There are probably thousands of Bible Commentaries! There are single volume commentaries that cover the whole Bible, commentaries that handle a few Bible books per volume, some that are one Bible book per volume, and even some that have several volumes to cover a single Bible book!
Some commentaries are written in a non-technical style while others are written for those who are fluent in the original Hebrew and Greek. There are many commentaries that try to strike a balance between the two with some language notes that are explained in terms that everyone can understand.
Commentaries are categorized in different ways but among the most common are the critical, the popular, and the pastoral.
- Critical commentaries are on the highly technical side of the scale and generally include a lot of Hebrew and Greek.
- Popular commentaries, sometimes referred to as devotional commentaries, are written in a non-technical style, are more focused on devotional study, and are written in plain English.
- Pastoral commentaries, sometimes referred to as exegetical commentaries, include some Greek and Hebrew, but are written in plain English and are designed to help pastors develop sermons.
Single-Volume Commentaries
Wycliffe Bible Commentary
This is a single-volume commentary covering the Bible phrase-by-phrase. It is the first commentary I owned as a young believer. Each book has an introduction along with an outline. Some 48 scholars contributed to this work.
Published by Moody Press.​
Mathhew Henry Commentary
This is a single-volume commentary is a whopper at 1,986 pages! It has been a valuable resource to scholars for nearly 200 years. It was recently edited by Leslie Church to make it more readable for modern readers.
Published by Zondervan.​
Multi-Volume Commentaries - Old Testament
Genesis
This three-volume commentary was written by James Boice. If you want to dive deep into Genesis this is a great resource to have.
Published by Baker Books.
Multi-Volume Commentaries - New Testament
Romans
This two-volume commentary by Donald Barnhouse was originally published as 4 volumes. Barnhouse was a dedicated pastor. His works receive high praise for their readability and adherence to the scripture.
The two-volume set is published by Christian Book Distributors. The 4-volume set is published by W.B. Eerdmans.
Multi-Volume Commentaries - Old & New Testament
Expositer's Bible Commentary
This 13-volume commentary on the entire Bible is also available in an 8 volume Old Testament, and 5 volume New Testament set. 56 of the best scholars from around the world contributed to this 2012 update to the original version.
Published by Zondervan.
