Short commentaries

[Henoch]

Grace to you and peace, Brethren.
Do y'all have a favorite brief commentary that you use while quickly skimming through large portions of scripture(rather than for studying)? I specifically am trying to read the text of the major prophets entirely once without spending too much time on technical details or studying verse-by-verse at the moment and suggestions would be helpful.

 

[Polanus1561]

Welwyn series. Derek Thomas does Isaiah and Ezekiel. Olyott for Daniel. Something else needed for Jeremiah

 

[CathH]

John L Mackay's 2-volume set on Jeremiah (Christian Focus) probably isn't short enough? (but it is readable and not overly technical)

 

[TheInquirer]

The Bible Speaks Today series sometimes does a very good job of focusing on major theological themes. I also think Dr. Duguid does this well in the commentaries of his I have looked at (Ezekiel, Daniel). Derek Kidner is known for being a master at this in Psalms.

 

[iainduguid]

The ESV Expository Commentary is generally pretty concise - though not as concise as Kidner. Isaiah-Ezekiel is bound together in a single (rather chunky) volume. Bob Fyall on Isaiah, Jerry Hwang on Jeremiah (very good), myself on Ezekiel. It also includes Jonny Gibson on Lamentations which is excellent, though hardly concise. Fortunately Lamentations is a short book. Overall, I think this is a very helpful series.

P.S. John L. Mackay is a very under-rated commentator. I had the privilege of working with him on a couple of projects before his death and he is very helpful.

 

[Contra_Mundum]

If you're looking for and beyond the prophets, the Tyndale series (IVP) on the OT--already mentioned through Derek Kidner's authorship of many volumes--has concise quality you seem to be looking for. At some point in the past, I came by his Genesis commentary, (Derek Kidner, Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary, 1967). Many more things could be said than that which he includes, for which a longer and more thorough treatment could be rewarding to the reader; but this relatively short presentation of a lengthy Scripture portion (50chs) contains many gems of textual insight.

 

[alexanderjames]

The Bible Speaks Today series sometimes does a very good job of focusing on major theological themes. I also think Dr. Duguid does this well in the commentaries of his I have looked at (Ezekiel, Daniel). Derek Kidner is known for being a master at this in Psalms.

Kidner on Jeremiah in this series is supposed to be really good too.

 

[alexanderjames]

The ESV Expository Commentary is generally pretty concise - though not as concise as Kidner. Isaiah-Ezekiel is bound together in a single (rather chunky) volume. Bob Fyall on Isaiah, Jerry Hwang on Jeremiah (very good), myself on Ezekiel. It also includes Jonny Gibson on Lamentations which is excellent, though hardly concise. Fortunately Lamentations is a short book. Overall, I think this is a very helpful series.

P.S. John L. Mackay is a very under-rated commentator. I had the privilege of working with him on a couple of projects before his death and he is very helpful.

Given the title of the thread it made me chuckle when I saw that this particular volume is 1216 pages.

 

[alexanderjames]

The ESV Expository Commentary.. myself on Ezekiel.

Dr Duguid, please may I ask how your commentary in the NIV Application Commentary series differs from this one?
Obviously there is the difference in Bible translation, and "application" vs "expository" in the titles, but I'm intrigued to know more.

 

[iainduguid]

Dr Duguid, please may I ask how your commentary in the NIV Application Commentary series differs from this one?
Obviously there is the difference in Bible translation, and "application" vs "expository" in the titles, but I'm intrigued to know more.

Sure. It's more than 20 years since I wrote the NIVAC, so the ESVEC benefits from the advances that have happened in that time. It's probably laid out a bit more straightforwardly for the preacher than the NIVAC, which has three sections (Original meaning, Bridging Contexts, and Contemporary significance) versus the ESVEC's Overview, Comment and Response. I'm not sure that if you have the NIVAC you need to rush out and get the ESVEC. I think they will probably serve slightly different markets.