Outdated and expensive

Lee said:

Note: I think you mean eminent scholars.

eminent / imminent

A case in point why I am not writing commentaries. [8-)]

Super Tramp, If You would have looked more closely, I wasn't talking about commentaries in my most recent post: the volume from 2005 is not a commentary, it's introductions. Wouldn't things like dating a book of the Bible better be based on recent scholarship? There's a lot about other scholars works in that volume, but few references to recent works.

I think the copyright date is a valid concern. In the long run, a decade or two from now, most books that I've bought this on-going decade will be dated.

I have some older books, many of which I will use. My definition of what is old may of course differ from what some of You have as a definition. But when considering new purchases and purchases I've recently made that can still be returned, I wouldn't want to bulk up books with questionable age.

It may be true that there are many older books that I haven't discovered. But it may be equally true that, like I started to say in the first place on the previous page in this discussion, that better books will come in the future.

And in college, the professor will like it better when I reference newer works than if referencing old and forgotten ones or outdated translations of texts. That's an unfortunate reality. I want to do well in college. Despite that, I will reference some old works that I have.

And just in case someone wonders, no I don't imagine it's possible to get recent works on every topic.

Sometimes recent works is very important, for example when there has been recent manuscript finds, such as Spinoza's Ethics and Origen. Hence it's also true that if I buy a commentary now, there may be new manuscript finds shortly after that, rendering the commentary at least partially obsolete, this happened when I first bought the Hermeneia Upgrade (containing Mt 1-7 revised, Mk and a new volume on Acts): a very ancient manuscript fragment of Mk was found. Luckily I was able to return it and get a refund (although I did at same time buy the whole set at a sale):

Super Tramp said:

There is a reason they call it the "Wisdom of the Ages." A commentary that is any newer is not going to have any new revelation. The idea that modern commentaries are always better than older ones is erroneous. Many commentary authors of days gone by were eminent scholars. (Early Church Fathers, Luther, Calvin, etc.) Most of the commentaries listed on BestCommentaries.com are older than 2005. You might want to expand your horizons of consideration. BestCommentaries.com is a good place to start.

Thought for the day:

• If we follow the Biblical admonition to number our days Psalm 90:12, and
• We live an average lifespan of 70 years (Psalm 90:10)
• How many days do you have left? 70 years - your current age x 365 days
• Sobering, isn't it?

Don't worry about the copyright dates of your commentaries. Find good books and stick with them:

Unix said:

I am reading one volume in the set, but don't know what to make of it, and 2005 feels a bit old (the Wisdom volume)

EDIT: I have newer introductions: the end-of-2011 Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible, but I thought it would be slightly thin on the OT protestant canon books during the first year of Theology studies. I'm a bit less familiar with the OT than the NT and I'm not going to use Hebrew. I'm going to take the first level OT class twice: once in the Roman-Catholic college, once in a protestant college, so I will have many chances to make use of my books:

George Somsel said:

Don't avoid old works (especially if you understand "old" in terms of older than 2005), but season your library with some newer understanding.

Unix said:

Super Tramp, If You would have looked more closely, I wasn't talking about commentaries in my most recent post: the volume from 2005 is not a commentary, it's introductions.

Yes. I apologize. I picked up at http://community.logos.com/forums/p/41057/495759.aspx#495759  Shame on me. [:$]

But please do consider, not all knowledge starts at 2000 AD. Most"new" scholarship is based on somebody's thesis (θέσις - "something put forth")   or dissertation  (dissertātiō - "path".) As new Doctorates are issued every day, to stand out a candidate is under pressure to come up with new ideas, whether or not they are based in fact. Here is one example of what I am talking about: The Jesus Family Tomb.

Unix,

If you are limited in what your budget will allow, I'd encourage you to take advantage of your college/seminary library and get to know the resources there. That will make it abundantly clear what you feel you need to personally own, based on your actual usage rather than our suggestions.

It seems like you want to be very careful about your purchase, so "try before you buy" is the safe approach. Also, if you do not need the resource now, it might be good practice to wait on it. Perhaps until after you've taken some exegesis classes. As you mentioned, new material is being published all the time, and sales occur regularly (near/at pre-pub pricing), so patience and planning will pay off as you build your library.

Well, I won't have access to the library until ~1½ years from now in the turn of the year 2014/2015. It's locked.

There is another library, which is open, but the ticket to go there quickly by train costs $9½ and is valid 2 hours, so if using a ticket both ways the visit costs twice that much. There is a bus to go there also and I usually have a commuter ticket, but it's very slow because it takes a different very long route, it takes more than two hours one way. When I study in the Roman-Catholic college (1 semester I think), I will have a commuter ticket for the quick train route.

I bet I would be using the Logos forums much less if I could go to a library:

Super Tramp said:

This is an excellent idea if you have a good library nearby:

Garrett Ho said:

It seems like you want to be very careful about your purchase, so "try before you buy" is the safe approach. Also, if you do not need the resource now, it might be good practice to wait on it.

Such interlibrary loan possibilities don't exist at all.

I could POSSIBLY loan while studying classical Gk, but I highly doubt that and I'm not eager to find out as there is nothing I can do myself to get quicker access to libraries and books. Even if it is possible they charge a fee per book, $1½ which is pretty much and the loan period is very short - I usually need a lot of time since I do many things and don't focus on just one book. So evaluating for example all volumes in a whole set or many books on a topic would be very expensive:

MJ. Smith said:

What are the rules for interlibrary loans at the library which is closest to you? I know they vary from library to library but it's worth looking into:

Unix said:

I won't have access to the library until

If you're asking about specific titles or sets, it might be better to just start a new thread.

This is an old thread entitled "Outdated and Expensive".

If you're going to discuss specific titles, it's probably better to start a new thread to draw attention from those who have actually read or encountered those works.

It takes time to write posts. The questions I'm asking are to a large part connected to the ICC which the whole thread is about. Right now I have dealings with the IRS and don't have time to re-write everything, plus I would get repetitive if I would be to state these cases all over again and that might cause those who have been following to drop off because they would feel I'm saying nothing new in the new thread.

Too late to tell me that! Either way I don't stand a good chance to get many answers before it's too late. I bought the Handbook set on May 20. and only have the 30 days on me in case I wish to return it.

And the theme whether these works we are talking about are outdated is important. A thread such as this that started about the ICC set which many think is outdated, is the proper place for this discussion!

I started to talk about introductions because that's an important complement to grammatically technical commentaries.

Another aspect is that by avoiding the ICC bundle and buying individual volumes, one does not support the practice of Logos and some publishers of over-sized and excessive bundling, read this well stated post from today: http://community.logos.com/forums/p/71051/496040.aspx#496040!

Unix,

I'm going to share a general principal. You can have a wish list miles long, but on the pre-pubs don't waste your time following too closely unless you know you will be using something. My main focus is exegetical in nature. If I never get another book from Logos  I will be just fine. I'm on Platinum and have added more. So I am very happy. Make that spoiled rotten. If anyone were to back me into a corner for a sure bet, I'd tell them to get Logos Scholar and be happy. The full functionality of Logos 4 and 5 have changed everything for me.