Commentaries may be the last thing you consult while preaching, but they are indispensable tools to good interpretation for a preacher. Commentaries abound, and free ones are readily had on the Internet. Unlike other Bible study tools, however, the best ones are still typically in book form rather than on-line. The ones on-line are often very old and feature out-of-date or unreliable scholarship (the ubiquitous devotional Matthew Henry’s Commentary, for example, dates from the eighteenth century, and is free on the Internet). Some software and Internet subscription services combine good scholarship with the ease of electronic form.
With all the commentaries available, it can be confusing to know which ones are really worth reading or buying. Not all commentaries are created equal and that every interpretation of a text not equally valid. Responsible scholars of the Bible are not solitary figures huddled over desks, but members of a lively and large community of women and men who argue with one another over the most adequate meanings, participate in intellectual movements and fashions; share their research with their peers; and try to discover, as best they can, the meaning of the biblical texts for the communities for which they were written and for people who read the same texts today.
Commentaries are written with particular readers in mind. Some are for those who are primarily interested in knowing the original meanings of the texts and expect the reader to be conversant with the original languages. Others spend more time discussing the interpretation of the text for preachers and church members and may not assume knowledge of the original texts. Commentaries also represent specific scholarly and ecclesial points of view. They may be historical-critical or literary in orientation; they may be written for Lutherans, Catholics, or Baptists. Check the back cover and the preface for the volume’s intent. My recommendations below are for commentaries that are based on good scholarship and are of ecumenical interest.
Regular preachers will want to have at least one one-volume commentary in their libraries for reference. They are especially helpful for providing overviews of the books of the Bible. However, they contain limited comments on individual passages and are usually confined to interpretation rather than analysis of the text. Most do not assume acquaintance with Hebrew or Greek.
Commentary Series
Commentary series are ambitious publishing projects involving many scholars, editors, and years of development. At their best, they represent a group effort of scholars who are motivated to bring to light the best scholarship made available for particular purposes. Some series are aimed at advanced students, some for preachers, and some for laity. The downsides of such series are their expense and the fact that their quality can be uneven across the volumes.
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