Eerdmans Commentary Collection (13 vols.)

No one familiar with the Bible needs to be told that it is a truly remarkable work. But it takes help to understand this ancient collection of diverse forms of literature written by different people across many centuries. The Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible (ECB) is the finest, most up-to-date single-volume Bible handbook now available.

Written by world-class Bible scholars, the ECB encapsulates in nontechnical language the best of modern scholarship on the 66 biblical books plus the Apocrypha. The only one-volume Bible commentary to cover all the texts (even including 1 Enoch) regarded by one or more Christian churches as canonical, the ECB provides reader-friendly treatments and succinct summaries of each section of the text that will be valuable to scholars, students and general readers alike.

The primary objective of this work is to clarify the meaning of each section of the Bible. Rather than attempting a verse-by-verse analysis (virtually impossible in a one-volume work), the ECB focuses on principal units of meaning—narrative, parable, prophetic oracle, section of argument, and so on—highlighting their interconnectedness with the rest of the biblical text. The volume also addresses and answers major issues—including the range of possible interpretations—and refers readers to the best fuller discussions. Beyond providing reliable, informative commentary, this hefty volume also includes thirteen introductory and context-setting articles that do justice to the biblical documents both as historical sources and as scriptures.

The 67 contributors to the ECB come from a wide variety of backgrounds and are acknowledged leaders in the field of biblical studies. Their contributions stand out either for their fresh interpretations of the evidence, or for their way of asking new questions of the text, or for their new angles of approach. While the translation of choice is the New Revised Standard Version, many of the contributors offer their own vivid translations of the original Hebrew or Greek.

Cutting-edge, comprehensive, and ecumenical, the ECB is both a fitting climax to the rich body of interconfessional work undertaken in the latter part of the twentieth century and a worthy launching pad for biblical study in the twenty-first.

This milestone commentary by Jack Lundbom is intended for any and all readers who want to better know and understand the key Pentateuchal book of Deuteronomy, which has had a huge influence on both Judaism and Christianity over the centuries. For Jews, Deuteronomy contains the Decalogue and the Shema—“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one” (6:4)—supplemented by a code of primal legislation.

Deuteronomy is much cited in the New Testament and has come to occupy an important place in the life and doctrine of the Christian church. It lifts up important wisdom themes such as humane treatment and benevolence to the poor and needy and is rich in theology, calling repeatedly on Israel to reject other gods and worship the Lord alone as holy.

Besides drawing on language, archaeology, and comparative Near Eastern material, Lundbom’s commentary employs rhetorical criticism in explicating the biblical text. Lundbom also cites later Jewish interpretation of the book of Deuteronomy and makes numerous New Testament connections. An appendix contains all citations of Deuteronomy in the New Testament.

This commentary is the eighteenth published volume in The Forms of the Old Testament Literature (FOTL)—a series that aims to present a form-critical analysis of the books and units in the Hebrew Bible. Serge Frolov’s valuable study of Judges, addressing both synchronic and diachronic perspectives, offers the first full-scale form-critical treatment of Judges since 1922 and represents an important application of form criticism as practiced today.

Fundamentally exegetical, Frolov’s work examines the structure, genre, setting, and intention of Judges. Focusing on the canonical Hebrew text, Frolov argues that what we know as the book of Judges is not a literary unit but rather a series of interconnected units that are for the most part closely linked to adjoining books. In particular, he shows how the sequence “apostasy-oppression-repentance-deliverance’ traverses the boundary between Judges and Samuel. Frolov also analyzes the history behind the form-critical discussion of this book and exposes the exegetical process so as to enable students and pastors to engage in their own analysis and interpretation of Judges.

The Hebrew book of Job is by all accounts an exquisite piece of literary art that holds its rightful place among the most outstanding compositions in world literature. Yet it is also widely recognized as an immensely difficult text to understand.

In elucidating that ancient text, this inaugural Illuminations commentary by C. L. Seow pays close attention to the reception history of Job, including Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Western secular interpretations as expressed in theological, philosophical, and literary writings and in the visual and performing arts. Seow offers a primarily literary-theological interpretation of Job, a new translation, and detailed commentary.

Jeremiah’s poignant lament over Judah’s social and religious disintegration reflects God’s own pathos-laden yearning for his disobedient covenant people. In this widely praised expository commentary Walter Brueggemann, one of the premier Old Testament scholars of our time, explores the historical setting and message of Jeremiah as well as the text’s relevance for the church today.

Offering a fresh look at the critical theological issues in the Jeremiah tradition, Brueggemann argues that Jeremiah’s voice compels us to rediscern our own situation, issuing an urgent invitation to faith, obedience, justice, and compassion.

This combined edition of Brueggemann’s original two-volume work, published until recently as part of the International Theological Commentary series, is an essential resource for students, pastors, and general readers alike. It is reprinted here with a new introduction by Brueggemann that surveys the current state of Jeremiah studies.

In this masterful commentary, respected biblical scholar Bruce Waltke carefully interprets the message of the prophet Micah, building a bridge between Micah’s ancient world and our life today.

Waltke’s commentary on Micah quickly distinguishes itself from other commentaries on this book by displaying an unprecedented exegetical thoroughness, an expert understanding of historical context, and a keen interest in illuminating the contribution of Micah to Christian theology. Tackling hard questions about date and authorship, Waltke contends that Micah himself wrote and edited the nineteen sermons comprising the book. Waltke’s clear analytical outline leads readers through the three cycles of Micah, each beginning with an oracle of doom and ending with an oracle of hope, decisively showing that hope wins over doom.

Learned yet amazingly accessible, combining scholarly erudition with passion for Micah’s contemporary relevance, this book will well serve teachers, pastors, and students alike.

This inaugural volume in the Bible in Its World series offers a comprehensive commentary on the parables of Jesus. Arland Hultgren’s outstanding work features fresh translations of the parables in the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of Thomas, followed by interpretive notes and commentary on the theological meaning and significance of each parable for readers today.

After an introductory chapter on the nature of parables and their interpretation, Hultgren studies the 38 parables of Jesus thematically, exploring in turn “parables of the revelation of God,” “parables of exemplary behavior,” “parables of wisdom,” “parables of life before God,” “parables of final judgment,” “allegorical parables,” and “parables of the kingdom.“ He also discusses how the three evangelists used the parables within the literary framework and theological interests of their Gospels. The book ends with a close look at the parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas.

Distinctive in the field for its scope of coverage and its goal of addressing the widest possible audience, this volume will be a valuable study resource for classrooms, churches, and general readers.

Recognized as a masterly commentary when it first appeared, Frederick Dale Bruner’s study of Matthew is now available as a greatly revised and expanded two-volume work—the result of seven years of careful refinement, enrichment, and updating.

Through this commentary, crafted especially for teachers, pastors, and Bible students, Bruner aims “to help God’s people love what Matthew’s Gospel says.” Bruner’s work is at once broadly historical and deeply theological. It is historical in drawing extensively on great church teachers through the centuries and on the classical Christian creeds and confessions. It is theological in that it unpacks the doctrines in each passage, chapter, and section of the Gospel. Consciously attempting to bridge past and present, Bruner asks both what Matthew’s Gospel said to its first hearers and what it says to readers today. As a result, his commentary is profoundly relevant to contemporary congregations and to those who guide them.

Bruner’s commentary is replete with lively, verse-by-verse discussion of Matthew’s text. While each chapter expounds a specific topic or doctrine, the book’s format consists of a vivid, original translation of the text followed by faithful exegesis and critical analysis, a survey of historical commentary on the text, and current applications of the text or theme under study. In this revision Bruner continues to draw on the best in modern scholarship—including recent work by W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison Jr., by Ulrich Luz, and by many others—adding new voices to the reading of Matthew. At the same time he cites the classic commentaries of Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Bengel, and the rest, who, like Bruner himself, were not simply doctrinal teachers but also careful exegetes of Scripture. Such breadth and depth of learning assure that Bruner’s Matthew will remain, as a reviewer for Interpretation wrote, “the most dog-eared commentary on the shelf.”

Volume 1 of Bruner’s commentary is called The Christbook because the first 12 chapters of Matthew are focused on the nature and work of Christ. As Bruner proceeds through these chapters, he shows how Matthew presents, step by step, central themes of Christology: Jesus’ coming (chapters 1–4), his teaching (5–7), his miracles (8–9), his sermon on mission (10), and his person (11–12). Throughout the book there are also thoughtful discussions of significant topics such as baptism, marriage, Jewish-Christian relations, and heaven and hell.

Eminently readable, rich in biblical insight, and ecumenical in tone, Bruner’s two-volume commentary on Matthew now stands among the best in the field.

Volume two of Bruner’s commentary is called The Churchbook because Bruner sees Matthew 13–28 as concerned primarily with the life of the church and discipleship. Continuing his first volume (Christbook) exposition, Bruner shows here how the focus of Matthew shifts, from Jesus teaching about who he is to teaching mainly about what his church is. Bruner’s Churchbook commentary divides the second half of Matthew according to its major ecclesiological themes: the church’s faith (chapters 13–17), the church’s love (18–20), the church’s history (21–23), the church’s hope (24–25), and the church’s passion (26–28).

Eminently readable, rich in biblical insight, and ecumenical in tone, Bruner’s two-volume commentary on Matthew now stands among the best in the field.

Heralded as “an epoch-making book” by F. F. Bruce when it first appeared, Robert H. Gundry’s commentary on the Gospel of Matthew stands as a benchmark in biblical scholarship and modern methodology. No commentary in recent history has sparked such passionate discussion among evangelical scholars, and scholars of other persuasions have also paid considerable attentions to this work.

In response to the plethora of evaluations afforded this text since its publication in 1982, Gundry has issued this second edition. Included are an extensive new preface taking up criticisms that reviewers and other readers lodged against the first edition, a new appendix, and 225 new endnotes that expanded the commentary and provide fresh reflections on the text.

This bold, well-informed study retains the redaction-critical methodology of Gundry’s original work and the host of provocative interpretations that result. Elucidated afresh are Gundry’s conviction that Matthew relied on the Gospel of Mark and the document “Q” and Gundry’s arguments for a combination of historical data and theological embellishments in passages such as those that present the birth of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount and Peter’s walking on the water. The new preface offers expanded evidence that Jewish literary tradition was concerned more with theological development that with historical exactitude.

Gundry’s Matthew now provides not only truly engrossing biblical scholarship but also an excellent example of constructive professional dialogue between academicians, Students, pastors, and theologians will find here a wealth of scrupulous hermeneutical research and thought-provoking answers to many open questions in textual studies.

The first full-length critical commentary on the Greek text of Mark to appear in English in a long time. Gundry says that Mark constitutes a straightforward defense of the apparently shameful manner of Jesus’ death, and as such Mark’s Gospel is essentially an evangelistic tract rather than an obliquely written handbook of Christian discipleship and church life.

Ian Levy, Philip Krey, and Thomas Ryan’s Letter to the Romans presents the history of early and medieval interpretations of Romans and gives substantial translations of select medieval commentaries. Written by eight representative medieval interpreters between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, these commentaries have never been translated into English before.

This valuable book will enhance contemporary reading of the Bible even as it lends insight into medieval scholarship. As Levy says, the medieval commentaries exhibit “qualities that many modern commentaries lack: a spiritual depth that reflects their very purpose, namely, to read Holy Scripture within the sacred tradition under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”

This theological commentary on 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus by Robert Wall powerfully demonstrates the ongoing relevance and authority of the Pastoral Epistles for the church today. Wall uniquely employs an apostolic “Rule of Faith” methodology for interpreting these texts as sacred Scripture. Three successive historical case studies by Richard Steele vividly instantiate key themes of the Pastorals. This innovative yet reverent volume will help revive the interest of students, pastors, and other Christian leaders in the Pastoral Epistles.