Customer Reviews

Psalms 1-72 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries)

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Kidner's Tyndale series commentaries on the Psalms (in two volumes) and Proverbs combine even-handed scholarship with devotional insight. They are concise and yet full.

My Bible Study class is reading this book along with the Bible and it seems everyone finds it useful to some degree. Kidner rather thinks David wrote many more psalms than other commentaries attribute to him but all opinions are interesting. He does get rather technical in places which is more for a scholarly group than ours, but then that is outweighed by some inciteful observations and germane information that I do not find elsewhere and I read at least two other commentaries along with this one. Psalms by Knight is another pb commentary that goes well with Bible Study groups.
Kidner's organization of a general introduction of the psalm and then section by section commentary helps to get a clear picture spreading the psalm out to really view the key words and phrases. His New Testament references are also helpful. I think this is the best short concise commentary I have come across so far.

I have owned this fine book for almost 30 years. I just started looking at it again and thought I should write a review. At one time I spent over 6 months outlining all 150 of the Psalms. These 2 books were the main sources I used.

Derek Kidner's 2 small books are incredibly full of insight. My version of these 2 books has 492 pages total. So maybe they are not so small as I think they are. I have spent hours reading and studying from these 2 books. I don't know of any author who can pack so much thought into so few words. These 2 books are great for sermon preparation and / or Sunday School class preparation. He gives you the big picture so well and helps you to see the big picture. He keeps you focused on what the Psalmist is saying. He is very good at giving meaning to particular words - the important words. And that so often is the key to interpretation of the Psalm. One way he does this is by showing you how the same words are used in other parts of the Bible. You learn about the Psalm and other parts of the Bible as well.

These books are fine for reading, but I find them best to be read, studied, and re-read as I try to grasp the meaning of the Psalm. I find these 2 books on Psalms to be one of the first I go to when I want to study and gain insight into the Psalms. Your mind is filled with ideas and thoughts as you ponder the meaning of what the Psalmist is saying.

Definitely, the best buy for the money.

This has been considered one the best and most useful commentaries on Psalms for decades. Kidner is a genuine scholar, and he knows the difference between significant detail and meaningless trivia. He makes great choices in choosing how far to pursue a line of interpretation. His comments are succinct, scholary, and easy to understand. You do not need Hebrew to read this, and textual/grammatical issues are generally addressed in the footnotes.

The average comment length per psalm is about 5 small pages, so it is not bloated but it is concise and thorough for the student, pastor, and layman. Can be used in group Bible study. This is a "hands on" work.

He writes from a conservative evangelical position (which I appreciate), but he sees the church as fulfilling the promises made to Israel (I disagree with him on this). Despite my difference, I heartily recommend this as perhaps the best all-around commentary on Psalms. If you must only get one, this might be it. You can't go wrong with this one.

You will probably want to buy both volumes.

this book was required for my Psalm class. I really found it very helpful. This book let me comprehend the book of Psalms in a much easier way than the book Encountering the book of Psalm.
thanks
ivonne