Commentary list on each book of the Bible
Commentaries are a wonderful resource provided by those who have the time, the skills and the brains to help us understand the Bible better. However, how can we choose one or two from the many that are written on each book of the Bible? Often we can rely on the commentary series and four worth checking out are suggested below.
The reason that I’m writing this post is to point you to a great website where someone has done a lot of hard work in checking out many commentaries. From the few books that I did look at, I’m sure I’d trust their recommendation on the rest of the books.
http://www.ligonier.org/blog/2009/07/top-commentaries-on-every-book-of-the-bible.html
(Societas, the Moore College yearbook, also has a recommended commentary list. The most recent issue with one was 2007.)
Bible Speaks Today: A tried and true series which claims a three fold goal, ‘to expound the biblical text with accuracy, to relate it to contemporary life, and to be readable.’
Tyndale/Inter-Varsity Press: Another tried and true series which was originally based on the KJV. The General Preface for the Tyndale New Testament Commentary series states they ‘will be primarily exegetical and only secondarily homiletic, though it is hoped thatboth student and preacher will find them informative and suggestive.’
Teach the Bible: A recent series backed by the Proclamation Trust in which ‘the preacher or teacher, the sermon or talk, and the listener are the key “drivers”‘.
Read/Mark/Learn: Another more recent series, built on the Read, Mark, Learn Bible study series at St Helen’s Bishopsgate, these are prewritten Bible studies/devotions that would be of great benefit to any Christian.
Hi Josh. I like your reference to teh St Helen’s stuff. They are excellent resources for Bible studies … though maybe too detailed to replicate. The Reading the Bible Today [edited by Paul Barnett] is a good ‘popular’ series too, though that series is still in its early stages has a limited number of commentaries.
Have you seen Don Carsons and Tremper Longman’s commentary guides on the OT & NT. They are good, though they focus on technical commentaries and ignore the ‘popular’ commentaries like the ones listed above.
Haven’t seen the commentary guides you mention Stu. Are they available online?