Commentaries are the works of men. Perhaps you have heard the statement, “The Bible is its own best commentary.” That is absolutely true. We all have to be very careful that we do not import our own conclusions into the text. This is called eisegesis – forcing your views into the text. What we are responsible for is exegesis – drawing out of the text the meaning the author intended.
Yet it is false to think that we do not have any need for commentaries. When you come to Bible class, you are listening to comments. If you pick up a commentary, you are listening to someone else comment. I believe it was the Restoration preacher T. W. Brents who said, “Show me a man who reads nothing but the Bible and I’ll show you a man who knows very little of it.” It is a shame that some Christians think they ought to just ignore all the scholarship that has been gathered over the past 2,000 years and reinvent the wheel. Commentaries serve a good purpose. Other men (and women) have dug deeper into certain sources than we have the time or knowledge to do so we can make use of their efforts.
On the other hand, some people go to the other extreme and basically just teach what the commentary teaches. No man is infallible. Anyone could have a wrong view on something and/or miss commenting on something that needs comment. My dad used to joke that such-and-such a commentator, relative to a question Dad would have, all of a sudden became a Jew and observed the Passover: He “passed over” the question that Dad would have. So, commentaries have their shortcomings and weaknesses. That’s why commentaries are not the first step in a Bible-study program. They are very much down at the end of the process.
Here are some thoughts on commentaries and their proper role in Bible study…
- You need to do your own study and investigation of the passage first. Any moderately-educated person, with time, can understand the vast bulk of biblical teaching on any passage. Make your own preliminary conclusions based on your own study (Acts 17:11).
- Do not reject what a scholar has to say outright just because of his background. Think through your disagreements with proper biblical support (See the next point). Always look up passages he cites for his support to see if he is using the text appropriately. The same thing goes for the other side of the coin. Don’t agree with a scholar just because of his background. Just because a man is a member of the Lord’s church doesn’t mean what he has to say on a specific topic is accurate. It still has to be compared with what the Bible has to say.
- When you find comments with which you disagree, consider these points (Gordon Fee, New Testament Exegesis, 56):
- Where the author is misinformed;
- Where the author is uninformed;
- Where the author is inconsistent;
- Where the author’s comments are incomplete;
- Where the author misinterprets;
- Where the author makes important comments.
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- The more specific your question is, the less time it will take to see what others have said about it. Just read those points that are pertinent. Has he treated your question?
- The strength of commentaries are: providing historical, cultural, archaeological background that is simply not accessible to you. They can also provide summaries of more detailed studies that have been done through theses, dissertations, and/or printed in theological journals. Commentaries can also give you other supporting Bible verses that can strengthen your own study.
All of Bible study is to help us learn better God’s will and how to apply it in our lives so that we may teach it to others. Learning from what others have said is a good way to deepen our own knowledge. Let’s take advantage of that scholarship but do so wisely.
–Paul Holland
