Old Testament Commentary Reviews:

Poetry and Wisdom Writings

The Old Testament is made up of thirty-nine books that are traditionally divided into five groupings:

• The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).
• The Historical books (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1/2 Samuel, 1/2 Kings, 1/2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther).
• Poetry & Wisdom writings (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs).
• The Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel).
• The Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).

Thousands of commentaries have been written about these books, and it’s easy to become confused because these resources are written to various audiences. Choosing the “best” will depend upon the kind of analysis you desire. My recommendations are divided into the three most common categories:

• Devotional/Introductory–the primary focus is application of the Word and growing in Christ. Lots of “how to” questions are answered.
• Pastoral/Intermediate–these commentaries also contain application but are more information oriented. Some go deep into the history or cultural background of the text, while others pay more attention to linguistics. Lots of “what does it mean” questions are answered. Useful for any Christ follower and especially helpful to those who teach.
• Technical/Advanced–primary value is to teachers and advanced students. Some technical commentaries focus on textual criticism (the reliability of the text), while others address linguistics (the text itself). Lots of minutiae. These commentaries contain Hebrew text (sometimes transliterated, sometimes not) and require familiarity with Hebrew to extract their full benefit, but even those with no knowledge of the language will find these commentaries useful.

Job

My recommendation for a devotional/introductory commentary on Job is by Francis Anderson in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (IVP, 1976). 318 pp. Anderson provides a brief but balanced analysis that considers both the text and the meaning/role of suffering. Well reasoned and easy to understand. The hardcover is out of print but readily available for less than five dollars on the secondary market.

Old Testament Commentary Reviews:

The Historical Books

The Old Testament is made up of thirty-nine books that are traditionally divided into five groupings:

• The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).
• The Historical books (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1/2 Samuel, 1/2 Kings, 1/2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther).
• Poetry & Wisdom writings (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs).
• The Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel).
• The Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).

Thousands of commentaries have been written about these books, and it’s easy to become confused because these resources are written to various audiences. Choosing the “best” will depend upon the kind of analysis you desire. My recommendations are divided into the three most common categories:

• Devotional/Introductory–the primary focus is application of the Word and growing in Christ. Lots of “how to” questions are answered.
• Pastoral/Intermediate–these commentaries also contain application but are more information oriented. Some go deep into the history or cultural background of the text, while others pay more attention to linguistics. Lots of “what does it mean” questions are answered. Useful for any Christ follower and especially helpful to those who teach.
• Technical/Advanced–primary value is to teachers and advanced students. Some technical commentaries focus on textual criticism (the reliability of the text), while others address linguistics (the text itself). Lots of minutiae. These commentaries contain Hebrew text (sometimes transliterated, sometimes not) and require familiarity with Hebrew to extract their full benefit, but even those with no knowledge of the language will find these commentaries useful.

Joshua

My recommendation for a devotional/introductory commentary on Joshua is by Richard Hess in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (IVP, 1996). 352 pp. Hess is an expert in Ancient Near East literature and provides a wealth of historical background. One of the best volumes in the series and under ten dollars on the secondary market. Get this one if you are on a budget, or even if you’re not.

Also recommended: Readers looking for a devotional guide will appreciate the volume by Dale R. Davis in the Focus on the Bible (Christian Focus, 2000). 240 pp. A great read-alongside resource for Joshua. And like Hess’s TOTC, this book is a real value; it can be purchased for five dollars or so on the secondary market.

Old Testament Commentary Reviews:

The Pentateuch

The Old Testament is made up of thirty-nine books that are traditionally divided into five groupings:

• The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).

• The Historical books (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1/2 Samuel, 1/2 Kings, 1/2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther).

• Poetry & Wisdom writings (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs).

• The Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel).

• The Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).

Thousands of commentaries have been written about the Bible, and it’s easy to become confused because these resources are written to various audiences. Choosing the “best” will depend upon the kind of analysis you desire. Commentaries are often divided into three categories:

• Devotional/Introductory–the primary focus is application of the Word and growing in Christ. Lots of “how to” questions are answered.

• Pastoral/Intermediate–these commentaries also contain application but are more information oriented. Some go deep into the history or cultural background of the text, while others pay more attention to linguistics. Lots of “what does it mean” questions are answered. Useful for any Christ follower and especially helpful to those who teach.

• Technical/Advanced–primary value is to teachers and advanced students. Some technical commentaries focus on textual criticism (the reliability of the text), while others address linguistics (the text itself). Lots of minutiae. These commentaries contain Greek text (sometimes transliterated, sometimes not) and require familiarity with Koine Greek to extract their full benefit, but even those with no knowledge of Greek will find these commentaries useful.

My recommendations identify which category each book falls into. Some commentaries overlap; when they do, both categories will be noted (e.g., Pastoral/Technical). The recommendations are listed in order of their helpfulness to Bible students, teachers, and pastors.

Revelation

Assembling a list of commentary recommendations on this book is challenging because your preferences will depend on your theology and eschatology. There are five basic approaches to interpreting Revelation: preterist (the prophecies point to the book’s immediate historical context and have mostly been fulfilled), historicist (Revelation predicts the whole course of Christian history), futurist (the prophecies point to events that are still in the future), idealist (the book is a symbolic portrayal of the struggle between God and Satan and is not strictly tied to historical events), and eclectic (a variation or combination of one or more of the aforementioned approaches). Three other terms are commonly used to better identify the positions: postmillennial, amillennial, and premillennial. Premillennialism is further divided into the Dispensational (pre-trib) and Historic (post-trib) camps. Your determination as to which are the “best” resources will depend on your personal beliefs, but there are a handful of books that are always at the top of the “best of” lists. Below are five premier commentaries that will help you better understand this complex and controversial book.