Read the series.
The Best Commentaries on Romans: Remember, this list has preachers primarily in mind.
1. Douglas Moo (NICNT) — Somewhat dense, which may hinder readers somewhat, but interaction with the text and the literature is very impressive. Deals well with the ‘new perspective’, and even manages some applications (but see Moo’s contribution to the NIVAC series). His Introduction is on the short side, but there are numerous excurses. Not all will like his treatment of Chapter 7.
Read the series.
Commentaries on the Book of Genesis are ten-a-penny. But some of them are too concerned with ANE parallels that they forget to teach the Book itself. Some are over speculative, while others too critical and unbelieving. The pastor who wants to get at the meat without spitting out too many bones might do worse than study the following:
Read the series.
I am convinced that the Book of Revelation ought to be interpreted as a prophecy and that its numbers and symbols have identifiable referents either close by or in other Books of the Bible. I have therefore given a list of works espousing the Dispensational point of view. Not that non-Dispensational writers aren’t useful, but accuracy of interpretation must come first. I have made note also of some non-dispensational works.
“I believe some commentary sets are worth owning in full. Among them is the ESV Expository Commentary, which is now complete at 12 volumes that cover the whole Old Testament and New Testament. I think it is the best series for any Christian to own, whether it is to be used to study for sermons, to prepare Bible studies, or for personal devotion, growth, and learning.” - Challies
“While dozens of commentaries have been published on each of the gospels since the year 2000, we recommend these below because they have stood the test of time in an ‘evergreen’ way.” - Christ Over All
“My ears perked up when Piper brought up two issues that I’d like to address….One is the use of BDAG, a Greek-English lexicon that I use all the time. The second is the use of commentaries, another thing I do.” - Ward on Words
Matthew Through Old Testament Eyes, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2024, 389 pages, paperback.
I have already reviewed the previous volumes from this series. All three were what I would call average to above average works, containing useful content, although my repeated refrain was that in my opinion they fail to live up to the title. If you want to write a NT commentary “through OT Eyes” then you really can’t superimpose the NT on it. At least you can’t unless what you meant to say was something like “How the NT Book of _____ Reads the OT.”
“TGC Council members, staff, and expert writers have worked together to compile an annotated list of the best commentaries on each Bible book.” - TGC
“When we asked these four questions, we found a gaping hole on our shelf. Thus started the six-year project that resulted in The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary.” - TGC
“Some of the commentaries listed below are excellent in some respects, but argue for critical views that are unpersuasive. Commentaries with an asterisk (*) require a knowledge of the Greek text.” - 9 Marks
