Suggested bible commentary

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Barney

Puritan Board Freshman
I just listened to a talk on personal bible study by Sinclair Ferguson and he recommended, as helps, the Ivp bible commentary and the Ivp dictionary.
Any other suggestions please?
I looked the author of these up on wiki and it said he had an Arminian and egalitarian viewpoint.
Is it wise to read commentaries like these?
Forgive me if I've broken any rules here about mentioning a particular person.
 
Which commentary to use all depends on what you’re looking for. Each commentary on any given book is different in scope, content, bias, format, audience, length, price, etc.

Here is what I would say. Don’t be afraid to read a commentary by someone you disagree with theologically. It’s not a sin, and you will definitely learn something valuable. And, frankly, while Ferguson is not infallible, any recommendation from him ought to be given serious consideration. He is an eminently godly man with years of pastoral and theological experience and expertise. I myself have benefitted greatly from the IVP series of commentaries and dictionaries.
 
New Bible Commentary is probably the best modern evangelical reformed-ish, 1 volume commentary.
This is different from the IVP commentary series though.
 
John Yap said:
New Bible Commentary is probably the best modern evangelical reformed-ish, 1 volume commentary.
This is different from the IVP commentary series though.
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The New Bible Commentary is published by IVP and is almost certainly the one Dr Ferguson was recommending. I would agree that it is probably "the best evangelical reformed-ish 1 volume commentary"; whether it is what you are looking for depends on what you want. The ESV study Bible would give many people almost as much information from a more consistently Reformed perspective. If you want something less academic and more devotional, Matthew Henry would suit many people here.
 
iainduguid said:
The New Bible Commentary is published by IVP and is almost certainly the one Dr Ferguson was recommending. I would agree that it is probably "the best evangelical reformed-ish 1 volume commentary"; whether it is what you are looking for depends on what you want. The ESV study Bible would give many people almost as much information from a more consistently Reformed perspective. If you want something less academic and more devotional, Matthew Henry would suit many people here.
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Seeing as Barney is from the UK, I would actually suggest to investigate Evangelical Press stuff such as the Welwynn commentaries and the EP Study commentaries (try second hand?), I am sure you would be familiar with that :book2:. The ESV commentary series looks to be very good as well. All these are heavier investments but definitely worthy to consider.
Nevertheless, the NBC is a good starting point
 
For personal Bible Study, yes, you're going to benefit from the one or two volume choices. But some of what you'll find there can be found free online from reliable sources such as monergism.com and reformedbooksonline. A reformed-agreeable study Bible is helpful too, like maybe the ESV Study Bible, though many abound. For personal study more in-depth than devotional study, and something more tactile I'd recommend going book-by-book, as in Scripture books. You might consider commentaries by James Montgomery Boice - maybe start with John or Romans, or start a reformed collection that offers a whole set.
 
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Thanks for all your advice.
After reading your comments I decided to purchase the Ivp new bible commentary (1993) and the Ivp new bible dictionary (third edition), which I found on ebay used and very inexpensive. I can always upgrade to latest editions later.
I bought my wife the R C Sproul reformation bible for Christmas a few years ago and she loves it. Coming from a Charismatic full gospel church which she attended for over 20 years she had never heard of the Reformation so she really appreciated Learning about the reformed faith.
I asked her to buy me the J Macarthur study bible at the same time but I don't want to read it now because of my current theological beliefs.
So, am I correct in thinking the Ivp new bible commentary is similar to a study bible like the two I've just mentioned but in more depth? Does the Ivp contain the bible itself within it?
 
1. I rather you get the ESV study bible to complement the others, rather than a Macarthur study bible
2. the ivp bible commentary is more in-depth, it goes by chunks of passages more than zooming in on one verse, so it complements a study bible well.
3. no it doesnt contain the bible
 
John Yap said:
1. I rather you get the ESV study bible to complement the others, rather than a Macarthur study bible
2. the ivp bible commentary is more in-depth, it goes by chunks of passages more than zooming in on one verse, so it complements a study bible well.
3. no it doesnt contain the bible
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Do you mean the Wayne Gruden one or the R C Sproul one?
 
John Yap said:
1. I rather you get the ESV study bible to complement the others, rather than a Macarthur study bible
2. the ivp bible commentary is more in-depth, it goes by chunks of passages more than zooming in on one verse, so it complements a study bible well.
3. no it doesnt contain the bible
Click to expand...
Thanks. I once had the Wayne Gruden one but I gave it away when I no longer believed the miraculous gifts were for today. I say this with grace.
I'd probably go with the Sproul one or the heritage one.
More accurately, when I first believed, my first influences were charismatic and I never knew there were 'different expressions' of Christianity. I once spoke in tongues but now believe it wasn't the tongues in the new testament. I'm now a bit negative towards the charismatic movement if you will.
 
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So if the heritage one is good and sound I'll probably get it to complement my wife's R C Sproul one. Many thanks for helping me decide.
 
Barney said:
So what are the differences between the Reformation heritage one and the R C Sproul one?
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I personally think the Reformation Study Bible is better than the heritage one. I feel that with the heritage, the commentary spends too much time explaining what the KJV text means (the old english way of saying things) rather than giving commentary on the actual content. I do appreciate the study questions at the end of each chapter though for family worship. It should be noted that the reformation study bible is not from RC Sproul exclusively, he was just the general editor. There were over 20 people working on the commentary.

I would also recommend the MacArthur Study Bible. He is a very good commentator despite his eschatological leanings (just ignore those parts).
 
Yes it would have been better referring to it as ligonier one maybe.
I'll maybe keep the J Macarthur one. I'll need to take time to think about whether I should get the heritage one at all.
It's been good hearing peoples thoughts.
Out of interest, does Mr Beeke think non king James is ok? Just wondering why king James.
P.s not trying to open a can of worms there!
 
Barney said:
Yes it would have been better referring to it as ligonier one maybe.
I'll maybe keep the J Macarthur one. I'll need to take time to think about whether I should get the heritage one at all.
It's been good hearing peoples thoughts.
Out of interest, does Mr Beeke think non king James is ok? Just wondering why king James.
P.s not trying to open a can of worms there!
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Nothing KJV only. He simply loves the KJV and many contributors to this bible love it also.
 
Barney said:
Out of interest, does Mr Beeke think non king James is ok? Just wondering why king James.
P.s not trying to open a can of worms there!
Click to expand...
Based on my observations in visiting some Dutch churches, I believe they like the use of the "thys" and the "thous". There are some that believe the use of these terms versus "you" shows more reverence to God (I do not personally hold this belief). There are other Dutch churches though that use the NKJV and the ESV. Ultimately, I think it is a tradition (and preference).
 
The best advice on commentaries is to choose by author. The Tyndale set on a whole is good, for example, but the one in the set by Wenham is particularly good.

For single or 2-3 volume commentaries, probably Poole and Henry. My approach to Henry is a bit different from both his critics and supporters. In terms of analysis of a text, I don't go to Henry. He doesn't do much analysis nor do I really expect him to. On the other hand, if I want to know how historic Reformed usually approach a passage, like Henry and Gill on Matthew 24, then Henry is invaluable.

As to authors who hold a different theological system: on the popular level I doubt it will shake you up. Popular commentaries usually aren't heavy on argument or analysis. You might see an author say "free will," but I highly doubt he spends much time making a case for it (same with some pop commentaries on Calvinism).
 
retroGRAD3 said:
Based on my observations in visiting some Dutch churches, I believe they like the use of the "thys" and the "thous". There are some that believe the use of these terms versus "you" shows more reverence to God (I do not personally hold this belief). There are other Dutch churches though that use the NKJV and the ESV. Ultimately, I think it is a tradition (and preference).
Click to expand...
I appreciate that. Thanks.
 
RamistThomist said:
The best advice on commentaries is to choose by author. The Tyndale set on a whole is good, for example, but the one in the set by Wenham is particularly good.

For single or 2-3 volume commentaries, probably Poole and Henry. My approach to Henry is a bit different from both his critics and supporters. In terms of analysis of a text, I don't go to Henry. He doesn't do much analysis nor do I really expect him to. On the other hand, if I want to know how historic Reformed usually approach a passage, like Henry and Gill on Matthew 24, then Henry is invaluable.

As to authors who hold a different theological system: on the popular level I doubt it will shake you up. Popular commentaries usually aren't heavy on argument or analysis. You might see an author say "free will," but I highly doubt he spends much time making a case for it (same with some pop commentaries on Calvinism).
Click to expand...
I'm glad you mentioned Henry and Gill. I'd forgotten there was a one volume Henry commentary and I'm not familiar with Gill so I'll look that up.
How about William Macdonald Believer's bible commentary? I never knew about this one but it has glowing reviews on Amazon.
 
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