What are your pet peeves regarding Bible commentaries?

In this excerpt, I talk about some of my pet peeves regarding Bible commentaries.
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[@Jon0387]

I really appreciate these livestream highlights. Due to family medical issues I’ve only been able to watch a little bit of the Friday livestreams the last month.

[@JonSSteiner]

I totally agree with your points. I can't recall any commentaries that stand out on Numbers. I read through about 10 of them last year and "meh." Peter Leithart's commentary on Kings (more interest with literary points, not really beneficial with historical issues) and Lissa Beal's commentary on Kings were more interesting. Definitely worth reading in parallel with Chronicles to notice the differences. William Johnstone's commentaries on Chronicles (The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies) have been by far the most interesting ones I've read, though limiting if you don't have access to a good library (can be cost prohibitive because of the nature of the series. Would love to hear more of your thoughts on the theological publishing industry).

[@jeremyyap1714]

What do you think of John Walton's works like the Ancient Near Eastern Thought and The Old Testament or his OT contribution to the IVP Bible Backgrounds Commentaries?

[@user-mh2md4te9i]

More clips, always enjoying it.

[@tymmiara5967]

I made it into your thumbnail! Finally

[@a.t.ministries5376]

I GOT A QUESTION VIDEO! 🎉 (Kinda, more like I was a jumping off point, but I’ll take it 😅😂)

[@danielkeathley6477]

What is your favorite commentary on the Psalms, Kings, and Numbers?

[@Truthsayer1979]

Knoppers on Chronicles, also Dillard

[@georgesparks7833]

Interesting podcast really enjoyed😊

[@joshuahawthorne4389]

Regarding what Dr. Falk has said in this short video about the status behind commentaries for Numbers, it's fairly regrettable to me that the saying "money talks" applies even to dissecting God's Word. (I mean, the saying has merit, but still.)

[@isaakleillhikar8311]

If they don’t want commentaries on the Book of Numbers and don’t like it for the Book of Chronicles, thank goodness there’s no Book of Calendars in the Bible.

[@ancientegyptandthebible]

🤣

[@aperson4057]

My pet peeve is when I feel like the commentator is trying to insert theological, ethical, or devotional considerations for what I feel like its just to fill up word space on the text they're commenting on. It almost feels like they start forgetting about the text at hand in the immediate sentence. A personal anecdote, right now I’m trying to exegete ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭52‬: “Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will die by the sword.” The commentaries and infos I’ve looked up have generated various different interpretations from personal ethics, to condemning revolution, to affirming the death penalty, to being a general proverb, etc. What’s funny is the commentators assert their interpretation, with no one admitting that we probably have no idea.

[@fushumang1716]

I really really hope Dr. Falk would take on the latest video of Useful Charts "Does Bronze Age Archaeology Support the Bible?"

[@ancientegyptandthebible]

Anything is possible.

[@IvanGonzalez-mp4xh]

Thoughts on Concordia Publishing House (LCMS) commentary series?

[@chrispowell1768]

Great video, not sure I agree about Old Commentaries. If you read them critically (which most people, I confess, don't do), then they still have valuable insights. Especially since they didn't have the particular biases and blindspots that we do (even though they had their own unique biases). I love older works, but recognize there is a need to throw out statements in them that are false in light of contemporary scholarship or need to be revised. However, I think it is good advice that the beginner should not begin with older commentaries which is why the internet is dangerous because novices get a hold of these free resources and don't know how to examine them critically.

[@DianeSLoftis]

The ratio: ‘the commentary should be much longer than the original book’ 🤔 I’d never have thought that. I’ve always thought the opposite.

[@curtthegamer934]

I think it's in regards to putting events into their historical context so they can be understood better. If the historical context is long-winded, it might end up longer than the book.

[@DianeSLoftis]

@@curtthegamer934 Ah 🤔 I gotchya. That makes sense. Thank you! Hey.. I subscribed to your channel… looks pretty cool! I’m looking forward exploring it.

[@deadalivemaniac]

Very interesting timing! I was just talking to somebody else about my biggest pet peeve with dawahbros (quoting verse 3 of John 17 but never going through verse 5). Thanks for your insight! Edit: one thing that came to mind, since you mentioned 50 years as a cutoff for reliable commentaries, would you still recommend early church commentaries by any Church Fathers?

[@chrisazure1624]

Go to Daily Dose of Greek on YT for the passage. It is an illeism, a figure of speech common for Jesus.

[@johnirish989]

From what I've read Chronicles is from GOD'S perspective.

[@johnirish989]

Again from what I've read, when a King is in power that He doesn't like, time stands still. Time doesn't count.

[@chrisazure1624]

Overly feel good application before the passage is properly exegeted.

[@kristanrussell9931]

What is the best commentary on Isaiah

[@YRD9648]

I don’t need a commentary for Mark. I have a commentary for Matthew! 😕

[@tsemayekekema2918]

I don't think there are any books that don't have good critical commentaries - I mean for an academic audience, not popular audience. Mentioning numbers is odd - scholars talk about the pentateuch all the time.

[@guywholivesforart]

It's not necessarily that there's a lack of good commentaries available. Rather, it's an overabundance of bad commentaries. Books like Numbers, 1st & 2nd Chronicles, Daniel, etc. just have a massive amount of other content drowning out the academic study resources available.

[@tsemayekekema2918]

@@guywholivesforart I don't think what you've said is an issue for a scholarly audience - it's for those who read popular level "commentaries". Actual critical & serious biblical scholars simply ignore the mass of low quality content.

[@tsemayekekema2918]

@@guywholivesforart no person serious about academics will be reading a commentary on an old testament book that discusses "nonsense" such as whether or not a passage supports Freewill as opposed to (Calvinistic) Predestination - those are medieval & Protestant theological categories that have no place in serious ancient near eastern studies that relate to the biblical period. It is only when your scholarship is not serious enough to be allergic to such nonsense that the massive amounts of low quality so-called commentaries will become visible to you (there is a reason why "Christian scholars" often don't get taken seriously enough to have their books feature in libraries of secular universities’ libraries of old testament studies). It is the same way no serious student of the Gospels can possibly get distracted by the massive numbers of writings of Pentecostal televangelists on the academic study of the miracle stories of Jesus - Benny Hinn's or Kenneth Copeland's books simply don't count for serious biblical studies😂

[@guywholivesforart]

@@tsemayekekema2918 Totally agreed. Hence the "hard to find" distinction. Such commentaries are available; they just aren't super easy to spot without prior experience doing scholarly study in that section of Scripture.

[@Panax07]

So Matthew Henry is garbage? Wow, my church uses it and gave a copy to all ministers and teachers.

[@IamGrimalkin]

Well, it does fall under both of David's red flags: it's a whole-bible commentary over 50 years old. But I think David is letting the perfect be the enemy of the good here. Realistically, the average church member isn't going to buy 66 tomes. Matthew Henry's commentary is available digitally for free, which is a huge advantage. And some 'Bible commentaries' are just extended propaganda for theological liberalism. Matthew Henry's commentary is not, so it gets points for that.