Bible Study Tools Series: Tool #3 (Free Resources)
Hello, my friend. I hope this issue finds you well.
In Bible Study Tools Series, we have used two tools to study the Bible: Study Bible and Concordance-Lexicon. In this issue, we will look at the third tool: Commentary.
Commentaries are probably the most used tool after the Study Bible. More commentaries are being written now than ever. And if you are using one, then you know why new ones are coming out one after the other.
What is a commentary?
A commentary is a collection of comments on and the explanation of the writer on the verses and chapters of the Bible.
A more refined definition is this: “Bible commentaries contain observations and interpretations surrounding a biblical text, typically organized according to the text’s sequential flow. Many times, commentaries cover a single book of the Bible, but sometimes they focus on a particular section (e.g., the Sermon on the Mount) or they include several books of the same genre (e.g., the Minor Prophets).” [Source]
There are multiple varieties of commentaries: While most of them have the introduction of individual books, few go more in-depth. Some even go on a verse-to-verse basis.
A question naturally occurs: Which commentary should you use?
That’s a valid question. However, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends upon what need you have. Sometimes, you just want to see a summary of a chapter. So, for that, you don’t need verse-by-verse commentary. You just need one that explains or summarizes a chapter.
Similarly, if you are unable to understand a verse, you don’t need a commentary that explains the entire Bible in a few pages; instead, you need an in-depth Bible commentary. Again, it all depends upon your needs.
What commentaries do I use?
I mostly use Dr. Thomas Constable’s Expository Notes. It is a FREE website-based commentary. Plus, the awesome part about it is that it has more than 130+ FREE commentaries including Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Charles Spurgeon’s Commentary, John Wesley’s Commentary, John Calvin’s Commentary, and many more.
To read more on why you need a commentary, click here, or visit the blog below.
Thank you for reading this issue of ElvisShares. See you next week. Till then, keep on studying His Word.
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