This page contains three lists of Old Testament commentaries: (1) a must-buy list, (2) an almost must-buy list, and (3) a potential must-buy list. See each list below for a description.
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These are not necessarily the best commentaries, because every reader’s needs are different and because newer works may not have yet gained due attention. But these commentaries are all exceptionally strongly and widely praised by commentary reviewers both evangelical and moderately critical. They are thus important, even if not always liked in every respect. No more than one commentary has been included for each book of the Bible (except for duplication due to multi-book commentaries); all “second-best” commentaries have been automatically excluded from this list, no matter how highly praised.
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Wenham, Gordon. J. Genesis. 2 vols. WBC. Word, 1987, 1994. 352/517pp. F-SPL
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Childs, Bernard. S. The Book of Exodus. OTL. Westminster John Knox, 1974. 659pp. C-PS
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Wenham, Gordon. J. The Book of Leviticus. NICOT. Eerdmans, 1979. 362pp. F-PLS
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Wenham, Gordon J. Numbers. TOTC. InterVarsity, 1981. 240pp. F-PL
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Hess, Richard. S. Joshua. TOTC. InterVarsity, 1996. 320pp. F-PL
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Hubbard, Robert L., Jr. The Book of Ruth. NICOT. Eerdmans, 1988. 317pp. F-PLS
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Provan, Iain W. 1 and 2 Kings. NIBC/UBCS. Hendrickson, 1995. 320pp. F-PL
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Dillard, Raymond. B. II Chronicles. WBC. Word, 1987. 323pp. F-SPL
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Japhet, Sara. I & II Chronicles. OTL. Westminster John Knox, 1993. 1077pp. F/C/J-PS
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Williamson, H. G. M. Ezra, Nehemiah. WBC. Word, 1985. 417pp. F/C-SPL
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Clines, D. J. A. Job. 3 vols. WBC. Thomas Nelson, 1990, 2006, 2011. 1539pp. C-SP
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Waltke, Bruce K. The Book of Proverbs. 2 vols. NICOT. Eerdmans, 2004, 2005. 693/624pp. F-PSL
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Oswalt, John N. The Book of Isaiah. 2 vols. NICOT. Eerdmans, 1986, 1998. 746/755pp. F-PSL
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Lundbom, Jack R. Jeremiah 1-20; Jeremiah 21-36; Jeremiah 37-52. AB. Doubleday, 1999, 2004, 2004. 934/649/624pp. F/C-SP
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Block, Daniel I. The Book of Ezekiel. 2 vols. NICOT. Eerdmans, 1997, 1998. 887/826pp. F-PSL
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McComiskey, Thomas Edward, ed. The Minor Prophets. 3 vols. Baker, 1992, 1993, 1998. 520/420/528pp. (Reprinted in 1 vol.) F-PSL
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Waltke, Bruce K. A Commentary on Micah. Eerdmans, 2007. 490pp. F-PSL
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Berlin, Adele. Zephaniah. AB. Doubleday, 1994. 165pp. C/J-SP
2. Almost must-buy commentaries:
Commentaries ranked very nearly as high as the must-buys. When multiple commentaries are listed for the same book, the highest-ranked commentary is listed first. Some recent works still have the potential to reach the “must-buy” list in the future.
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Hamilton, Victor. The Book of Genesis. 2 vols. NICOT. Eerdmans, 1990, 1995. 522/774pp. F-PSL
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Milgrom, Jacob. Leviticus. 3 vols. AB. Doubleday, 1991, 2000, 2001. 2714pp. C/J-SP
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Ashley, Timothy. R. The Book of Numbers. NICOT. Eerdmans, 1993. 667pp. F-PSL
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Cole, R. Dennis. Numbers. NAC. Broadman and Holman, 2000. 590pp. F-PL
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Craigie, Peter. C. The Book of Deuteronomy. NICOT. Eerdmans, 1976. 424pp. F-PLS
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Block, Daniel I. Judges, Ruth. NAC. Broadman and Holman, 1999. 767pp. F-PL
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Butler, Trent. Judges. WBC. Thomas Nelson, 2009. 537pp. F-SPL
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Bush, Frederic. Ruth, Esther. WBC. Word, 1996. 514pp. F/C-SP
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Tsumura, David T. The First Book of Samuel. NICOT. Eerdmans, 2007. 698pp. F-SPL
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House, Paul. R. 1 and 2 Kings. NAC. Broadman and Holman, 1995. 432pp. F-PL
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Knoppers, Gary N. I Chronicles. 2 vols. AB. Doubleday, 2003, 2004. 1045pp. F/C-SP
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Berlin, Adele. Esther. JPS. Jewish Publication Society, 2001. 110pp. C/J-PS
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Craigie, Peter C. and Marvin Tate E. Psalms 1-50. WBC. Word, 1983, rev. 2004. 375pp. F-SPL
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Goldingay, John. Psalms. 3 vols. BCOTWP. Baker, 2006, 2007, 2008. 639/744/812pp. F/C-PSL
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Allen Leslie. C. Psalms 101-150. WBC. Word, 1983, rev. 2002. 423pp. F/C-SPL
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Tate, Marvin E. Psalms 51-100. WBC. Word, 1990. 578pp. F/C-SPL
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Fox, Michael V. Proverbs. 2 vols. AB. Doubleday, 2000, 2009. 496/752pp. C/J-SP
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Longman III, Tremper. Proverbs. BCOTWP. Baker, 2005. 608pp. F-PLS
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Bartholomew, Craig G. Ecclesiastes. BCOTWP. Baker, 2009. 448pp. F-PSL
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Longman III, Tremper. Ecclesiastes. NICOT. Eerdmans, 1998. 306pp. F-PSL
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Hess, Richard S. Song of Songs. BCOTWP. Baker, 2005. 285pp. F-PSL
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Longman, Tremper, III. Song of Songs. NICOT. Eerdmans, 2001. 238pp. F-PSL
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Robertson, O. Palmer. The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. NICOT. Eerdmans, 1989. 357pp. F-PLS
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Verhoef, Pieter A. The Books of Haggai and Malachi. NICOT. Eerdmans, 1987. 364pp. F-PSL
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Meyers, Carol L. and Eric M. Meyers. Haggai, Zechariah 1-8; Zechariah 9-14. AB. Doubleday, 1987, 1993. 478/552pp. C-SP
3. Potential must-buy commentaries:
A sample of important recent or forthcoming commentaries, some of which will probably join future “must-buy” or “almost must-buy” lists. Starred volumes are ones that I somewhat subjectively think are among the most likely to garner such praise (based in part on past reception of commentaries by the same authors, prominence of the commentary series in which a work is found, and the amount and quality of the “competition” for a given book). N.B.: 1) If a recent book has already gained enough praise to have been listed on the “almost must-buy” list, it has not been listed again here, even if I think it is likely to continue to rise to the “must-buy” list. 2) The order of commentaries never indicates potential ranking.
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Note: Lexham Press is publishing a promising new conservative commentary series called Evangelical Exegetical Commentary. Seven volumes have been released and more are rapidly appearing. Volumes are initially being released only through Logos Bible Software. Because of this severe limitation, EEC volumes are not listed here, with the exception of any volumes available in print. However, EEC is a major new resource that Bible students should not ignore. Some volumes are likely to rank as “must-buys.” F-SPL
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Hendel, Ronald S. [Genesis] 2 vols. AYB. Forthcoming. C-SP?
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Alexander, T. Desmond. [Exodus] Apollos. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
- Garrett, Duane. Exodus. Kregel, 2014. 752 pp. F-PSL
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Hamilton, Victor. Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary. Baker, 2011. 721pp. F-PSL
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Strawn, Brent A. [Exodus] NICOT. Forthcoming. F/C?-PSL?
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Sailhamer, John. [Numbers] WBC. Forthcoming. F-SPL?
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Arnold, Bill T. [Deuteronomy] NICOT. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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Block, Daniel. Deuteronomy. NIVAC. Zondervan, 2012. 880pp. F-PL
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* Butler, Trent. Joshua. 2 vols. 2nd ed. WBC. Word, 2014. 1264pp. F-SPL?
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Hubbard, Robert. Joshua. NIVAC. Zondervan, 2009. 652pp. F-PL
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McCarter, P. Kyle, Jr. [Joshua] Herm. Forthcoming. C-SP?
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* Chisholm, Robert B. A Commentary on Judges and Ruth. Kregel, 2013. 704pp. F-PSL
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Sasson, Jack M. [Judges] AYB. Forthcoming. C-SP?
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* Webb, Barry G. The Book of Judges. NICOT. Eerdmans, 2012. 555pp. F-PSL
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Firth, David. G. 1 and 2 Samuel. Apollos. InterVarsity, 2009. 614pp. F-PSL
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* Tsumura, David T. The Second Book of Samuel. NICOT. Forthcoming. F-SPL
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* Hess, Richard. S. [1 and 2 Kings] NICOT. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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Bodner, Keith. [1 and 2 Chronicles] NICOT. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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* Knoppers, Gary N. [2 Chronicles] AYB. Forthcoming. F/C-SP
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Eskenazi, Tamara Cohn. [Ezra, Nehemiah] AYB. Forthcoming. C-SP?
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Harrington, Hannah. [Ezra, Nehemiah] NICOT. Forthcoming. F/C?-PSL?
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Fox, Michael V. [Esther] Herm. Forthcoming. C/J-SP?
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* Hubbard, Robert L., Jr. [Esther] NICOT. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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Hess, Richard S. [Job] HCOT. Forthcoming. F-SP?
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* Longman, Tremper, III. Job. BCOTWP. Baker, 2012. 491pp. F-PLS
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* Seow, Choon-Leong. Job 1-21: Interpretation and Commentary. Illum. Eerdmans, 2013. C-SP
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Brown, William P. [Psalms] OTL. Forthcoming. C-PS?
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Cole, Robert. Psalms 1-89. NAC. Forthcoming. F-PL?
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Cooper, A.M. [Psalms] AYB. Forthcoming. C-SP?
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Jacobson, Rolf A., Nancy deClaisse-Walford, and Beth LaNeel Tanner. The Book of Psalms. NICOT. Eerdmans, 2014. 880pp. F-PSL?
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Ross, Allen. P. A Commentary on the Psalms. 3 vols. Kregel, 2012, 2013, ?. 896/848/?pp. F-PSL
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Shepherd, Jerry. Psalms 90-150. NAC. Forthcoming. F/C-PL?
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Wenham, Gordon. [Psalms] Apollos. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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Johnstone, Gordon. [Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs] Kregel. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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Weeks, Stuart. [Ecclesiastes] ICC. Forthcoming. C-SP?
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Paul, Shalom M. Isaiah 40-66. ECC. Eerdmans, 2012. 728pp. C/J-SPL?
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Schultz, Richard. [Isaiah] Apollos. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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Allen, Leslie C. Jeremiah. OTL. Westminster John Knox, 2008. 656pp. F/C-PS?
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Scalise, Pamela J. [Jeremiah] NICOT. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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Vanhoozer, Kevin. [Jeremiah] BTCB. Forthcoming. F-PL?
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* Hubbard, Robert L. [Lamentations] NICOT. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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* Parry, Robin A. Lamentations. THOTC. Eerdmans, 2010. 272pp. F-PS?
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Salters, R.B. Lamentations. ICC. T&T Clark, 2011. 375pp. C-SP
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Wooden, R. Glenn. [Daniel] NICOT. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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* Dearman, J. Andrew. The Book of Hosea. NICOT. Eerdmans, 2010. 422pp.
F/C-PSL
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Gordon, Robert P. [Joel, Amos, Obadiah] ICC. Forthcoming. F/C-SP?
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Carroll R., M. Daniel. [Amos] NICOT. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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Kugel, James. [Jonah] Herm. Forthcoming. C-SP?
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* Stuart, Douglas. [Micah-Malachi] WBC. Forthcoming. F-SPL
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Renz, Thomas. [Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah] NICOT. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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Jacobs, Mignon. [Haggai, Malachi] NICOT. Forthcoming. F/C-PSL?
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Boda, Mark J. [Zechariah] NICOT. Forthcoming. F-PSL?
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Wolters, Al. [Zechariah] HCOT. Forthcoming. F-SP?
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