07/04/08

How to Begin a Commentary Collection

Though I’m certainly no scholar, I do enjoy putting a lot of time and effort into studying God’s Word (and especially so as I have increased opportunities to teach and preach to others). As I’ve found real joy and benefit in such study, I’ve quickly realized the benefits and importance of commentaries—good commentaries. I’ve also learned just how inadequate my commentary collection really is. To that end I’ve been working towards a solid collection that will serve me well for a good long time. Because of the relatively high cost of commentaries and because of the danger inherent in a truly bad commentary, I have proceeded quite carefully, attempting to thoroughly research the options. I wouldn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on commentaries only to find that they are nearly useless. Plus, I enjoy a good research project.

Here are a few principles I have discovered about commentaries.

Focus on individual volumes rather than sets. While some sets are excellent, and while they look awfully nice on a bookshelf, all sets tend to be at least somewhat uneven; some titles within the set will necessarily be of much lesser quality than others. Therefore…

…the best strategy for a modest library (and a modest budget) is to purchase the best one or two commentaries on each book of the Bible. The difficulty, of course, is discovering which are the best. Fortunately…

…there are resources available to help find the best commentaries. When purchasing commentaries it is wise to depend on the expertise of others, at least when you are purchasing your first volumes. Even though no two people will agree entirely on which commentaries are best, it is possible to do research and come to some level of agreement. At the end of this article is a partial list of the resources I used to compile my selections. Do remember…

…there are many kinds of commentaries and they are geared to different audiences. Be sure that you choose commentaries appropriate to your level of education and expertise. Do not buy a Greek-heavy commentary if you do not know the language!

Though the best bang for the buck is in individual commentaries, there are some sets worth owning (or in my case, worth coveting!). The New International Commentary on the New Testament appears to be the best complete New Testament set and 22 of the volumes are available bundled together for just over $500. Its Old Testament equivalent, the New International Commentary on the Old Testament offers 22 volumes for around $650. Both sets come with most but not all of the volumes so a few of the most recent titles will need to be purchased separately.

Here, then, based on extensive research (I own only a small handful of these, so I am relying almost entirely on secondary sources), is my assessment of the best two commentaries on each book of the New Testament (my Old Testament list is still a work in progress). Generally speaking I would recommend purchasing the first one listed before the second. Looking at this list, I can see that I have a lot of work to do to build even this basic collection (so, you know, keep clicking on those banners on my site before buying anything at Amazon!). I hope you find the list useful.

Matthew
Carson, D.A. Matthew (EBC), Zondervan 1984.
France, R.T. The Gospel of Matthew. NICNT, Eerdmans, 2007.

Mark
France, R.T. The Gospel of Mark. NIGTC, Eerdmans, 2002.
Lane, William L. The Gospel According to Mark. NICNT, Eerdmans, 1974.

Luke
Bock, Darrell L. Luke (2 volumes). BECNT, Baker, 1994 (volume 2).
Marshall, I. Howard. Commentary on Luke. NIGTC, Eerdmans, 1978.

John
Carson, D. A. The Gospel According to John. PNTC, Eerdmans 1991.
Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John. Hendrickson, 2003.

Acts
Witherington, Ben. The Acts of the Apostles. Eerdmans, 1997.
Bock, Darrell L, Acts. BECNT, Eerdmans, 2007.

Romans
Moo, Douglas J. The Epistle to the Romans. NICNT, Eerdmans, 1996.
Schreiner, Thomas R. Romans. BECNT, Baker, 1998.

1 Corinthians
Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. NICNT, Eerdmans, 1987.
Garland, David E. 1 Corinthians. BECNT, Baker, 2003.

2 Corinthians
Barnett, Paul. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. NICNT, Eerdmans, 1997.
Harris, Murray, J. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. NIGTC, Eerdmans, 2005.

Galatians
Bruce, F. F. Galatians. NIGTC, Eerdmans, 1982.
Longenecker, R. Galatians, WBC, Word, 1990.

Ephesians
Bruce, F. F. The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. NICNT, Eerdmans, 1984.
O’Brien, Peter T. The Letter to the Ephesians. PNTC, Eerdmans, 1999.

Philppians
Fee, Gordon D. Philippians. NICNT, Eerdmans, 1995.
O’Brien, Peter T. The Epistle to the Philippians. NIGTC, Eerdmans, 1991.

Colossians &Philemon
O’Brien, Peter T. Colossians, Philemon. WBC, Word, 1982.
Bruce, F. F. The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. NICNT, Eerdmans, 1984.

1 & 2 Thessalonians
Wanamaker, Charles A. The Epistles to the Thessalonians. NIGTC, Eerdmans, 1990.
Bruce, F. F. 1 and 2 Thessalonians. WBC, Word, 1982.

Pastoral Epistles
Mounce, William D. Pastoral Epistles. WBC, Word, 2000.
Fee, Gordon D. 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus. NIBC, Hendricksen, 1998.

Hebrews
Ellingworth, Paul. The Epistle to the Hebrews. NIGTC, Eerdmans, 1993.
Lane, William L. Hebrews (2 Volumes). WBC, Word, 1991 (volume 2).

James
Moo, Douglas J. The Letter of James. TNTC, Eerdmans, 2007.
Davids, Peter H. Commentary on James. NIGTC, Eerdmans, 1982.

1 Peter
Davids, Peter H. The First Epistle of Peter. NICNT, Eerdmans, 1990.
Grudem, Wayne A. The First Epistle of Peter. TNTC, Eerdmans, 2007.

2 Peter and Jude
Bauckham, Richard J. Jude, 2 Peter. WBC, Word, 1983.
Moo, Douglas J. 2 Peter and Jude. NIVAC, Zondervan, 1997.

Johannine Epistles
Kruse, Colin G. The Letters of John, TNTC, Eerdmans, 2004.
Stott, John R. W. The Epistles of St. John, TNTC, Eerdmans, 1988.

Revelation
Beale, G.K. The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. NIGTC, Eerdmans, 1998.
Mounce, Robert H. The Book of Revelation. NICNT, Eerdmans, 1997.

Here are a few of the resources I used to compile the list:

If you have anything to add, either by way of tips on collecting commentaries or on suggestions for individual commentaries, feel free to post a comment.

How to Begin a Commentary Collection

Comments (58) »

1. Allan Ellis
July 4, 2008
10:34 AM

I have found Frederick Dale Bruner’s two volume commentary on Matthew extremely helpful. Originally published by Word in hardback, the set is now available in paperback after being out of print for a while. My volume 2 is loaned out now and I’m concerned about its return….:)

2. Brandon Cozart
July 4, 2008
10:39 AM

Silva on Philippians (BECNT) is the best i’ve read.

3. Chris Roberts
July 4, 2008
10:42 AM

The only complete set I own is The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. It is a good starting point and makes sure I have something on the whole Bible while I build up my collection of individual commentaries. The cost isn’t pocket change, but it isn’t too bad on CBD.

On Matthew I’d add Craig S. Keener’s commentary. The rest are pretty much what I would suggest.

If someone wants a good overview of NT commentaries D. A. Carson has written a book on this: New Testament Commentary Survey. I have not looked at its Old Testament companion by Longman so I can’t comment on it.

But I can throw out a few OT commentary suggestions:

Genesis: The 2 volume NAC Genesis commentary by Kenneth Matthews; Creation and Blessing by Allen Ross

Exodus: Douglas Stuart in the NAC series; Philip Ryken from R. Kent Hughes commentary set

Leviticus: Holiness to the Lord by Allen Ross

1 & 2 Kings: NAC commentary by Paul House

On the minor prophets Hosea-Jonah by Douglas Stuart in the WBC series; Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah by Barker and Bailey in NAC

4. cbruno
July 4, 2008
10:43 AM

Since the two Colossians/Philemon commentaries on this list are about 25 years old, it might be good to mention that Doug Moo has a forthcoming commentary that might be a good replacement for one of the older ones on this list. It will be published this year (I think) in the Pillar series.

5. Steve Tuggle
July 4, 2008
10:46 AM

Tim, Another resource is “Commentaries for Biblical Expositors” by Dr. Jim Rosscup with a foreword by John MacArthur. I have the 1993 edition but it was updated in 2003. It sells at Amazon for $15.59. I agree with you regarding individual volumes vs. entire sets. Leon Morris’ commentary on John is excellent.

6. Jennifer
July 4, 2008
10:53 AM

There are free versions of older commentaries available online through things like E-sword or The Sword Project. I’ve found Matthew Henry’s and Barnes’ to be useful.

7. Tim S.
July 4, 2008
11:16 AM

Thanks Tim for the list.

Here are a few series that I find helpful:

Baker New Testament Commentary set by Hendriksen and Kistemaker. It has been on sale at www.Christianbook.com for $99 for a while - a great deal for a solid 12 volume set of the whole NT.
Preaching the Word series edited by R. Kent Hughes - I have only used the Colossians and Sermon on the Mount volumes, both by Hughes (I think), extensively, but both were very good, and other volumes look promising. Expositional in style, helpful index of illustrations at the back in some (maybe all?) volumes.
MacArthur NT series - I always appreciate reading what MacArthur has to say on things. This commentary is more expostional in style.
Bible Speaks Today series, edited by John Stott - a number of good volumes in this series. Stott has written several volumes personally. More expositional in style.
Pillar NT Series edited by D.A. Carson - Tim you already mentioned O’Brien’s Ephesians volume and Carson’s John volume. I have also found both of those to be very good With Carson as the editor, it is a promising set. Good blend of expositional/exigetical style. The Blue and white colours on the dust jacket are also nice and look good on my shelf!!!
J.M. Boice commentaries - I almost always find something helpful in my Boice commentaries. Expositional in style.

8. Lane Keister
July 4, 2008
11:20 AM

O/Brien is better than Bruce on Ephesians in my opinion, and Hoehner is also better than Bruce, and about the same as O’Brien. On 1 Corinthians, Thiselton is magnificent (though Greek-heavy), far better than Fee. On Galatians, Longenecker is better than Bruce, in my opinion. On the Pastorals, I would definitely include Knight over Fee (especially given Fee’s egalitarianism). On Hebrews, the new commentary by Rick Phillips is outstanding. On 1 Peter, the two best commentaries are Jobes and Achtemeier. Davids on 2 Peter/Jude is also wonderful.

9. Stuart
July 4, 2008
11:26 AM

For the New Testament, Klein, Blomberg and Hecht, professors at Denver seminary, have a list of Resources. The commentaries are also divided into levels of expertise. They also include resources on grammar, theology, introduction, etc. I have found this list to be very helpful.

It can be found here: http://www.denverseminary.edu/article/new-testament-exegesis-bibliography-2008

10. Jerry
July 4, 2008
11:31 AM

Carson’s “New Testament Commentary Survey” and Longman’s “Old Testament Commentary Survey” are valuable investments.

Another good resource, though a bit dated, is Danker’s “Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study”.

I wish that I had discovered these tools much easier, since I invested way too much money in commentaries (sets and individual volumes) that I never use.

11. Jerry
July 4, 2008
11:32 AM

“Earlier” not “easier”. Duh.

12. Casey
July 4, 2008
11:33 AM

I second the recommendation of Rosscup’s book Commentaries for Biblical Expositors. I find it easier to use than Carson or Longman’s commentary survey books. He offers brief reviews of many commentaries, but the really helpful part is that he has arranged a list at the beginning. For each book of the Bible there are three lists of commentaries, ranked in order from the best (in Rosscup’s opinion) on down. The three lists are Detailed Exegetical, Expositional Survey, and Devotional.

13. Alan Kurschner
July 4, 2008
11:44 AM

Tim,

Great post. Looking over the commentaries you listed I see that I have all of them expect one or two. I would like to suggest a few more excellent ones for your readers:

Anthony C. Thiselton in my view wrote the best commentary on First Corinthians. It is a tome weighing in at 1446 pages. And it requires a knowledge of Greek since it is part of the NIGTC series. Thiselton is an exegete par excellence.

Craig R. Koester and his commentary on Hebrews in The Anchor Bible series is very helpful. His magisterial 130 page introduction is worth the price of the book, which also includes an extensive history of the interpretation of the book of Hebrews interpretation (I wish every commentary would have a “history of interpretation” section).

Two commentaries in the Hermeneia series are worth owning: 1 Peter and Hebrews.

The NIV Application Commentary series is a fairly all-around theological commentary series with a few nuggets in that series that are worth owning because they contain engaging application: Genesis, Isaiah, Hebrews, 2 Corinthians.

Also, I ‘d like to acknowledge two must-have monographs for one’s commentary library:

Isaiah’s New Exodus in Mark by Rikki Watts.

From Hope to Despair in Thessalonica: Situating 1 and 2 Thessalonian by Nicholl.

I hope you have a OT commentary post in the future. Collecting OT commentaries is a different animal but well worth it!

Incidentally, as many commentaries as I do collect, so many of them drive me nuts because they treat the text atomistically and do not employ Discourse Analysis which in my view is the fundamental tool of doing any good exegesis (Scott J. Hafemann’s commentaries are exceptions though. His DA is exemplary)

14. Mike Britton
July 4, 2008
11:49 AM

The list you have compiled is excellent, I would emphatically agree with all of your suggestions. One other issue in commentaries is those that wish to read them cover to cover. For this purpose, Ben Witherington has some socio-rhetorical commentaries that are very good and readable. They read more like a book than a verse by verse commentary but he still deals with the issues and give a better idea of the theme and pattern than the verse by verse. I see you have his Acts volume listed. He also has one for just about the entire New Testament. To Lane, you should explore commentaries that do not necessarily support your own views. The volumes you are criticizing are among the most reputable and qualified as any out there. I would choose those that have stood the test of time (and scrutiny) over the unknowns that happen to agree with me.

15. Ben Janssen
July 4, 2008
12:11 PM

On the Johannine Epistles, the commentary by Kruse that you mention is from the Pillar Series (PNTC) not TNTC.

16. Steve
July 4, 2008
12:15 PM

Tim -

Just a few additions (and obviously we each have our preferences for each book of the Bible). To my mind, the best commentary on Matthew is the three-volume set by Davies & Allison (ICC). It’s on the technical side (as are the others I’ll mention), but I gather a lot of your readers are pastors with “formal” (i.e., Greek [and Hebrew]) training who can work in the original biblical languages. I’d also add Robert Gundry’s monographs on Matthew and Mark. On Luke, Joseph Fitzmyer’s 2-vol set in the Anchor Bible series is still preeminent. On the book of Revelation, Beale is outstanding, particularly on John’s use of the OT. I’d add David Aune’s 3-vol set in the Word series.

I’d also add that, in my opinion, sticking only with commentaries from one particular end of the theological spectrum isn’t a particularly great idea. We (evangelicals) don’t get it right all the time, and it’s helpful to cast as wide a net as possible when doing commentary work. At the least, I’d suggest consulting 3 to 5 commentaries (per biblical book). Most of this consultation will happen at the introductory stage (i.e., working on introductory issues like date, authorship, recipients, etc.), though it’s still valuable (if somewhat harder given time constraints) to do it on a week-to-week basis.

17. Dorian
July 4, 2008
12:31 PM

Older commentaries can be very helpful to, even if they don’t deal with some of the textual criticisms of the past few centuries. I particularly enjoy Luther on Galatians and Haldane on Romans.

18. Nick
July 4, 2008
1:07 PM

Dude,

I would change your Galatians to Timothy George and Ronald Fung. And then in a few years I would change it again to Thomas Schreiner, Douglas Moo and Don Carson (All Upcoming).

19. Jeff Kerr
July 4, 2008
1:09 PM

A couple of thoughts (all the while acknowledging that putting out a commentary list will lead to endless comments and additions):

I. Howard Marshall’s commentary on Acts in the Tyndale series is excellent.
Call me hopelessly Reformed, but, speaking of older commentaries, I almost never preach a sermon without looking up what Calvin says on the text.

20. Tim
July 4, 2008
2:08 PM

Individual commentaries can be more profitable than sets.

Here are a couple of individual commentaries that I can recommend:

Truth for Life by John Blanchard (James) Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans by Robert Haldane Hebrews and Revelation by G.H. Lang John by Pink

The New Testament Commentary (set) by William Hendriksen can be good. I only own the four gospels and Romans.

I do own the complete Bible Expositors Set and there is a lot of good stuff there but you have to dig for it. An example of what happens in a set can be found in this series book of Genesis. It was contributed by Allen P. Ross and the commentary in this set is just a watered down version of his 744 page commentary entitled: Creation and Blessing.

I own all of Leupold and Phillips and Hiebert. I don’t really recommend them but they are of some value.

I hope you compile a list of all the recommendations you are most certainly going to get. I would like to see it.

21. James Hakim
July 4, 2008
2:20 PM

Tim (and others), if you can get your hands on Derek Thomas’s Essential Commentaries for a Preacher’s Library is very helpful along these lines. (make sure to get the one updated with John Weeddale in 2006; it is a complete revision of the 1996 booklet)

22. Eric Z
July 4, 2008
2:26 PM

I agree with the comments above - check out Rosscup.

In my opinion you are overrating Bruce big time (as many do). He tends to be a solid commentator, but I’ve found that you can always find a commentary on a book that included all of the helpful information Bruce does but a lot more. No way Bruce has done better work than Peter O’Brien on anything.

And if I was compiling a similar list, the inclusion of Hoehner as one of the top two commentaries on Ephesians would probably be the most obvious decision possible.

23. Chad A Thompson
July 4, 2008
2:56 PM

Tim,

The list is great. Of course, everyone has their own suggestions, and I am no exception. While Ben Witherington is certainly on a different page theologically than most of us, I would say that his commentary on Galatians is hands down the best commentary available. Mine is marked up on every page and underlined all over the place. It is one of the best commentaries I have ever read, and that is saying something. On Galatians I have read from cover to cover Bruce, Fung, Longenecker, Dunn, Witherington, and parts of half a dozen more. In fact, I would venture to guess that none of the forthcoming commentaries on Galatians will take its place. They may add to our understanding of the text, or nuance certain passages better, but to date, no one has better mastered the meaning of this letter than Witherington. Buy this commentary!

24. Wayne Sage
July 4, 2008
2:57 PM

Tim

Consider Leon Morris on the Gospel of John (NICNT).

25. Alan R. Wuest
July 4, 2008
3:44 PM

Tim,

Ben Witherington? Isn’t he kind of liberal. I seem to remember John Piper calling him to task a while back for something Ben said about God not doing everything for His own Glory.

You can find it here:

http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/931godslovingselfexaltationaresponsetobenwitherington/

This excerpt from Ben was enough to ward me off from trusting much of anything he has to say. Anyway most of the suggestions look great and I really enjoy your site.

Alan

26. Chris Roberts
July 4, 2008
4:07 PM

Alan,

I don’t know anything about Witherington, but that issue would not make him a liberal. I know quite a few solid conservatives who are troubled by the notion that everything God does is to draw attention to himself. From the link you gave it appears Witherington’s comment was out of line and over the top but the sentiment behind it is not uncommon among conservatives.

27. Patrick Chan
July 4, 2008
4:47 PM

Hi Tim,

Thanks for all those great recommendations! In addition, I’m not sure if you’ve seen their lists yet, but Steve Hays and Jeremy Pierce have compiled commentary recommendations as well.

Cool, thanks again for your list!

patrick

28. Glenn
July 4, 2008
5:16 PM

I know more teachers who rely on Craig Keener’s Commentary on Matthew than perhaps any other. But you can’t go wrong with France and Carson. I’ve also heard Keener is working on a commentary on Romans. If it’s anything like his work on Matthew and John, it’s sure to be ranked among the best. Great list Tim! You’ve done your homework.

29. Gordon Cheng
July 4, 2008
5:26 PM

Thanks for the list Tim. I’ve mentioned it on my blog here.

When you get to your Old Testament recommendations, make sure you check Barry Webb.

I’ve fudged my way through entire sermon series on Isaiah and Judges with his help, duly acknowledged in the sermon outlines I’ve distributed.

30. David Koo
July 4, 2008
6:05 PM

Thanks so much Tim for the recommendations…

This is such a great help to me…

31. Steve Meister
July 4, 2008
6:16 PM

Tim,

Good post, generally good information for those beginning to build a library. However, I must quibble with some of your selections. It’s seems that you selected some commentators (e.g., Fee and Bruce?) and stuck with them, even though their volumes are not always the strongest. For example:

Ephesians. There is no way Bruce’s is the best. O’Brien’s is great, but to neglect Harold Hoehner’s magnum opus is unthinkable. Hoehner and O’Brien are your top two.
1&2 Thessalonians. Good selections, but an oft-overlooked and skillful commentator is D. Edmond Hiebert. Great volume on 1&2 Thess.
Pastorals. I’m sorry brother, there is no way that Fee is even in the top five! Marshall, Mounce, Knight, Hendriksen, and Guthrie are all superior to Fee’s. His hermeneutical approach to these letters as ad hoc really distorts the text. If you’re looking for a good medium-length commentary, try Guthrie or Hendriksen.
Hebrews. Interesting that you left Bruce’s excellent commentary off here and put him in Ephesians.
James. Again, do not overlook D. Edmond Hiebert, I’d put him after Moo.

-1-3 John. Sorry, but have to again mention that D. Edmond Hiebert has an excellent commentary on the Johannine Epistles.

Revelation. Robert Thomas’ two-volume commentary in the Moody series is superb.

Good exercise, hope the input helps. Blessings!

32. Carl
July 4, 2008
6:51 PM

As a simple Christian layperson, the suggestions offered in the post as well as in the comments are extremely welcome and I will be organizing a personal “wantlist” based upon the recommendations. Currently I have most of J. Vernon McGee’s books/commentaries transcribed from his Thru The Bible radio program which I enjoy reading and find enlightening. I also have PC Study Bible v4 which includes “Adam Clarke’s Commentary,” “Barnes’ Notes,” “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Commentary,” and “Matthew Henry’s Commentary.” There is also a Goodwill bookstore which often gets donations of Christian books of which I have purchased. Some commentary volumes I’ve picked up there include several volumes by William Barclay, “Luke” by Frederick W. Danker, “The Acts Of The Apostles” by Charles Ryrie, “Leviticus” & “Numbers” from The Layman’s Bible Commentary, “Studies In Luke’s Gospel” by Frank Stagg, “Studies In Matthew” by Roland Q. Leavell, “Studies In Deuteronomy” by Donald F. Ackland, “The Gospel In Isaiah” by Gilbert L. Guffin, and “Studies In Jeremiah” by Clyde T Francisco. I don’t know how recommendable all of these are and I have not had enough time to read each one cover-to-cover. I have cited several of the above-listed sources from time to time in discussions/debates in Usenet Christian newsgroups. Any opinions on the ones I currently own?

33. Carl
July 4, 2008
7:20 PM

I just thought of something that would benefit me personally. I notice that some of the commentaries listed tend to delve into the Biblical languages and translation thereof. My level of knowledge is not there [yet, hopefully] so I was wondering, what commentaries can everyone recommend to me that would benefit a typical Christian layperson in their personal Bible studies? I am interested in commentaries that would complement Bible studies and readings as well as sermons. Any suggestions would be appreciated. If you’d like, please email me at saints@nettally.com with any suggestions, advice, etc. I would greatly appreciate it and I know I would certainly be blessed with the help.

34. Pedro Jimenez
July 4, 2008
10:37 PM

Why don´t you mention John MacArthur’s commentaries?

I started to build my commentaries library and thought his were one of the best.

Thank you,

Pedro.

35. Alan Kurschner
July 4, 2008
10:57 PM

Carl said,

“I was wondering, what commentaries can everyone recommend to me that would benefit a typical Christian layperson in their personal Bible studies? I am interested in commentaries that would complement Bible studies and readings as well as sermons. Any suggestions would be appreciated.”

I noted above in my comment:

“The NIV Application Commentary series is a fairly all-around theological commentary series with a few nuggets in that series that are worth owning because they contain engaging application: Genesis, Isaiah, Hebrews, 2 Corinthians.”

My caveat though is that the NIV Application Commentary (as any commentary) should be a complement as you noted.

Expository commentaries are omnipresent, outnumbering exegetical 10 to 1 so they are not difficult to find (N.T. Wright’s commentary series is fairly good, except for his NPP and his wrong-headed preterism.)

36. Omar Ortiz
July 4, 2008
10:58 PM

I would agree with Lane Keister on 1 Peter. Karen’s Jobes’ commenteray in the BECNT is solid. I recently taught 1 Peter and used Jobes, Davids, Grudem, and Clowney in my preparation. You can’t go wrong with any of these commentaries. But of these four it was Jobes that I kept relying on. She does go into Greek, but I don’t think that this makes it inaccesible to someone who does not know Greek.

I would also highly recommend her commentary on Esther in the NIV Application Commentary. That book has shaped how I study and teach Esther. There is no doubt that she has a mastery of the Hebrew, but this commentary is very accesible to anyone regardless of thier knowledge of Hebrew.

Thanks for the reccomendations.

37. Jason
July 4, 2008
11:46 PM

Good list and great discussion.

Carson is also completing a commentary on John’s Epistles for NIGTC, I think it will be out before his Galatians with Pillar, both of which I gotta have.

38. Jimmy Tidmore
July 5, 2008
12:05 AM

Thank you for this. The list is awesome and will be helpful when trying to add to my library.

39. Harry
July 5, 2008
3:39 AM

I’ll second Dorian. Don’t neglect the older commentaries, esp. by Puritans, and - even - Calvin! :-)

40. Kendrick
July 5, 2008
8:27 AM

For older classic commentaries, definitely check out the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/) which provides several online. I know that it carries both John Calvin and Matthew Henry’s complete Bible commentaries. Just a suggestion for saving money if you don’t mind reading things online.

41. Nick
July 5, 2008
10:49 AM

One set that I have found to be extremely enoyable for my devos is the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary put out by Tyndale. Although it is based on the NLT the scholars are well informed. I would especially recommend the volume which includes Grant Osbourne’s outstanding to-the-point commentary on the Gospel of John.

42. Ted
July 5, 2008
11:46 AM

A great resource is John Glynn’s Commentary Survey (Kregel)

Also, got to agree with earlier comments about Harold Hoehner’s Ephesians (Baker). And Bruner’s Matthew. Both outstanding.

Also on Romans, the ICC 2-volume by C.E.B. Cranfield remains THE standard in my NSHO.

43. Scripture Zealot
July 5, 2008
12:35 PM

Thank you for the resources. I’ve added this page to a list of resources on my blog.

Has anyone read David L. Turner’s Matthew (BECNT)? This is their newest one. Jeff

44. Betsy
July 5, 2008
2:04 PM

www.e-sword.com has several free commentaries for download - and lots of other good stuff too.

45. GUNNY HARTMAN
July 5, 2008
4:15 PM

Reading through the list I noticed a lot of F.F. Bruce, which concerned me because I was worried he wouldn’t get his due in Hebrews.

I’m not familiar with the ones you listed for Hebrews, but Bruce’s is my favorite for Hebrews. Pink is not a bad change of pace in that regard as well.

46. Justin Childers
July 5, 2008
4:19 PM

Here is my attempt at NT commentary recommendations. Our lists are similar. http://justinchilders.blogspot.com/2008/01/nt-commentary-recommendations.html

47. Lane Keister
July 5, 2008
5:51 PM

Responding to number 14: it is difficult to know quite how to respond to this. I read and own many commentary volumes (about 1500). I read commentaries much more liberal than Fee, for instance (Collins on Daniel, Westermann on Genesis) and profit from them (although I tend to profit more from those written from a Reformed perspective). My criteria for a good commentary (no matter what perspective) is how many “aha” moments the commentary gives me. That is my criteria for what I have said in comment 8.

48. Carl
July 5, 2008
9:05 PM

Wow, Lane, 1500? Impressive! If you have any duplicates, feel free to send ‘em my way. :-)

49. Romans 11:33-36
July 6, 2008
12:02 AM

That post is a great help, thanks Tim. But I would like to recommend two books that I did not see in your list, John Glynn’s “Commentary & Reference Survey” it is a great and invaluable reference for commentaries and even church history and topical books. Also I would like to personally recomend John Stott’s Commentary on Romans from the BST series, it is execellent and Dr. Stott’s input should be considered by anyone trying to understand the scriptures.

50. Carl
July 6, 2008
1:29 PM

Boy, several have written highly of John Stott. I passed up a book at the local Goodwill bookstore written by John Stott because I was unfamiliar with the name (since the staff at the bookstore lumps any and all books even with remotely sounding Christian names you never know what stuff will be included…like the Davinci Code for example). I try to stick with authors that either I already know and can trust their materials or from authors whose bios on the book indicate training and/or pastorship from reliable, Biblically-sound places. For example, I picked up a good Charles Swindoll book recently that happened to be next to a Benny Hinn book (which I didn’t buy obviously).

So I will add John Stott to my list of approved and reliable authors.

51. Joe Lee
July 7, 2008
1:01 AM

thanks for the list… very helpful resource this is.

52. matthew lipscomb
July 7, 2008
1:47 AM

“Boy, several have written highly of John Stott.”

umm, you might be interested to know…

Stott is “agnostic” in regards to the ‘Eternality of Hell’ question - but it is said that he is a closet annialiationist. For the record, I think that’s where I’m at.

also -

Tim,

have you ever played with “library thing” at librarything.com?

53. Ted
July 7, 2008
12:08 PM

John Stott is one of the finest Christian gentlemen to expound the Scriptures. Any topic he tackles will edify and inform you. Any book with his name on it is worth reading, especially his classic The Cross of Christ. Stott is now 87 I believe, retired from public ministry, and living in England.

54. Jeff
July 9, 2008
1:18 AM

Check the introduction section of any commentary. I saw one (forget the name) that claimed that 2 Timothy wasn’t writted by Timothy.

It’s hard to give credibility to anything in a commentary that starts out denying the truth of Scripture.

55. Piper McGee
July 9, 2008
7:21 PM

Who is John MacArthur?

56. Kevin Sam
July 11, 2008
2:02 AM

An excellent post Tim. Thanks for putting this together. It’s never easy to select the best from a huge plethora of good commentaries. I’m trying to build my own NT commentary library.

57. Philip
July 16, 2008
7:38 AM

I am surprised to note that there is no reference to the Reformed Expository Commentary Series or Preaching the Word Series. I remember Tim writing in this blog last year about the Reformed Expository Commentary Series

58. Tim Challies
July 16, 2008
2:21 PM

I like the Reformed Expository Commentary series (a lot) for what it is. But I don’t think they’d rate among the best-two study commentaries for any of the books of the Bible.