Customer Reviews

Abingdon Bible Commentary

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Anyone who reads the Bible needs ABINGDON'S COMMENTARY [recent versions are titled THE INTERPRETER'S ONE-VOLUME COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE], or a similar scholarly work. Includes essays on the Bible in whole, by Book, on translation, society, etc. The real strength and usefulness lies in it's almost LINE-BY-LINE COMMENTS on Bible passages.

There are two, count 'em, TWO different creation stories in Genesis. (It always astonishes me that people who "know" the Bible don't know that simple fact.) Is the three-stranded cord in one of the Psalms a hint at the triune nature of God? (Scholars believe it's just the way rope was made.) What, for heaven's name, is a "heave breast" mentioned where a prophet scolds Israel for doing the proper sacrifices, but says it is worthless without prayer and true gratitude? (You raise, or heave, the meal's best dish chest high, or breast high, give thanks to God, and then serve it to your guests. The description of the gesture grew to became a noun for Old Testament writers in the same way "first fruits" is used ... that which is best in our lives that we offer first to God.) How are the conflicting versions of the "Sermon on the Mount" to be understood? (Jesus probably gave this sermon several times; in one of the Gospels, it's clearly described as being given on a plain.) What is the 7 headed beast in Revelations, and who was the author John of Patmos? (Find out for yourself!)

Articles are written by a wide range of scholars not excluded by personal religion, rather chosen for inclusion because of their expertise.

Abingdon Press is a publishing house of the United Methodist Church. The Press can be found at abingdonpress.com.

More graphics would have given this old version 5 STARS. *****
The new version has the graphics.

I agree with the other reviewer; if you are serious about gaining a deep understanding the Bible in its historical, cultural and theological context, you need a scholarly commentary. I found a copy of the Abingdon at a library sale, and I was absolutely delighted with it. There are numerous articles providing overviews of various topics associated with Biblical exegesis, and each book of the Bible is dealt with individually with a preface and overview in which authorship and date of writing are discussed, along with the condition of the text. This is followed by a running commentary that you can read side-by-side with the Bible. You can use it with any Bible, but the Abingdon commentary was specifically written for the King James translation & it often points out flaws in the wording and give possible alternate readings for dubious passages. While reading "The Message" Old Testament I turned frequently to the Abingdon commentary whenever I came across something weird that needed clarification. I found an answer EVERY TIME, as well as a bounty of additional information and surprising facts I never knew before.

The tone of the commentaries varies from book to book, since each one is done by a different author. The authors were selected for their expertise and not for their sectarian affiliations, so the end result is an overall high level of scholarship and a refreshing non-partisan objectivity.

I can only award four stars though, because (in addition to being based on the King James translation) this book was originally published in 1929. The Bible, of course, is still the Bible, but some of the scholarship might be outdated in light of subsequent archaeological discoveries and newer methods of critical analysis. It also lacks the Apocrypha, which is rather important since the so-called "Intertestamental" books cover a 300-year gap between the Old and New Testaments and bring a lot of clarity to the dawn of the Christian era.

The Abingdon-Cokesbury press is the publishing arm of the Methodist church, and they are still in business. They released a new edition of their Bible commentary in the 1970s, called "The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary" (with the Apocrypha) and there's a brand-new one (2010) called "The New Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary." I have browsed through a copy of the 1970s version and I actually prefer the older one because it seems more accessible. It has more plain language and less abbreviations, with fewer references to other scholarly works.