Research Guides: Exegesis and Hermeneutics: Guides to Commentaries

Commentary Guides

Old Testament Commentary Survey by Tremper Iii Longman
Call Number: BS1151.52 .L65 2013 and Ebook
ISBN: 9780801039911
Publication Date: 2013-04-15
provides students and pastors with expert guidance on choosing a commentary for any book of the Old Testament. It provides evaluative comments and lists a number of works available for each book of the Old Testament, gives a brief indication of their emphases and viewpoints, and evaluates them. The result is a balanced, sensible guide for those who preach and teach the Old Testament and need help in choosing the best tools.
New Testament Commentary Survey by D. A. Carson
Call Number: BS2341.2 .C37 2013 and Ebook
ISBN: 9780801039904
Publication Date: 2013-11-15
Provides students and pastors with expert guidance on choosing a commentary for any book of the New Testament. Carson examines sets, one-volume commentaries, and New Testament introductions and theologies, offering evaluative comments on the available offerings for each New Testament book. This is an essential guide to building a reference library.
Best Bible Books by John Glynn & Michael H. Burer, editors
Call Number: REF Z7770 .G594 2018
ISBN: 9780825443985
Publication Date: 2018-04-24
Reviews of the best New Testament commentaries and reference books for every purpose and library. The authors review and recommend hundreds of books. The book examines commentaries on every book of the New Testament, describing their approach, format, and usability; then rank them on a scale of good, better, and best. Other chapters survey special studies for each New Testament book, books in disciplines such as historical background, language resources, and hermeneutics, building a personal library, and titles that comprise the ultimate New Testament commentary collection.
A Guide to Biblical Commentaries and Reference Works by John F. Evans
Call Number: Z7770 .E92 2016
ISBN: 9780310520962
Publication Date: 2016-05-03
A Guide to Biblical Commentaries and Reference Works, summarizes and briefly analyzes all recent and many older commentaries on each book of the Bible, giving comments on the approach of each commentary and its interpretive usefulness especially for evangelical interpreters of the Bible. A Guide to Biblical Commentaries and Reference Works is essentially an annotated bibliography of hundreds of commentators.
Commentary and Reference Survey by Darrell L. Bock (Foreword by); John J. Glynn; John Glynn
Call Number: Z7770 .G59 2007
ISBN: 9780825427374
Publication Date: 2007-02-15
This guide lists and ranks approximately 900 commentaries and 1,600 other biblical resources for the benefit of professors, Bible students, and pastors. Two new chapters on exegetical software round out this comprehensive guide.

Should You Use the Best Commentaries website?

You may be familiar with the bestcommentaries.com website. This site has both good and bad points that you might want to consider before using it.

PROs

1. Freely available on the web.

2. A variety of commentaries are listed there.

CONs

1. There are no qualifications for posting on the site--anyone can write anything.

2. There is no sense of "peer review" of the content.

3. Every review is the opinion of the poster.

4. The site is simply a collection of opinions by a widely diverse group of individuals, who may lack theological training.

These negative factors likely outweigh the positive factors but the decision is up to you. Any resources that you use should still be guided by general principles for evaluating possible resources.

Library

Exegesis and Hermeneutics: Guides to Commentaries

Using Commentaries

Commentary Guides

Should You Use the Best Commentaries website?