Interpretation of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible: Reference Tools

Bible commentaries are an excellent way to understand the details of Scripture, which are otherwise not readily discernible. Commentaries contain observations and interpretations of biblical texts. Most commentaries are usually structured consistent with the chronological order of the text and its sequential flow. There are different kinds of commentaries, which are specific to particular needs. For example, while Critical Commentaries engage the biblical text in its original language and offer scholarly perspective on the text, Exegetical Commentaries attempt to create an easy flow and bridge the gap between critical and expositional commentaries. Expositional Commentaries, which may be construed as "pastoral" commentaries are primarily focused on how to teach and preach the biblical text. One other example is Application Commentaries. These are usually devotional in style and are considered popular commentaries that offer biblical insights. Authors of such commentaries are usually not theologically trained. Notably, all commentaries are interpretations fully informed by the author's social context, theologies, and methods. Consequently, any student of the interpretive process must resist the temptation of taking information from these commentaries at face value. Rather, they must perform exegesis on the commentary as well as the biblical text. The section below offers brief descriptions of some of the major academic and relevant commentary in Biblical Studies.

1. Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries - Provides historical critical insights with strong attention to linguistic features and places an emphasis on "exact translation." It reflects an interfaith approach and does not promote a particular theological interpretation.
2. Hermeneia - This is fully available online resources to all students, staff, and faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary. It provides critical and historical commentary. It offers translation, philologic, text-critical, and historical discussions. It shows extensive use of biblical languages and is resourceful for scholars and advanced students.
3. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching - This commentary offers a full interpretation of the biblical text, combining historical scholarship and theological purpose. It brings an understanding of what the text says into dialogue with the critical questions and problems of contemporary life and faith. This series is also available on Perlego.
4. The New Interpreter's Bible: A Commentary - This twelve volume commentary presents leading biblical scholarship through an in-depth commentary on the complete Bible, including the Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical books. The contributors are leading biblical scholars who bring a wealth of fresh perspectives to biblical interpretation. They are also theologically diverse, reflecting a wide range of denominational backgrounds: Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant, Jewish, and Evangelical.
5. Word Biblical Commentary - This is a theologically oriented and broadly evangelical commentary. It provides detailed textual notes and extensive bibliographies with authors providing their own translations of the biblical text. This series is also available on Perlego.

The link below takes you to a curated list of commentaries suggested by Princeton Old Testament/Hebrew Bible faculty. There are several suggestions for each book of the OT/HB.

• Old Testament