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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good things come in small packages, March 3, 2009
This review is from: 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews (Cornerstone Biblical Commentary) (Hardcover)
Let me begin this review by saying that I had a bias against this commentary series before it came in the mail for a couple of reasons. I had a hard time taking seriously a commentary that covered 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus AND Hebrews in only 476 pages. I have commentaries larger than this just covering the book of Hebrews. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT) on Hebrews is about the same amount of pages. So I did not believe that the Cornerstone Biblical Commentaries could do an adequate job in dealing with the issues of these books of the Bible. I had seen these commentaries in Christian bookstores and had thumbed through them quickly. But they simply looked too small to be valuable. I was also concerned about a commentary series relying on the NLT as its text. While I am growing to appreciate the NLT, I had a hard time thinking that using a very dynamic translation like the NLT as the basis for a commentary was a good idea.
Format
Each section begins with a portion of scripture using the New Living Translation (NLT). The next section is called "Notes." The general editor's preface states that the purpose of the notes section is how "the commentator helps the reader understand the Hebrew or Greek behind the English of the NLT, interacts with other scholars on important interpretative issues, and points the reader to significant textual and contextual matters." One thing that I think is very important is the willingness of the commentator to correct any places where he or she feels that the NLT misses the point of the text.
For example, in Hebrews 8:7-13 one of the notes reads for verse 8:
The day is coming. Rather, "days are coming." The text is not looking at one catastrophic "day of the Lord" but at a new era, a new order of society, and a new way of worship.
Therefore, a teacher who has reservations about a commentary built upon the NLT can rest assured that the commentator will point out places where a more literal rendering is more useful or required. Much of the technical arguments are contained in the notes section and do not find their way into the commentary section. Even those who are not very familiar with Greek or Hebrew will find the notes section useful because these notes are not overly technical. All Greek and Hebrew words are placed next to the English word or phrase so those without Greek and Hebrew knowledge are able to follow along quite easily. The notes are not overly deep. If someone is looking for all the interpretative possibilities over a given Greek or Hebrew word, one will not find such material in the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary. But the notes are quite useful and will give the student what he or she needs to know in a quick and concise way. For me, I found the notes section to be quite refreshing. As an evangelist, I need books to get to the point. I do not have the time (and not always the interest) to go into all of the details of a Greek or Hebrew word. If I need that, I will go to another resource. Just give me what I need to know about these words. The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary does a great job at doing such.
After the notes section comes the commentary section. The general editor's preface says that the commentary section is where "each scholar presents a lucid interpretation of the passage, giving special attention to context and major theological themes." This is not a verse by verse commentary. Rather, the commentary takes each section of scripture and gives the key points and themes from that text. The commentary is very well done. For me, I have found this to be very helpful. First, the commentary section is easy to read. Many commentaries can bore one to sleep quite quickly. The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary is well written and very engaging. It is not a drag or a chore to read. Further, and very important, the commentary does not zero in on the details of each verse so closely that one loses sight of the overall message of the text and the book. Many commentaries fail by giving so much attention and detail to the Greek and Hebrew that by the time one is done reading, the student does not know what the text means. The student knows what each word means, but not how those words relate to the context and the overall point of the writer. But that is not to say the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary skims the surface and does not dig deep. The commentary does go deeper when needed and helps the student understand the text in light of the overall context.
Verdict
I have been pleasantly surprised at how good the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary is. I began with a bias against it and, after using it, I have been won over. The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary is very helpful. I am now using this volume on 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Hebrews as my main resource as I preach through the book of Hebrews. It is that good. I have even put my money where my mouth is and ordered the Romans/Galatians commentary since I am teaching Galatians in Bible class. I strongly recommend this commentary series to all who are interested in learning more about the meaning of the original message of a book in the Bible. I believe that this is a great resource to recommend to Christians who are looking for a commentary to help them in their studies. This commentary series will also be useful to all preachers and teachers giving them helpful aids and meanings in the text in a useful and concise way. You will get the answers you are looking for quickly and the answers given will be tied to the overall message, helping you understand the message better. I would not recommend this commentary to Greek and Hebrew junkies who want to spend endless time studying the original language. But for everyone else, you should buy these commentaries.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Avenue for a Deeper Understanding, March 24, 2009
This review is from: 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews (Cornerstone Biblical Commentary) (Hardcover)
I am not a fan of commentaries. I find very little value in the thoughts of others concerning the words of God. I generally find modern commentaries to be filled mainly with easy going doctrine, with the authors unwilling to take a stand on one side of the issue. Such as Apostasy. Hebrews 6.4-10 is a fine example of where many commentaries loose me; however, the author of this particular work does not hesitate to affirm what the text plainly says. And in doing so, he heightens the image already presented in the NLT with his own descriptive language capturing the original author's intent. In doing so, he does not sidestep the issue, but meets it head on.
So, after a few proof text moments, I finally started from the beginning and found myself satisfied with this particular commentary.
The binding is modern, with a nice color design, thick paper and over all a good quality construction. My first problem, which is a rather personal one, is that I prefer my commentaries in thick gray or black cloth boards collecting dust and on a shelf somewhere. The type is easy on the eyes and the pages bright. The binding allows the book to lay upon on a flat desk, which is helpful if you are doing book reviews or teaching from the commentary.
Teachers should find this commentary series helpful in that while it makes use of the New Living Translation, it does point out more literal renderings. With each section of Scripture, the commentator adds notes, with are more copious than many study bibles that you will find today. In these notes are constant references to the Greek, using both the Strong's system of numbering as well as the new Tyndale system. The Greek is transliterated which is helpful for those of us who can read Greek better than we can pronounce it. Along with the Greek and the literal renderings, the notes contain a plethora of cross references which again, are absent from many bibles today. They make use of chain references, and as is the case in 2nd Timothy 3.10-17, note 11 (page 197), the commentator likes to make use of the original author's thought process.
The publishers include a large of amount of extra - needful - material which conforms to conservative evangelical biblical understanding. While exploring the Pastoral Epistles, modern scholarship points us to the assumption that these rather personal and end of life letters from the Apostle Paul could not be his. The Tyndale Commentators take ample time in exploring these theories and presenting a more conservative side. They easily use the Church Fathers as well as explore the internal peculiarities of these epistles to affirm the Pauline authorship. (There are also references to other leaders from other eras such as Martin Luther.)
Along with this, the authors take extended time to discuss the date, occasion and audience, which is becoming extremely important to some when exploring what was being said. Further, for both the Pastoral Epistles and Hebrews, they discuss the canonicity and textual history of the books. The provide outlines and other tools of study, which aids both students and teachers, lay or professional, in reading and studying the books before them.
In studying the books, the authors, after the notes, gives the commentary. In this section, they often will echoes the notes, but without giving a full sermon, help to bring the text off the page in a rather easy literary style. Reading the commentary section is rather like reading a novel rather than dry essays of the he-said but meant variety found in many commentaries. There are times, however, that their own commentary disagrees with the text, based on their understanding of context, of the NLT. Such as in 1st Timothy 2.8-10 (Modest clothing vs. well-considered demeanor)
The author of 1st Timothy does a fine should of clearing of preconceived notions of the 'proper-place' of a woman as well as taking a long winded approach to the idea of a woman teaching with a authority over a man. Further the same author does not hesitate in stating when the NLT 'goes beyond the evidence' of a translation that it has made.
My final verdict is this: As with all commentaries, they are not inspired, and with the lack of inspiration comes the need to more fully rest on God's word; however, as commentaries go, they are to reach the masses with the goal of an ease of understanding the Scriptures that have been set before them. Ever since William Tyndale first translated the Greek into a ploughboy's tongue, people have thirsted for a deeper understanding of what lay before. This commentary series, taken along side of others, and the pure word of God, helps to provide an avenue of learning. It provides an evangelical theological base for support, but calls to a deeper reflection based on the Greek and the audience of the original writers.
With that said, I will be adding the rest of the set to my wishlist.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great For Preparing Sunday School Lessons, March 16, 2009
This review is from: 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews (Cornerstone Biblical Commentary) (Hardcover)
I am a Sunday School teacher for an adult class that engages in in-depth Bible study. My review is written from this perspective.
I think the most interesting way to review my experience with this commentary is to simply describe how I got familiar with it. The first thing I did was thumb through it to see if how quickly I could figure out how it was organized. I was extremely impressed (and somewhat surprised, actually) with how easy it was to figure out how the book was laid out, without consulting the table of contents. The top of the each page indicates what passage of scripture is being discussed. The main portion includes the scripture text (NLT), followed by several brief notes, followed by the commentary. Additionally, there are two good introductory articles: one for the pastoral epistles (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus) and one for Hebrews. These articles are similar to introductions to books you find in many study Bibles, but with much more depth. All in all, the layout of this book is great -- it's very easy to find a passage you want to look at.
After getting a good overview of how this commentary was laid out, I settled in to look more closely at the content. Immediately, I enjoyed one of the advantages of using a multi-volume commentary: the scripture text is in the same book as the commentary. I also appreciated the way it is presented. Normally, I am not a fan of double-column text, so when I noticed that the scripture was double-column (the notes and commentary are single-column), I was a little put off. However, I have changed my mind on that point in this instance. Because the amount of scripture presented at any given instance is fairly small (4-10 verses seems to be the norm), it doesn't get tiring to read the double-column format. Combined with the fact that the scripture is in bold text, it also has the advantage of visually breaking up the page, making it easier to separate the scripture from the notes and commentary.
After the scripture, there is a section of notes. These notes are about the text itself: words, phrases, grammar, etc. They often include key numbers for words being discussed so that you can use a key numbering system to link the translation back to the original Greek. I especially like how the notes provide more detail to the particular language used in the original scripture. For example, the NLT translates 2 Timothy 4:1 as "I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom". There is a note on "will someday": The Greek phrasing... can mean that something is going to happen (without implying how soon), is about to happen (implying imminency), or is destined to happen (inevitability)." If you are looking for a better understanding of the original language behind the translation, these notes appear to be a great resource.
Finally, after the notes, comes the commentary. Each section typically runs between 3 to 10 pages. This is in-depth discussion of the style, content, theme, etc. The commentary is extremely readable and accessible, without sacrificing scholarly discussion. The commentary also strives to be relevant to modern life. E.g., when I looked at the commentary for 2 Timothy 2:16 ("Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior."), I found a discussion on how a command to avoid certain kinds of talk is a difficult command to hear in a society that prides itself on "free speech and the unrestricted exchange of ideas." If you are teaching or preaching on a passage, the commentary in the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary offers a wealth of information and ideas on how to shape your message, while remaining accurate and true to the scripture.
All told, I'm impressed with this commentary. After spending some time with this one, I wanted to start preparing a teaching series on 1 and 2 Timothy, so I'd have a good excuse to really dig deep into the commentary. If you preach or teach, you will probably find this commentary a valuable addition to your library. For someone like me, with essentially no knowledge of Greek, it's a great resource for linking the translation back to the original language in a way that is understandable. Next time I teach a class based on one the books of the Bible, I will probably get a copy of the relevant volume of the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary to use while preparing the lessons.
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