I'm 32 years old and starting to study Gk at uni in the Fall 2014. Self-tuition has not been very inspiring but I'll try to prepare before the class starts.
Anchor Yale Bible Commentary New Testament has all the original languages transliterated. Transliterated Hebrew is fine, but having all the Gk transliterated is a deficit.
What can AYBC NT be used for? From the A forum You can see a post where I list what books, for example commentaries, I have. If I would buy the AYBC NT, how would it complement what I have, or would it? Does it in any way complement Hermeneia or is it just a matter of quality and age of commentaries?
EDIT: I can see that practically no-one (maximally one did) follows my cross posting links and 48 persons have already viewed this thread, so here's the link to my post on the A forum: www.accordancebible.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12127#entry56138 ... if You follow the links which I provide over there You will see my full disclosures. Layout-wise I would not want to insert all or much of those posts here.
I think the interesting books are: Mk (2 vols.), 1 Cor, Gal, Col, Philem, Jas, Jude - although if I would order printed matter I should put more consideration and get more advice about which volumes are good in which set out of the commentaries I have or that would be good additions either to my electronic or my print libraries.
I'm also wondering if the Jude commentary is so good that I don't need another (Peter H. Davids in Pillar)? I doubt.
Is Anchor fast to use? I notice it doesn't merely give an interpretation - that might be the way!
I just read this review: "AB - Anchor Bible Commentary
Technical vs Practical: 0
Liberal vs Conservative: 2
The Anchor Bible Commentary, published by Yale Press, is a project that started in the 1950s. It has over 100 volumes and is still incomplete. The series is part of a larger collection that covers a wide array of subjects in religion, sociology, and anthropology in the tradition of 19th- and 20th-century liberal arts scholarship. It is an extremely exhaustive and comprehensive series, but it is disliked by many evangelical scholars because as a whole it has no theological attachments and often arrives at conclusions contrary to orthodox Christian tradition. Some of the older volumes in the series are quite dated and should be supplemented by more contemporary commentaries."
... emphasis mine: that could be a good thing.
Source: http://upsem.libguides.com/content.php?pid=394922&sid=4298003
Maybe there are more reviews out there.
I don't think I want dedicated practical whole commentary sets.
So what are Your opinions on AYBC NT? I would not be able to read it on a handheld device unless I buy some of the volumes as printed matter instead - so how realistic is it to read from a computer monitor? Does the NT work well as a set? Are the Biblical text translations effectively usable or is it preferable to use Your English Bible version preference? Is it any idea to wait many years and then buy AYBC NT anticipating new volumes by then (I doubt that option)?
Are there other sets with a different touch that would offer more balance to my library and/or exciting corrections of misconceptions? (Find the A-forum post to see what kind of things I have in my library.)