What are the commentries or books should I have to help me in my preaching?

Hi guys I am a owner of logos 5(minimum crossgrade). I am trying to look for information that can enhance my bible research for preaching....

commentaries or books that gives more historical and social background to the text.( I am not sure you use the word commentaries for these categories)
Example, when we read from the bible Jesus used the word or phrases like "Salt" or "City on a Hill" I am looking for information that tell you why did Jesus uses those terminology.

I am not sure I am asking the question rightly but if you know where I am trying to hit please do advise me as I have using the software column "Outlines" and "Commentaries" they are pretty basic and not enough information to them.

Thanks heaps for your help guys in Advance!

Shalom!

Joshua

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Dan Francis

The New Daily Study Bible: New Testament (DSB) (17 vols.)

Might fit the bill as Barclay did a wonderful job bringing out those key tidbits of history not always readily available elsewhere and he is extremely readable.

-dan

Evan Boardman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/513717#Comment_513717

Click on the link and see if thats what your looking for.

http://www.logos.com/product/5912/a-commentary-on-the-new-testament-from-the-talmud-and-hebraica

Rosie Perera

You might be interested in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: New Testament and Old Testament (9 vols.).

For example, here's what it has to say about Jesus' use of "salt" in Matt 5:13 ("you are the salt of the earth, but if salt loses its saltiness...")

You are the salt of the earth (5:13). The variety of important uses for salt as a preservative, as an important element of one’s diet, and as a fertilizer leads to different interpretations of what Jesus means to communicate with the analogy.⁹¹ Jesus may not be pointing to one specific application but using it in a broad, inclusive sense to refer to something that is vitally necessary for everyday life. One ancient Jewish writer listed salt as one of the basic necessities of life (Sir. 39:26), and an ancient Roman official commented, “There is nothing more useful than salt and sunshine.”⁹² Taken in this way, the metaphor indicates that by their very presence Jesus’ disciples are necessary for the welfare of the world.

► If the Salt Loses Its Saltiness

Strictly speaking, salt cannot lose its saltiness, because sodium chloride is a stable compound. What then does Jesus mean in 5:13?

• Jesus may be alluding to rock formations that contained deposits of sodium chloride. Meat and fish were packed in these rocks to preserve them. After a period of time the salt leached out of the rocks, so the rocks were not good for anything and so thrown out.

• Jesus may be referring to the salt collected from the Dead Sea by evaporation, which often includes crystals of another mineral, gypsum, formed by the precipitation of calcium sulfate from seawater. Salt and gypsum were often mixed in various saline deposits. This impure mixture of salt and gypsum could easily be mistaken for pure salt, but the mixture was not usable for either preservation or seasoning and so was regarded as having lost its taste.

• Jesus may be alluding to salt blocks used by Arab bakers to line the floor of their ovens. After some time the intense heat eventually caused the blocks to crystallize and undergo a change in chemical composition, finally being thrown out as unserviceable.

• Jesus may be citing a well-known proverbial saying. When rebuffing a trick question, Rabbi Joshua ben Haniniah (c. a.d. 90) apparently alludes to a proverbial saying when he asks, “Can salt lose its flavor?” The context of the saying implies that it is impossible for salt to lose its flavor, because he parallels the saying by asking, “Does the mule (being sterile) bear young?” (b. Bek. 8b). Sterile mules can no more bear young than can salt lose its flavor.

Thus, Jesus may be using this expression to describe an equally impossible characteristic of his disciples. As they go out into the world as salt, the proof of the reality of their profession is in the nature of their lives. True disciples cannot lose what makes them disciples because they have become changed persons, made new by the life of the kingdom of heaven. However, imposter disciples have only an external flavoring. They cannot be made salty again, because they never had that kingdom life in the first place.

⁹¹ See the interesting discussion of this view by a soils professor, Eugene P. Deatrick, “Salt, Soil, Savior,” BA 25 (1962): 41–48.

⁹² Pliny, Nat. Hist. 31.102.

Graham Criddle

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/513731#Comment_513731

You might be interested in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: New Testament and Old Testament (9 vols.).

The Zondervan resource to which Rosie referred is really excellent

Another similar resource is the IVP Bible Background Commentary. Its articles are often shorter but can provide similar insight. The corresponding extract is below:

5:13. Various scholars have emphasized different uses of salt in antiquity, such as a preservative or an agent regularly added to manure; but the use of salt here is as a flavoring agent: “if salt has become tasteless” (the Greek word can also mean “become foolish,” so it may include a play on words).
Although the salt recovered from impure salt substances taken from the Dead Sea could dissolve, leaving only the impurities behind, the point here is closer to that expressed by a rabbi at the end of the first century. When asked how one could make saltless salt salty again, he replied that one should salt it with the afterbirth of a mule. Being sterile, mules have no afterbirth, and he was saying that those who ask a stupid question receive a stupid answer. Real salt does not lose its saltiness; but if it did, what would you do to restore its salty flavor—salt it? Unsalty salt was worthless.

Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Mt 5:13.

It is available at http://www.logos.com/product/18657/ivp-bible-background-commentary-new-testament and in the IVP bundle at http://www.logos.com/product/8588/the-essential-ivp-reference-collection-version-3

The Socio-Rhetorical Commentary series are also useful for this type of context:

A disciple who rejects the values exemplified in the beatitudes is like tasteless salt: worthless (5:13). Commentators attribute to salt a variety of uses: preservative (Diog. Laert. 8.1.3; cf. a similar Pythagorean akousma in Thom 1994: 110); flavoring agent; a substance to treat wineskins (Aristophanes Clouds 1237); and an agent to retard fermentation in manure, which was used as fertilizer (cf. the last-resort function in Lk 14:34–35; see A. B. Bruce 1979: 101; Danker 1972: 168; Gundry 1982: 76).35 In the last instance, some suggest an Aramaic wordplay between tabbala (seasoning) and zabbala (manure; Manson 1979: 132). After listing eleven views, Davies and Allison 1988: 472–73 prudently conclude that the saying may play on salt’s many uses rather than a particular one (similarly Hagner 1993: 99). In this context, however, taste may well be in view, as often in contemporary literature (b. Ber. 34a, bar.; Plut. Isis 5, Mor. 352F; Table-Talk 4.4.3, Mor. 669B); this might be the most obvious function to the Galileans who would constitute Jesus’ primary audience.
In any case, the point is: what is to be done with salt that no longer functions as salt should?36 Some commentators note that the salt deposits of the Dead Sea are so impure that they leave unsalty “salt” when the the real salt eventually dissolves, or that salt could be mixed with so many impurities “as to become useless” (Davies and Allison 1988: 473 on Pliny N.H. 31.82).37 But Jesus may refer here to a more graphic, inconceivable situation of real salt’s losing its taste (cf. Hill 1972: 115; Vermes 1993: 83). No true disciple could be merely nominal and remain a true disciple!
A later Jewish story illustrates how first-century hearers would have grasped Jesus’ point. An inquirer reportedly asked a late-first-century rabbi what to salt tasteless salt with; he responded, “The afterbirth of a mule” (b. Bek. 8b).38 In that society everyone knew that mules are half-breeds (Babrius 62) and sterile (e.g., Livy 26.23.5; Appian C.W. 1.9.83; 2.5.36; Sifre Deut. 119.2.3; Gen. Rab. 41:6); the point is: “You ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer. Salt can’t stop being salt!” But of course if it were to do so, it would no longer be of any value as salt. Although some suggest that this story challenges the view of Israel as salt (Manson 1979: 132; cf. Dodd 1961: 142) or cite the rabbinic image of the law as salt (cf. Schweizer 1975: 101), in this context Jesus challenges his disciples: tasteless salt lacks value, and so does a professed disciple who lacks genuine commitment (cf. Argyle 1963: 46; Dodd 1961: 140–42).

Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), 172–173.

http://www.logos.com/product/7198/the-gospel-of-matthew-a-socio-rhetorical-commentary

Andy

Hi Joshua,

You may wish to consider The Essential IVP Reference Collection Version 3. The collection, in my opinion, represents real value for money and, in addition to the excellent Bible Dictionaries, also includes the OT and NT Bible Background Commentaries which, while brief, will certainly provide a starting point in terms of socio-historical background information.

I have pasted an extract from Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (which is included in the above collection) below,

5:13. Various scholars have emphasized different uses of salt in antiquity, such as a preservative or an agent regularly added to manure; but the use of salt here is as a flavoring agent: “if salt has become tasteless” (the Greek word can also mean “become foolish,” so it may include a play on words).

Although the salt recovered from impure salt substances taken from the Dead Sea could dissolve, leaving only the impurities behind, the point here is closer to that expressed by a rabbi at the end of the first century. When asked how one could make saltless salt salty again, he replied that one should salt it with the afterbirth of a mule. Being sterile, mules have no afterbirth, and he was saying that those who ask a stupid question receive a stupid answer. Real salt does not lose its saltiness; but if it did, what would you do to restore its salty flavor—salt it? Unsalty salt was worthless.

You may also find Beale and Carson's Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament helpful in addressing quotes from and/or allusions to the OT. Again, please find an extract below,

Matthew 4:17–5:20

Matthew’s introduction (1:1–4:16) has barraged the reader with OT quotations to show that p 20 Jesus is indeed the Jewish Messiah, prophesied directly, indirectly, and typologically in numerous passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. As the body of the Gospel unfolds, the frequency of explicit quotations of the OT tails off dramatically; indeed, the only quotations in the first main subsection of the body (4:17–7:29) are ethical commands that appear only to show how radically Jesus differs from them, or at least from their conventional interpretation (5:21–48). Perhaps this offers a clue as to Matthew’s strategy. Having established Jesus’ Jewish credentials, he is now more interested in showing how Jesus differed from Judaism. Far from establishing a new law, Jesus came to fulfill and thus transcend the Mosaic covenant (see Moo 1984).

Nevertheless, one may detect allusions and echoes to the OT in the intervening material. In calling his first disciples (Matt. 4:18–22), Jesus’ directness and the immediacy of response may be modeled on Elijah’s call to Elisha in 1 Kings 19:19–21. In the summary of Christ’s ministering throughout Galilee (Matt. 4:23–25), the references to his healing many diseases call to mind the healings associated with the messianic age, especially in Isa. 35:5–6. The Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5–7) is the first of five major blocks of sermonic material that distinctively punctuate Matthew’s narrative (along with chaps. 10; 13; 18; 23–25). These discourses have often been likened to the five books of Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy; beginning esp. with Bacon 1918). “Jesus on the mountain” is likewise a more common theme in Matthew than elsewhere, including here with the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:1). This motif calls to mind Moses receiving the law on Mount Sinai (see esp. Donaldson 1985). But labels of Jesus as a “new Moses” must be at least as sensitive to the discontinuities between the two covenant makers as to the continuities. Helpful in this respect are Meier 1976 and Banks 1974. The critical consensus wrongly sees Matthew’s Gospel as promoting a much more law-observant form of Christianity than his canonical companions (see Overman 1990; Saldarini 1994).

The Beatitudes, with which Jesus’ great sermon begins (5:3–12), contain several key allusions to the OT. The “poor in spirit” (5:3) probably alludes to the ʿănāwîm, the materially impoverished who recognize God as their only hope, who appear in so many prophetic and wisdom passages and especially in Isa. 61:1 (Schweizer 1975: 86; Carson 1984: 131; Bruner 1987: 135). There the Spirit-anointed prophet preaches to them good news, just as here Jesus declares them blessed. Isaiah 61:2 is almost certainly alluded to in the second beatitude (Matt. 5:4), as it seeks “to comfort all who mourn.” Again we should think of both spiritual and social causes. Matthew 5:5 alludes to Ps. 37:11. The pious Israelites who inherit the land have become the meek followers of Jesus who inherit the whole earth (the poor mourners of Isa. 61:1–2 also are described as inheriting the earth in 61:7, at least in the LXX). Verse 6 may echo Isa. 55:1–3 with its call for the spiritually hungry and thirsty to come to the Lord to eat and drink. Verse 7 calls to mind Exod. 34:6 with its famous self-revelation of God’s nature, highlighting his mercy. Psalm 24:3–5 may underlie 5:8 with its call for clean hands and a pure heart as a requirement for those who would come into God’s presence and receive his blessings. Psalm 34:14 sounds a note that echoes in the blessing of peacemakers in 5:9. The final verse of this section (5:12) alludes to the persecution of the prophets, described in both the OT (most notably Jeremiah) and intertestamental literature (most notably Ascension of Isaiah [= Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah 6–11]).

The metaphors of salt and light (5:13–16) reflect common Jewish imagery but do not point obviously to any particular OT texts. Matthew 5:17–20 forms the thesis paragraph of the Sermon on the Mount and the key to understanding Matthew’s presentation of the relationship between Jesus’ teaching and the law (or the OT more generally). Jesus neither abolishes the Hebrew Scriptures nor preserves them without changing the way many portions apply to his followers. The key to the relationship again is “fulfillment”—bringing to completion everything that was originally intended by God. The sacrifices will clearly be abolished, fulfilled once and for all in Christ’s death (see Hebrews throughout), while many moral principles will equally clearly remain unchanged. In most cases, however, one will have to pass specific OT commands through a grid or filter of NT teaching to see the ways in which they apply to Christians today (see Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard 2004: 344–50; Dorsey 1991; Hagner 1997).

In terms of commentaries, per se, my go to set is the NICOT/NICNT which, in my view, is broadly good with some standout volumes. However, it is very expensive.

The WBC commentary set is, in my opinion, patchier in terms of quality and the format is irritating. However, the cost is very reasonable (in my opinion).

The EBC probably qualifies as 'semi-technical' and represents, in my opinion, good value for money. Be aware, however, that as with every commentary set, the quality is variable across authors/editions. This set has been recently updated and a revised edition is available. In my opinion, however, the revisions probably do not warrant the additional cost. Other users may well have different view!

Please let me know if extracts from the above commentary series will prove helpful.

There is a summary of available commentaries on the Wiki, here,

http://wiki.logos.com/Resource_Review#Commentaries

You may also find the reviews available via bestcommentaries.com helpful,

http://bestcommentaries.com

Blessings,

[:D]

[Edit: Graham beat me to it!]

Rosie Perera

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/513739#Comment_513739

Another useful resource that is good for general biblical background, not tied to any particular passage, is either Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible or Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Manners and Customs.

Here's the TOC of the former, with some of the sections expanded, so that you can see the sort of info this contains:

The latter is organized differently and edited by different authors. I believe these are both updates of an older Manners & Customs book (perhaps this one) which is in the public domain (and they aren't the only ones; there's also The New Manners and Customs of the Bible and The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times [no longer available in Logos]).

Lee

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/513731#Comment_513731

You might be interested in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: New Testament and Old Testament (9 vols.).

I'd just like to add this: I have the hard copy of all nine volumes, and I find the NT set more useful than the OT set, which tends to lean too heavily on Ancient Near East comparative literature. This view is also echoed on the Amazon reviews. Interestingly enough, the price is about the same whether buying the Logos OT+NT set or buying the sets separately (OT, NT). Buying the NT set separately is a terrific option, in my opinion.

David Thomas

Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993. Old Testament link

Beale, G. K., and D. A. Carson. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007.

I have more elaborate encyclopedias that I occasionally check. But these are the ones that I consult for every sermon.

JoshInRI

From Joshua to Joshua:

http://www.logos.com/product/8579/the-preachers-commentary

looks useful. I just picked it up myself.

God bless your preaching and ministry...Glory to God...Jesus Lead On!

David Thomas

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/513856#Comment_513856

EDIT: Post had its intended effect. THANK YOU to the forum user who was mature enough to respond by editing his post.

Please do not use our forums to

sell or give away anything or link to anything you’re selling or giving away—including Logos products
promote or link to competitors
point people to other places that sell Logos-compatible products

copied from http://community.logos.com/forums/p/10072/79655.aspx#79655

mab

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/513864#Comment_513864

Logos 5 has a built-in way of giving you background information when you punch in a passage lookup on the home page. I like the IVP background commentaries as a go-to.

Keep in mind that you'll uncover far more about the backgrounds than you'll ever need to tell your listeners. Mostly it's to frame your exposition of a passage. Keep the text in first place.

Joshua Teo

Dear all, thank you so much for all the input and looks like we managed to size down to 2 commentaries which everyone is recommending...the one from Zondervan and IVP.

Well, I will be praying about it as neither one of them is cheap. Hmm...wonder why logos is selling to their customers at a higher price or even higher than printed ones.

Anyway, friends thanks heaps again and I am very blessed by your generous love

Blessings!
Joshua

JoshInRI

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/514160#Comment_514160

Josh to Josh - Logos will tell you in a fairly recognizable (probably preprinted) set of phrases that they charge more because of the electronic functionality and links to Bibles etc.

We all want a bargain and some of what was mentioned here for suggestions are on my wishlist. I have the printed copies of the illustrated Zondervan background and found out from one responses in your replies that the OT version may not be the way to go (I thought I was missing out by not ordering them too....nope).

Glad you found some help. I often do in here and though I have differed theologically with some - have always been treated graciously...glad to see you were as well.

Josh, I often scour one of the larger electronic selling sites for items to add to my own library/computer. (Note: its deliberately NOT named here so please everyone lets keep it that way to abide by Logos rules).

Look for the community pricing items here in Logos too...good way to add items especially more basic commentaries. Ask about Student pricing if you are a student too.

Glory To God....Jesus Lead On!