One of the many benefits of modern day communication and digital technology is the wide availability of great resources for studying and interpreting Scripture.
If you don’t know the right commentaries to fit your needs, you might feel like you’ve opened Pandora’s box with all of the different types, sets, formats, price ranges, and theological perspectives.
For me, I knew that I need a commentary library that would have a high view of Scripture, explain Scripture clearly, help with exegetical work for preaching, not be overly scholarly and technical, and be something portable (for a man who writes, studies, and preaches on the road at times).
Why I chose Expositor’s Bible Commentary for Logos
After stumbling upon Zondervan’s Expositor’s Bible Commentary Series (Revised Edition) for Logos Bible Software, I was intrigued and thought it could be a great fit. This set contains 13-volumes written by top-level scholars committed to the authority and inspiration of the Scriptures. It covers each book of the Bible and seeks to fill the need for a comprehensive yet succinct commentary set–two qualities I was looking for.
For a busy traveler with occasional opportunities to preach, this seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. (It also helped seeing that Desiring God and David Murray recommended this set).
A few highlights of contributors to the series: John Sailhamer on Genesis, Walt Kaiser on Exodus, William VanGemeren on the Psalms, D.A. Carson on Matthew, and Andrews Kostenberger on the Pastoral Epistles. Editors for the series are the well respected Tremper Longman III and David Garland.
Why I Chose Logos
I have not used Logos for more than a year or so, but the more I use it the more I like it—especially for large reference sets like this one. Logos is an easily searchable database of resources that greatly aids my study and organization of my notes, Bible versions, commentaries, and other books.
It is true that there is something lost not having a physical book in front of you. I do enjoy the feel of the pages, smell of a new book, and memories I make studying. But more is lost still when you aren’t able to carry around your physical book collection everywhere you go! That is why I am realizing that Logos is the best option for me, a man who works a lot on the road or in coffee shops.
I appreciate my Kindle Touch for its portability as well, but want to pull my hair out trying to navigate the table of contents on large reference books like commentaries—that is if the book has a table of contents! With Logos, you type in the passage or topic you are working on, and they pull up every resource in your library that can help you. Having apps for iPhone and Android make it even more versatile.
My Review and Overall Thoughts
After spending a few months getting to know this commentary set by exegeting several passages for preaching and writing, I have come to really appreciate the EBC set for doing what it set out to do: give preachers a comprehensive and succinct commentary set.
Many preachers will find this commentary set a suitable companion for Scripture study and sermon preparation. It will not answer every question about the text, but provides helpful comments about the entire Bible in a non-exhaustive here’s-what-you-need-to-know format.
There is a downside to commentary sets over buying individual commentaries: not every volume is as strong as the other. Many pastors and scholars recommend piecing together your commentary set by choosing the best for each book, and ditching sets entirely. Here’s why I didn’t do that (at least with this set): it takes a lot of time to search for the best commentaries and uniformity provides a comfort factor so you know what to expect from a series. For this set, I had good enough reason to believe it would be a good long-term investment, and I was right.
Overall, I am very satisfied with the Expositor’s Bible Commentary Set and highly recommend it for those desiring to teach or preach from the Scripture.
Title: Expositor’s Bible Commentary Set (Revised Edition) 13-Volumes
Format: Logos Bible Software
Editors: Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland
Publisher: Zondervan
Here is a video trailer from Zondervan on the set:
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