How many commentaries are to many?

Cynthia Tucker said:

This thread caused me to peruse the commentary section on Logos. And I ran across The Complete Classic Commentaries Bundle -- 1537 volumes of various classic commentaries, with coverage on all the books of the Bible. It contains some commentaries that are already in base packages, so this seems a good way to pick up a lot of commentaries all at once that you don't already own.

https://www.logos.com/product/33554/the-complete-classic-commentaries-bundle

I've had my eye on that, it can be helpful to know how people thought about things in the past, in conjunction with the present.

I pick up a few titles here and there over time from that collection... Maybe it will be in reach one day.

Just know that if you buy them seperately, and not on sale or as part of a base package, they cost around 5$ a volume.

abondservant said:

Just know that if you buy them seperately, and not on sale or as part of a base package, they cost around 5$ a volume.

Thanks. That's good to know. This thread is getting me in so much trouble. Now I've got all these commentaries on my wish list. But I really like that it tells you if the set can be found in a package. In one case a smaller Anglican base package was only $70 more than the commentary set, so I'm glad I'm doing this research.

Here's my 2 cents- I have 3912 commentaries- with approx. 400 more in pre-pub or CP, 

Do I use them all- not in full, but it is good to read men of different flavors through the ages and their remarks or understanding of a passage. I am always amazed at how much of how they thought or understood has NOT been lost through the years.

We can never read all we buy unless we bought one book at a time- but study requires us to be more judicious with our time, at 60 time has become something I have grown truly to appreciate the fact it cannot be wasted.

I work on the road 12 months a year, only home for a 4 day weekend each month or when I'm on vacation. I have a 2 yr degree from Bible College, but am basically self taught through study and the availability of resources provided by other preachers, and institutions on the internet.

Having said that, Logos is a very valuable tool to me, and when I leave this life, its going to be left to another individual to take advantage of- so remember don't for get to do a "will"- there is a pastor, elder, deacon, layman or bible/ seminary student who would benefit greatly from your ability to collect this resource in your life time. Don't let it quit working when you do [;)]

But if there's someone who doesn't have other NT commentaries, Paideia is a good choice, right?:

Dan DeVilder said:

Some commentaries don't seem to engage in "deep" or "original" thinking.  By deep, I mean, to consider a wider context, to wrestle with how this scripture compares or contrasts with others and how we are to integrate it into theology and/or life.  By "original" I mean, they sometimes just parrot what others have said, eg, responding to the comments of others, and have not done the "deep" thinking required to unearth some gems of their own.  Some series (for good or for ill) do that more consistently, like Paidea or the Socio-Rhetorical sets.

He has Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library (29 vols.) as well, forgot to mention that, it contains a couple of introductions which should cover the Gospels and serve in the same way as introductions in commentaries:

Dan DeVilder said:

Paideia does not yet have the full complement of New Testament books in their set, they only have 11 volumes covering 14 of the 27 NT books (with a twelfth volume on John's Epistles under development). To my knowledge they do not have OT.

In the old days the shelf space use to help answer this perennial question... now it is the HD space.

-Dan

Lee said:

I was just thinking the other day how many are to many?

i didnt know the answer to your question when I first saw it so I did a search of all my commentaries for the answer. Since I did not find the answer through my search the answer must be at least one more set than I curently own  :-)

I have some older commentaries and they are interesting as comparison with new.  But for the most part, if I want old commentaries, I prefer paper so I can sneeze over the musty smell and blow dust off the bindings, open the darkened yellowing pages and run a finger over the textured paper, note the scribbles of some reader eons ago, read a few lines and marvel how language has changed and then replace it reverently on the shelf.  I can't get excited about investing too heavily in electronic classics that rob me of the main reason to have them.   

Dan Francis said:

I only purchased 3 classic sets. Psalms, Proverbs, Apocrypha are the only ones I have bought. Psalms was worth it to me I am up in the air with the other 2 sets.

-Dan

I would like to own the set in full one day, however for now I've been picking up the sets germain to whatever I'm studying... Considering picking up CC&S on Thessalonians next month.

William Gabriel said:

Regarding CCCB, there's got to be a good way to get a deal on this. The are all public domain works (no licensing to pay), and Logos already paid for their production through CP. That should mean that they can give very deep discounts if they're so inclined. I haven't seen it happen that way yet, but it might be worth working a sales person if you're able. Every dollar they get from you on that bundle is pure profit--hopefully they'd be willing to move significantly. FYI, it was introduced for $2590 when it was new.

I really want the set, but maybe I'll wait until I'm back in school and can get the academic discount. In the meantime, I might pick up the ones on the Pentateuch since that's what I'll be studying over the next few months.