Volume 12 of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary (EBC) is a major revision of volume 11 of the old series that also covered Ephesians through Philemon. Only two authors revised their earlier works and every other commentary is a new treatment by a different scholar. What we have here will be a real blessing to pastors and Bible students.

The Book of Ephesians is now handled by William Klein. Considering the importance of Ephesians, some will label it a very concise volume. Still, don’t see the brevity as superficiality. This volume is well done. In the Introduction he discusses authorship, structure, setting, date of composition, purpose, the relation to Colossians, theology, and textual issues. There’s also a fine bibliography and outline. If you see a negative review of this one, you may find that it’s not for any lack of quality work, but his corporate view of election and the fact that he’s a complementarian may be the real reason. I appreciate this work.

The Book of Philippians now has highly-respected scholar David Garland as its commentator. That’s a coup for this series. The writer of massive, major commentaries has proven himself adept here with a briefer entry. In the Introduction, he discusses background, date and place of origin, integrity of the letter, purpose and occasion, literary form, followed by a bibliography and outline. The commentary itself is outstanding.

Todd Still does Colossians. In his introduction he begins by discussing the overarching Christological theme. He surveys all the other typical introductory issues, also providing a bibliography and outline. The commentaries in the same fine style as the rest of these in the series.

Robert Thomas revises his earlier work on Thessalonians. Some criticize him for his dispensational viewpoint, but I’ve always enjoyed reading it. It appears to me that he took care in doing the revision and it’s even a far better work than before.

Andreas Kostenberger replaced two authors from the old series in his handling of the Pastoral Epistles. He has since written other commentaries on those epistles and this is a fine improvement over the older series (though I like them as well). He tackles each of those three epistles separately. Again, this is a quality commentary for pastors to have.

Philemon sees a revision by the previous author and continues to be a very usable entry.

This book is another economical, wonderful tool for pastors and teachers. Many of us have used the older set for several years, and appreciate the care that went in producing this new set that will last for years to come. I give it the highest recommendation.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Volume 2 in this revised edition of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary (EBC) now covers from Numbers through Ruth. It’s a huge volume of over 1300 pages! You will find the same quality commentary throughout that the series is known for. It is a pastor’s favorite for many.

The Book of Numbers has been revised by Ronald Allen. He was given more space in the old set and that continues to be true in the 450 pages of quality commentary we have here. Though there has been some updating, the Introduction is still divided into the same 12 parts. Some of the most provocative are the two sections that outline the problem of the large numbers and the suggestion of a solution.  I can’t personally follow his theory there, but appreciate the overall conservative approach. The commentary itself is one of the better available today.

The commentary on Deuteronomy has been replaced with a new one by Michael Grisanti. The Introduction is short, but covers the basis. The bibliography is extensive, and some helpful maps have been added to the commentary. The commentary itself is successful because of its clarity and conservative conclusions.

The commentary on Joshua also has a new author in Helene Dallaire. Though briefer than Numbers and Deuteronomy above, it has still been well received as a mid-length commentary. The Introduction gives an overview of the book, and one of Joshua,  followed by a discussion of authorship and composition, literary form, historical background and dating, the people of the land, and theology. There’s also a bibliography and outline. Since the scholarly world is really varied in dating Joshua, the author gives a good synopsis of both conservative and liberal views. There are some helpful charts throughout the commentary too. I would label this commentary as solid and helpful.

The commentary on Judges also has a new author, this time by highly respected Mark Boda. He stays within the confines of the series, which limits page number, but still succeeds in providing a concise, yet penetrating volume. He approaches Introduction by discussing in turn, its canonical forms, its historical contexts, its sociological dynamics, it’s a literary shape, it’s rhetorical purpose, and its theological potential. He also has a nice bibliography and outline. In using it you will easily see the hand of a seasoned commentator.

George Schwab provides a new commentary on the Book of Ruth. I had a lot of trouble agreeing with his conclusions in the Introduction. The chart on page 1308, however, was outstanding. The commentary itself is helpful, but I found a few conclusions in the commentary a little over the top as well. I’m not saying it isn’t worth consulting, just that it wouldn’t be my favorite.

I don’t see how you could go wrong with this thick commentary covering five books of the Old Testament. When you think about what you’re getting, you could even call it an economical value too. This is really a nice one!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This book is the inaugural volume in the Through Old Testament Eyes commentary series. Series editor Andrew T. Le Peau contributes this volume on the Gospel of Mark. As we are starting to see such a proliferation of commentary series these days that the market is almost glutted, so a new series especially needs a unique contribution to not get lost in the multifarious market. If this first volume is any indication, I think this series is going to have something to say that’s not found in others. The Old Testament angle is only part of its success.

Be sure to read the Series Preface to see how it’s set up. In the Introduction to Mark’s Gospel, you immediately see that this series is aimed at pastors and Bible students, not academic types. He gives a long movie analogy of movies borrowing from older movies to describe Mark’s borrowing from the Old Testament. It’s in this Introduction that you find one of the highlights that will be carried through the whole commentary. Scholars often make a discussion of structure a quite nebulous exercise, but he takes it and in a few paragraphs turns it into something truly helpful. Compared to others, the Introduction is short, but I think it succeeds for what this series intends to be.

Every passage has commentary with an emphasis on its relation to the Old Testament. That does help where other commentaries sometimes lack. It’s those sections in the dark shading that I love the most. They contain all kinds of helpful information. It often involves explaining structure. Many times there’s a helpful chart that aids understanding even more.

I see this commentary as the perfect secondary commentary. It holds up well with the other serious paperback commentaries on the market. If this series can sustain what we have here, it will likely be quite successful. In any event, this first work on Mark is a winner.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This volume by Murray Harris is one of the most respected in the well-known New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC) series. Its success arises from its masterful exegesis, its scholarly clarity, and its warmth. Along the way, you will have one of the most conservative entries in the series as well. Having already written a helpful commentary II Corinthians in the EBC series aimed at pastors, Harris flexed his scholarly muscles in producing this meticulous, yet clear technical commentary.

Harris provides a massive bibliography running 100 pages. He begins the Introduction by digging into the literary issues of II Corinthians. I appreciated that on page 1 he wasted no time in saying, “one of the areas in which there is consensus among NT scholars is that Paul was the author of 2 Corinthians….” Quickly he segues into where the strongest debate concerning this book always happens – how it fits with I Corinthians. He explains what he calls “the severe letter”. He works through all the main possibilities before he begins defending the integrity of II Corinthians. There’s debate also about some of the passages and if they possibly come from a different hand than Paul. Again, these passages are covered from every possible angle and he is quite open to conservative solutions.

He also tackles the occasion, purpose, and outcome of the book. From there, he comes back at the book with a view to explain historical issues. In doing so he will review the date, Paul’s opponents, and the collection for Jerusalem. He works with care in producing a chronology before he dives into discussions about structure. There’s also some good discussion of theology in the book, which you will also find in the commentary itself.

The commentary proper is over 800 pages on the text. It is in perusing these pages that you will see that Harris lives up to the reputation that has attached to this book. As with most volumes in this series, the English translation of the Greek presented is nearby and fairly easy to follow even for non-Greek readers.

This volume is easily the best we have on the more technical side for II Corinthians today. Don’t miss it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This latest entry in the highly- regarded New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT) by Mignon Jacobs covers Haggai and Malachi. It replaces the serviceable volume by Pieter Verhoef that’s been much used for 30 years. In the last few decades this series has transitioned to academic issues from its earlier emphasis of assisting pastors, though scholarly pastors will still love it. If you appreciate the last few entries in this series, you will find this new title in that same vein and fully of their caliber.

After a substantial bibliography, the Introduction of Haggai begins with the historical background. We learn of the times of the prophet, his identity, and the date of his activity in the book. The next section tackles historical context by explaining what the author calls “chronological indicators” followed by the sociopolitical context and the conceptual framework. Next, there’s a brief discussion of the text followed by a section on inter-textual indicators. That revolves around Haggai’s comparison with Ezra, Chronicles, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Leviticus. There’s also a short section on structure (It could have been longer). The Introduction ends with a brief overview of the message that includes a few theological values.

The book of Malachi has an Introduction with the same design as that used by Haggai and explained above. There’s a few more charts and tables in this one to help the reader. The outline provided in the section on structure was also much more detailed than that of Haggai. I thought the theological discussion of the ideal versus the real was illuminating.

The verse by verse commentary of both sections is helpful. Scholarly issues are well defined and inter-textual discussions are well done. I’m glad to have this book on my shelves. It’s a real asset!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.