What's Your Preferred Study Method - One Commentary or Multiple Commentaries
One of the things I like about Logos is the ability to study a passage and reference multiple commentaries. I've owned Logos since the days of Libby and have purchased multiple commentary sets. When studying a passage, I set up the commentaries I prefer in a parallel set and scroll through them easily. That's the benefit.
However, because I have so many commentaries and cannot read them all, I often find myself starting a commentary passage in the middle of an author's thought and I feel like I am only catching the highlights. I've come across some excellent gems by reading portions multiple commentaries, but I wonder what it would be like to focus on one commentary.
Has anyone just read through one commentary in its entirety? If so, what was it like? Was it worth it? What are your thoughts?
(My purpose for asking this question is that I'm preparing to study Romans in 2025)
Thanks,
Ron
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I use commentaries strictly as reference works. Especially with the more technical commentaries, in which commentary is followed by notes that dive into the original language, I would think reading a commentary (at least some commentaries) would be a bit like reading an encyclopedia. But I'm sure there are some commentaries that could profitably be read straight through.
I recently read a wonderful book that I truly enjoyed reading straight through - whatever the Logos equivalent is of "cover to cover" - Douglas Moo's A Theology of Paul and His Letters. Moo has written commentaries on Romans, and Romans is dealt with significantly in this book, but it reads like a book.
I use commentaries as references in my scripture reading. I have my preferred commentaries all open in a set of tabs, all linked. If I want to learn more about a verse or verses, I start with The Expositor's Bible Commentary (Revised), and if I need more I look at the NICOT/NT, and if still more then the Word Biblical Commentary, and on to others from there - but always just looking up particular verses. But that's me.
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A few years ago, I decided to read cover to cover individual commentaries on all the books of the Bible. It is the most worthwhile thing I have done after completing my formal studies. It has enhanced my knowledge of the Bible far beyond where I was at before starting this project. Thanks to Logos's FBotM program, I have a wide selection of different commentaries to choose from when it comes to each book. Reading a volume from cover to cover really helped me to understand the differences between the major commentary series, what was useful to me and what was not. I highly recommend it if you have the time for it.
ETA: I went back and checked my log: it took me about 7 years to do this. I'm now about halfway through my second run through the NT.
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I am a layman and I have tried both ways. Currently doing one commentary from beginning to end, but sometimes checking details in a multi-commentary layout.
Unfortunately, It may happen that even excellent commentaries may begin to feel repetitive, for example Lenski.
Gold package, and original language material and ancient text material, SIL and UBS books, discourse Hebrew OT and Greek NT. PC with Windows 11
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I haven’t used Lenski in over a decade! I try to stick to the more current commentaries, but unless the theology is way different, most of them kind of say the same thing but reworded; especially on the practical texts like the beatitudes.
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It depends upon the commentary - some beg to be read straight through, others are structured to be dipped into for specific answers. I try to keep a reasonable balance between them.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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I have read through several of the more homiletical commentaries such as Wiersbe and the Chronological Life of Christ. I also have read several commentaries by William Barclay, not so much or the theology, but the historical background he provides.
I often just focus a Biblical books study using one or two more technical commentaries so I do digest significant portions of what the authors wrote.
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One.
One when I do this re just me. This way I feel + see progress.
3-4 when I go thru a Bible book via email with another guy. Some of these are 1 vol. commentaries, study Bibles.
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Can you post a screenshot of your layout?
Pastor, Mt. Leonard Baptist Church, SBC
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Agree with Jonathan. I always read thru the intro and the various perspectives the author is intending to pursue. Most often, when I get the volume, to see where it's going. But as to a passage groups or verse-by-verse, my observation is, depends on the author that day.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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Personally, I think the bible sheds a lot of "light" on commentaries. By that I mean, the bible is inspired by God, commentaries are inspired by men. Keeping that thought in mind, I look for commentaries that give insight into maybe a word or passage which I am studying in the bible. And in general, I normally wind up with 2 commentaries (which I call my gotos) that I use regularly.
I think, for the most part, that most commentaries were written from the point of view of the man writing them, and written with that man's point of view biased in his writings. That causes caution with me and commentaries.
xn = Christan man=man -- Acts 11:26 "....and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch".
Barney Fife is my hero! He only uses an abacus with 14 rows!
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Sure! This is a floating window in a three-window layout, but it's the one I described.
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I usually just dip into them because most commentators are mediocre writers. But there are some exceptions. I think that Schreiner would be doable to read straight through on Romans. Of course, there are lots of good devotional commentaries that would be like reading a sermon series.
Using Logos as a pastor, seminary professor, and Tyndale author
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I like the setup! Thank you!
Pastor, Mt. Leonard Baptist Church, SBC
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What about your thoughts that you jot down from reading the Bible? Isn't it just as "inspired by man" as the commentaries that are written by men? Why do you think your interpretation is more correct than what you see in the commentaries?
I bring this up because I have a guy in my Men's group who is so against commentaries (using similar arguments) and then he, who has no Hebrew or Greek training, go and writes a commentary on Psalm 51. He has to believe that God has inspired him more than the 100 other commentators on Psalm 51.
@xnman Don't respond to this because I don't want to derail this post. Just something for you to noodle over.
I believe in a Win-Win-Win God.
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Thanks for all the replies. Very helpful.
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Just saying, I didn't say I was against commentaries, in fact, I did say I use them. I was just pointing out the fact that commentaries are not inspired by God as the bible is. That's all. If you want to believe the commentaries are inspired by God as the bible is, that's up to you. I know some people do. Also, I don't think my "notes" about the bible are inspired, simply because when I go back through them, many times, I find myself correcting them. 😎
xn = Christan man=man -- Acts 11:26 "....and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch".
Barney Fife is my hero! He only uses an abacus with 14 rows!
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xn = Christan man=man -- Acts 11:26 "....and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch".
Barney Fife is my hero! He only uses an abacus with 14 rows!
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Since a few were posting their study layouts, I thought I would post the one I've prepared for Romans. I have my notes on the left, Bible and study bible in the center and commentaries on the right. My Bible tab is set up with parallel resources. I've opened the window to show those that I use. I've gotten used to the order and can switch between bibles very easily with the left and right arrows. I have a similar setup with my bibles and commentaries. I like having my layout this way because very simple and clean. In other words, I don't have multiple tabs open that I cannot read.
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With the new logos search I formulate a question and investigate the commentaries (avg. 5) returned in the synopsis. The synopsis, if the question was formulated correctly, will return points for investigation. If it is different from my view I investigate options first then those that agree. I use commentaries as tools on a path of opinions leading to facts. The knowledge in commentaries rather decide how many I open. It then start to paint the big picture of my resources on a specific topic or reference. I like to discover all interpretations and then decide what to follow. I try to highlight what a read to know in the future if I revisit or learn new knowledge.
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My base layout when preparing to teach is my preferred English translation, two commentaries, and the original language text. I select the commentaries I use for a specific book of the Bible by looking at reviews and recommendations. I read the text in its entirety in English first, referring to the original language where I have questions about the translation. Then I read the introduction of each commentary, and finally work through the text again referring to the two commentaries. I find that I can work through the text referring to two commentaries, but three or more is generally too much (for me, at least). I typically end up choosing one intermediate commentary and one more technical commentary.
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