This is a very dense biblical analysis of some of Bob Marley's lyrics in the Island Records era (1973-1983). It is a converted dissertation so it reads like one. It is not for the casual Bob Marley fan or the casual Bible believer. It is thorough analysis of Marley's lyrics. Since, for almost all of this period, Marley was not a New Testament Christian but a Bible-toting Rastafarian, Marley's use of biblical phrases, quotations, allusions, and analogies, is shown through a glass darkly. Marley, as "third world" black (half-black) man in a post-colonial milieu, his usage of the Bible in his lyrics is often aimed at "the system," i.e. "Babylon" in Rastafarian jargon. MacNeil does a good job explaining and teasing these meanings out of Marley's usages. Marley is for the people and against the system and uses the Bible, mostly the Psalms, Proverbs, and Paul, to do this. Since Rastafarianism as a religion does not focus on Jesus as Savior but Haile Selassie (né Ras Tafari Makonnen) as redeemer, Jesus is not much used. Marley later converted to Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, but too late to affect much of his music and use of the Bible in his lyrics.

Some problems. It reads like a dissertation. I like that, most lay-readers probably will not. Rastafarianism, especially the beliefs around Haile Selassie, are not adequately defined or discussed. The reader assumes you have some background in these subjects. (Luckily, I've read Leonard Barrett's The Rastafarians and some others.) Another issue, even though it is clear that Marley read a King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, and used it for his quotations and allusions, MacNeil often references the Revised Standard Version (RSV). Why the RSV? It is from 1952 and even superseded by the New Revised Standard Version (NSRV) for decades now. If you are going to do biblical exegesis to compare the Bible to Marley's lyrics, why not expound on some Greek or use newer translations like the ESV, NSRV, NASB, CEV, or NET. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It makes no sense. Especially since most of the time the usage of the KJV is sufficient to show Marley's borrowings and explain the biblical text. There should be lengthier quotations of some of Marley's lyrics, and more of them, since you must sometimes refer back several pages to get the snippet of lyric again. Another biggie, for me as a Bible-believer, is that MacNeil holds to the standard, secular scholarly opinion about the Bible text. Thus he thinks there were two (or more) writers of Isaiah, that some Pauline letters are pseudepigraphical, and so forth. Finally, there is no scripture index and no standard index. These last two omissions make this work harder to refer back to.

The book has footnotes, which is grand. I hate endnotes. It has some semi-useful tables. It has an extensive filmography, discography, and bibliography. It is an interesting take on Bob Marley and his usage of the Bible. It is for serious scholars and students of the Bible and its place in popular culture, not a breezy read for the casual Marley fan. ( )

This is the first book of its kind. For those familiar with Marley, you'll notice the difference mainly in MacNeil's scholarly treatment of his lyrics, something that long-time fans recognize as way overdue. MacNeil achieves this exhaustively, and misses no opportunities to pinpoint contexts. While most of the book is accessible by all, it is important to note that, being the product of 20 years of research, this is a ground-breaking work that requires academic integrity to ensure the reader that the depiction of Marley is accurate. As the majority of volumes written up to now have been biographical, this is the half of the Marley story that has never been told. Rev. Dr. Stephen Jennings, a friend of Marley from Kingston, states in the Foreword that he believes Marley himself would approve of the book if he were alive today.
Ultimately, MacNeil's work reveals that Marley's relevance is not merely limited to the story of Reggae, but rather the story of a man whose music transcends all man-made spiritual barriers through a dual message of resistance and redemption. Fans of Marley will be blown away by this book. Those unfamiliar will gain unexpected insight to Marley's theological depth, and become enlightened as to why Marley's global reach continues to grow. ( )

This is an academic book on the musical work of Bob Marley and how it was influenced by the Sacred Scriptures, especially the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. It should probably be called The Bible in Bob Marley, since MacNeil narrows it to Proverbs and some passages from Paul’s Letters. This was a good read for me since I didn’t know too much about Marley except form the music which was played commercially on the radio. This was filled with good biographical information such as: Marley survived an assassination attempt as Jamaican elections neared, lived in the US for a short time, read about Malcom X’s own life, was enamored early on by Che Guevara, was baptized as a Christian near the end of his life (Ethiopian Orthodox). Marley is known, to me, for his songs, I Shot the Sheriff; Stir it Up, Jammin’, Get Up-Stand Up, One Love, and Buffalo Soldier. Marley popularized reggae and influenced bands like The Police and The English Beat through Ska music. This book’s physical construction itself is impressive (Wipf and Stock) with an attractive and durable cover. There is a lot more to Bob Marley than any book can ever hope to achieve, but MacNeil shows Marley working through the Sacred Scriptures over a lifetime of creating original music inspired partly by Israelite and Jewish social justice. If you are a Marley fan, you will want to get this. If you are interested in scholarly analysis of Marley’s music, this is very good. But The Bible and Bob Marley may be too much, if you are less than an avowed enthusiast of Reggae. The author is a graduate of both Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles and the University of Michigan. The text is easily readable on the page and utilized an attractive font and design. Filmography, Discography, Bibliography (excellent), no Index, but one was needed. ( )