New Testament Commentaries: Home

This guide is intended to aid students in finding New Testament commentaries available online and in print. In addition to the resources available on the shelves at Jamison library we also have a large collection of eBooks and electronic resources which are accessible the Digital Theological Library (DTL2).

Remember the proper use of commentaries. First do your own work in understanding and interpreting the passage. Then, use commentaries to amplify your work by making sure that you understand the various interpretive issues. Commentaries are great for helping you understand the historical background and the overall context of the passage.

Biblical commentaries are written from a variety of perspectives and different points of view. Consult several commentaries and be aware of the different assumptions and points of views expressed in commentaries on a particular biblical book. One of the best ways to do that is to be aware of the point of view of the publisher. For example, the Hermenia commentary series represents the best in European continental scholarship. The Word Biblical Commentary focuses on the Greek text from a generally evangelical viewpoint. The Believers Church Bible Commentary approaches the biblical text from a generally Mennonite/Anabaptist perspective. The New American Commentary represents conservative Southern Baptist scholarship. And so on. If you would like guidance in understanding general viewpoints of a specific commentary series, the library director is happy to help you.

We've selected what we think are the best commentaries available on each biblical book. We also have added a section on one-volume commentaries and various background books that will help you. For readers of the English Bible, the library director recommends the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Zondervan, 2016). This edition focuses on cultural backgrounds for each of the NT and OT books and can be used alongside the IVP Cultural Backgrounds New Testament Commentary.

We review this guide regularly and add commentaries as they are published. Enjoy your New Testament research.