Bible Commentary?

I just got an email from Barnes and Noble for 15% off. I am wondering what is "the best" (lol) Bible Commentary. Im still going to shop around just want to see whats worth the money. Please post recommendations.

Are you looking for a single-volume commentary, or a multi-volume commentary?

I believe the best multi-volume commentary series is the New International Commentary on the Old and New Testaments. It is written by outstanding modern evangelical scholars. You have to buy individual books on each book of the Bible though, so, this can get pretty expensive.

I've never been a big fan of the commentaries that are written by one or two authors that covering the entirity of Scripture. Such authors have brilliant insights from time to time on varioius passages, but tend to be shallow in their digestion of the overall text (going through it verse by verse).

If you're looking for an all-purpose all-in-one
commentary; my favorite is *The Believer's Bible
Commentary by William MacDonald.

Are you looking for a single-volume commentary, or a multi-volume commentary?

I second Matthew Henry as the best single-volume.

Listen to what Spurgeon - who read literally thousands of books in his lifetime, and dozens of entire commentaries - had to say about it...

First among the mighty for general usefulness is... Matthew Henry. He is most pious and pithy, sound and sensible, suggestive and sober, terse and trustworthy. You will find him to be glittering with metaphors, rich in analogies, overflowing with illustrations, superabundant in reflections. He delights in apposition and alliteration; he is usually plain, quaint, and full of pith; he sees right through a text directly; apparently he is not critical, but he quietly gives the result of an accurate critical knowledge of the original fully up to the best critics of his time. He is not versed in the manners and customs of the East, for the Holy Land was not so accessible as in our day; but he is deeply spiritual, heavenly, and profitable; finding good matter in every text, and from all deducing most practical and judicious lessons. His is a kind of commentary to be placed where I saw it, in the old meeting house at Chester--chained in the vestry for anybody and everybody to read. It is the poor man's commentary, the old Christian's companion, suitable to everybody, instructive to all. His own account of how he was led to write his exposition, affords us an example of delighting in the law of the Lord... Every minister ought to read Matthew Henry entirely and carefully through once at least. I should recommend you to get through it in the next twelve months after you leave college. Begin at the beginning, and resolve that you will traverse the goodly land from Dan to Beersheba. You will acquire a vast store of sermons if you read with your notebook close at hand; and as for thoughts, they will swarm around you like twittering swallows around an old gable towards the close of autumn.

Spurgeon's thoughts on other commentaries...

[url=http://weppipakki.com/or/spurgu.htm]Spurgeon on Commentaries[/url]

I do not own this one, but have been blessed by it online.

[url=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=j+c+ryle+commentary]J.C ryles commentary on the Gospels[/url]

Keep in mind though, when reading any one given commentary, that the author has their own theological take on things. Matthew Henry, for example, is very much Calvinistic in his interpretations. If memory serves me correct, he's also a post-millennialist. On the other hand, you have other commentators like Adam Clark who interpret the Scriptures in line with Arminian/Methodist theology.

Because of this, I think many of the modern multi-volume commentaries by leading evangelical scholars tend to be the best. For even though the same authors have their own theological slants on things, they generally acknowledge other view points within Christianity about any given text, and, tend to weigh the various opinions. Whereas Matthew Henry and the like, due to space limitations and time, simply could not do such a thing. They tend to be less "scholarly" in that regard.

Also, modern commentaries tend to talk much more about things like structure/authorship/dates/occassions of writing and the like than the older commentators. Those things are important and should not be overlooked, as they are very helpful. Granted, such information can be supplemented by a good Bible dictionary, Encyclopedia, or survey book, which generally contain outlines and the like. Such things might be much more technical for some than they'd like in regard to their studies. But these things should be embraced, even if they don't seem overtly spiritual in nature, and tend to be more "dry." For, in my experience with commentaries, it is often the the little "dry" facts that the author provides that truly illuminate the overall meaning of a passage of Scripture.

Just some thoughts...

KingJimmy wrote:
structure/authorship/dates/occassions of writing and the like than the older commentators

I was actually looking for something like this, a good "dictionary/encyclopedia" with Facts and information, that may help furtherdraw from scripture to get some deeper understanding, can anyone recomend a good one?

The absolute best, in my opinion, would be "The IVP Bible Dictionary Series," which contains the following titles. It is very scholarly, very up to date, and somewhat technical (written for usage by scholars/seminaries/pastors alike).

Dictionary of New Testament Background - By Craig Evans/Stanley Porter.

Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels - By Joel B Green/Scot McKnight/I Howard Marshall

Dictionary of Paul and His Letters - By Gerlad Hawthorne/Ralp Martin/Daniel Reid.

Dictionary of the Latter New Testament & Its Developments - By Ralph Martin/Peter Davids

Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books - By Bill T. Arnold/H. G. M. Williamson

Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch - By David W. Baker

This might be a little pricy ($30-40 a pop), but well worth the investment if you are very serious about your studies. However, a more economical choice if you just want to get one outstanding all purpose Encylopedia would definitely be:

Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary: Completely Revised and Updated Edition - By Ronald Youngblood.

This illustrated Bible also includes many pictures/diagrams/maps of things, whereas the IVP one's do not. A suggesting though, if you get the IVP one's, it is actually best to get them in electronic format so that you can search through them more exactly. IVP's is a little more technical and contains a lot more information than many people would want to know.

I personally own 3 of the IVP one's in CD format, and Nelson's as well. I don't use them that often right now, but, sometimes I find I could not do without them.

John Lightfoot (1602-1675) has a very interesting commentary on the 4 Gospels from a Rabbinic-scholarly standpoint. You may be quite surprised in reading some of his exercitations. [url=http://www.studylight.org/com/jlc/]Here[/url] is a link for an online sampling.

Another divine that may provide a fruitful slant to your in-depth studies is John Gill (1697-1771). [url=http://www.freegrace.net/gill/]Here[/url] is his online commentary. Gill also provides valuable illumination from a mastery of Rabbinic and Hebraic studies.

These unorthodox glimpses into Holy Scripture can often provide the student of the Bible with unique insights and choice materials for the Holy Spirit's fostering of increased growth in the knowledge of God's Word.

I too give my support to Mathew Henry…but I would suggest getting the 6 volume set. It can often times be found on eBay for a very good price. I got my set for under $30 US

KingJimmy brough up a good point about the older commentaries lacking recent scholarship; I would also like to note that the devotional magnitude of older commentaries, such as Mathew Henry, is perhaps without parallel in modern volumes. This is one reason I am also very fond of the J.C. Ryle commentary set on the gospels that hmmhmm suggested.

I personally try to strike a balance by consulting a little old and a little new. King Jimmy’s advice about picking up a dictionary/encyclopedia is a good way to do just this.

Many others such as Adam Clarke and John Gill can be consulted online.

Mathew Henry is a good place to start.

I heard that Matthew Poole's commentary was good. They sell it on christainbooks.com for about 29.99. Spurgeon said if he had to have one commentary it would be Poole's.

Some of the other commentaries mentioned can be downloaded completely free to work inside of e-sword.

With the older commentaries, I wouldn't buy them unless you just want a book to hold. I would read it on the computer and then if you decide you want the book, get it. Sometimes having the book in your hand is the most comfortable, but you can't do things like word searches that you can on the computer.

I don't really have any commentaries. I bought a one volume right after I got converted. If I was going to buy commentaries I would probably go along the same lines as KingJimmy is suggesting.

KingJimmy brough up a good point about the older commentaries lacking recent scholarship; I would also like to note that the devotional magnitude of older commentaries, such as Mathew Henry, is perhaps without parallel in modern volumes.

In what little I've looked around on commentaries that's what I've also noticed. The older ones are more devotional, the newer ones are more "just the facts." And sometimes recent discoveries make a big difference- at least with the historical information we are trying to use when interpreting a text.

The older ones are more devotional, the newer ones are more "just the facts."

I suppose it depends on what one means by "devotional." I think of it much like how some people like to read the Psalms in the KJV instead of the NASB. They like it because it seems more "poetical." That's all fine and good. But I don't read the Bible for warm fuzzies that I get from reading good poetry. I read the Scriptures to understand the truth of things pertaining to God, and seeking to apply those truths contained therein. To me, that is "true devotion."

Sometimes the older commentaries might be better at taking a text and seeking to apply it in a personal way to their readers. However, they seem to lack a lot of meatier exegetical work. They make conclusions without necessarily showing you how they got there.

To me, a good commentary exists to take you painfully through a passage of Scripture, and attempts to show you how that passage relates to its immediate contexts. Such, to me, is a devotion of the highest kind. Matthew Henry may inspire me sometimes with something he has said, but, unless he can clearly show me the truth of the matter and how he came to the conclusions that he did from any given passage, he still sends me away dissatisfied.

For I consult a commentary to help me understand a passage of Scripture and what it says. I hope through correct exegesis of the passage for the Spirit to take what is written and apply that to me. Granted, a good commentary will not leave you without some devotional/practical thought in regard to the passage you have just studied through. However, relevant modern application is not necessarily the goal of the commentator, rather, an explanation of the text is. However, such is why I love the NIC series, for the series seeks to not only understand the text in and of itself, but to apply it in a pastoral way. It takes the best findings of modern day scholarship (which has come a LONG way since 100-200 years ago), and seeks to understand a text in a rightful way.

Such book commentaries may look scary (take for example, Gordon Fee's commentary on 1 Corinthians, well over 1,000 pages altogether!), but, they are worth the work it takes to get through them on any given passage.

Amen, I agree.

If I could have one set, it would probably be John Gill.... or Matthew Henry.