Logos Best Commentaries Sale (September 2020)

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My observations have been that most on this board prefer more antiquated commentaries, however, most on the Logos sale are more modern commentaries. For me, I prefer the modern works.
 
Do you have any particular books of Scripture you want to give greater attention to? The sale is on the highest rated commentaries (according to a site) of each O.T. and N.T. book.

Jeremiah is one I am reading now. Also going to be looking into the Pentateuch soon.
 
Some excellent sources are available there at decent prices. @iainduguid makes an appearance for only £3.53. :cheers: Dale Ralph Davis is also available in this format. From my layman's perspective, the newer commentaries are better on exegesis, understanding the argument of the book as a whole, and help with the languages. The older commentaries, conversely, are better when it comes to drawing out the doctrine from the text. I tend to read the latter more because I like to glean material for my blog posts. If I was a minister, I would spend far more time reading modern commentators.
 
There are a lot of great authors in there and I bought quite a few a couple weeks back to supplement what I already have - D.A. Carson, Dale Raph Davis, Derek Kidner, E.J. Young (Isaiah) were volumes I didn't have. Beale's commentary on Revelation is offered at a great price and a must buy. I buy just about any commentary by Dr. Duguid - he's fantastic (shhh, don't tell him). There really are too many good options to mention - depends what you have already and what you are looking for in a commentary.

Other authors to consider (some of these I have worked with, some I am going by reputation):

- Ridderbos (John, anything else)
- Beale (anything)
- Wehnham (heard he has made very important contributions, haven't read)
- Motyer (anything but especially Isaiah)
- Waltke on Proverbs has been hit and miss for me, more technical than theological, devotional. He's a very big name in Biblical scholarship though
- Phil Ryken does more of sermon type commentaries but does a really good job
- O. Palmer Robertson - have read some of his monographs and liked his work but haven't read him as a commentator. I would definitely look into him though due to strong Reformed reputation
- Moo on Romans is very strong. Not totally Reformed but he is very influential and great as part of a Romans mix. If you want to start with Reformed authors first, I might wait on Moo and go with someone like Murray or Haldane.
- Davies and Allen on Matthew is critical but considered a gold standard academically. These cost a fortune in print and very cheap digitally with this sale. Glad I was reminded about them because I just bought.
- William Lane - been strong the times I have referenced him and would always consider buying if reviews are good.
- D.A. Carson (anything), he always seems to put his best foot forward
- Gordon Fee - though he is evangelical charismatic and wonky on some issues, he is a strong scholar and writer. I almost always reference him if I have others to compare with. If you want Reformed first, I would consider Fee second.
- Grudem - its Grudem but I think I remember liking his 1 Peter commentary

I wish I could remember what I thought of F.F. Bruce and Leon Morris when I referenced them because they come up a lot in this sale. I think they were fine - will let others comment.

Not a big fan of Tremper Longman but some like him. I think he got Ecclesiastes wrong, others think he nailed it.

Series (always author dependent but each has a typical slant they are going for):

- Anchor/Yale, Hermenia and Interpretation are going to be critical commentaries so theology is going to be suspect but sometimes they have some fantastic "academic" insights regarding linguistics, historical and cultural background, literature analysis, etc. I definitely would not recommend them as your first commentaries on a book but further down the list if you feel you need more of what they offer and you have a strong filter. I might consider them 4th or 5th on a book if there are strong reviews. I can't remember if it is either Hermenia or Interpretation but one of those has big books but not much text on each page and didn't seem that valuable. I referenced them alot in seminary as we had to have at least 1 critical commentary in the mix.
- NIVAC I typically avoid unless it is a really good author like Duguid. I just don't find the format and approach all that helpful. Too light academically for a commentary for me.
- NAC I haven't been very impressed with yet, may need to give more volumes a chance
- Word - strong linguistically, depends on author but I typically look up reviews because some volumes can be very valuable
- Tyndale - typically too brief for me but some authors do really well with the format like Kidner and others so really author dependent
- Bible Speaks Today - brief like Tyndale but they tend to focus on the theological message of the book which can be really valuable.
- NICOT - typically very strong and the type of balance between somewhat technical and theological but you really have to look up the author as they have some *ahem* "losers" in there but also some great picks
- NICNT - my favorite series, great blend of technical, theological, and literary help. Author dependent but I tend to look at this series first.
- Pillar - my second favorite series. Not as strong technically as NICNT (although some like the discontinued Peter O'Brien can get very linguistically technical and thorough) but I have found these to be consistently strong but I still look at reviews of the author first. Usually a buy.
- Baker - can be good, can be tedious. check author and reviews
- New Testament Commentary - I have not been real impressed by Hendriksen and Kistemaker in this series although they are solidly reformed. To me, many of their comments seem fairly obvious and not all that valuable, they tend to sit on my shelf
 
- Word - strong linguistically, depends on author but I typically look up reviews because some volumes can be very valuable
- Tyndale - typically too brief for me but some authors do really well with the format like Kidner and others so really author dependent
- Bible Speaks Today - brief like Tyndale but they tend to focus on the theological message of the book which can be really valuable.
- NICOT - typically very strong and the type of balance between somewhat technical and theological but you really have to look up the author as they have some *ahem* "losers" in there but also some great picks
- NICNT - my favorite series, great blend of technical, theological, and literary help. Author dependent but I tend to look at this series first.

Thank you for you assessment. I was considering buying one of the commentary series and its a toss up between NICNT/OT ocmpared to Word. I noticed Word seems to be highly rated but I don't want to base it solely on the ratings. If you go to a bookstore they would say that Joel Osteen is highly rated too (not comparing them but just making a point). What would you prefer between Word vs NICNT/OT?
 
I would do NICNT if the deal was too good to pass up but I generally do not advise buying entire series since you will be paying for the “duds.” I would buy single volumes if it makes financial sense.

I forgot to add NIGTC which is another series that is close to the top for me. Some volumes skew fairly technical linguistically, and others are very balanced with theology and exegesis like Beale’s Revelation commentary.
 
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