I haven't seen this posted anywhere. If it has been, I'm sorry for the repeat.
I just noticed that several of the Zondervan Exegetical Commentaries are on sale for $9.99 per volume. I'm not sure for how long though.
https://www.logos.com/products/search?q=Zondervan+Exegetical+Commentary+on+the+New+Testament
I am surprised this one is price so high....
https://www.logos.com/product/54059/zondervan-exegetical-commentary-on-the-new-testament-mark
I think the problem is that the term "exegetical" is tossed around too losely now days, to the point that even some ministers don't know what it really means. They think that a commentary that offers the greek text and some fancy outline all of the sudden becomes a technical/exegetical commentary when that's not the case. Thanks you for showing me what you mean by "exegetical". It does not match the way I use exegetical nor my reading of the dictionary definition but it does explain why I was confused. However, since you believe the words is "tossed around too loosely", the dictionary definition is: Merriam Webster: an explanation or critical interpretation of a text Dictionary.com: critical explanation or interpretation of a text or portion of a text, especially of the Bible. Wikipedia: (/ˌɛksəˈdʒiːsəs/; from the Greek ἐξήγησις from ἐξηγεῖσθαι 'to lead out') is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, particularly a religious text Therefore I have always used it to refer to any of the critical methods not specifically linguistic / technical ones. I would not generally used it for application or devotional works ... or works I consider eisegesis.
I think the problem is that the term "exegetical" is tossed around too losely now days, to the point that even some ministers don't know what it really means. They think that a commentary that offers the greek text and some fancy outline all of the sudden becomes a technical/exegetical commentary when that's not the case.
Thanks you for showing me what you mean by "exegetical". It does not match the way I use exegetical nor my reading of the dictionary definition but it does explain why I was confused. However, since you believe the words is "tossed around too loosely", the dictionary definition is:
Therefore I have always used it to refer to any of the critical methods not specifically linguistic / technical ones. I would not generally used it for application or devotional works ... or works I consider eisegesis.
Oh my dear MJ, always reading wrong. From my post I showed you nothing of what I think exegetical means. I only said what others (not everyone) think what exegetical means and some have no clue what it means. Sorry that confused you
Actually, I agree with your assessment of the meaning of the word "exegetical." The problem lies in some thinking it's some kind of superior divine way of studying and presenting the text when in reality is not and shouldn't be that complicated. A preacher once told me he only preached "exegetically" but on most of his sermons he only spent time bashing the catholics and others who did not agree with his "exegetical" way of interpreting the text. So exegetical in the loose sence or exclusive sence depends on the individual's understanding of the term "exegetical." Why not avoid fancy jargon and just focus on telling the lost they have hope of eternal life in Jesus. I don't think you need a degree from an X seminary to teach the simple message of the Gospel; just read Acts 2 to see an example of the simple sermon Peter preached and how people responded, yet all of our modern day "exegetes" make it so complicated with their "exegetical" way of studying and presenting the Word of God that all they've done is create division and confusion in the church and that does more harm than good.
Original languages are great, but sometimes seminaries and their alumni get too lost in their grammar, syntax, morphology and other "exegetical" terms that they fail to see the awesome principle that's right in front of their faces! For instance, the worse sermon on John 3:16 I've heard sounded more like a greek lecture explaining what the conjunction "For" means in the greek, then about the different shades of meaning of the word "So" and then God with the verb "Loved" and how it's conjugated in a very particular way and blah, blah, blah...really? No kidding! That's why I said some don't really understand "exegetical," because they've been taught some special, superior, divine way of studying the Word of God by X seminary that it all boils down to teaching whatever theological position they grew up with and nothing more.
But anyway, ZEC on Acts seems nice and practical. There are other more meaty commentaries out there, but for a recent convert or just a good read on a different perspective on Acts is ok I guess. Alright, that's all folks! Going to sleep...Good night!
DAL
By my reading MJ. and DAL are in agreement, which DAL confirmed in a reply.
Regarding the term exegetical, attention to original language details seems predominant in the context of Logos Bible Software. Exegetical Guide Introduction
The term when used in the context of biblical studies more broadly also seems ideally to presume interacting with original language texts. http://www.theopedia.com/exegesis
In the 1983 edition of New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors Gordon D. Fee writes:
The term “exegesis” is used in this book in a consciously limited sense torefer to the historical investigation into the meaning of the Biblical text.Exegesis, therefore, answers the question, What did the Biblical authormean? It has to do both with what he said (the-content itself) and why hesaid it at any given point (the literary context). Furthermore, exegesis isprimarily concerned with intentionality: What did the author intend hisoriginal readers to understand?
Fee enumerates the following eight initial exegetical steps common to all NT genres:
To bring these observations to bear upon the topic of this thread I ask: How are the ZECNT volumes most characteristically exegetical.
Original languages are great, but sometimes seminaries and their alumni get too lost in their grammar, syntax, morphology and other "exegetical" terms that they fail to see the awesome principle that's right in front of their faces! For instance, the worse sermon on John 3:16 I've heard sounded more like a greek lecture...
The Problem of Over-Exegesis, by Moises Silva
That was hilarious! Thanks!
I ask: How are the ZECNT volumes most characteristically exegetical.
The key question to ask is: What are you looking for in a commentary? This commentary series might be for you if • you have taken Greek and would like a commentary that helps you apply what you have learned without assuming you are a well-trained scholar.• you would find it useful to see a concise, one- or two- sentence statement of what the commentator thinks the main point of each passage is.• you would like help interpreting the words of Scripture without getting bogged down in scholarly issues that seem irrelevant to the life of the church.• you would like to see a visual representation (a graphical display) of the flow of thought in each passage.• you would like expert guidance from solid evangelical scholars who set out to explain the meaning of the original text in the clearest way possible and to help you navigate through the main interpretive issues.• you want to benefit from the results of the latest and best scholarly studies and historical information that help to illuminate the meaning of the text.• you would find it useful to see a brief summary of the key theological insights that can be gleaned from each passage and some discussion of the relevance of these for Christians today.... Another unique feature of this series is the presentation of each commentator's translation of the Greek text in a graphical layout. The purpose of this diagram is to help the reader visualize, and thus better understand, the flow of thought within the text. The translation itself reflects the interpretive decisions made by each commentator in the "Explanation" section of the commentary. ... As an exegetical commentary, this work makes use of the Greek language to interpret the meaning of the text. If your Greek is rather rusty (or even somewhat limited), don't be too concerned. All of the Greek words are cited in parentheses following an English translation. We have made every effort to make this commentary as readable and useful as possible even for the nonspecialist. Those who will benefit the most from this commentary will have had the equivalent of two years of Greek in college or seminary. This would include a semester or two of working through an intermediate grammar (such as Wallace, Porter, Brooks and Winberry, or Dana and Mantey). The authors use the grammatical language that is found in these kinds of grammars. The details of the grammar of the passage, however, are only discussed when it has a bearing on the interpretation of the text. ... We felt it was important for each author not only to describe what the text means in its various details, but also to take a moment and reflect on the theological contribution that it makes. In this section, the theological message of the passage is summarized. The authors discuss the theology of the text in terms of its place within the book and in a broader biblical-theological context. Finally, each commentator provides some suggestions on what the message of the passage is for the church today. At the conclusion of each volume in this series is a summary of the whole range of theological themes touched on by this book of the Bible
The key question to ask is: What are you looking for in a commentary? This commentary series might be for you if
• you have taken Greek and would like a commentary that helps you apply what you have learned without assuming you are a well-trained scholar.• you would find it useful to see a concise, one- or two- sentence statement of what the commentator thinks the main point of each passage is.• you would like help interpreting the words of Scripture without getting bogged down in scholarly issues that seem irrelevant to the life of the church.• you would like to see a visual representation (a graphical display) of the flow of thought in each passage.• you would like expert guidance from solid evangelical scholars who set out to explain the meaning of the original text in the clearest way possible and to help you navigate through the main interpretive issues.• you want to benefit from the results of the latest and best scholarly studies and historical information that help to illuminate the meaning of the text.• you would find it useful to see a brief summary of the key theological insights that can be gleaned from each passage and some discussion of the relevance of these for Christians today.... Another unique feature of this series is the presentation of each commentator's translation of the Greek text in a graphical layout. The purpose of this diagram is to help the reader visualize, and thus better understand, the flow of thought within the text. The translation itself reflects the interpretive decisions made by each commentator in the "Explanation" section of the commentary.
...
As an exegetical commentary, this work makes use of the Greek language to interpret the meaning of the text. If your Greek is rather rusty (or even somewhat limited), don't be too concerned. All of the Greek words are cited in parentheses following an English translation. We have made every effort to make this commentary as readable and useful as possible even for the nonspecialist.
Those who will benefit the most from this commentary will have had the equivalent of two years of Greek in college or seminary. This would include a semester or two of working through an intermediate grammar (such as Wallace, Porter, Brooks and Winberry, or Dana and Mantey). The authors use the grammatical language that is found in these kinds of grammars. The details of the grammar of the passage, however, are only discussed when it has a bearing on the interpretation of the text.
We felt it was important for each author not only to describe what the text means in its various details, but also to take a moment and reflect on the theological contribution that it makes. In this section, the theological message of the passage is summarized. The authors discuss the theology of the text in terms of its place within the book and in a broader biblical-theological context. Finally, each commentator provides some suggestions on what the message of the passage is for the church today. At the conclusion of each volume in this series is a summary of the whole range of theological themes touched on by this book of the Bible
In addition to all the considerations that have been already discussed, I like to remind others that beyond the value of a series, there is always the question of whether an author that you particularly appreciate happens to have published in it on a particular book and not elsewhere or in a better series. I am, for that reason, considering Matthew, because I was impressed by Osborne's intellectual honesty in dealing with theological issues that arose out of Revelation (BECNT).
Having purchased Matthew and taken a look at it, I am impressed by the format. I agree that it does not seem to be as technical as some of the aforementioned series, but I know of no other series that offers sections on translation, literary setting, and theology in application. Preachers will find the exegetical outlines helpful.
Zondervan have finally announced this sale. Their email says it will end 28th February.
I like the ZECNT commentaries for one reason. It is the only commentary I know that gives the preacher any kind of help with the "big idea" of the sermon that Haddon Robinson made popular. It is a way to check your exegetical big idea and exegetical outline after you have done your own work.. It is not the way you will word the "big idea" or the outline in the sermon, but it will get you on the way from an exegetical outline to a sermon outline.It is not going to fill in many details, but it is also helpful to see the forest instead of just each individual tree in a text. Other commentaries fill in the details nicely. If you are a "big idea" type of preacher, I think this commentary may give you help in the initial step of the sermon- finding the big idea- that is not available in other commentaries.
I see 8 that are on sale, am I missing any?
There are only 8 commentaries that are on sale for $9.99
I'm preaching through the parables and this past week we were in Luke 10:30-37 with the parable of the Good Samaritan. I bought Garland's Luke volume just to see how I would enjoy it. And I liked it!
As far as detail goes, it fell somewhere between Bock's BECNT volume and Hendricksen's BNTC volume. Garland considered the text carefully, asked and answered good questions, and had some legitimately excellent points of application. He even included a joke I excerpted for my sermon!
If I had to pick only one commentary on Luke it would still be Bock. But Garland's commentary is an excellent supplement. They are both theologically conservative but it doesn't feel like Garland is simply rehashing Bock - it's a fresh reading of the text. And I found I enjoyed the format. (Though I am not bothered by the oft-maligned WBC formatting, so your mileage may vary.)
If you're looking for an intermediate commentary on Luke - to supplement a technical commentary, because you don't have Greek, or you don't have time for a truly extensive treatment of the text - $9.99 represents a fantastic deal for this particular volume.
Based on the strength of this volume I also purchased Osborne on Matthew and Schnabel on Acts. (I already own Schreiner on Galatians.)
It's a rarely seen deal .
I wonder why they didnt just lower the price on the whole set? What is so extra special about this one that they did not lower the price I wonder:
I went ahead and got those that have been reduced...thanks for the reminder and original tip.
