On Buying Commentaries

Having been a pastor for over seven years now (a brief time in the larger scheme of things), I’ve had to buy quite a few commentaries.  As some of you may know, it’s not overly easy to select commentaries when you’re beginning to study a book of the Bible.  Commentaries are quite expensive and there…

Psalms: Crucial Texts For Theology

  Over the last few years, I've come to appreciate James L. Mays’ commentary on the Psalms.  Here’s an instructive paragraph from the introduction of this commentary: “Because of their character and content, the psalms have always played a special role in reflection and thought on the Christian faith.  The Book of Psalms is composed…

The Prologue of Mark’s Gospel

I found Eugene Boring’s description of Mark’s prologue (1:1-14) quite helpful.  Here’s what he wrote: “The function of the prologue is to set the stage for the (post-Easter) audience, so that they may see and hear the body of the narrative in the perspective intended by the author, a frame of reference the (pre-Easter) characters…

Lesslie Newbigin on the Gospel of John

In case some of you are unaware of it, I want to point out Lesslie Newbigin's exposition of the fourth Gospel: The Light Has Come.  It isn't a critical-exegetical commentary, so it won't replace those on your shelves.  However, Newbigin does interact with the story of John quite well and draws out some threads and…

Telling the Truth

 I've really enjoyed Patrick Miller's commentary on the Ten Commandments in the Interpretation commentary series (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).  This is a 400+ page commentary that includes an extensive Scripture index, topical index, and bibliography.  For each commandment, Miller examines the historical context, parallel themes in the Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament implications as well. …