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18 – Bible commentaries
IF you can’t understand a particular passage, or if you want more information, a Bible commentary can be a real help provided it is reliable and trustworthy. Some are; some are not. This article, and its accompanying website appendix, review useful material.
One volume works
If you were thinking of carrying a commentary with you to Bible Class or a Seminar (not a good idea!) you would need a large briefcase or handbag. One volume works are usually large format and bulky (although they are available electronically as well). They are better left at your desk or kept handy for when you are doing the daily readings. The New Bible Commentary, published by IVP, is one of the best available. This has been around since the 1950s, with revisions (more details in the appendix), and is soundly conservative. But as with all non-Christadelphian publications, you have to read with discrimination and allow for doctrinal bias. Three writers, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown combined to produce their Commentary, Practical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, which first appeared in 1871 and is still going strong. In these books – of 1,300 or 1,500 pages respectively – you cannot hope to have all your questions answered, but they will provide a lot of useful information and informed comment, which will get you started.
Older multi-volumes
When publishing just one volume, the editors have to limit their contributors in terms of length and space. That can focus the mind wonderfully, but you may want more detailed comment, especially on a particular verse or word. To meet that need, multi-volume commentary sets have been published, sometimes by one writer – like Albert Barnes, Adam Clarke or John Gill; sometimes by many different contributors. But if space or cash is at a premium, buy selectively and choose the writer who has an established track record, or whose other works you have read and enjoyed.
In 1863, the Speaker of the House of Commons consulted some bishops about producing a commentary on the whole Bible. The result was The Speaker’s Commentary, which extends to eleven volumes (plus two on the Apocrypha) and contains some excellent material, including works by William Kay, B. F. Westcott and J. B. Lightfoot. In 1877, C. J. Ellicott edited a similar collection, A Bible Commentary for English Readers, more often known as Ellicott’s Commentary, which can still be found second-hand in single book format, or as an entity in eight volumes. Look out for C. H. Waller on Deuteronomy and Joshua, among other contributors. It is often the case that older works are more conservative in upholding the inspiration of scripture and some of the available series, like Moffatt’s Commentary or The Interpreter’s Bible can be quite liberal and critical. Read carefully and go for writers you have learned to trust.
Modern commentaries
If you want to build up a set of Old and New Testament commentaries, one at a time as you work your way through the different books of the Bible, you can do no better than to collect the Tyndale Commentaries, published by IVP. These deal with exposition in some detail, but not overwhelmingly so. If you want more detailed commentary, and have deep pockets, the ongoing series of New International Commentaries on the Old and New Testaments (NICOT and NICNT) are both conservative and comprehensive.
