This week on the Modern Cloister, we discussed commentaries – what they are, why you should use them, and a few recommendations to get started. I wrote a little about the topic years ago, so not the best, but the outline is good. You can listen to the episode below, or find it on our YouTube page. Hope you enjoy it, as always, let me know any we left out or what you like to use.
That would be ‘first’ Peter, not ‘one’, for those unfamiliar with the Bible.
So, I’m not going to review 1 Peter here, at least not in the usual book review sense. I may put a few notes out there later, but for now I want to leave a few thoughts on the commentaries I used.
First and foremost, you should be using a commentary.
We just wrapped up our study on 1 Peter this morning. It has been a great eight week study that had us deep in the text and introduced me to a few guys at our new church. I used a few different commentaries in my study – Tyndale
I was surprised to find how readable Baker’s was. I have to say it was probably my first choice overall, the one I found the most insightful. I would definitely recommend Baker’s if you are going for a highly technical one.
Tyndale’s commentary was, as usual, highly readable and approachable, but 1 Peter was written by Wayne Grudem, so it is certainly technical enough. As he has written one of the most of the most popular and readable systematics, it’s not surprise this one pack so much in. If you are watching your budget, take Tyndale over Bakers, but if you can, do both.
I don’t think one is enough (ever really), but especially when you some tricky topics, such as Jesus proclaiming to the spirits in prison. Baker’s Jobe as posits a somewhat different view of the audience than you’ll likely read in other commentaries. I found it very compelling and would say it’s very much worth the read. The New Bible Commentary entry was a bit short, but I will probably find that more and more as I use other, larger commentaries. Probably still a worthwhile read as an into to a book.
The abridged Expositor’s I found somewhat lacking. I’ll admit I didn’t jump into the unabridged, so, I may be more a byproduct of the editing than of the overall content itself. And of course, I used one of my study Bibles, in this instance, it was the Reformation one and it was also great as an overview.
It was overall a great study, sad to see it over. However, Mrs. MMT and I are now jumping into the first 11 chapters of Genesis. Her and I have never done a study, just us two, so I’m excited and interested to see how that works out. As always, I’ll have thoughts on the commentaries used and hopefully a few mediocre study notes posted.
If you are interested, you can buy the commentaries I mentioned:
1 Peter (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries)
1 Peter (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)
The First Epistle of Peter (The New International Commentary on the New Testament)
Hebrews – Revelation (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
I’m a big believer in the use of commentaries. I put them second on my list of books to buy, once you have the basics. This is mainly because some parts of the Bible are just strange. Others are thousands of years old and in a geography you may not be familiar with. The books of the Bible were written in different languages than we speak today and was given to an audience with a vastly different understand of the world. Finally, good commentaries can give you the differing views out there on a particular difficult topic, or even historical views that have changed due to some new information.
Which ones should I buy?
The unfortunate (for your wallet) answer is, all of them. Seriously, maybe not everything that exist (dozens of commentaries on each of the 66 books), but I have come to believe that you should get the best one you can find for each book, though some can be grouped together. A friend of mine told me this once and I really didn’t like it. It’s tedious and expensive, but it really is the right answer. Well, actually, it is the best answer for some. Most people aren’t going to go buy something like that New International Commentary full set of 46 volumes that cost about $1,500. If you want that many and are willing to spend, it’s better to go book by book.
Why is this case? Honestly, some volumes of a set are just weaker than others. I’d also argue that some books (of the Bible) are more familiar to you with less technical issues, in which case, you can get by with a cheaper, less in-depth commentary.
There are multiple levels of technicality, depth and type of commentary to buy. First would be a single volume(ish) and this is where I’d recommend starting if you haven’t used commentaries before. The second level is for Bible study or devotion, these will be shorter, less technical and written more to a believer about a text and growing in the Word. Third level is for those prepping to lead a Bible Study or a pastor for a sermon; or someone looking to invest the time for a deeper understanding. Final level is academic. These may be highly technical and not always translate the original languages. They will be most engaged in scholarship and least engaged in personal growth. Most people will never need/use these if they aren’t a pastor, seminary student, professor or big nerd.
Example of a commentary length/depth based on 1 Peter (which is only 5 Chapters) –
New Bible Commentary – 17 pages
Expositor’s Bible Commentary – 80 pages
Tyndale Commentary – 248 pages
Word Biblical Commentary – 416 pages
My Recommendations
Single Volume(ish) – I say ‘ish’ because, while there are good intentions of getting a commentary to one volume, that leaves you with one big-ass book. I personally use and recommend the New Bible Commentary
Bible Study/Devotion:
Message preparation:
Academic:
Other Places for Recommendations:
You’ll probably notice that I didn’t go into detail about which commentary for which book. Two reasons for this, my main goal is to give you an idea of what’s out here and secondly, I haven’t read multiple commentaries on every book of the Bible. Instead, I use these guys to help me select which commentaries to get.
You can also find all the commentaries I’ve used or recommend at my amazon store.
Monday Morning Theologian 