Conference yukon::christian_v7

    Good question, Janet. I have historically not put a lot of money into
    commentaries, recognizing that their authors (godly and skilled as they
    may be) aren't inspired as was the original text. I have therefore built
    my library initially using reference material, e.g. concordances, Bible
    dictionaries/encyclopedias, word-study books, etc. These, by and large,
    don't run the risk of injecting bias, but rather aid you in your study
    of the Scriptures by helping you find things (allowing the Spirit to
    teach by comparing Scripture with Scripture), and otherwise bridging
    the gaps that exist between us and the original text.
    
    That being said, it is wise to at least have one or two single-volume
    commentaries that might provide additional insight into what was going
    on in those days. Just realize that commentators are providing opinion,
    so you should still endeavor to let the Spirit speak to you about a
    passage before you read what someone else thinks about it.
    
    I'll double check the names of my commentaries at home, but I think my
    two favorite single-volume commentaries are the Revised Bible
    Commentary (Wycliffe?) and the New International Bible Commentary
    (Zondervan) (which is actually two volumes: OT and NT).
    
    After you have your reference material built, I suggest that you then
    start adding individual commentaries for the various books you study.
    After years of studying you'll have a nice collection. I've been
    collecting the Tyndale NT series and John MacArthur's.
    
    	BD�

Some Bibles come with a lot of stuff in them.

One of my Bibles is the Hebrew-Greek Key Reference Bible which contains
strongs concordance in the back, Strong's numbers in the verses next to
the words, and some verse come with a Key icon next to them indicating
some (usually small) commentary by Spiros Zodhaites (a conservative scholar
and Greek, to boot).  It in the King James, though and if you haven't
cut your eye teeth on the King's English, you may opt for another
reference Bible.  Barry's advice is sound though.  There is no substitute
for the Word and reference material for those - interesting - passages.


Mark

 I like "Through the Bible" by Dr. J Vernon McGee.  Not a commentary, per se,
 but a nice accompaniment to the Bible.  Its transcribed from his radio
 program of the same name..




Jim

    Well, I really messed up on the names of my two favorite single-volume
    commentaries. I recommend "The New Bible Commentary: Revised"
    (Eerdmans) and "The Bible Knowledge Commentary" (Victor). Everything
    else I said in .1 is right, though :-).
    
    	BD�

    Janet, see also 460.8 & 460.33.
    
    Lately, I find the best commentaries are from expository teaching
    tapes.  I'm going through Pastor Chuck Missler's tape commentary on
    Daniel now and it's excellent.  On hardcover, the best ones appear to
    be those with several contributing scholars and a single editor.
    
    Large sets can be expensive but I've found 2 small sets that I find
    trustworthy and scholarly.  The first is "The Zondervan NIV Bible
    Commentary" edited by Kenneth L. Barker & John R. Kohlenberger III. 
    CBD has this for $39.95 and it comes in 2 volumes (one for each
    testament).  It is a shortened version of the 12-volume, award winning,
    "Expositor's Bible Commentary" edited by Frank Gaebelein (CBD has it
    for $250!).  The same contributions from well-known scholars at a
    fraction of the cost.
    
    My single-volume commentary is from Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown and is
    on Zondervan.  Eerdman's publishes one in 3 volumes that CBD has for
    $39.95, but I thought the print was small and I'm not into Roman
    numerals ;-)  The Zondervan version had a nicer font and more modern
    approach to detail/labeling.  An excellent commentary though!
    
    If you want to make a large investment, the standard that all
    commentaries are judged by (i.e., the best) are "The New International
    Commentary on the NT" edited by Gordon Fee and "Keil & Delitzsch Old
    Testament Commentary."  I've seen some of the NT set.  FF Bruce does
    the books of Acts, Hebrews, Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians and
    they're all excellent!  Too bad it's $200 for the set.  The OT from K&D
    is $100.
    
    CBD's # is (508) 977-5050 (for service) *-5040 (tech assistance) and
    *-5000 (for orders).  I'm not connected with them in any way.  Their
    prices are hard to beat.  I bought my JFB locally for $31.99, but it
    was at a church that sells books at cost.  That shows how competitive
    CBD is.
    
    happy hunting,
    Mike

    I just found The Concise Matthew Henry Commentary on-line (WWW) at
    http://www.cs.pitt.edu/~planting/books/henry/mhc/mhc.html
    
    Enjoy! (And thanks for the previous answers)
    Janet
    :-)

    Hi,
    
    	further to this. If you have a NIV Study Bible (or similar - e.g.
    Ryrie Study Bible), you already *have* a commentary. Again, the
    material has the same limitations as previously mentioned, but it does
    have the BIG advantage of being right there. This is _also_ a major
    drawback.
    
    	Agape',
    		hazza :*]

    Re: Note 674.7 by SNOFS1::WOODWARDC
    
    Welcome back, Hazza!
    
�    Again, the
�    material has the same limitations as previously mentioned, but it does
�    have the BIG advantage of being right there. This is _also_ a major
�    drawback.
    
    This is precisely why I put off buying "study Bibles" for such a long
    time. The temptation is too great that while you're in a Bible study
    class to just read the inline commentary and give it almost the same
    weight as you would the inspired text. Others can also become infected
    if you share "your insights" with the group.
    
    The problem can be magnified because (1) you now have an understanding,
    so you're less motivated to search the Scriptures for yourself, and (2)
    once an understanding is implanted it's hard to shake - even if you do
    get past problem 1 and try further study on your own.
    
    Since I'm a bibliophile and try to be a serious Bible student, I have
    broken down and bought "study Bibles". I'm careful to leave them at
    home, though, and only access them after I've pored over the Word,
    treating them as I would any other commentary.
    
    	BD�

Agreed, Barry.  Look at the study Bible(s) only after the basic
preparation, to see if it can confirm / refute, or throw additional light.
It also has to be weighed against any other evidence...  Like chapter and 
verse numbers!

								Andrew

    [I'm replying to my own note]
    
    I find all of your advice helpful and insightful.  No one commentary is
    going to contain all of the absolute truth.  What I have decided on for
    now is to use several different ones at the same time.  I have the NIV
    Matthew Henry Commentary and a KJV Parallel Bible Commentary (the KJV
    Bible in one small column and the commentary in the other column). Plus
    I have a Life Application Bible with a commentary in it.  I also have
    the original Matthew Henry (very old) Commentary of the Whole Bible
    on-line.  Using so many commentaries could easily be confusing but I 
    think I'm safer getting the information from several sources.  If all
    agree then there is at least a 50-50 chance that they are right.  If I
    get 4 different answers from 4 different sources, I leave it to the
    Lord.  :-)
    
    God Bless,
    Janet

Janet,
  What a good Berean you make!   The Lord bless you!

MM

    Mark,
    
    Judging from some of your past replies I see that you are also a good
    Berean!  This puts me in good company:  sinners, Bereans, thieves, the
    Lord, etc.  What more could I ask?
    
    The Lord bless you too!
    Janet
    :-)