV, 114).

W. G. Förtsch, author of the excellent biblical lexicon or concordance from Dr. Luther's writings, promised in the preface to this work of the year 1726 to supply a parva Biblia, containing an orderly collection of all the Bible passages explained by Dr. Luther, which however likewise never appeared.

Finally, Christian Wogt began in the year 1736, under the title Lutherus biblicus, a similar work, of which however only the first two folio volumes, containing the first and second Books of Moses, appeared.

From other teachers of the Church one has collections of the Bible passages they explained — for example a Biblia Augustiniana by Confont, a Bible from the writings of M. Chemnitz, H. Müller, J. B. Carpzov, Chr. Scriver, and others — but as yet no Bible from the writings of Dr. Luther.