The “Best” Bible Commentary Series

It’s been a while since I posted here. I’ve been meaning to revive this site but, as with most things, I just don’t have the time to blog as much as I’d like. However, I’ve recently been asked: “What is the best Bible Commentary Series?” I’ve had to write up answers elsewhere, so I thought I might as well turn it into a blog entry. Now I can refer others to this post in the future.

The question is a bit overwhelming. For someone who lives in the world of academic biblical studies and who also does a lot of teaching both at the graduate level in non-academic settings (e.g., parish Bible studies), this is like asking: “What’s your favorite music label?” or “What’s your favorite movie studio?” Capital Records released albums by The Beatles, Abba, Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, and Weird Al Yankovic. When it comes to biblical commentary sets, there is simply too much to say! But I realize that this is important and people want to understand how what to read, so let me if I can offer a helpful perspective.

A caveat: Here I am writing specifically about modern biblical commentary sets. We could talk about commentaries written by ancient and medieval sources but that is for another time. Here I will just say that the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, The Church’s Bible, and Thomas Aquinas’s Catena Aurea would be among the obvious options for those interested in such things.

They Can’t All Be The Beatles

First, all commentary sets are sort of a mixed bag; anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you something! LOL! There are almost always good volumes, great volumes, and terrible ones in any given series.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Second, there are different kinds of commentaries. There are technical commentaries for serious students and researchers. These are the most in-depth and ones you can cite as support in scholarly and academic work. There are also pastoral commentaries. These are designed for non-specialists. Preachers, small Bible study groups, non-specialists, etc., need different kinds of commentaries than scholars doing research for academic publications. Let’s break this down a bit more.

The “Best” for A Scholar

Different readers have different goals. As a professor and scholar, I want to learn from a commentary… but I’ve read a lot about the Bible. An introductory-level commentary is just not going to have much “new” information for me. Also, if someone is making the case for something new and seeking to overturn scholarly consensus on a matter, they need to answer all of my questions about their approach. I will have many questions. In almost every case, a slender volume isn’t going to be able to do that because the author has a lot of explaining to do. I need to see the author respond to lots of scholarship.

In sum, if the author is making the case for something new or something that defies the majority opinion, he or she generally needs to get into the weeds and be very technical to convince me. Otherwise, the author looks reckless. It may be easy to make a convincing argument for a non-specialist audience, but that is because they simply won’t know the field well enough to spot the potential problems.

This means when someone tells me that there is a new book that “overturns the scholarly consensus,” but it isn’t very technical, I immediately get suspicious. The author of such a work needs to demonstrate to me that he or she has done their homework. If they aren’t presenting these “new” views at scholarly conferences and making the case to academics first, I get nervous.

So, generally speaking, for me and other scholars, the “best” commentary is a serious, technical, in-depth, scholarly volume that I can cite in my own scholarship. It has lots of information. The author discusses and engages with all the best sources. In fact, I want to find things in the bibliography that are obscure and that I have missed.

These are the things that matter most for me. When I say “best,” then, I am essentially talking about “information” and argumentation. And don’t skimp on these things–I am here for all of it.

I want to reiterate that I care a lot about argumentation. Please, Mr. or Ms. Commentary Writer, don’t just give me the different interpretive positions out there. I need you to explain “why” people take those positions. Don’t just label them as “traditional” or “liberal.” Give me their arguments. Don’t straw man them or dismiss them with a hand wave because they are minority views; help me to feel their fullest force. Try to be sympathetic. If you use labels, I’m not sure you understand them.

Yet, to be clear, “best” does not mean that I necessarily agree with all the moves the commentary makes–or even most! In fact, no two scholars agree on *everything* anyway. I like to see good judgment, but I still can trust and even admire someone’s judgment despite the fact that we disagree in the end. People weigh arguments differently due to any number of assumptions. That is not surprising. So, I can say something is a “great” commentary and still not end up agreeing with it! Good scholars can disagree – that’s just par for the course!

Of course, the “best” commentary will also often be one that I agree with on many (but not all) matters. If the person has truly taken the time to explain all the different positions well, I will usually agree with their conclusions – but not always! Again, we might weigh things differently. For example, for some writers the so-called “criteria of authenticity” are really decisive in evaluating historical Jesus debates. As I have explained in my work on the historical Jesus, they are not for me.

Other people will prefer other kinds of commentaries. Relatively few people want to read 3 volumes on Matthew–but sign me up! I would take that to the beach and be MORE happy with that than some action-packed fictional narrative. (That’s totally the truth!)

So, the writing style might be boring. The book may be a total slog. I don’t really care about “readability.” Others may find the commentary burdensome and off-putting in style. I don’t really care too much about those things. Other scholars typically don’t either. Just give us information and argumentation. So when you ask us for the “best” commentary on a biblical book, make sure you realize that when we answer, this is typically how we think.

But technical commentaries are not the only kinds of commentaries. And they aren’t for everyone.

Non-Technical Commentaries

There are also pastoral commentaries that are better for preaching and small Bible study groups. These volumes don’t get into the weeds and so they can’t be convincing for academic argumentation. But convincing scholars of new positions is not the goal of these commentaries. They are far more “readable” and help the reader think through spiritual application, all at a rather brisk pace.

When I was younger, I made the mistake of assuming everyone in my life was as fascinated with biblical studies as I am. People would ask me for the “best” commentary, so I would give them what I thought was “best.” What’s my favorite modern commentary? For me, there is a clear winner: Davies and Allison’s three volume commentary on Matthew (International Critical Commentary, vol. 1, 2, and 3). I think this is, without question, the greatest commentary on a single biblical book modern scholarship has ever produced. But – shocker! – not everyone is up for a commentary that only uses the Greek text and is three long volumes… and has no pictures! (By the way, there is also the “Shorter Version” of this commentary, which is more concise but hard to find at a reasonable price.)

My grad students who want to pursue an academic career in biblical studies definitely need Davies and Allison. But people who are leading small-group Bible studies at their parish are going to have a hard time convincing people to show up for a second session if this is the assigned reading! Moreover, there are preachers who might be very much interested in Matthew, but they don’t have the time for this level of discussion due to other pastoral obligations. I get it. So let me discuss what I think are the “best” commentaries by dividing them up into different categories.

Best Scholarly Commentary Sets

Overall, I think the set that I likely turn to the most is the Anchor Yale Bible Commentary Series. Again, this is “best” for me as a scholar. The volumes are consistently strong. Nevertheless, I should add that words in ancient languages are transliterated so a wider audience can read it for profit. This makes it the ideal academic commentary for non-specialists.

Milgrom on Leviticus (which is the standard for all Leviticus studies), Fitzmyer’s volumes, Marcus’s 2 vols. on Mark, Brown’s on John (especially on theological interpretation–the historical stuff is a bit dated)–these are some of the standouts (there are many others!). But even this one has clunkers (e.g., Matthew–yikes!; I don’t have the space for the backstory on that but maybe in another post). 

If you ask me, the other overall best technical commentary set at this level is probably the Hermeneia (again, with some clunkers and some dated ones!). What I like about Hermeneia is that it does a lot with reception history, which is very helpful.

Before moving on, I have to add that the International Critical Commentary also has *many* excellent volumes. The newer ones are usually preferable to the older ones. Right now, however, it’s a bit of a work in process. Obviously, the 3 vol. commentary by Davies and Allison in the ICC on Matthew is the standout. Allison’s James commentary is also incredibly helpful. H. G. M. Williamson’s on Isaiah is also very strong. Best’s commentary on Ephesians is, frankly, the best (or “best” for me) on Ephesians. The new commentary by Williams and Horrell on 1 Peter is also superb. There are many other great volumes but also older, dated ones. That will be a great resource.

There are many other strong commentary sets–I can’t get into all of them in-depth here. Sorry!

Stand Alone Commentaries

There are also many excellent commentaries that are not in a particular set. Craig Keener’s 4 vol. commentary on Acts is an absolute goldmine. It appears as a stand alone commentary and isn’t in any series. In fact, Craig has written many stand-alone commentaries that are incredibly well-researched. I hear that his ICC Commentary on Mark (forthcoming), will be six volumes.

Pastoral Commentaries

The Sacra Pagina commentary is a strong choice for a shorter commentary that won’t blow you away with too much technical stuff. It is also sort of “boiler plate” scholarship because, given their size, the volumes really can’t do much in terms of challenging consensus positions. Still, it is very helpful. Moloney’s commentary on John especially stands out to me in this series. I also appreciate Luke Timothy Johnson’s volumes, which frequently offer unique insights or perspectives you won’t find in other commentaries.

The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture is a solid choice for small Bible study groups and less technical readers. Full disclosure: I am writing the volume on Leviticus. My favorites in this series are Thomas Stegman on 1 Corinthians, Nathan Eubank on 1-2 Thessalonians, Pablo Gadenz on Luke, and Mark Giszczak’s volume on Wisdom of Solomon. I hope mine will be considered a stand out. It aims to digest and combine the best of recent scholarship (e.g., Milgrom, Gary Anderson, Gane, Sklaar) on the literal/historical sense with the spiritual readings of the fathers and doctors of the Church.

I would also be remiss not to mention the New Cambridge Commentary on the Bible. There are many strong volumes in this set. By far, the most fascinating is the one on Luke co-written by Ben Witherington III and Amy-Jill Levine. I use this in my Synoptics Gospels and Acts seminar for students in our Masters in Biblical Studies program at the Augustine Institute, which is a program especially designed for students who want to pursue doctoral work in Biblical Studies.

Contextual-Interpretive Approaches

There are also commentaries that are written from other particular contextual perspectives. I find these helpful as well. Here I will just mention one: The Wisdom Commentary Series. This series offers thorough-going feminist approaches to the different biblical books. I have found that the authors of this series often have unique insights into specific biblical episodes and passages that I have not found elsewhere. Among other things, they have helpful information about the role of women in the ancient world that is typically overlooked. They present perspectives that I have never considered before and that raise important questions which I need to think more deeply about. In particular, for my work on Jesus and the Gospels, the volumes on the Gosples often include treatments of pericopes involving women in the Gospels that include information that I have found nowhere else.

Conclusion

I hope this has been helpful. Here I have tried to offer just an introductory look at some of the issues. Depending on what you are looking for, I hope this helps you better understand how to approach biblical commentaries.