Evaluating Commentaries and Scholarly Resources in Biblical Study
Engaging with biblical commentaries and scholarly resources is a vital aspect of in-depth biblical study, offering insights into the text, its historical context, and its theological implications. These resources can illuminate difficult passages, connect themes across Scripture, and provide different interpretive lenses.
One primary function of commentaries is to clarify the meaning of specific verses or phrases. For instance, in 1 Corinthians, a commentary might explain how partaking in the Lord's Supper implies fellowship with Christ, just as partaking in Jewish sacrifices connected one to the altar of God, and idol feasts to "devils" [1]. This kind of explanation helps readers understand the underlying argument of the biblical author. Similarly, when the apostle Paul quotes from the Old Testament, commentaries can identify the original source, such as Psalm 94:11 being cited in 1 Corinthians 3:20 to support the idea that "the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" [5].
Commentaries also frequently highlight the broader theological significance of passages. For example, in John 5:39, Jesus' instruction to "Search the scriptures" is interpreted as an affirmation of the Scriptures' authority and the right of all to study them, contrasting with views that might restrict access or interpretation [2]. This passage is understood to emphasize that the Scriptures bear witness to Christ as the "appointed Dispenser" of eternal life [2]. In Hebrews 13:15, the mention of "sacrifices" is connected to "praise and doing good," offered "by him" (Christ) as the Mediator, rather than through Jewish observances [3]. This interpretation draws parallels with Old Testament psalms and highlights a shift in understanding sacrifice in the New Covenant [3].
Furthermore, scholarly resources can draw connections between different biblical texts and theological concepts. The Pauline triad of Christian graces—faith, hope, and love—is noted in Hebrews 10:24, where believers are encouraged to "consider" one another to "provoke unto love," rather than hatred [4]. This demonstrates how commentators identify recurring themes and virtues across the New Testament. Another example is the reference to Exodus 34:7 and Isaiah 65:6 in Jeremiah 32:18, which links Jeremiah's understanding of God's justice and grace to the Decalogue [8].
Some resources also offer insights into the original languages or cultural contexts. While not always explicitly detailed in every commentary, the mention of rabbinic sayings, such as "At a future time all sacrifices shall cease, but praises shall not cease," provides a glimpse into the broader Jewish interpretive tradition that informs some biblical understanding [3]. The Tyndale House commentary on Psalm 139:17, for instance, offers a concise interpretation of "How precious are your thoughts about me," suggesting that God's "investigation reveals loving care" and that "Fellowship with the Lord provides riches beyond description" [6].
Finally, commentaries can encourage personal reflection and application. The call to "search and try our ways" in Lamentations 3:36 is presented as an alternative to "murmuring and complaining" during affliction, prompting readers to examine God's love and the covenant of grace for comfort and support [7]. This demonstrates how scholarly resources move beyond mere textual analysis to encourage spiritual introspection.
Sources
- 1 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Corinthians 10:15: Appeal to their own powers of judgment to weigh the force of the argument that follows: namely, that as the partaking of the Lord's Supper involves a partaking of the Lord Himself, and the partaking of the Jewish sacrificial meats involved a partaking of the altar of God, and, as the heathens sacrifice to devils, to partake of an idol feast is to have fellowship with devils. We cannot divest ourselves of the responsibility of "judging" for ourselves. The weakness of private judgment is not an argument against its use, but its abuse. We should t”
- John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on John 5:39: Search the scriptures, &c.--"In the Scriptures ye find your charter of eternal life; go search them then, and you will find that I am the Great Burden of their testimony; yet ye will not come to Me for that life eternal which you profess to find there, and of which they tell you I am the appointed Dispenser." (Compare Act 17:11-12). How touching and gracious are these last words! Observe here (1) The honor which Christ gives to the Scriptures, as a record which all have a right and are bound to search--the reverse of which the Church of Rome teaches; (2)”
- Hebrews (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Hebrews 13:15: As the "altar" was mentioned in Heb 13:10, so the "sacrifices" here (compare Pe1 2:5, namely, praise and doing good, Heb 13:16). Compare Psa 119:108; Rom 12:1. By him--as the Mediator of our prayers and praises (Joh 14:13-14); not by Jewish observances (Psa 50:14, Psa 50:23; Psa 69:30-31; Psa 107:22; Psa 116:17). It was an old saying of the rabbis, "At a future time all sacrifices shall cease, but praises shall not cease." of praise--for salvation. continually--not merely at fixed seasons, as those on which the legal sacrifices were offered, bu”
- Hebrews (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Hebrews 10:24: Here, as elsewhere, hope and love follow faith; the Pauline triad of Christian graces. consider--with the mind attentively fixed on "one another" (see on Heb 3:1), contemplating with continual consideration the characters and wants of our brethren, so as to render mutual help and counsel. Compare "consider," Psa 41:1, and Heb 12:15, "(All) looking diligently lest any fail of the grace of God." to provoke--Greek, "with a view to provoking unto love," instead of provoking to hatred, as is too often the case.”
- 1 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Corinthians 3:20: And again,.... Not in the same place, nor in the same book, but in the Psalms, in Psa 94:11. This form of citing Scriptures answers to and moreover, used by the Jewish doctors when the matter does not so clearly appear from the first proof, and therefore they produce another (q): and so here the apostle, for the further confirmation and illustration of this point, that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, to the testimony of Eliphaz, adds this of David, the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain; in the Psalms it is, "the Lord ”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 139:17: 139:17 How precious are your thoughts about me: God’s investigation reveals loving care. Fellowship with the Lord provides riches beyond description.”
- Lamentations (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Lamentations 3:36: Let us search and try our ways,.... stead of murmuring and complaining, let us search for something that may support and comfort, teach and instruct, under afflictive providences; let us search into the love of God, which, though it cannot be fully searched out, it will be found to be from everlasting to everlasting; and that all afflictions spring from it; and that it continues notwithstanding them: let us search into the covenant of grace, in which provision is made for afflictions in case of disobedience, and for supports under them: let us search the Scriptu”
- Jeremiah (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Jeremiah 32:18: (Exo 34:7; Isa 65:6). This is taken from the decalogue (Exo 20:5-6). This is a second consideration to check hasty judgments as to God's ways: Thou art the gracious and righteous Judge of the world.”