Which is better?
Why would you chose one over the other?
I have a few vol's of NICOT but none of the WBC.
So I'm just thinking.
Both are good. But NICOT/NT is hands down more consistent in the "good" department. I would plan on getting both eventually. But with the current sale on WBC you may never have a better chance to get the set at a decent price.
I agree that both are very good but if I could only have one I would choose NICOT/NT.
I'll disagree with the first couple of respondents. I've consistently heard, here and elsewhere, that NICOT/NICNT is the best commentary series, overall. So I have it, in its entirety. I also have all of WBC.
I personally find WBC to be better, and not just a little better, but significantly better. Maybe it's because of the books that I've been studying and preaching through (Colossians, 1 Peter, now 1 Timothy). But I am generally looking for as much exegetical focus and interaction with the original language as I can get. And WBC seems to be much better at that level. I'd go so far as to say that if a particular book has commentaries in the WBC, NICNT, Baker Exegetical, and Zondervan Exegetical series, my order of preference is probably going to be:
1) WBC
2/3) Baker, Zondervan
4) NICNT
My $.02 ...
Donnie
I am the opposite of Bruce mine would be WBC without doubt. I use the NIC now and then but for me it is far behind WBC. The NIC is held in such high esteem by many I respect greatly but just going to it now reviewing yesterday's devotional passage in the NIC (which I had not consulted yesterday) and while it contains ok info it doesn't strike me as giving me great insight.
Dan
I think that the NIC series is generally more pleasing to Evangelical popular doctrines. I have found the volumes I consulted underwhelming. WBC can be frustrating in that you go round the block of considerations but don't always land somewhere specific. I think NIC is more theological than WBC and WBC more technical than NIC.
I personally find WBC more valuable but I suppose it also depends where you come from and what you want to do with it (personal study, sermon prep, academic work, etc). My suggestion to you would be 1) identify 2-3 best volumes in each series 2) look up a passage in each to see how they handle it 3) decide which series would be more useful to you overall.
Francis, I agree finding 2-3 best vol's and see how both series handle them is a very good idea.
I only have 6 of them NICNT from the last march madness.
so it looks like Hebrews and Romans would be good to check.
IMHO WBC is better and this month is your last chance to get it cheap as the price will be doubling after September (1200 I think instead of 699). Act fast!
DAL
Francis is right. NIC is solidly evangelical (though you might be surprised in some volumes) whereas WBC is more techncial.
The NIC is the better read while you have to work with the WBC - the format is much better in the digital iteration than print but it is still busy and reader-unfriendly.
The NIC has some 'weird' volumes, especially the older ones, where the general commentary size is lower. This is not necessarily a bad thing - Bruce on Hebrews is pretty great but it means, IMO, that you cannot really use these volumes as a main commentary (I used WBC Lane on Hebrews as my main.)
I would say at this price, get the full collection if you can afford it, even if you have the full NIC. Again, IMO, from an evangelical standpoint, theres much to gain from both. Else, get the top rated volumes - Lane on Hebrews is a must buy.
Lee: looks like you need to do a little investment and quickly:
Suggest you pick up the two individual volumes Hebrews and Romans in WBC to compare with what you have in NICNT.
Biggest investment will be your time in the short term to do the comparison.
After comparing if you want to pick up the rest of the set you have until the end of Sept to buy the set (the dynamic price to you will adjust for the two you have already picked up for comparison: that way you will still get the set deals of the credit towards other purchases. Probably not enough time to try and do a return of the WBC two volumes via customer service before picking up the full set if you leave it very late towards the end of the month and you do not miss out on much (5% on the two purchased separately) so your time and theirs may not make it worthwhile. (Credits may take a while to go through and mess up your chances of getting the best deal on the full set.
WBC is sometimes very good, but very uneven. I would go through this page and spend about $250 to get all of the WBC which are rated either first or second for the book they describe. Since the cost for the overall set is higher than buying every volume individually (not counting the Logos credit - but the two costs are still very close), there is no reason to get any of the flops.
there is no reason to get any of the flops
[Y]
I agree but I did buy WBC as my first technical commentary set. But I'll update with new revisions/editions quite selectively
there is no reason to get any of the flops.
bestcommentaries has some very sound recommendations. However, it's not quite infallible yet. [:)]
there is no reason to get any of the flops. bestcommentaries has some very sound recommendations. However, it's not quite infallible yet.
bestcommentaries has some very sound recommendations. However, it's not quite infallible yet.
Haha. Fair enough, but it usually (in my opinion) overrates series, so this errs on the side of caution. The exception is Revelation, which should be picked up, but I can see why a three volume library on one book turns some people away (I think NICOT has the best-in-class on Isaiah and Ezekiel, so I don't mind this system cutting them out).
A "flop" being defined as what?
I'd very much appreciate feedback from members in regard to any volumes they feel are either particularly sub-par or very mis-ranked by Best Commentaries. I'm also curious as to how Best Commentaries arrives at its rankings.
One criticism which is freely admitted is that newer commentaries and commentaries penned by less famous authors tend to get less attention than they deserve.
David I also picked up the WBC set. If I keep it I will use it as my technical commentary. I am find the format a little hard to work with, but it does have a lot of detailed information.
I am liking it.
Overall the NICNT/NICOT is probably the best commentary set out there. However, it is extremely expensive. The current price for the WBC is a very good value for the quality of the set you get. If you can afford to grab WBC at the current price before it goes up next month, I would advice you to get it. Then you can supplement with individual volumes of the NICNT/NICOT as you study, etc. That is the approach I have personally taken.
I have both and there's a small inclination towards NICOT/NT, but I can't say that's consistent. You always need to have more than one commentary for each book you are studying.
WBC is worth getting right now. I finished my set with the recent updates this month.
