If you
are like me, you're probably adding resources to a base package as
interest/funds/bargains allow you to. Its particularly helpful when other
forum members share their experience with a resource that I don't own (yet!),
but has just gone on sale, or pre-pub, Logos' wonderful Community Pricing, or a 7 day
Newswire blowout. But... how do you REALLY know whether it suits your study
style, tastes, theology, etc.?
Apart
from inheriting a retired or deceased pastor's pulpwood library with the same
eclectic tastes as your own, or dropping in on a local seminary library to see
for yourself, there are few reliable sources. There is, however, at least
one website that ranks commentaries, and that I found here by accident while
reading one of the forums (I don't recall who posted it or I'd give credit): http://bestcommentaries.com
... surf over then click on the "Best" in the ribbon at the top, and
select "Top Commentaries by series". Very interesting data set
here, however it will take about 5 minutes for the database to populate the
webpage... hold on, your patience will be rewarded!
Nice,
at first glance, eh? For me, doing an apples to apples comparison of the
series as a whole became a tad confusing. So! I plugged all the
number into excel and made my own scoring system. Here's how I scored
them (yes, yes, YOU'd have scored it differently, but this may be helpful to
someone):
- I added
all the numbers together for how they were ranked in the OT section and again for NT. This became the base
score, and the higher the number the lower its score. Get it? If a
commentary scored 20th place for Genesis, its score is worse than one that scored a 1st place (1 being best, and 20 being worst, for example).
- Next,
if a book had no score or wasn't reviewed, I added 5 to its score (thus making
it worse overall as a series).
- I
weighted scores (thereby improving it's standing) by subtracting 5 if a book was scored as a Top commentary (first or second place), 3
if it was scored second - fifth place, and 1 if it was scored sixth place or lower.
The
final number gave me an overall ranking for the series, and here's what I came
up with in descending order for the NEW TESTAMENT:
- NICNT (8) <--I'll put the score in parentheses after the commentary series name
- WBC (31)
- PNTC and BECNT tied (74)
- NIVAC (83)
- TNTC (87)
- ICC (110)
- NAC (112)
- ANTC (115)
- NCB (129)
- EBC (166)
- NTL (168)
- HERM (172)
- NIBCNT (179)
- AB (192)
OLD TESTAMENT:
- NAC (29)
- NICOT (76)
- TOTC (77)
- WBC (80)
- NIVAC (129)
- BECOT (161)
- HERM (183)
- AB (194)
- ICC (216)
- AOTC and EBC tied at (237)
- NCB (241)
- NIBCOT (262)
- OTL (305)
There are lots of other ways to slice and dice the data (combined scores for OT and NT, completeness of the set, conservative vs. liberal, etc, etc,), and I'd take the top 5 or 10 and do a lot more investigation before I plunked my money down... nevertheless, I found it to be an interesting exercise and thought some of you might also.
