Best Older Bible Commentator

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Another to add to the list is Cotton Mather. Reiner Smolinski, who has been a great support of The Matthew Poole Project, I might add, is republishing Mather's Biblia Americana.

 

[etexas]

That poor Trapp fellow did not get one vote!

 

[danmpem]

Ok!

Here are some comments which may also be of interest concerning some of the older full-length Bible commentators:

Edward Bickersteth, The Christian Student, Designed to Assist Christians in General in Acquiring Religious Knowledge. With a List of Books Suitable for a Minister's Library (1830), pp. 293-294:

Matthew Poole's Synopsis: "Poole's Synopsis is very valuable."

Matthew Poole's Annotations: "Judicious and full."

John Brown of Haddington's Self-Interpreting Bible: "Short evangelical notes and reflections, and a useful introduction."

John Gill: "Valuable for Rabbinical learning; a variety of meanings suggested; Calvinistic in sentiment."

Matthew Henry: "Very practical and edifying, lively, sound, and devotional."

English Annotations: "Sometimes furnish valuable remarks, not in other Commentaries."

John Mayer: "A Synopsis of the best preceding Commentators, with additions of his own."

John Trapp: "...contains many useful remarks with much quaint wit."

John Diodati: "Often has spiritual and evangelical remarks of much value."

Johannes Piscator: "Many good hints in these Commentaries."

David Pareus: "Have too much of what is valuable to be omitted in this list."

John Calvin: "...of inestimable value to every minister."

Besides Calvin & Gill, how many of these are available online?

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Ok!

Here are some comments which may also be of interest concerning some of the older full-length Bible commentators:

Edward Bickersteth, The Christian Student, Designed to Assist Christians in General in Acquiring Religious Knowledge. With a List of Books Suitable for a Minister's Library (1830), pp. 293-294:

Matthew Poole's Synopsis: "Poole's Synopsis is very valuable."

Matthew Poole's Annotations: "Judicious and full."

John Brown of Haddington's Self-Interpreting Bible: "Short evangelical notes and reflections, and a useful introduction."

John Gill: "Valuable for Rabbinical learning; a variety of meanings suggested; Calvinistic in sentiment."

Matthew Henry: "Very practical and edifying, lively, sound, and devotional."

English Annotations: "Sometimes furnish valuable remarks, not in other Commentaries."

John Mayer: "A Synopsis of the best preceding Commentators, with additions of his own."

John Trapp: "...contains many useful remarks with much quaint wit."

John Diodati: "Often has spiritual and evangelical remarks of much value."

Johannes Piscator: "Many good hints in these Commentaries."

David Pareus: "Have too much of what is valuable to be omitted in this list."

John Calvin: "...of inestimable value to every minister."

Besides Calvin & Gill, how many of these are available online?

From this list...Matthew Henry is available online. And select chapters from Genesis in Matthew Poole's Synopsis are online (see the link in my sig). Matthew Poole's Annotations, the English Annotations, Diodati's Annotations (and the Dutch Annotations) are all available in electronic form from various sources. The others are not available online or in electronic form, so far as I know.

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Portions of John Trapp's commentary on the Bible are now available online as noted here:

http://www.puritanboard.com/358646-post6.html

 

[Presbyterian Deacon]

1. Poole first, then-
2. Calvin
3. Henry
4. Gill

I have very rarely consulted John Trapp.

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

There are a lot of individuals who have written commentaries on the entire Bible besides Gill, including Trapp. I listed some of them in this thread:

http://www.puritanboard.com/f24/bible-commentary-28990/

Whether they commented on every single verse specifically is a separate issue, and I haven't yet fully researched that point.

 

[holyfool33]

John Calvin

I would have to say John Calvin his writing style and exposition is very readable and easy to comprehend.

 

[Zadok]

My vote- For superb pastoral and exegetical handling John Calvin and then for all the brilliance of Puritan thought and wisdom - JOHN TRAPP!!

Those who have never read Trapp should do so - you'll be hooked!

 

[JonathanHunt]

I have to go Poole Henry Calvin with some others, on the criteria of how useful they are to me. Poole is unbelievably good in a short span.

 

[AV1611]

I chose Calvin.