Thread: I Have To Buy One of These 5 Books

For one of my classes at PTS. Looking for the one that will help me the most in the Future. None are what you would call "Reformed" or "Evangelical" but I have to buy one and need some wisdom in selecting.

Thanks in advance.

Let me first state that I do not know anything about these books, but I would buy "Joel and Amos" simply for the fact that you get a commentary on two books whereas all the others are only on Amos.

Just my

Originally Posted by Chaplainintraining

Let me first state that I do not know anything about these books, but I would buy "Joel and Amos" simply for the fact that you get a commentary on two books whereas all the others are only on Amos.

Just my

I voted for the Mays commentary, put out by Westminster Press, mostly because this is the only one I can really remember anything about. I know I have consulted the two by Fortress press (Paul and Wolff), but sorry, I don't remember too much about them -- my knowledge of critical commentaries on the minor prophets is still all too sparse at this young age in my life. At the very least, even if you have radical differences of theological thought than the commentaries, I have always found all the commentaries and works put out in the Westminster Old Testament Library to be highly useful. And though I haven't had as much experience with the commentaries put out by Fortress, I have normally found them to be useful and worth the effort of consulting.

Bottom line: I'd go with Mays.

I have used Freedman in other books. He is fairly textual (although with liberal presuppositions). His Hebrew work in the Psalms is helpful. I have used Wolff before too (not in Amos) and his liberal leanings controlled the work so much it had little redeeming value. FWIW

I voted on the first one, where Andersen was one of the authors, as I have been using his Tyndale commentary on Job and found it excellent (save his take on Elihu, where I side with WH Green and Hywel Jones). I would buy another of his commentaries if I had to preach on that book.

Let me first say that I think every preacher should have at least two books that help in the selection of modern commentaries. (For older, Puritan commentaries, you can use this:
Amazon.com: A Guide to the Puritans: Robert P. Martin: Books

Those two books are John Glynn's Commentary and Reference Survey and Derek Thomas' Essential Commentaries for a Preacher's Library:

Amazon.com: The Essential Commentaries for a Preacher's Library: Derek H. Thomas, John W. Tweeddale: Books

Amazon.com: Commentary and Reference Survey: A Comprehensive Guide to Biblical and Theological Resources: John Glynn: Books

Both of these books help greatly in determining if a modern commentaries is good, bad or horrible.

Having said that, Glynn rates the Anderson/Freedman volume as at least Critical/Moderate and the Paul volume as well. Jeremias, Wolffe and Mays all are rated "Liberal/Critical." So I would get Anderson/Freedman or Paul.

My on the conservative/moderate/liberal/critical nature of commentaries:

Obviously, you're going to recommend different reading for different people. For a normal church member asking an elder about suggestions for reading material to help him understand the word of God, naturally it would be rather unthinkable to recommend something which has a low view of scripture, or teaches ridiculous things, etc. However, for a graduate student in an academic environment (especially for one who is thoroughly convinced of confessional truth), I think it is important to read, interact with and make use of the dominant theological and exegetical trends of the present age. As a pastor, John Owen would surely not recommend the works of Socinians to his congregation; but can you imagine the loss we would be at today if Owen himself had ignored these books because they contained bad theology?

I think that for the pastor-scholars of today, who have been taught in and our assured of our confessional, Christian truths, interaction with such commentaries is both useful and necessary. I think if we take seriously our belief in the perseverance of the saints, and thoroughly apply ourselves both to the administration and use of the ordinary means, we have nothing to fear from our pastors making use of them.

-----Added 12/1/2008 at 01:53:26 EST-----

(Sorry if that was too off topic)

I would say any one except the one by Paul... it is a bit redundent in the name and thus would make a boring read.

The Andersen/Freedman and the Paul commentaries are the two best commentaries on that list (and are among the best on Amos period). Paul is Jewish, of course, which might influence your decision, but it is an excellent commentary, nevertheless.

Go with: Amos: A New Translation with Notes and Commentary" by Francis Andersen and David Noel Freedman