Most profitable commentaries on Job

Status
Not open for further replies.

KGP

Puritan Board Freshman
A quick search in this sub forum yielded a recommendation from Greenbaggins for Caryle’s commentary, especially with respect for how to understand the wisdom of Job’s friends.

What others would you be eager to recommend?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
From the humongous to the relatively brief, James Durham's Lectures on Job is rare among Puritan works, a short treatment of a long book. Many have found it a useful volume for family devotions as each chapter is covered in four or five pages closing with several observations or uses. Naphtali Press published a new edition in 1995 and a 2nd in 2003 which is about out of print (check RHB or Solid Ground; I don't have any more). I am working on a corrected and updated edition for RHB to reissue when advisable, as well as the lectures on the Ten Commandments.
 
The Durham book which Chris recommends is wonderful. Thomas Aquinas, The Literal Exposition on Job is very worthwhile. Franz Delitzsch's commentary on Job in the Keil and Delitzsch commentary on the OT is also outstanding. It is not a commentary, but O. Palmer Robertson's orientation to Job in The Christ of Wisdom is also illuminating. And although it's impossible to agree with many of his stances, Robert Alter's translation of Job is remarkable for vividness and beauty.
 
I agree with Durham and would also add Calvin’s lectures on Job.
 
The suggestions are all excellent so far. There is one caveat with Caryl's commentary, and that is that he sometimes (not always) gives applications for several conflicting interpretations of the same text. He will say, "here are the various interpretive options," and then he will apply all of them. However, that does not take away from the brilliance of the work, or the care of the exegesis, and it is still the best commentary out there on Job. As for those not mentioned so far, Ashley (NICOT), Ash (PTW), Konkel (NIVAC), are all well worth checking out. Longman's Job commentary is definitely one of his better commentaries, and the massive effort by Clines is worth reading with discernment (as he is post-modern, he twists the text in places). Also worthy of consideration is Seow's recent work.
 
40 years!?

What happened there, the congregation failed to enter into the book of Psalms due to unbelief? ;-)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Caryl had one of the largest puritan churches of the day. If memory serves me, he had almost 600 people when he began preaching Job. That is astoundingly big for his day. But, alas, 40 years in the same book brought his church down to about a dozen once he was done.
 
Caryl had one of the largest puritan churches of the day. If memory serves me, he had almost 600 people when he began preaching Job. That is astoundingly big for his day. But, alas, 40 years in the same book brought his church down to about a dozen once he was done.

Hard to believe he preached only from Job for 40 years. There must be more to it than that.
 
Hard to believe he preached only from Job for 40 years. There must be more to it than that.

Not that Im aware.

Even one other book published was this:
A directory for the afflicted: being select extracts from the first fourteen chapters of the Rev. Joseph Caryl's commentary on the book of Job
 
Not that Im aware.

Even one other book published was this:
A directory for the afflicted: being select extracts from the first fourteen chapters of the Rev. Joseph Caryl's commentary on the book of Job

I found what I was looking for in Joel R. Beeke and Randall J. Pederson's introduction to the 12-volume set:

"Believing that the Book of Job was extremely relevant to the times, Caryl preached from it 424 times over a period of 24 years [not 40! - RZ], averaging 10 sermons per chapter. It has been said that his congregation dwindled significantly because he preached at such length from the Book of Job. History, however, affords no evidence to confirm this report; besides, one must bear in mind that, over those 24 years, Caryl only preached an average of 3 sermons on Job every 2 months." (Volume 1, page v).

So, yes, Caryl preached from other parts of Scripture over those 24 years if he averaged only 3 Job sermons every 2 months.
 
I agree with Durham and would also add Calvin’s lectures on Job.
A big AMEN to the sermons from Calvin. I have an edition from Banner of Truth, which is a facsimile of the english translation of the original sermons. Not only was it of benefit to me to understand Job, but also to see the pastoral heart of Calvin.
 
I found what I was looking for in Joel R. Beeke and Randall J. Pederson's introduction to the 12-volume set:

"Believing that the Book of Job was extremely relevant to the times, Caryl preached from it 424 times over a period of 24 years [not 40! - RZ], averaging 10 sermons per chapter. It has been said that his congregation dwindled significantly because he preached at such length from the Book of Job. History, however, affords no evidence to confirm this report; besides, one must bear in mind that, over those 24 years, Caryl only preached an average of 3 sermons on Job every 2 months." (Volume 1, page v).

So, yes, Caryl preached from other parts of Scripture over those 24 years if he averaged only 3 Job sermons every 2 months.

Good to know. 40 was stuck in my head. Thanks for the update. But as far as I remember, he didnt publish anything else other than Job. But how excellent that work is, I dont know if he needed to!

He did, however contribute some work to a English Greek lexicon for the New Testament (1661), being a solid linguistic.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top