Which WBC volumes do you recommend?
This month (Sep ’15) we can buy individual volumes of the Word Biblical Commentary series @ $9.99. For anyone who doesn’t want/need the whole set, this is a great opportunity to pick out the best of the set. So, can those of us who use WBC help others decide which ones to get?
Personally, this is one of the go-to sets for me, especially in the Old Testament. The layout (translation, form/setting, commentary, and explanation for each pericope) doesn’t suit everyone, though I like it: it's quick to find what I’m after.
Here are the OT volumes I’ve received most from:
- 1 & 2: Genesis, by Wenham
- 3: Exodus, by Durham
- 16: Ezra/Nehemiah, by Williamson
- 19-21: Psalms, by Craigie, Leslie, and Tate
- 17-18: Job, by Clines
- 30: Daniel, by Goldingay
NT:
- 38: Romans, by Dunn
- 41: Galatians, by Longenecker
- 44: Colossians/Philemon, by O’Brien
- 47: Hebrews, by Lane
- 50: Jude/2 Peter, by Bauckham
(Butler’s Joshua and Judges are probably very good too, but I’ve only just got these so am not in a position to comment.)
I’m sure those who don’t have the set would appreciate other opinions too.
Comments
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It might be interesting to review the rankings on Best Commentaries. Seems there are quite a number in the series ranked in the top 3 with seventeen #1's as I count them.
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Doug Stuart's Hosea-Jonah volume is really good. I've also made heavy use of the two Mark volumes.
Abram K-J: Pastor, Writer, Freelance Editor
Blog: Words on the Word0 -
Thanks for starting this thread. I'm not on the forums much, but specifically came to find recommendations on the volumes of the WBC series. Even at $10 a volume, don't know if I can afford more than a few at this point.
I'm considering:
Genesis, Ezra/Nehemiah, Daniel, Galatians, Colossians/Philemon, 1&2 Thess, Pastorals
Maybe Hebrews too, but I have a Bruce's NICNT volume, so I have at least one top rated commentary on that book. I have Moo's NICNT Romans, but think Dunn's would be great.
I mention that because at this point I'm mainly looking to getting at least one good commentary on each book of the Bible. Wish I could get the top 3-5 rated. I have Bronze (includes Socio-Rhetorical, Lange's, etc) plus the older Expositor's series, some devotional sets (Wright and Boice). I usually add some individual titles when I can get good bargains with March Madness, but don't have anything from WBC.
Will I regret not getting everything I'm interested in at $10 each?! I could buy everything I mentioned for less than 3 volumes at the regular price!
Thanks for the recommendations, hopefully more people will join in this thread in the next couple weeks.
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Based on Bestcommentaries.com and Ligonier.org I have the following in my cart and ready to order in a week or so.
OT:
- Genesis 1-15, 16-50
- Leviticus
- Joshua
- Ruth,Esther
- 1,2 Chronicles
- Ezra, Nehemiah
- Job 1-20, 21-37, 38-42
- Daniel
- Hosea-Jonah
- Song of Songs/Lamentations
NT:
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Colossians, Philemon
- Pastoral Epistles
- 1, 2 Thessalonians
- Hebrews 1-8, 9-13
- Jude, 2 Peter
- 1 Peter (this one I as a little more iffy about, but for $10 I think it's worth it)
I think these will round out my commentary sets. I have NIVAC, NIGTC, NICOT/NICNT, NAC, PNTC, and TOTC/TNTC. The only volumes I have my eye on after this are the 2 volume Luke commentaries from BECNT.
I'm just an average person trying to take a serious look at Bible study. I understand the layout for WBC has a strong love/hate relationship, but I've also read that for academic study it's pretty useful. I'm getting the books in the set specifically for academic study, so I think with that expectation I shouldn't be disappointed.
I'm curious if anyone would consider other volumes "must-haves" or recommend against getting any volumes I've listed.
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Looks pretty good to me, Michael. Perhaps consider adding Exodus and Ecclesiastes.
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Michael,
You have picked most of the best ones. If your library is like mine, it is NT heavy. I actually use WBC a lot when in the OT. I have the entire set, but if I did not, would compare the bestcommentaries.com list and consider OT commentaries that are in the top 4, unless you are covered with the NICOT as the top commentary.
Whatever you decide, enjoy them.
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Please can someone comment if the new two-volume Joshua and 2 Corinthians new edition are worth buying at the sales price.
I do intend to buy the two volumes: Judges and the 3rd volume of Job when the current confusion is cleared.
I could add the Joshua and Corinthians volumes if they are considered to be worth the price.
Thanks for your help
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Alexxy Olu said:
Please can someone comment if the new two-volume Joshua
I have not used the new edition. Here are some observations:
1st edition: 1982, 284 pages plus 15 pages of Introduction.
2nd edition: 2014, 883 pages, of which 151 are Introduction.
Dr. Butler's original work was considered controversial among evangelicals when first released. He has gone into greater detail in the new work to explain his point of view and the evidence he followed in the original volume. He has also greatly enlarged the commentary proper. My suggestion is that the new edition may be much more helpful than the original which is why I purchased it.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
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John Fidel said:
Michael,
You have picked most of the best ones. If your library is like mine, it is NT heavy. I actually use WBC a lot when in the OT. I have the entire set, but if I did not, would compare the bestcommentaries.com list and consider OT commentaries that are in the top 4, unless you are covered with the NICOT as the top commentary.
Whatever you decide, enjoy them.
Thanks for your input. Between NAC, NICOT, and TOTC I have pretty good coverage if I only get the OT volumes from the WBC that I listed. My goal has been to get the top 3-5 commentaries for each book. Getting the WBC volumes listed will achieve that goal. Obtaining all of the WBC set is not important to me. I will consider my library more than sufficient for years of study. [:D]
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I'd add that Philippians (Hawthorne) is worth it as well. If you own Moises Silva's work, he really goes after Hawthorne (WBC). It's good for comparison.
I like Apples. Especially Honeycrisp.
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- I have three additional volumes which are beaten by other series though but for which I find occasional use. My recommendations are:
- The new Joshua -volumes are the best for Joshua but I don't think it's a necessity to study it. Since no works yet reference the new volumes I have the old volume as well (although in print), as it is in fact cited here and there in my library. So not a must-buy unless You'll find an effective way of using them.
- Ralph W. Klein (2009). 1 Samuel. Unfortunately Old Testament Library by A. Graeme Auld (2011) cites the 1st Edition. And since Klein cites Journal of Biblical Literature and Biblical Archaeology Review I chose it on the Accordance platform as BAR is available only there.
- Roddy L. Braun (1986). 1 Chronicles. I have it as printed matter. I go to it first, but because of its age I then go to Hermeneia (which I have in Accordance, it cites BAR btw).
- H. G. M. Williamson (1985). Ezra/Nehemiah. I have the Sheffield / T&T Clark Old Testament Guides volume as well (the entire set, including the volume on 1 Pt which is not (yet?) in Logos/Verbum). This is a good author. Another work that I have on these books is the UBS (Translator's) Handbook. It's nice to have this combination of works.
- Keown, Scalise, Smothers (1995). Jeremiah 26-52. I know it's not generally recommended but it works for the end of Jeremiah, as I don't want to put too much money into a commentary on the end of Jeremiah nor would necessarily read a more serious commentary for the last chapters of Jeremiah such as AYBC by Jack Lundbom. But I do have the first two volumes of Lundbom's commentary since those are the only volumes of the three by him which have been on a sale somewhat recently. Jeremiah is the very favourite book of mine to research, I just limit my research when it comes to the last chapters.
- I have Douglas Stuart (1987). Hosea- Jonah, but if I would write a paper or author a book and need to cite, I would put it in footnotes as I won't be progressing to that level soon and by then it'll be considered by the seniour lecturers and professors to be bordering to dated. So I wouldn't recommend it as the only commentary in the long run, for example the new Amos volume in the Hermeneia -series is far superiour any other commentary volume.
- John Nolland (1993). Luke 9:21-18:34 and 18:35-24:53, especially the latter volume.
- Ralph P. Martin (2014). 2 Corinthians. Maybe not as Your only commentary on 2 Cor 1-7 though!
- Richard J. Bauckham (1983). 2 Peter and Jude. A classic cited by or in the bibliography of all works published after it.
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EDIT: I would choose Clinton E. Arnold (2011). Ephesians (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)., because of its particular approach to dealing with words. With Lincoln You'd have to put a bit more energy into spotting where the nuances are important:
Michael said:NT:
- Ephesians
[...]
I'm curious if anyone would consider other volumes "must-haves" or recommend against getting any volumes I've listed.
Disclosure!
trulyergonomic.com
48G AMD octacore V9.2 Acc 120 -
Mark Smith said:Alexxy Olu said:
Please can someone comment if the new two-volume Joshua
I have not used the new edition. Here are some observations:
1st edition: 1982, 284 pages plus 15 pages of Introduction.
2nd edition: 2014, 883 pages, of which 151 are Introduction.
Dr. Butler's original work was considered controversial among evangelicals when first released. He has gone into greater detail in the new work to explain his point of view and the evidence he followed in the original volume. He has also greatly enlarged the commentary proper. My suggestion is that the new edition may be much more helpful than the original which is why I purchased it.
Thanks Mark for your timely and helpful information. I will now go ahead to get the additional volumes.
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I would recommend getting Lane on Hebrews, which is top-notch. I use that along with Bruce, and the two have different strengths
Johann said:Thanks for starting this thread. I'm not on the forums much, but specifically came to find recommendations on the volumes of the WBC series. Even at $10 a volume, don't know if I can afford more than a few at this point.
I'm considering:
Genesis, Ezra/Nehemiah, Daniel, Galatians, Colossians/Philemon, 1&2 Thess, Pastorals
Maybe Hebrews too, but I have a Bruce's NICNT volume, so I have at least one top rated commentary on that book. I have Moo's NICNT Romans, but think Dunn's would be great.
I mention that because at this point I'm mainly looking to getting at least one good commentary on each book of the Bible. Wish I could get the top 3-5 rated. I have Bronze (includes Socio-Rhetorical, Lange's, etc) plus the older Expositor's series, some devotional sets (Wright and Boice). I usually add some individual titles when I can get good bargains with March Madness, but don't have anything from WBC.
Will I regret not getting everything I'm interested in at $10 each?! I could buy everything I mentioned for less than 3 volumes at the regular price!
Thanks for the recommendations, hopefully more people will join in this thread in the next couple weeks.
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I'm not sure I'd put too much weight on the ratings at the Best Commentaries site. The Hermeneia volume on Mark, for example, is ranked 18th. I'd probably rank it at the top, personally. That said, I don't think you'd go wrong with the WBC volumes (esp. at $10 a pop).
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If I were picking a few volumes (I tried to pick the top 10 in my mind but unfortunately ended up with a top 20 Admittedly I added the gospels not wanting to break them up, I have found them useful and if going to spend just $80 would grab those.. Genesis is just wonderful as is Job... The 3 Psalm volumes are again my personal desire not to break up a set, 1-50 is undoubtably the strongest but the other two volumes are nearly as good in my mind. Dunn's Romans is very insightful and Lane's Hebrews is a masterpiece. )...
Volume 1: Genesis 1–15
Volume 2: Genesis 16–50
Volume 17: Job 1–20
Volume 18A: Job 21–37
Volume 18B: Job 38–42
Volume 19: Psalms 1–50
Volume 20: Psalms 51–100
Volume 21: Psalms 101–150
Volume 33a: Matthew 1–13
Volume 33b: Matthew 14–28
Volume 34a: Mark 1–8:26
Volume 34b: Mark 8:27–16:20
Volume 35a: Luke 1:1–9:20
Volume 35b: Luke 9:21–18:34
Volume 35c: Luke 18:35–24:53
Volume 36: John (Second Edition)
Volume 38a: Romans 1–8
Volume 38b: Romans 9–16
Volume 47a: Hebrews 1–8
Volume 47b: Hebrews 9–13
-Dan
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Thanks for all the input and the OP for starting this thread. I ended up making my purchase tonight. I think I've rounded out my commentaries enough to last years and years. Or until Logos 7 comes out. [:D]
Volume 1: Genesis 1–15
Volume 2: Genesis 16–50
Volume 4: Leviticus
Volume 7A: Joshua 1–12 (Second Edition)
Volume 7b: Joshua 13–24 (Second Edition)
Volume 9: Ruth, Esther
Volume 14: 1 Chronicles
Volume 15: 2 Chronicles
Volume 16: Ezra, Nehemiah
Volume 17: Job 1–20
Volume 18A: Job 21–37
Volume 18B: Job 38–42
Volume 23b: Song of Songs/Lamentations
Volume 30: Daniel
Volume 31: Hosea–Jonah
Volume 40: 2 Corinthians (Second Edition)
Volume 41: Galatians
Volume 42: Ephesians
Volume 44: Colossians, Philemon
Volume 45: 1 & 2 Thessalonians
Volume 46: Pastoral Epistles
Volume 47a: Hebrews 1–8
Volume 47b: Hebrews 9–13
Volume 49: 1 Peter
Volume 50: Jude, 2 Peter
That's about all I afford for now. [:'(]
Now I'll wait patiently to see if the BECNT volumes on Luke will ever go on sale for a good price.
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Michael said:
Now I'll wait patiently to see if the BECNT volumes on Luke will ever go on sale for a good price.
Hopefully sooner rather than later, as those are core texts for my NT class this quarter. [8-|]
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Thanks for all the suggestions.
There is a significant amount of overlap among those recommendations, so hopefully that is informative for those who are looking at the WBC as good value this month.
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For Ephesians, I was disappointed by Lincoln. If you have Harold Hoehner, you're covered with that one commentary alone (That is not to say there are not other good commentaries, like BECNT, ICC and NICNT, but Hoehner is very exhaustive).
I am a little surprised no one has mentioned Aune on Revelation. Three volumes, but very detailed and very precise.
Using Logos as a pastor, seminary professor, and Tyndale author
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Most recommendations seem to follow the highest rankings commonly found on the internet elsewhere. I have all the ZECNT, NICNT and Pillar volumes. For the Old Testament I have most New American Commentaries. I don't read Greek or Hebrew, which is why I've tended to go for these series. Even the ZECNT series is OK for those that don't read Greek. I did get Mounce in the WBC series as Pillar and ZECNT don't have anything on the Pastorals yet. Given what I have and the fact I don't read the original languages, are there any 'must buy' recommendations that will be relatively easy to follow and better than anything I might already have.
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I do not read Greek or Hebrew either and usually I don't have any trouble following the WBC series. Now I might get a bit more out of it if I did but going just now to re read psalm 63 in the WBC I find the few times when I had needed to translate a word in Hebrew to follow along it was very simple to have logos open up a word study to give me a very quick full meaning of the word.
Dan
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Get Pastorals, Hebrews, 1 Peter, Revelation, Galatians, Matthew...wow and the rest of the series if you can afford it before the price doubles
DAL
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DAL said:
rest of the series if you can afford it before the price doubles
This has to be one of the stupidest thing Zondervan has ever done. It's current price meant it was roughly affordable for anyone who wanted it, and it is arguably the best critical Evangelical series out there (I know FL would argue ECC is the best but the volumes I have used seem a little light on the critical scholarship, not saying it isn't a fine series just WBC fits me better). WBC will still be an extremely important series come October 1, but I would bet sales will fall off a cliff.
-Dan
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The best part of the sale that I see, is the WBC at $9.99 per volume. That's a sale, considering that the average cost of the volumes in this series is $25 - ~$50.
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Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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I can swing getting 50-60% of the volumes in the series--maybe a little more--but going after the whole set is looking a little "iffy". I know a few people have kindly shared the volumes they would suggest getting, but I'll be able to purchase more volumes than have been recommend. So, since I can get more than the recommended volumes but probably won't be able to spring for the entire set, I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to share which volumes they would likely leave out if they couldn't get the entire set.
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Rick Ausdahl said:
... I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to share which volumes they would likely leave out if they couldn't get the entire set.
Hi Rick
Obviously you're going to skip over the old editions that have been replaced since 1998 (such as Butler's Joshua, Martin's 2 Cor, Craigie's Psa 1-50, and Watt's two Isaiah volumes).
Personally, I'm not keen on Christensen's 2 volumes on Deut. I think there are better commentaries on Deut (such as Chris Wright, UBCS series).
Some have recommended Aune's 2 volumes on Revelation. They are worth having for the perspective they bring, but I find he sometimes places too much emphasis on non-Jewish backgrounds, so I prefer someone like Beale (NIGTC series).
It also depends on what other commentaries you already have. When I sort my library by the "Most Used" column, I notice that I use WBC much less for the NT than the OT. That reflects the fact that I have a number of good NT commentaries too so WBC isn't as obvious as a go-to in the NT for me. In other words, one of the great things about this sale is that you can buy to fill the gaps in your current library.
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Allen, thank you much for your reply. I appreciate your comments.Allen Browne said:Rick Ausdahl said:... I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to share which volumes they would likely leave out if they couldn't get the entire set.
Hi Rick
Obviously you're going to skip over the old editions that have been replaced since 1998 (such as Butler's Joshua, Martin's 2 Cor, Craigie's Psa 1-50, and Watt's two Isaiah volumes).
Personally, I'm not keen on Christensen's 2 volumes on Deut. I think there are better commentaries on Deut (such as Chris Wright, UBCS series).
Some have recommended Aune's 2 volumes on Revelation. They are worth having for the perspective they bring, but I find he sometimes places too much emphasis on non-Jewish backgrounds, so I prefer someone like Beale (NIGTC series).
It also depends on what other commentaries you already have. When I sort my library by the "Most Used" column, I notice that I use WBC much less for the NT than the OT. That reflects the fact that I have a number of good NT commentaries too so WBC isn't as obvious as a go-to in the NT for me. In other words, one of the great things about this sale is that you can buy to fill the gaps in your current library.
Just in case others are wondering about my current commentary resource, I've provided a list of them (in alphabetical order) at the end of this post. The WBC volumes I'm currently looking at are listed immediately below.
WBC Volumes I'm Currently checking out
Vol 1: Gen 1-15
Vol 2: Gen 16-50
Vol 4: Lev
Vol 7a: Josh 1-12 (2nd ed.)
Vol 7b: Josh 13-24 (2nd ed.)
Vol 9: Ruth, Esther
Vol 14: 1 Chron
Vol 15: 2 Chron
Vol 16: Ezra, Nehemiah
Vol 17: Job 1-20
Vol 18a: Job 21-37
Vol 18b: Job 38-42
Vol 19: Psalms 1-50 (Rev. ed.)
Vol 23b: Song of Songs/Lamentations
Vol 28: Ezekiel 1-19
Vol 29: Ezekiel 20-48
Vol 30: Daniel
Vol 31: Hosea-Jonah
Vol 41: Gal
Vol 42: Eph
Vol 44: Col, Phil
Vol 45: 1 & 2 Thess
Vol 46: Pastoral Epistles
Vol 47a: Heb 1-8
Vol 47b: Heb 9-13
Vol 50: Jude, 2nd PeterCurrent Commentary sets I own (in Alphabetical Order)
A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition
Black's NT Commentary
Calvin's Commentaries
College Press NIV Commentary
Early Church Fathers
Exegetical Summaries
Holman NT Commentary
Horae Homileticae
Lange's Commentary
Lenski's Commentary on the NT
New American Commentary
New International Greek Testament Commentary
NIV Application Commentary
Opening Up Commentary
Pillar NT Commentary
Randall House Bible Commentary
Socio-Rhetorical Commentary Series
United Bible Societies' Handbooks
Wiersbe's "Be" Series0 -
Rick Ausdahl said:
Just in case others are wondering about my current commentary resource, I've provided a list of them (in alphabetical order) at the end of this post.
Yes, you have quite a few good quality sets that cover the NT (NIGTC, Pillar, Socio-Rhetorical, etc), so it makes sense to focus on the OT in this purchase.
I'm currently working through Exodus, and I'm going to Durham constantly.
You might want to add the other 2 volumes on the Psalms (unless you have others here).
It's interesting that you chose Chronicles over Samuel & Kings. IME, Samuel and Kings provide much more detail of the united and divided kingdom, whereas Chronicles provides more insight into how 2nd-temple Jews remembered their story.
Hope you're enjoying the UBS handbooks. I don't often see them discussed here, so they are possibly an underused resource. I often refer to them when I'm wondering about the meaning of a phrase (esp in the OT), as they really do help me translate not just words but concepts.
HTH.
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It's funny... I've been contemplating all of the volumes you mentioned. To be honest, most (though not all) of the WBC volumes listed in my previous post were selected based on the rankings in Best Commentaries, and it was based on those rankings that I initially opted for Chronicles over Samuel & Kings, even though I felt less interested in Chronicles. The same goes for Leviticus--I was actually more interested in Exodus, but went with Leviticus because of the rankings.Allen Browne said:Rick Ausdahl said:Just in case others are wondering about my current commentary resource, I've provided a list of them (in alphabetical order) at the end of this post.
Yes, you have quite a few good quality sets that cover the NT (NIGTC, Pillar, Socio-Rhetorical, etc), so it makes sense to focus on the OT in this purchase.
I'm currently working through Exodus, and I'm going to Durham constantly.
You might want to add the other 2 volumes on the Psalms (unless you have others here).
It's interesting that you chose Chronicles over Samuel & Kings. IME, Samuel and Kings provide much more detail of the united and divided kingdom, whereas Chronicles provides more insight into how 2nd-temple Jews remembered their story.
Hope you're enjoying the UBS handbooks. I don't often see them discussed here, so they are possibly an underused resource. I often refer to them when I'm wondering about the meaning of a phrase (esp in the OT), as they really do help me translate not just words but concepts.
HTH.
At such a good sale price, it's hard to discipline myself and not just go for the whole set, but I am trying to develop more of a pick-and-choose mentality than going for whole sets just so I have the comfort/pleasure of having whole sets. But even when trying to be more selective, in a case like the WBC sale, I'll still be getting more volumes than I can evaluate well within a 30 day period, hence the request for feedback from people who already have experience with the set.
Regarding the UBS handbooks, I have to confess I haven't had the opportunity to delve into them yet, though I have heard some good things said about them. Up to this point, I've been in a library "building" mode, expecting that within 2-3 years, I'll have considerably more free time which will allow me to reap the benefits of what I hope will be a fairly decent library for a retired lay-person.
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UBS is extremely useful, especially if you work cross-culturally/cross-linguistically. I never leave it out of a serious study.
For WBC, I won't get the duplicates/updates, but will fill in a couple gaps: Judges and Job 38-42 I have to ask my wife first.
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If You want to buy a little less right now, a hint is that bestcommentaries.com is generally a bit discriminative against the newest commentaries. In Your situation I would get the Hermeneia -volume on 2 Chron (I got in Verbum on pre-pub and since a year have it in Accordance as well), and wait for the newer forthcoming Edition of Word Biblical Commentary on Jude and 2 Peter by Richard Bauckham http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jude-2-Peter-Word-Biblical-Commentary/dp/0310521696/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442046145&sr=1-1&keywords=richard+bauckham+jude+peter:
Rick Ausdahl said:WBC Volumes I'm Currently checking out
Vol 15: 2 Chron
Vol 50: Jude, 2nd PeterDisclosure!
trulyergonomic.com
48G AMD octacore V9.2 Acc 120 -
I just want to say thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread/topic. Between the suggestions here, the rankings on Best Commentaries, and reading through other reviews, I was able to select many volumes that I believe will be a nice compliment to the other commentaries in my library.
I also want to say thanks to Thomas Nelson/Zondervan and Faithlife for the WBC sale pricing.
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Rick Ausdahl said:
I just want to say thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread/topic. Between the suggestions here, the rankings on Best Commentaries, and reading through other reviews, I was able to select many volumes that I believe will be a nice compliment to the other commentaries in my library.
I also want to say thanks to Thomas Nelson/Zondervan and Faithlife for the WBC sale pricing.
I want to echo Rick. Thanks everyone. Originally thinking I would get a few volumes, I ended up with a dozen.
First the NIVAC for $7.99, now this... Thanks Zondervan. I hope sales like this are successful enough to encourage more sales like this from you and other publishers! Would love to see similar single volume commentary sales from, say, Eerdmans or IVP.
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I like what Dunn has done with Romans, it is -- in my view -- a more intelligent commentary than the many out there that simply regurgitate their confessional commitments with elaborate arguments to justify them. I liked the way Dunn linked Romans 9-11 to chapter 8. Just recently I read him on 3:10-20 (the catena of OT quotations) and although it did not answer all my questions, at least he provided an interesting discussion on it (how Paul applies psalms that refer to the fool or the wicked more generally as an indictment of Jewish sinfulness alongside that of Gentiles).
I would also recommend Genesis, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Although Revelation is rated high (#4) I found it to be too all over the place and not as useful as say, Osborne (BECNT).
Here is a link to the series on bestcommentaries.com:
http://bestcommentaries.com/series/word-biblical-commentary-wbc/
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Johann said:First the NIVAC for $7.99, now this... Thanks Zondervan. I hope sales like this are successful enough to encourage more sales like this from you and other publishers! Would love to see similar single volume commentary sales from, say, Eerdmans or IVP.
[Y]
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Francis, I've drifted back and forth regarding Dunn's commentary on Romans, mainly because I was concerned that it would be all about his "New Perspectives", which based on things I've heard from Carson and others, I don't think I would agree with. But since you're familiar with this resource, can you tell me if his new perspectives view permeates the entire commentary and to what extent?Francis said:I like what Dunn has done with Romans, it is -- in my view -- a more intelligent commentary than the many out there that simply regurgitate their confessional commitments with elaborate arguments to justify them. I liked the way Dunn linked Romans 9-11 to chapter 8. Just recently I read him on 3:10-20 (the catena of OT quotations) and although it did not answer all my questions, at least he provided an interesting discussion on it (how Paul applies psalms that refer to the fool or the wicked more generally as an indictment of Jewish sinfulness alongside that of Gentiles).
I would also recommend Genesis, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Although Revelation is rated high (#4) I found it to be too all over the place and not as useful as say, Osborne (BECNT).
Here is a link to the series on bestcommentaries.com:
http://bestcommentaries.com/series/word-biblical-commentary-wbc/
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Johann said:First the NIVAC for $7.99, now this... Thanks Zondervan. I hope sales like this are successful enough to encourage more sales like this from you and other publishers! Would love to see similar single volume commentary sales from, say, Eerdmans or IVP.
Thank you!
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For me:
OT:
- 1 & 2: Genesis, by Wenham
- Exodus, by Durham
- Ezra/Nehemiah, by Williamson
- Hosea-Jonah
- Daniel, by Goldingay
NT:
- Pastoral Epistles
- Galatians, by Longenecker
- Colossians/Philemon, by O’Brien
- Hebrews, by Lane
- Jude/2 Peter, by Bauckham
Dell, studio XPS 7100, Ram 8GB, 64 - bit Operating System, AMD Phenom(mt) IIX6 1055T Processor 2.80 GHZ
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Rick Ausdahl said:
since you're familiar with this resource, can you tell me if his new perspectives view permeates the entire commentary and to what extent?
I don't know. For my part, I am not afraid of the new perspective, so I did not read it with your question in mind. I do think that Dunn's commentary is a very good resource that should not threaten the faith of an Evangelical. I don't mean "might not," but "should not" if what one only cares about finding out is what the Word of God says and not predetermine what it must say. I will keep my answer at that knowing that we are not supposed to diverge in theological issues here. You may just have to take a peek for yourself.
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Thanks, Francis. I wasn't actually concerned about it from a faith/risk perspective--I feel pretty well grounded and not easily set to worry or concern by what any author/theologian might present. But it's my understanding that Dunn thinks most everyone since the reformation has mis-understood Paul's main point in Romans (and hence his theology). I haven't heard anyone even suggest there was anything heretical in Dunn's NPP--only that they thought he (Dunn) had it wrong and that even he seems to have back-peddled a little from things he use to say/teach. I wasn't sure I'd have time to go through the resource to evaluated it in the 30-day return window--that's the only reason I had waffled.Francis said:[I do think that Dunn's commentary is a very good resource that should not threaten the faith of an Evangelical.
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No problem, Rick. This raises an interesting question: is it possible that most everyone since the Reformation got Paul wrong or is the Reformed tradition infallible? Did it not challenge dogmas and practices that were centuries old and held by most everyone beforehand? So why could not the same be done with regard to Reformed theology? I am not saying that you say it cannot. I am just saying that even if Dunn had offered this challenge, then how would it discount its value? On the contrary, I think that Dunn's moderate approach is as good as any if one wants to evaluate the merits of what he and others are saying about Paul's message. I believe that aside from that, it is simply also a quite good commentary that one will find useful with regard to individual passages.
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Yes... it's definitely possible. It's been quite a few years though since the NPP were raised by Sanders, then Wright and Dunn, yet after investigation and consideration by others such as Carson, Cranfield, and Moo, I'm under the impression that while the NPP initially stirred the waters quite a bit, it hasn't really taken hold. Again, that doesn't mean NPP is wrong, only that it doesn't seem to have become main-stream.Francis said:No problem, Rick. This raises an interesting question: is it possible that most everyone since the Reformation got Paul wrong or is the Reformed tradition infallible? Did it not challenge dogmas and practices that were centuries old and held by most everyone beforehand? So why could not the same be done with regard to Reformed theology? I am not saying that you say it cannot. I am just saying that even if Dunn had offered this challenge, then how would it discount its value? On the contrary, I think that Dunn's moderate approach is as good as any if one wants to evaluate the merits of what he and others are saying about Paul's message. I believe that aside from that, it is simply also a quite good commentary that one will find useful with regard to individual passages.
FWIW, I did purchase both of Dunn's WBC volumes on Romans and will try to evaluate them within my 30-day period. I have heard Dunn and others (I think including Wright) on TV on a couple of occasions and felt they presented themselves very well, so I expect I'll find some nuggets in Dunn's commentaries on Romans.
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Just a friendly reminder that this is the wrong forum for theological discussions.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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No offense or rule violation intended. Not trying to debate theological positions--just trying to get a handle on what an author's perspective might be as an aid in determining whether or not to purchase one of his works. Hopefully that's not a violation.SineNomine said:Just a friendly reminder that this is the wrong forum for theological discussions.
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Rick Ausdahl said:
No offense or rule violation intended.SineNomine said:Just a friendly reminder that this is the wrong forum for theological discussions.
I know. [:)] I just didn't want it to veer any further into theology or to become a debate. I was really tempted to give a straightforwardly theological reply and I wanted to make sure that neither I nor anyone else gave in to the temptation.
“The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara
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SineNomine said:Rick Ausdahl said:
No offense or rule violation intended.SineNomine said:Just a friendly reminder that this is the wrong forum for theological discussions.
I know.
I just didn't want it to veer any further into theology or to become a debate. I was really tempted to give a straightforwardly theological reply and I wanted to make sure that neither I nor anyone else gave in to the temptation.Don't forget about this site http://www.christiandiscourse.com/ .
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[A][6][A]SineNomine said:I was really tempted to give a straightforwardly theological reply and I wanted to make sure that neither I nor anyone else gave in to the temptation.
I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes, it's the hardest thing is to just [:#].
[A][6][A]
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Instead of WBC by James Ramsey Michaels, 1988, I would get the Anchor Yale Bible volume by John H. Elliott, 2000, despite the price difference. I have it (the NT set incl. the old Mt -volume by Albright) in Accordance, if it goes on a deep discount sale (40% off or better) I may duplicate it in Verbum. The WBC -volume is not worth the $10:
Michael said:- 1 Peter (this one I as a little more iffy about, but for $10 I think it's worth it)
[...]
I'm curious if anyone would consider other volumes "must-haves" or recommend against getting any volumes I've listed.
Michael said:Volume 49: 1 Peter
[...]
That's about all I afford for now.
Didn't You all get the free commentary in the Continental -series by Jacob Milgrom, 2004? - because that's the commentary I'd recommend instead!.Michael said:Volume 4: Leviticus
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