Commentaries, like any books, can be good or bad though it can be hard to articulate why we feel some commentaries are better than others. I think that’s because we all assume that commentaries should be doing something, but we aren’t sure exactly what that something is. In general, I think some people would agree that commentaries attempt five general tasks: (1) give the reader a better historical understanding of the world in which the text was produced and (2)...
Since my thesis topic has me flipping through dozens of Luke commentaries each week, I thought I’d write a post on which commentaries are most helpful to me and why. Commentaries have five basic jobs: (1) give the reader a better historical understanding of the world in which the text was produced and (2) in which the first audiences resided; (3) interact substantially with the original text; (4) give some details on how the text might apply...
deClaissé-Walford, Nancy, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth LaNeel Tanner. The Book of Psalms. Edited by Robert L. Hubbard. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014. 1051 pages. Hardcover. Retail: $60.00 The Book of Psalms is a single volume commentary published in Eerdmans New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT) series. It is the work of three authors, Nancy deClaisse-Walford, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth LaNeel Tanner, each of whom authored individual...
Block, Daniel I. Obadiah: The Kingship Belongs to YHWH. Hearing the Message of Scripture: A Commentary on the Old Testament, 27. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013. 116 pages + 12 pages of indices. Hardcover. Retail: $19.99. With the publication of Obadiah: The Kingship Belongs to YHWH, Daniel Block (Wheaton College, IL) launches a new commentary series, of which he is the general editor, entitled Hearing the Message of Scripture: A Commentary on the Old Testament....
Tzamalikos, P. An Ancient Commentary on the Book of Revelation: A Critical Edition of the Scholia in Apocalypsin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. 464 + xix pages. £120. This beautiful folio volume contains the critical edition of a portion of Codex 573 of the Meteora monastery of Metamorphosis (also known as minuscule manuscripts 2329 and 2351 of the book of Revelation), as well as Tzamalikos’ comments on the manuscript and its provenance. The critical text...
Lynn H. Cohick, Philippians. The Story of God Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2013. 320 pgs. Hardcover. Retail $29.99 Cohick’s new commentary on Paul’s epistle to the Philippians is one of two, along with a commentary on the Sermon on the Mount by Scott McKnight, to be released in a new popular level series by Zondervan, called The Story of God Bible Commentary. Both have been written by members of the editorial board for...
A little over a year ago I wrote a post about the Top Galatians Commentaries. For that list I chose the 5 best in terms of teaching the text the closest to how I think it should be understood. I still stand by those 5—although with the recent addition of Doug Moo’s commentary I think I’d probably change the list slightly (and you can read my review of his commentary over at Themelios)—but every time...
How do you replace a legend? When an iconic sports figure leaves the sport he loves, how does that team ever replace him? It comes to no surprise to those who know me that I am a die-hard fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins. I remember staying up late on a number of occasions to watch the Pens play deep into overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs (side note: The Pens have played in two of...
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