Every student of Scripture should consult John Calvin, who wrote commentaries on almost every book of the Bible.…[nor should they] skip Matthew Henry’s older commentary. It is easy to dismiss Henry in this age of modern technical commentaries, but his work is a gold mine—especially in terms of practical application.

In 2008 I put together a series of blog posts on the best commentaries for each book of the Bible. The feedback was very positive. Since that time, many new commentaries have been written, and several new commentary series have been launched. Because of this, I have updated all of the top 5 lists to take into account these new publications.

Each article to follow contains, first, a list of the five commentaries that I found to be the most helpful on a given biblical book. This is followed by a list of “Runners Up” in no particular order. Finally, I have included a section where I suggest one or more books that are not commentaries. Often these are books dealing extensively with some important biblical-theological theme.

Because of questions I have received from readers about the old series, I do want to note a few things:

1. The inclusion of a commentary or book in these lists does not mean that I agree with or endorse every particular interpretation found within it or everything that author may have said elsewhere. If a book is included in one of these articles, it simply means that I find the book helpful in one way or another to at least some audiences.
2. I have not read every one of these commentaries from cover to cover. They are reference works, and I use them as reference works. I have read some cover to cover. I have read extensively in others. I have used others for study of specific passages.
3. Aside from one or two very recent exceptions, I have not been provided copies of these commentaries by publishers. I have purchased some. I have borrowed others from libraries. The commentaries I have included on these lists are there because I found them helpful in one way or another. They are not included because of any quid pro quo arrangement with any publishers. If any publishers did begin to send complimentary copies of commentaries, I would not object (commentaries are generally expensive), but it would not guarantee a recommendation of any particular commentary.

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