Excellent resource!
(Full review at SpoiledMilks, 7/18/16)
John Evans begins by giving the reader ââ?¬Å"Two Warnings for Orientationââ?¬Â? and about how commentaries are not to be used as a crutch. Commentaries do not replace your own personal Bible study efforts. All commentators have their own background of ideas and beliefs (conservative, liberal, and all in between), and none are 100% right. You need to know how to study the Bible for yourself.
Then he gives a few pages for:
* Book Format
* Standards for Evaluating Commentaries
* Background Reading
* Other Bible Reference Works
* Old Commentaries & Foreign Language Works
* Notes on Computer Technology
He spends 25 pages explaining the different commentary series. .
Evans, book-by-book, lists his top five or six commentaries, giving brief explanations of each one. After his highlights, he gives a successive list on other commentaries helping to sift between the good, the bad, and the ugly. Vast amounts of detail are given, often informing the reader if a commentary is more help to the student, the pastor, or the scholar (or any mix of them).
Aside from the biblical books, Evans provides information on books covering 10 different topics such as Pentateuchal Studies, Poetry & Wisdom Literature, Apocalyptic Literature, Jesus & Gospels Research, etc. �
At the end of the book he gives his top picks for pastors on a budget, anÃ? Ideal Basic Library for the Pastor (two commentaries on each book of the Bible), and an if-money-were-no-objectÃ? Ultimate Reference Library.
Recommended?
If you enjoy collecting commentaries, this book will save you time and money (or maybe only time). Evans gives more detail in this guide than Longman and Carson�s single Testament guides.
