Anyone has or is familiar with:
Lange J.P. - Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (63 Vols.) ?

Is it a technical commentary and is it pretty difficult to read ?
I heard that Shaff transelated it.

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* Ralph Wilms (7-10-1974)
* Church : Christengemeente Roermond (The Netherlands)
* 1729 Goat Yard Declaration of Faith & 1646 Baptist Confession of faith

"To our mind, either everything or nothing must be held in subjection to the will and providence of God. Even the wickedness of ungodly men is restricted by predestination, so that the wrath of man shall praise God, and the remainder of wrath He will restrain." - GILBERT BEEBE (1800-1881)

Most American library editions (modern editions) are bound in considerably fewer volumes, more like 20. I have such a set, published in the late 1800s, rebound. The paper in some of the books is quite brittle.

It is basically of the same era as Keil & Delitzsch. Many and various authors, some more liberal than others. Generally, the American translators (who frequently added quite a bit of material as notations) were as much or more conservative than the European originals.

Philip Schaff was the general editor/translator of the American edition. He drew widely on a broad spectrum of North American scholars, trying to ensure the set had wide appeal. The quality of the whole would probably be said to be "uneven" by modern standards. But there is some material there, in the form of quotations especially, that is simply unavailable elsewhere.

For example, I learned Calvin's interpretation of the "Witch of Endor" through such a reference and short quotation (in English translation) from his sermons (Fr.) on 1Sam, something totally unavailable in English. (Calvin is right, by the way!)

The commentaries can be read and digested by a layman. There is the kind of original language reference you will find in K&D in the expositional segments, but also doctrinal and practical sections. It is dated, but can still be made use of. However, I wouldn't buy it unless I could get it at a drastic discount. I did pay what I considered to be a very good price for the books I own, probably just under $10 a volume. Today, I would have a hard time justifying even that expense, opting instead for the extra functionality of an electronic version, especially at around the same price.

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Rev. Bruce G. Buchanan
ChainOLakes Presbyterian Church, CentralLake, MI


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I have the Lange set published by Zondervan in 1960 and have used it many times with great profit.

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Wes Bredenhof
Pastor, Providence Canadian Reformed Church
Hamilton, Ontario
www.bredenhof.ca
Gospel Talk Radio Program

If you wanted to check it out for yourself, there are a few (at least 2 or 3) volumes on Google Books; that might help you better know if it's something you would want.

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Paul Korte
OPC
Flint, MI

They who perceive in themselves discoveries of the divine goodness, so full and absolutely perfect, and who make them the subject of earnest meditation, will never embrace new doctrines, by which the very grace they feel so powerfully in themselves is thrown into the shade. --John Calvin

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