On Purchasing a Commentary

I love commentaries. The information, the depth of knowledge, and their stoic look on my bookshelf make me love commentaries. I have had no formal training in the Hebrew language, but a commentary on the book of Psalms may help me understand a word play in the original Hebrew. As for the amount of knowledge that goes into a commentary, Daniel Block spent 14 years writing his two-volume commentary on Ezekiel (you bet it’s on my shelf). And as to their look, I love the look of books (I also read them occasionally). I cannot bring myself to purchase commentaries on CDs or any other electronic method (i.e. Logos) because I love the feel of a book in my hands and the look of a row of books on my shelf.

However, there are serious issues with commentaries of which anyone desiring to use them should be aware.

1. The theological slant of the author – it is tiresome to see commentators dance around issues such as baptism, women’s roles, and homosexuality.
2. The focus of the commentary series – various series have varies foci. For example, the NIV Application Commentary (NIVAC) focuses on application. Each section of scripture is discussed in its original setting, it is then discussed in “bridging contexts”, and it is discussed for modern application. Ben Witherington’s “Socio-rhetorical” commentaries focus on just that – the society of the day and the author’s rhetorical approach in the book/letter.
3. The author’s focus – Ben Witherington has written a commentary on almost every book of the New Testament. His commentaries are very helpful (especially his work on Acts) but his commentary on John (random example) is not going to be as detailed and deep as one written by someone who has devoted their life to John’s writings.
4. Systematic theology – This comes down to how we view the Bible. Do we allow the Bible to determine our theology or does our theology determine how we read the Bible? For example, if you are a Calvinist, this is going to affect how you read the text. However, this may not be the easiest fact to ascertain from a commentary (and should probably not be the determining factor in the decision to purchase).

If you know some of these things going in, then you will not be surprised (i.e. if you know that Witherington’s focus is rhetoric, you will not be surprised that he breaks every speech in Acts into the ancient parts of a quality speech).

My preferences:

I am careful with any commentary that claims to be full of theological insight. However, I have had to get over this (to an extent) because many of my views of scripture flow against the mainstream.

I like my commentaries to be rich in philology, linguistics, and the like. I am not a master of Greek and I know almost nothing of Hebrew. The more a commentary can help me understand the original language, the better I understand the book.

And similarly, I like a commentary that helps me understand the surrounding cultures of Israel and the people of the Bible. In reading of Jonah’s fear of going to Assyria and Nahum’s joy over the destruction of Assyria, it helps to know some of the horrible things the Assyrian’s did to their victims.

I am not concerned with a commentary’s suggested application. The NIV Application Commentary has an application section after each division of text and I have never read it. I love the series because of the authors who have contributed to the series. But I am not a big fan of THEIR application.

These are just a few things to think about when purchasing a commentary. Much of this information, you can find in the books and articles I referenced in the previous post.

Good luck and happy commentary buying!

Finding the Best Commentary

If you are a commentary connoisseur, as I am, you know that they can be very expensive. I do not have ¼ of the commentaries that I would like because they cost anywhere from $15 to $75 (sometimes more).  This post is not about finding good deals on commentaries (I usually purchase mine from Amazon), it is about saving money by buying the best commentary.

When I began a survey of the Old Testament over two years ago, I decided that I would purchase two commentaries for each book I taught (much of this was an effort to simply establish a usable library). At first, because I did not know what I was doing, I ended up with a couple of duds.

Finally, I heard about a couple of commentary guides. Then I came across a website that is devoted to finding the best commentary for each book of the Bible. And just recently, I found a couple of online journal articles listing high quality commentaries for each Bible book. If you are looking for commentaries to begin a study or to fill out a library, these will help you and keep you from wasting money. I know that budgets run tight and that books are expensive, and as the author of Ecclesiastes says, “There is no end to the writing of books.” So here are some links and titles that can help you weed through the plethora of poor to great commentaries.

http://www.bestcommentaries.com/ – this is a good website that rates various commentaries. The site also contains a number of reviews. The problem with the site is the complexity of its rating system and lack of general comments for the commentaries.

http://www.denverseminary.edu/article/annotated-old-testament-bibliography-2009/#commentaries – this is a good list of Old Testament commentaries from the Denver Seminary. The scholar of note who had a hand in this list is Richard S. Hess.

http://www.denverseminary.edu/article/new-testament-exegesis-bibliography-2009/ – this is the New Testament commentary list from the Denver Seminary. Craig Blomberg is the most notable scholar behind this list. The list contains many other types of books; scroll about 2/5 of the way down to get to the commentaries.

The following two works are commentary surveys. Each is written by a leading scholar. The major commentaries are listed by book with comments.

Old Testament Commentary Survey, Tremper Longman III, Fourth Edition. The edition is important because older ones do not have the more recent commentaries. Longman gives great comments and rates each commentary from one to five stars. He also labels the commentary for the intended user. L – layperson. M – minister. S – scholar. In the back, Longman lists every commentary that received five stars.

New Testament Commentary Survey, D. A. Carson, Sixth Edition. This survey is not as accessible as Longman’s nor are the comments as thorough, but Carson includes more works. For the most part, if the work is listed towards the beginning of the section it is a better commentary. In the back of the book, he has a list of “best buys” – the most bang for your buck.

I do not know how often these surveys are updated. Both were last updated in 2007. These two works are very useful and are a better resource than the websites, but the websites are free.

I hope this is helpful. These sources have saved me serious time and money.

Book Reviews

I had done a number of book reviews for DeWard Publishing on my previous blog (blogspot.com). I wanted to move them here to keep them in the public eye. They are located below this post. If you are interested, please go to DeWard’s site at www.dewardpublishing.com.

The Churches of the New Testament

In Churches of the New Testament, Ethan Longhenry discusses the individual congregations that are mentioned in the Book of Acts and to whom the epistles were written. For anyone who desires to follow the pattern laid out for churches in the New Testament, this is a great book to go to (aside from the Bible).

For those who are curious about some of the background issues relating to each congregation, the history and geography sections provide that information. Mr. Longhenry then moves on to the beginning of the church and moves from its establishment through what we know of the church’s existence. At that point, the author focuses on some specific issues (i.e. support in Philippi, endurance in Thessalonica). It is with these issues that the author draws the application. The end of the book contains an overview / summary of what God does and does not approve in local churches. This is simply of grouping together of everything learned from each congregation.

If you are wanting and in depth study of the epistles, this is not the book you are looking for. But if you want a book that can be of a real benefit to your knowledge of what Christ wants in His local congregations, this is a book you should read. Each chapter is well organized and easy to read. It is not filled with church or academic language, but a clear and precise summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the churches mentioned in the New Testament.

Beneath the Cross

The Lord’s Supper has been grossly underserved in terms of literature and emphasis within church services. This is sad given the meaning of the Lord’s Supper. Not only is it the memorial of Jesus Sacrifice, but traces of its meaning can be found throughout the entire Bible. Beneath the Cross has put some emphasis back where it belongs. The book is a compilation of essays giving more meaning to and providing greater understanding for the Lord’s Supper.

The book is divided into four sections. The first part of the book deals with the general nature and background of the Lord’s Supper. The second section (my personal favorite) looks at various passages from the Old and New Testament and discusses their relationship with the sacrifice on cross; the theme being that Jesus’ sacrifice was God’s plan from the beginning and is traceable through the entire Bible. The third sections deals with the individual and the cross – how does it affect me? And the final section looks at a number of hymns which are typically associated with the taking of the Lord’s Supper.

Over 40 authors from across the country have contributed to this book. Some of which are considered “scholars” in the area of Biblical studies, while others have devoted themselves to a better understanding of the Bible. Do not make the mistake of thinking that this is some little “devotional.” Some of the essays in this book will challenge you academically and some will challenge you emotionally.

The Man of Galilee

Too often circular reasoning is used in order to defend the divinity of Jesus. A conversation might resemble the following.

How do you know Jesus is the son of God? Because the Bible says so.
How do you know the Bible is accurate? Because Jesus said it was inspired.
Why should I trust what Jesus had to say? Because Jesus is the son of God.

I think the problem of logic is fairly obvious.

Over the past few years there have been some great books written that help people with their faith on the subject of who and what Jesus is. Most notably might by Lee Strobel. His “Case for…” books are very helpful and well written.

However, I have never been as impressed with the flow of an author’s argument as I was when reading Atticus G. Haygood’s The Man of Galilee. The book does not exercise the common arguments of modern defenders. Though the book is over 100 years old I found its arguments and logic fresh and convincing.

Haygood starts with the gospels as historical documents, as opposed to starting with them as inspired documents. From there he discusses the claims they make of Jesus against the culture and society of Jesus’ day. The conclusion is that not only was Jesus not an invention of gospel writers or, simply, a good man, He was in fact the Son of God!

*This book has received an award since its republishing with DeWard!

A Still Small Voice

1 Kings 18 contains the brilliant story of Elijah’s contest with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. This is one of my favorite stories. There is action, comedy, and drama. By way of reminder, Elijah suggested that each group take an Ox and place it on an altar and whichever god sets the sacrifice ablaze, that god is the real God. After the prophets of Baal make fools of themselves all day (and Elijah mocks them) it is Elijah’s turn. He sets up the altar, he douses it with water (to make the sign even more impressive), and he prays to Yahweh. Fire comes down from heaven consuming the sacrifice, licking up the water, and burning up the altar.

After this, Elijah commands that the prophets of Baal and the Asherah be killed. And then the chapter reminds us of who was on the throne in Israel at that time - Ahab. But it was not Ahab who was in charge, it was Jezebel and she was mad. Jezebel wants Elijah dead just like many of the other prophets of Yahweh. At this news, Elijah gives up hope. He sits down under a Juniper tree and asks God to take his life.

God does not take his life – God strengthens him by giving him food. But God wants to strengthen him spiritually as well. God tells Elijah to go to Mt. Horeb. When Elijah gets there he is downtrodden about his condition – surely he is the only prophets still alive and he has sacrifices everything. It is at this point that there was a whirlwind, Elijah thought God may speak to him from the whirlwind, but God did not. Then an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. And then a fire – surely God would be in the fire. The connections between God and fire are very prevelent (Moses at the bush, Nadab and Abihu, God had just consumed the sacrifice with fire). But God was not in the fire. And finally, after the fire, there was a “still small voice” (NKJV). And it was in this “still small voice” that God spoke.

Elijah expected God to be in the great and marvelous works – the whirlwind, the earthquake, and the fire. But God was not. I want to tell you that the gospel is the same way. Too often we expect God to show Himself in magnificent ways, but He speaks through the simple message of the gospel. The religious world wants grandiose things, blazing signs, and exciting excursions, but the truth is in the “still small voice.”

I am reminded of Revelation 5, when John sees the book and weeps because no one is worthy to open it. And then the elders see the Lion from the tribe of Judah. John turns to see this great site, but he sees a lamb. When it comes to salvation, we often want brilliant things, but the simple truth of the gospel is that we are saved by a lamb hanging on a tree. As John the Baptist said, “Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”

While God is capable of brilliant, powerful, and shocking things – the gospel is like the still small voice. It is simple. It is humble. But it is the most powerful thing we will ever hear!

Writing In Your Bible

Do you like to take notes in your Bible? Some people love to, some preachers make all of their notes for their lessons in the margins, while others think it is down right heretical to write in their Bibles. I have done so sparingly for a couple of reasons.

When I turned eight years old, my parents bought me a great wide-margin, double column, reference NKJV. I set in with a HIGHLIGHTER, line my favorite passages (although it was really just random highlighting). I regret that action to this day. A second thing that keeps me from writing in my Bible is the fact that I am always growing. This means that I am going to change my mind. So for a while, I would make notes in pencil (I should not have made them at all – thanks smudge). Thirdly, when you make notes or highlight, your mind will automatically be drawn to your notes or the highlighted sections and you may miss something else in the text. With that being said, I still take SOME notes in my Bible. My most common note is an added cross reference that was not included in my edition.

Up until recently, I had no clue what utensil to use when making notes or wanting to emphasize a section. Then I found this link – http://www.bibledesignblog.com/2008/03/writing-and-hig.html. This is an interesting site, not only does is have some interesting tips, it has great reviews on various Bible designs (as the blog’s name indicates).

In conclusion, I purchased a set of Pigma Microns (the set of 16) and a handful of Zebrite highlighters (specifically designed for Bibles). I can personally testify of the quality of these utensils. I did not know what size Microns to purchase so I purchased the who set. After receiving them, I think that I will use the 005 to take notes and the 03 to underline (this was a common suggested on the blog (which I linked above).

I purchased highlighters in all three colors (yellow, green, and blue). The yellow is perfect because it is just enough to make the selection “pop”. I am unsure how (if at all) I will use the green and blue highlighters. The bleed through is minimal (if only 8 year old Jonathan had these).

If you are looking for the perfect pen, you can find the Pigma Microns here – http://www.dickblick.com/products/sakura-pigma-micron-pen/

If you are looking for the perfect highlighter, you can find the Zebrite here – http://www.boardroomproducts.com/product.php?productid=122&cat=21&page=1

Good luck and continue to read your Bible. The best Bible is not a perfectly new one, it is not a thoroughly written in one, it is one that is worn out with oil stains. My father will always be my example of what it means to read your Bible! His current Bible is getting to an unusable state. He has read through it who-knows-how-many times. The leather is rubbing off. Pages are tearing. That is how we should treat our Bibles! USE THEM!

Keep reading!

The Fear of the Holy Spirit?

We have been studying the Holy Spirit in our Wednesday night Bible study and I have come upon one of the most ironic things. Many people are scared of the Holy Spirit. I do not mean that they fear the work of the Holy Spirit, but many people do fear studying the Holy Spirit. The reason that this is ironic is because of what Jesus called the Holy Spirit – “the comforter” (John 14:26, KJV). The NIV refers to the Holy Spirit as “the counselor”, while the NASB, ESV, and NKJV call Him “the Helper.” Compare these names with our timidity in studying this subject and note this great irony. I believe that there are four main reasons for our timidity when it comes to discussing and studying the Holy Spirit.

The first reason we shy away from this subject is because of what the King James Version has done to our subconscious thinking related to the Holy Spirit – “Holy Ghost”. Now you may scoff at this idea, but I want you to think about our modern idea of ghosts. Think about all the shows on television that are about ghost hunting and haunted houses; imagine all the little kids dressed up as ghosts at Halloween. Whether we want it to or not, the phrase “Holy Ghost” often conjures up images of mystical, floating beings that move about in mysterious ways. Sometimes this gives way to a “Star Wars” mentality, thinking of the Holy Spirit as nothing more than God’s force. While I will be the first to admit that there are some difficult things when it comes to studying the Holy Spirit, the Bible does not try to hide or shade its teaching about the Holy Spirit. Knowledge of the Holy Spirit is there for us to pick up if we are willing to dig in.

However, we must be willing. Sometimes we shy away from the difficult subjects and preachers are no different. Every Sunday lessons are preached about the love of God and the teachings of Jesus, but rarely is the work of the Spirit a subject for a Sunday morning lesson. We understand faith and baptism because of the amount of teaching to which we are subjected. There needs to be more teaching on this subject. One may ask, “Is the Holy Spirit THAT important?” Then I must ask, where would we be without the work of the Holy Spirit? Specifically His work with sciprutre? Furthermore, the Spirit is mentioned in Genesis 1:2 and Revelation 22:17 – two verses into scripture and five from the end – do not tell me that the Spirit is not important.

So we should all agree that we need more teaching on this subject, but what kind of teaching? Too often we approach subjects from the false doctrine side of things. We start with “this is why they are wrong.” Therefore, we start the discussion in a negative light. I understand the need to refute false doctrines. However, the subject comes across in a more positive light when you start with what the Bible says as opposed to what it does not say (or how what it says has been distorted).

We need more teaching, from a positive stand point, without the word “ghost” messing up our picture of things – what else? One must always stay in the context! Too often we have allowed Thomas Nelson and gang (publishers of Bibles) to tell us whether we are reading about Spirit or spirit. When you read the term “spirit”, make sure you know the context. Sometimes this takes only a couple of lines, sometimes the whole chapter, sometimes three chapters (i.e. spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14).

There may be more reasons that we do not study the Holy Spirit (feel free to comment) but no reason is good enough to overlook an aspect/person/manifestation of deity. Before our congregation began this study, I was terrified. As soon as I jumped in, I lost my timidity and it has been one of the greatest things I have done in my Bible study as an adult. I have learned, grown, been challenged, been wrong, been corrected, and because of all of this I understand God better. I encourage you to open up the word and learn more about God’s Holy Spirit!

Review of “How We Decide”

How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer

First things first – I am no brain surgeon, nor am I well-read in the subject of neuro-science. But this book has certainly piqued my interest. Not only is the author a master story teller, he makes even the complicated science appear as simple as his stories. He relates the scientific experiments on a level that is easy to grasp and appreciate.

Mr. Lehrer made me want to learn to play poker and read more about the Yom Kippur War. He made me feel as though I were in the same war room and cockpit of his focal subjects. From sports to politics, Mr. Lehrer knows how to keep his audience tuned in. This is a must in a book with as much specific scientific information as this one.

Science can be a complicated and technical subject – he has made it as interesting and as simple as Bill Nye the Science Guy (only for adults). But more than just taking a deep, complicated subject and making it simple, he made it relevant. This is not just a book about brain chemicals that has no bearing on life. This book is about life and the decisions we make in it. Beyond its simplicity and excitement, the book is practical. In fact, Mr. Lehrer even takes the time to summarize his research into a concluding section on how to apply these things in our everyday decisions.

For those who are well-read in this area, I do not know how much this book will help you. But if you are someone who loves to learn new things and to get a glimpse into how your mind works, this book is a must-have. It will help you better understand yourself, your children, and those around you when it comes time to make decisions.

An absolutely fascinating read!