Posted by PS on April 18, 2003 at 04:45:13:
In Reply to: one more thing...for now :) posted by Rob on April 17, 2003 at 14:25:02:
: I have been looking through the study materials you have on here. Which of the commentaries that are on the http://www.biblestudytools.net/Commentaries/webpage would you recommend? I know Scofield makes good study materials, but I do not see a commentary listed by them, only reference notes. Can you recommend one of the available commentaries?
: Thanks for your consideration.
: Rob.
Actually, the ones I like best are not online (and are kind of expensive). The ones here are all the older ones that are now public domain. Jamieson Fausset Brown is good, but omits recognition of some key Greek word meanings and concepts that affect passages. Robinson's may be the best for NT Greek. Scofield recognizes some key Greek meanings that are integral to an understanding of passages, but the hot-links to some Greek words are really screwed up. For instance, In John 21, a link that should be for agape (divine love) goes to diabolos (adversary). OOPS! And another agape link goes to phileo (fondness). Matthew Henry is more like reading a devotional.
Best bet would be to read them ALL for whatever passage you are interested in. In the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
I like the Expositors Bible Commentary and the New International Commentary (newer and quite pricey). But even the best commentaries are scholar's opinions, which do not all agree. They may be learned, but they are still "interpreting," and as such, can be wrong on things. A commentary's main function should be to get us to think, not tell us what to believe. :-)
But you know this... ;-)