Bestcommentaries.com

I’ve had a link up to this site for some time in our blog roll, but haven’t said anything officially about it up to this point. Bestcommentaries.com is a website that was created and is maintained by one of our fellow DTSers, John Dyer. He’s compiled commentary ratings and reviews from some of the best sources available and devised a scoring method by which he can assign each commentary a numerical rating based on these ratings and reviews. In so doing, John’s provided an excellent resource for anyone that’s trying to decide what commentaries to buy. All you commentary addicts–make sure you visit John’s website!

 

Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
(To Be) Published in 2008
ISBN 9780310244028 (James)

Review by Kevin Stern

Timed for a launch at SBL/ETS in November, Zondervan releases the first in its series of Exegetical Commentaries on the New Testament. The opening volume on James is written by Craig Blomberg and Mariam Kamell (with Clinton Arnold as general editor). I’m an avid commentary reader and not easily impressed, but this series presents some great scholarship. Several volumes are already on my wish list.

Here’s the series list:

• Matthew- Grant R. Osborne
• Mark- Mark L. Strauss
• Luke- David E. Garland
• John- I. Howard Marshall
• Acts- Eckhard J. Schnabel
• Romans- Frank Thielman
• 1 Corinthians- Paul Gardner
• 2 Corinthians- Bruce W. Winter
• Galatians- Thomas R. Schreiner
• Ephesians- Clinton E. Arnold
• Philippians- George H. Guthrie
• Colossians & Philemon- David W. Pao
• 1 & 2 Thessalonians- Gary S. Shogren
• 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus- Gregory K. Beale
• Hebrews- Douglas J. Moo
• James- Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam Kamell
• 1 Peter- Michael J. Wilkins
• 2 Peter & Jude- Robert W. Yarbrough
• 1-3 John- Karen H. Jobes
• Revelation- Buist M. Fanning III

As impressive as the list of authors is, my real excitement is in the format for the series. Too often commentators treat the details, but give no help with the flow of the passage. Each section in this series begins with a Literary Context that connects the material to passages before and after. There  is also a one or two sentence statement of the main idea of the section and an exegetical outline. The structure sections help you understand the internal structure of the passage as well. This helps immensely in sermon preparation and helps you think through a passage.

Something I’ve never seen before in a commentary but instantly like is the way the author’s translation is organized. The passage is broken down into a phrase-by-phrase outline. The main clause is in bold print and pushed left; subordinate clauses are indented. Those trying to diagram sentences have a ready outline each with an interpretive label to tell the function of the phrase. Those preaching and teaching the text can see the passages in a quick, easy format that helps with exposition and understanding.

The Explanation section clearly separates verses by putting the English text in bold type, then follows it with the Greek text. Speaking of Greek – for those a little rusty on their language, each mention of Greek is preceded by an English translation, so although the commentary has depth, it isn’t intimidating. The commentary is thorough but also to the point. The explanations had limited interaction with other writers, using them for quick explanations rather than cataloging adherents of various views.

The Theology in Application section which closes each passage provides a helpful summary of the theology. The applications in the James volume didn’t suffer from the often forced applications in the NIVAC volumes. You also felt it more of an extension of the exposition. At the end of the book was a summary of the major themes.

I’m now planning room on my shelves for this set of commentaries. One look at the format and authors in this series will soon have it rise to the top of many lists.

 

Expositor’s Bible Commentary

Expositor’s Bible Commentary
Zondervan Publishing Co.
Grand Rapids, MI

Review by Kevin Stern

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, a standard in the evangelical world, is in the midst of a major revision (four are out now and one will be released in July). The series edited by Tremper Longman and David Garland is being expanded to thirteen volumes–with no Introduction volume, it’s quite a bit. About 60% of the authors have been replaced or updated by a younger author, but all of the work is revised. I’ve talked to a couple of the authors who have changed their views since their earlier contributions.

I like the format of the new editions better. For each section, there is an overview that gives the theology of the passage—a great help to think your way through the book. R.T. France’s overviews in Hebrews (Hebrews-Revelation) were wonderful. I often turned to it first to get an idea of the passage and then went to technical commentaries for more detail when I was teaching Hebrews. In Richard Hess’s Leviticus (Genesis-Leviticus), he charts the elements of the sacrifices and unclean animals. It was a huge help in making often confusing details clear. The notes have been expanded in the series as well, making it more helpful to serious students. The type is better in the new volumes also, making it easier to read.

I’d recommend this series to pastors and Bible students who need a step deeper than one- volume commentaries can provide. It would be a good addition to a church library.