Customer Reviews

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The JFB commentary on the whole Bible was authored nearly 150 years ago. Like so few of its numerous peers, the JFB still remains as the preeminent work of its kind. Today's "modern" commentaries pale by comparison and will quickly fade into obscurity. If anything, it seems as though deep understanding of the Scriptures has given way to superficial milk-spew. The JFB remains the bedrock standard of Scriptural explanation. Concise, lucid, and without apology to denomination or creed, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown have done more for the honest Bible student than nearly any other expounder before or since. To say I highly recommend the JFB couldn't be more of an understatement.

If you're serious about studying the Bible and coming to a deeper understanding of, and relationship with, God, the JFB is a good place to start.

Prepare to be humbled.

As another reviewer said, I find myself reaching for this commentary more and more. Even though it originally came in a 3 volume set (now a 1 volume), I would not consider this an exhaustive commentary. It is concise, not just in the content covered, it is also concise in the actual exposition and phrasing. I mention this because many of the older commentaries, although excellent and more exhaustive, still tend to be too wordy for my taste. And occasionally, the less the writer grasped a subject, the more wordy they tended to be.

The JFB often accurately and succinctly explains a passage even when Calvin, Gill and Clarke are too verbose, vague, or on occasion, just plain confusing. Even where the JFB commentary agrees with Calvin or Gill for example, JFB says in 1 or 2 sentences what takes them 2 or 3 paragraphs. I realize that was the norm when those commentaries were written, and that approach has its place, but since JFB is easier to understand and more succinct, I find it more useful.

I will continue to use all of the commentaries above, but I am searching the JFB more and more. You can find any of them online free of charge. I even have Clarke and JFB on my Dell Axim. Can't beat that.

Recently I have been studying the Book of Job and I have found JFB to be very insightful. It has given excellent exposition of the passages, but has also been very helpful in understanding the culture, customs and traditions behind the text. I do not believe for a second that one must understand all the history and traditions of Bible times to get the spiritual meaning of God's Word, however, the fact is that understanding some of the background can really cast some light on certain passages.

JFB is like Smith's Bible Dictionary. It is not the most comprehensive, but since it is more functional and easier to use, you use it more than the others, therefore, it is the most helpful.

Being a bi-vocational pastor means I need concise and exact Biblical commentary because of working fulltime and pastoring a church fulltime. This commentary has been invaluable to me in all ways in helping me with my sermons. I don't believe there has been a time that I have not referred to it for explanation of God's word.

I own the three-volume hardback version of this concise and informative Bible commentary, and have used it profitably over the past years. When I noticed that a Kindle version had become available -- and that OSNOVA is the e-book designer -- I immediately made the purchase and loaded it onto my e-reader.

What you end up with is a KJV Bible with verse-by-verse links to the accompanying JFB commentary -- so, this has become a primary reading Bible for me. It is also possible to read the extensive introductory material within the JFB -- for each chapter and for various larger sections of the Bible. I use OSNOVA's Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) as my default Kindle dictionary while reading this study Bible, which means I have a full commentary as well as a vast encyclopedia in support of an e-reader Bible. Just an amazing value at five bucks.

Finally, I must say that OSNOVA is by far the best e-book designer I've come across. Most of their publications are laboriously linked to a bundled KJV, with internal linking provided for footnotes and other study helps.

I just can't say enough about this particular e-book offering, or about OSNOVA in general. Highest recommendation.

I have most of the best of the best in current Bible commentaries of the New and Old Testaments, however, I still find myself reaching for this one time after time. I have had the 3 volume set for many years and still love the detail presented and the heart with which it is presented. It is packed full of historical information as well as Greek/ Hebrew definitions and is excellent in all of the other additional information it provides. Despite it's age, it is a MUST have for ministers or ANYONE serious about God's Word. In my opinion, it will always be a timeless classic for all those who are seeking to enrich their lives with not only the information of God's Word, but also assisting in understanding HIM better and drawing them closer to HIM (that's really what it's all about anyway). I've just recently bought this one volume of JFB for my mother and can't wait to see what she thinks. God bless you as you seek HIS Presence.

I ordered this last week from OSNOVA'S storefront and I have begun using it for the last couple of days. Now my hard copy set is lonely because having this on my Kindle is so convenient that I in fact use it more than when I only had access to my hard copy. Excellent product OSNOVA. You are offering a very valuable service to the community. Now I have run out of excuses for not using this tome as often as I should.

As is well established over a number of years JFB's commentary is a classic. For those of us whose Latin is poor take heart in that there are many excellent Latin dictionaries available for the Kindle. I just use one of those when I am lost. In fact with the Kindle it is much easier reading this tome than with the hard copy because now the dictionaries are all available in one place. Great value for an outstanding work.

Excellent resource. The best concise biblical commentary I have ever read. The harmony of the gospels provided in this set are alone worth well more than the price. NOTE this work goes well beyond the typical modern commentary, which usually gives you one man's opinion concerning what the text says. JFB typically gives several of the most common, persuasive, or notable differing interpretations of a given text (Such as the position of Luther, Calvin, etc.) in addition to giving and explaining their own position. JFB also discusses textual differences between manuscripts and gives their analysis of the internal and external evidence concerning which variants are faithful to and which are deviant from, the original autographs(hopefully helping to liberate the modern pastor from the tyranny of Nestle-Aland <smile>)

When I was looking for a single volume or small-volume set (3 volumes or less) on the entire Bible to complement my library of individual commentaries, I wasn't in the market for just any volume or set. I looked at Matthew Henry's, Clarke's, and Lange's commentaries, to name just a few. Without question, the single volume and 3-volume set by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown is the best. A close runner-up would be John MacArthur's single-volume New Testament Commentary and the single-volume Old and New Testament Commentary.

Scholarly, yet still readable, the Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary, though written in the 19th Century, is still clear, fresh, and relevant today. A great set for the layperson, student and pastor alike. My 3-volume set is published by Hendrickson Publishers and is beautifully bound and the printed pages are clear and crisp. And very important to me during my search, and unlike a lot of the more recently published thick study sets, each volume lies open and flat for easy referencing. A great set.

Years ago I picked this gem up on a discount shelf simply because I wanted a complete commentary and could afford nothing else. Over the years I have had the opportunity to compare it with many others yet it still stands above the rest. There is, simply, no better commentary for the price with the possible exception of Matthew Henry's classic work available on the web. The coverage is exceptional and the price is ideal. You will not likely need another commentary than this one.

I purchased this today and uploaded it to my Kindle reader on my iPad 2. When I scroll past the first few pages, the Kindle app crashes and takes me back out to the iPad homepage. I also noticed when I click on the book's menu inside the Kindle app and choose contents, it crashes. Something is not right.