Commentaries and Study Bibles

Hi Rob:

Commentaries:

One Volume: The NIV Bible Commentaries (one for OT and one for NT) Ed John Kohlenberger. Very good in detail yet suitable for the layman.
Series: MacArthur NT commentaries: Excellent. Also Holman Bible commentaries; various editors.

Study Bibles: NIV Study Bible. Comprehensive in notes and commentary.
Reformation Study Bible (formerly New Geneva). NKJV. Excellent reformed noted from R.C. SProul and others.
MAcArthur Study Bible:NKJV. Excellent notes and charts. Solidly Calvinistic.
Thompson Chain Reference Bible: Great source of info and cross references. No Notes.
New Open Bible: NKJV. The best formatted Bible I have seen. My personal favorite. Good articles and comprehensive encyclopedia. Minimal notes. Mostly archaeological and historic.

 

I would add the Bible Knowledge Commentary edited Walvoord and Zuck. There is a volume each on the OT and NT. The Expositor's Bible commentary is 12 volumes but they cover each book and volume 1 is introductory articles. They are a little longer but still brief comparatively speaking and give good information.

There is a new series called "Encountering Bible Study" I think. It is put out by Baker. It seems to be pretty good, at least the volume on John that I have by Kostenberger.

As for Study Bibles, I don't think you can beat the NIV Study Bible but I am not all that familiar with the others available so my opinion there is not fully informed.

 

Matthew Henry, John Gill, Matthew Poole.........
Oh, and of course, William Hendriksen's.

A quick reference commentary is: Believers Bible Commentary or Matt Henry's concise.
~Scott

 

Fortunately, the NIV Study Bible has been reproduced as the NASB Study Bible, and even the KJV study Bible! (Same notes, different texts).

 

From the lips of Blackbird!

Anything by Dr. John Phillips. I class him as the "Einstein" of all theologians! His "Exploring" series can be purchased at any LifeWay Book Store. Be warned--the books are expensive. As a pastor I can only buy them "one at a time!" I once met Dr. Phillips at a Bible conference and asked him the reason his books are so expensive--and with that dry British humor he said, "Its the author, my boy! Its the author!" But hey, if you purchase these--I promise you--you'll be adding "gold" to your preaching/study library. PS These commentaries are suitable for Laypeople.

This is from the lips of Blackbird!

 

John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion was written as an introduction to the Bible. A must-have.

For practical application, Matthew Henry.

That's all you need.

 

Dake Annotated referense bible

 

Definitely not - NOT - the Dake Bible! The following is from HOW TO CHOOSE A STUDY BIBLE by John R. Kohlenberger III

 

Commentaries: The New Interpreter's Bible by Abingdon is an outstanding commentary series that also includes the full texts of the NRSV and NIV. The scholars are all top-notch, and the content is very accessible to a lay reader.

The new Smyth & Helwys Commentary looks promising, but - with only a few volumes out - it's hard to tell.

Study Bibles: I'm really fond of the Oxford Study Bible, but I think the Harper-Collins has a lot to recommend it as well. The Oxford was the standard study Bible for seminary students at Mercer and at Candler (I assume it still is).

Joshua

 

I think longshot was referring to believing commentaries

 

Chris,

Is there a specific author or passage you take issue with in one of these commentaries?

Joshua

 

Pastor Larry said:

I would add the Bible Knowledge Commentary edited Walvoord and Zuck.

*ack*ack*ack*ack*ack*

Someone was really asleep at the switch when they let Zane Hodges loose to write the section on 1 John.

In study Bibles, my personal favourite is the NIV Study Bible just for the sheer extent of the notes. I wish they'd published the NASB edition of it sooner, though. The New Geneva Study Bible aka the Reformation Study Bible runs a very close second.

My favourite single-volume commentary is Matthew Henry, hands down. He can't be beaten for application.

I have the two-volume Bible Background Commentary (IVP, 1994 [NT], 2000 [OT]), which I occasionally find helpful for background context (as the name suggests).

Regarding multiple-volume commentary sets, my advice is not to worry about collecting all the volumes in one set. They will probably be of uneven quality anyway. Rather, for each individual book of the Bible seek out the best one or two commentaries available. It won't look as good on your shelf, but in terms of payoff your money will go farther as good commentaries are expensive.

(There is one exception I have made to this rule: William Barclay's Daily Study Bible series. Although Barclay's theology ran a little toward liberalism, he is excellent on application and had a real flair for putting the Scriptures in their historical context.)

 

I didn't know he wrote that section ... oh well, every book needs some doodling pages.

 

Personally, I could not recommend any commentary by Walvoord or any of the DTS boys

Well said, and I agree.

 

Abingdon: notoriously liberal
Smyth & Helwys: the publishign arm of the liberal CBF
The Oxford Study Bible; Harper-Collins - again, liberal, disbelieving and higher-critical

 

I like the Mercer Bible Commentary and the Mercer Bible Dictionary. I'm also a fan of the Oxford Study Bible, but I prefer the RSV to the new NRSV, both for the translation and the annotations (Metzger fan). The NRSV doesn't quite have the flow of the RSV, and can be a little pc.

 

Abingdon: notoriously liberal
Smyth & Helwys: the publishign arm of the liberal CBF
The Oxford Study Bible; Harper-Collins - again, liberal, disbelieving and higher-critical</font>[/QUOTE]Just who at Smyth and Helwys is the "publishing arm" of the CBF? The publisher and many of the employees are friends of mine so I will probably know them if you name a person.
By the way, I have the New Interpreters' Bible commentary on Matthew and Mark. What is "liberal" about it?

 

Warm Christian greetings!

In Christmas 1981 my wife bought me a Thompson Chain Reference Bible. It has been an invaluable help to my Christian life; moreover, I have found it an excellent help in preparing ministry as I am a lay preacher. It is available in several versions.

Kind regards

Robert J Hutton

 

Generally speaking, I don't care for one volume commentaries such as Mercer's, Elwell's, etc. These are little more than glorified Bible handbooks. If you have to have one, go with Baker's/Elwell's. For the layman, the Bible Speaks Today series by IVP is good. If you want a little more depth, go with the unfinished New International Commentary series from Eerdmans. Otherwise, Poole's & Henry, which are mentioned above, are good choices.
As for study Bibles, the NIV study Bible is good. The Disciple's Study Bible from Broadman and Holman isn't bad either. Pick up a copy of the English Standard Version of the Bible, and pick up Online Bible software. Get a copy of the Holman Bible Handbook and get the updated Holman Bible Dictionary when it comes out. You will have some good tools all the way around.