How to Use Biblical Commentaries - Fortress Press

1 How to Use Biblical Commentaries The Bib le: An Int ro d uctio n by Jerry Sumney Comme ntaries groupe d by le ve l of access ibility Even before tur ning to commentar ies, you may want to read the entry on t he biblica l book you are studying in a bible D ict ionary. As it is in a ll k inds of ma te r ia ls , s o me B ib le d ic t io na r ie s a r e better than ot hers. Many popular bible dictionaries fail to take the scholarship of the last one hundred years int o account. Among the few bible dict ionar ies that are good, the follow ing stand out : T he Harper/Collins bible Dictionary and the Mercer bible Dictionary are good one-volume B ib le d ic t io na r ie s . Although it is a bit older , the most recent edit ion of Eerdmans Dictionary of the bible can be useful. The best multiple volume bible dictionaries are The New Interpreter s Dictionary of the bible (which I prefer) and the Anchor bible Dictionary.

2 Other dict ionar ies that focus on spec if ic parts of the B ible can als o be useful (for example, t he Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels). One way to judge the value of a bible dictionary is to see if the entries are signed. At the end of each entry, you will f ind the init ia ls of t he person who wrote that piece. You can then look t hem up in t he front of t he book t o see who they are and where they teach or what they do. This infor mat ion he lps you eva luate what the person says in the ir entr y; it he lps you know whether they are really experts in t he subject they are telling you about in t he entry. If a bible dict ionary does not ide nt ify t he authors of entr ies in this way, it usua lly means the entr ies are not written by experts on the t opic , but rather by someone perha ps on an edit or ia l staff who may or may not be qua lif ie d to speak about t he subject. These are not good s ources.

3 Always use bible dictionaries that ident if y who wrote each entry. There are many comme ntary series that do not appear in the follow ing list. Some of these may be very good, others less va lua ble. The list t hat follows inc ludes series that are found fa ir ly w ide ly. The series that are listed here engage in critical readings of the Biblical texts, that is readings that employ the kinds of analyt ica l tools that scholars use. To do exeges is (gett ing t o the meaning t he or igina l audience would have understood) you should use comme ntar ies that focus on what t he biblica l books meant in t he ir or igina l sett ing, rather us ing commentar ies that give pr imary attention t o what a text tells pe ople to do t oday. It is importa nt to understand the text in its or igina l context before making any conte mporary use of it. As you begin study of a passage (sometimes called a pericope), you should begin w it h the more accessible Commentaries and move to the more technical.

4 The more accessible Commentaries will introduce you to t he quest ions , issues, and problems involved wit h understanding a partic ular text. But they w ill usua lly simply give you the conclus ions the author of that part icular comme ntary on that issue. As you move to more detailed Commentaries , these will give arguments for the pos it ion the aut hor takes on an issue. The more detailed and technical a comme ntary is, t he more it w ill be engaged w ith t he disputes about t he meanings of spec if ic things in your passage. They might engage in a long discuss ion of the meaning of a word in f irst century Greek or about whether the categories Paul uses to discuss an issue are from philosophers or from rabbis. Or they might discuss what ideas anot her author is re jecting. The less technical Commentaries will assume answers to these questions without letting you know why they chose that opt ion; they may not even hint that t here is a quest ion about the matter.

5 So , the more accessible Commentaries are the place to begin, but you will need to move to more detailed commentar ies to engage a text in more dept h and deta il. Very accessible and brie f Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (most of these are over twenty years old) We s tm ins te r B ib le C o mpa n io n Accessible but more le ngthy Abingdon New Testament Commentaries Abingdon O ld Testament C ommentar ies Interpretation New Cambridge bible Commentary Reading the New Testament The New Testament in Context New International Biblical Commentary (many, but not all, these are from fairly conservative writers) M ore le ngthy and de manding, but s till access ible to many re ade rs New Interpreter s bible New Testament Library Old Testament Library Sacra Pagina B e r it O la m M ore de manding, in the se nse that the y are longe r and expe ct the re ade r to know more be fore beginning to use the m Anchor B ible Commentary Word B ible Commentary New International Commentary on the New Testament New International Commentary on the Old Testament The following e xpect you to know Greek or He bre w and to be re ady to e nte r the conve rs ation about iss ues at the le vel of s cholars.

6 While you w ill not be an expert, you may be able to f ollow t he argume nts (at least some of t hem) in t hese commentar ies after you ha ve worked thr ough t he less deta iled and technical comme ntar ies above. International Critical Commentary New International Greek Testament Commentary Hermeneia Se lect Comme ntaries and Additional B ibliography for F urt he r Study Genesis Terence Fretheim, Genesis, in New Interpreter s bible , Vol 1:319-426, ed. L. E. Keck (Nashville : A bingdon, 1994). Gerhard von Rad, Genesis, Old Testament Library (Philade lphia : Westminster, 1972). Westermann? 3 volumes but by Augsbur g Exodus Walter Brueggemann, T he Book of Exodus, New Interpreter s bible , V ol 1 : 67 7-981, ed. L. E. Keck (Nashville : Abingdon, 1994). Brevard Childs , The Book of Exodus, Old Testament Library (Philadelphia, Westminister, 1974). Carol Me yers, Exodus, New Cambr idge B ible Commentary (Cambr idge : Cambr idge University P ress, 2005).

7 Levit icus Richard N. Boyce, Leviticus and Numbers, Westminster B ible C ompanion (Louisville : Westminster, 2008) Erhard Gerstenberger, Leviticus, O ld Testament L ibrary (P hilade lphia : Westminster, 1996). Baruch Levine, Leviticus, Jewish P ublicat ion Soc iet y Torah Commentary (P hildelphia : Jew ish P ublication S oc iety, 1989) Numbers Thomas B. Dozeman, T he Book of Numbers , in New Interpreter s bible , V ol 2 :1-268, ed. L. E. Keck (Nashville: Abingdon, 1998). Katharine Doob Sake nfeld, Journeying with God: A Commentary on the Book of Numbers, Internat iona l Theologica l Commentary ( Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 1995). Deuteronomy Rona ld C le ments, T he Book of Deuteronomy, in New Interpreter s bible , Vol 2:269-538, ed. L. E. Keck (Nashville : Abingdon, 1998). Patrick D. Miller , Deuteronomy, Interpretation (L ouis ville : Westminster John Knox, 1990). Richard Ne lson, Deuteronomy, Old Testament Library (Louisv ille : We s t m ins te r , 2 00 2).

8 Joshua Robert Coote, Joshua, in New Interpreter s bible , V ol 2 :5 55-716, ed. L. E. Keck (Nashville : Abingdon, 1998). Richard Ne lson, Joshua, Old Testament L ibrary (Louisville : West minster , 1997). John J. Collins , Does the bible Justify Violence? (Minneapolis : F ortress P ress, 2004). Carolyn P ressler, Joshua, judges , and ruth , Westminster B ible Companion) ( L ou is v ille : Westminster , 2002). judges Alberto Soggin, judges , Old Testament Library (Philade lphia : Westminster, 1981). Victor Matthews, judges and ruth , New Cambridge bible Commentary (Cambr idge : Cambr idge Univers ity P ress, 2004). Susan N iditc h, judges : A Commentary, Old Testament Library (Louisville : Westminster , 2008). Carolyn P ressler, Joshua, judges , and ruth , Westminster B ible Companion) ( L ou is v ille : Westminster , 2002). ruth Victor Matthews, judges and ruth , New Cambridge bible Commentary (Cambr idge : Cambr idge Univers ity P ress, 2004).

9 K ir s te n N ie ls e n, ruth , O ld Testament Librar y. Louis ville : Westminster,1997. Carolyn P ressler, Joshua, judges , and ruth , Westminster B ible Companion. Lo u is v ille : Westminster , 2002). 1 & 2 Samue l Bruce Birch, 1 and 2 Sa mue l, in New Interpreter s bible , Vol 2:949-1383, ed. L. E. Keck (Nashville : A bingdon, 1998). Walter Brueggemann, First and Second Samuel, Interpretation ( Lo u is v ille : We s t m ins te r J o hn Knox, 1990). 1 & 2 Kings Walter Brueggemann,1 & 2 Kings: A Commentary, Smyth & Helwys B ible Commentary (Macon, GA , 2000). Mordecha i Cogan and Hayim Tadmor , I Kings; A New Translation with Introducti on and Commentary, Anchor bible (New Haven, Yale Univers it y P ress, 2001) Mordecha i Cogan and Hayim Tadmor , II Kings; A New Translation with Introducti on and Commentary, Anchor bible (New Haven, Yale Univers it y P ress, 1988) Terence Fretheim, First and Second Kings, Westminster bible Companion (Louis ville : Westminster John Knox, 2005) Richard D.

10 Nels on, First and Second Kings, Interpretation, (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1987). C. L. Seow, The First and Second Books of K ings, in New Interpreter s bible , V ol 3 :1-296, ed. L. E. Keck (Nashville : Abingdon, 1999). 1 & 2 Chronic les Leslie Alle n, T he First and Second Books of Chr onic les , in New Interpreter s bible , Vol 3:299-659, ed. L. E. Keck (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999). Sara Japhet, I and II Chronic les, O ld Testament L ibrary (Louisville : Westminster, 1993). Steven L. McKenzie, 1-2 Chronicles, Abingdon O ld Testament Comme ntaries (Nashville : Abingdon, 2004) Ezra Pe te r R. Ack ro yd, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah; introduction and commentary, To rch B ible Comme ntaries (London: SCM , 1973). Joseph B lenkinsopp, Ezra-Nehemiah, Old Testament Library (Louisville : Westminster, 1988). Coggins, The books of Ezra and Nehemiah, Cambridge B ible Comme ntary (Camb ridge : Camb ridge Unive rs ity Press , 1976).