Bible Commentaries: Helpful Recommendations For You

Which Bible commentary is best? There is no one commentary that is best for everyone. What is best for you depends on your needs as well as your knowledge and skill in handling the Bible. Some general recommendations are:

· Strike a balance between the new and old - rely on newer Bible commentaries for up-do-date facts and background information; the older Biblical commentaries ("classics") have proven their value over and over for their spiritual depth and insight.

· Invest in a reliable and authoritative, expositional, multi-volume Bible commentary set as the "backbone" of the commentary section of your library. This will guarantee that you will have at least one commentary treatment on every book of the Bible. Often the individual volumes of these sets can be purchased one-at-a-time, so you can spread out your expenditure over a period of time. A 12-volume set could be acquired in a year, for example, if you just purchased one volume each month.

· Purchase a Biblical commentary you can "grow into" over a period of time; it is a waste of money to buy books that you soon outgrow. If you can read and understand 60-80% of what is said, that's enough - as you grow as a Bible student, those parts that are more difficult to understand now, will become clearer to you in the future.

· Benefit from the experiences of others. What Bible study tools do your pastor or study group leader use? What is valuable to them may help you as well; even more importantly, they can give you advice on what Bible commentaries to avoid (what is too basic or too advanced, those that teach questionable doctrines, etc.)

Here are some recommendations to get you started:

One-volume commentaries: The HarperCollins Bible Commentary (Rev. ed. By James L. Mays. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 2000.) Reflects modern, non-evangelical viewpoints. ;

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Roland E. Murphy. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1990.) Like the HarperCollins, except reflects Catholic Biblical scholarship.

The New Bible Commentary, Revised. A standard evangelical treatment of the Bible. For evangelicals this might be your best choice in one-volume commentaries. Highly recommended.

Multi-volume commentaries: The New Interpreter's Bible (New York: Abingon, 1994-2002.) In 12 volumes, this Bible commentary replaces and updates the older Interpreter's Bible commentary set for mainline protestants.

The Navarre Bible. A product of the faculty of the university of Navarre, Navarre, Spain, it is considered by some to be the best modern Catholic commentary in print. Fascinating to read, even for non-Catholics.

The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Based on the NIV text, this expositional commentary in 12 volumes reflects modern evangelical scholarship. Useful for the general student as well as the pastor and teacher.

One final word: don't be in a hurry to purchase Biblical commentaries! Check around and see what's available.

Consider carefully your background and present knowledge of the Bible, as well as your present (and future) needs. Consider format, depth, and cost. For what you get, is that Bible commentary volume worth the financial investment (purchase)?

Get recommendations from others. Read reviews and evaluations. Look them over in a bookstore, public library, or borrow one or more volumes from a friend's library. Choose carefully, and don't write in them until you have decided to keep them - otherwise return it to your bookseller and get something else.

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