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Course 4 · Lesson 7.3

Using commentaries and reference works without being led by them

11 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 4 outline

Module 1: How the Canon Formed

  1. What a canon is, and what canonical means
  2. The Old Testament canon: Law, Prophets and Writings
  3. The New Testament canon: from gospels and letters to a list
  4. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant canons compared

Module 2: The Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint

  1. The Hebrew Bible and the work of the Masoretes
  2. Origin and character of the Septuagint
  3. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the state of the Old Testament text
  4. How New Testament writers quote the Old Testament

Module 3: Transmission of the New Testament Text

  1. Copying by hand: papyri, codices and scribes
  2. Manuscript traditions: Alexandrian, Western and Byzantine texts
  3. Kinds of variants and how they arise
  4. The principles of textual criticism
  5. Reading a critical apparatus and a translation footnote

Module 4: Reading Responsibly: Exegesis and Method

  1. Exegesis and eisegesis with worked examples
  2. Source, form and redaction criticism: what each asks
  3. Strengths and limits of the historical method
  4. Literary and canonical reading

Module 5: Meaning Beyond the Surface: Typology, Allegory and Genre

  1. Typology in the New Testament and the fathers
  2. Allegory and its critics: Alexandria and Antioch
  3. Reading by genre: narrative, law, poetry, prophecy, gospel and letter
  4. Setting, authorship and audience as questions to ask of any passage

Module 6: Christian Approaches to Interpretation

  1. The fourfold sense of Scripture in the medieval church
  2. Reformation principles: Scripture, clarity and the grammatical and historical sense
  3. Orthodox and Catholic approaches: Scripture within Tradition
  4. Historical scholarship and theological interpretation in conversation

Module 7: Writing an Exegesis

  1. Choosing a passage and framing a question
  2. Observation and context: what the text says and where it stands
  3. Using commentaries and reference works without being led by them
  4. Writing up, checking conclusions and revising

All courses

Program / Course 4: Biblical Studies and Hermeneutics / Lesson 7.3

What you will learn

  • Name the main kinds of reference work used in biblical study and what each is good for.
  • Explain why to draft your own observations before consulting a commentary.
  • Read a commentary critically, noting its author’s tradition and method.
  • Record and cite sources honestly, and avoid copying their conclusions without comment.

The big idea

Commentaries and reference works are indispensable. They contain the learning of generations and notice what a single reader would miss. They are also written by people with views, and a reader who consults them too early may simply adopt the first voice heard. The method taught here is to observe first, consult second, and weigh the voices against the text and against each other. A reader should be able to say, of every borrowed idea, why it is convincing.

Key terms

Commentary
A book that explains a biblical book passage by passage. Commentaries range from technical to devotional.
Lexicon
A dictionary of the words of a language, here Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek, giving their meanings and uses.
Concordance
A list of the places where each word occurs in the Bible, which helps trace a word or theme.
Bible dictionary
A reference work with articles on persons, places, customs, books and topics of the Bible.
Catena
A Latin word meaning chain. A commentary made of linked quotations from earlier writers, such as the Catena Aurea of Thomas Aquinas on the gospels.
Interlinear
A text with a translation set between the lines of the original. It shows word order but can mislead about grammar and meaning.
Citation
An acknowledgment of the source of a quotation or idea, giving the author, work and place.

Background

A good library is like a conversation with experts of many centuries. In the fathers, the medieval writers, the Reformers and modern scholars, you meet people who spent their lives on the texts you are studying. Their work can correct your errors, supply knowledge of languages and history that you lack, and show options you did not imagine. To ignore them is to work with one hand tied.

The danger is the opposite one. A confident commentary can quietly set the terms of your thinking. If you read it first, your own questions may never form, and your final paper may be a summary of one author. For this reason the method of this course is to draft your own observations first and then consult the works, so that you can see where they confirm, correct or challenge you.

Another caution is that the tools are not neutral. Every commentary is written from within some tradition or method: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish or secular, conservative or critical. Knowing this does not make the book unusable. It simply means you should ask who is speaking.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Know the kinds of tools

Several kinds of tools serve different purposes. A technical commentary attends to the original language, textual variants and scholarly debate, and is best for detailed questions. An expository commentary explains the flow of the passage in readable form. A devotional or homiletical work applies the text to life and is usually less helpful for exegesis, though valuable in its place. Series such as the Anchor Yale Bible, the New International Commentary, the Word Biblical Commentary, Sacra Pagina, Hermeneia and the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture each have their own approach and emphasis, so read the introduction of the series.

Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias give background. Lexicons and concordances help with words. Atlases help with places. Study Bibles bring several tools together in short notes. A student without access to a theological library can use many of these through public libraries or reputable online services, though the quality of free online material varies, and older public domain commentaries often reflect the scholarship of their time.

Step 2: Draft first, then consult

After you have made your own observation sheet and written a first outline of the meaning, turn to the tools. Begin with a Bible dictionary or introduction to learn the basics of authorship, date and setting. Then read at least three commentaries on your passage, preferably from different perspectives. For example, choose one technical, one from a different tradition than your own and one older work. The assignment for this course asks for at least three scholarly commentaries or reference works, used only after you have drafted your own observations.

As you read, keep a record in the notebook. For each, note the author, work, edition and page, the claim, the evidence offered, and how it compares with your draft. Do not copy sentences. Put each idea in your own words, and mark clearly what you have taken from someone else.

Step 3: Read critically

Ask of each commentary: what does the author assume, and does the argument support the conclusion? Does the author deal with the strongest objections? Does the author distinguish what the text says from what he or she infers? When two commentators disagree, do not simply count heads. Look at their reasons, and ask which better fits the text and the context.

Be especially careful with word studies and interlinears. A lexicon lists possible meanings, and the commentary may select one on grounds you cannot check without the language. An interlinear gives a literal gloss for each word but not the grammar that joins them. Use them as pointers to questions, not as proofs. The scholar Moises Silva and others have written careful introductions to the sound use of the original languages, and the course’s required guide by Fee and Stuart gives practical advice on commentaries as well.

Step 4: Include the church’s voices

Many students use only modern commentaries. Consider adding at least one older or traditional voice relevant to your passage. For the gospels, the Catena Aurea of Aquinas gathers comments from the fathers. For the Psalms, the writings of Augustine and Chrysostom offer rich reading. For the Old Testament, Jewish commentaries, such as those that draw on the medieval commentator Rashi, show how the text has been read by those whose Scripture it first was. The assignment asks that you report how at least two Christian traditions have read the passage. These sources are one way to do so.

Finally, state clearly in your work where you depend on a source. This is both honesty and a help to the reader. A paper that credits its sources is stronger, not weaker.

  1. Have I written my own observations and a first reading before consulting any work?
  2. What kind of work is this, and who is the author writing for?
  3. From what tradition or method does the author write?
  4. What evidence does the author give for each claim?
  5. Where does the commentary confirm, correct or challenge my draft?
  6. Have I put each borrowed idea into my own words and marked its source?

Examples

Two commentators disagree

On the phrase emptied himself in Philippians 2:7, one commentator argues that it means Christ gave up the use of divine attributes, and another that it is a figure for taking the form of a servant and does not describe a subtraction. A student does not choose by loyalty. She looks at the context, which describes what Christ did (took the form of a servant, became obedient) and not what he gave up, and notes how the church’s tradition has read the verse. She states her conclusion and its limits.

A confirmed observation

A student noticed that a psalm moves from complaint to praise at a clear turning point. A commentary on the Psalms names this pattern in many laments and gives examples. The student reports that the commentary confirmed her observation, and she cites it for the pattern. The work shows that she observed first and that the source added to her observation.

Careless borrowing

A student reads a single commentary first and then writes a paper that follows its outline and conclusions. When asked, she cannot say why she agrees with it. The paper contains little of her own observation and has no evidence of weighing. It shows the danger the method is meant to avoid.

Different perspectives

Protestant

Protestant study traditions have produced a large body of commentary, from Calvin’s to modern evangelical and mainline series. Guides in this tradition often recommend working from the text first and comparing several commentaries. They accept the use of the fathers but treat them as subordinate to Scripture.

Catholic

Catholic study uses modern commentaries such as Sacra Pagina and also the long line of patristic and medieval comment, including the Catena Aurea. The church asks that study be done in harmony with the faith of the church, and Catholic scholars also contribute to ecumenical series.

Orthodox

Orthodox students turn first to the fathers, especially Chrysostom, and to the church’s hymns and homilies. Modern Orthodox commentaries are fewer in English, but the patristic commentaries are widely available.

Jewish

Jewish study draws on the Talmud and medieval commentators such as Rashi and Ibn Ezra, as well as modern scholars. Study Bibles such as the Jewish Study Bible offer introductions and notes for a general reader.

Academic

University scholarship values transparency of method, citation of sources and attention to dissent. A reader is expected to report the main positions on a disputed point and to give reasons for a preference.

Why it matters

Learning to use tools well is a lifelong skill. It protects against two opposite faults: relying on your own ideas alone, and relying on one authority alone. A student who learns to consult without being led can read any book of the Bible and any commentary with confidence, and can speak honestly about what she has learned from others.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: Using commentaries means I am not reading the Bible myself.

Correction: Commentaries serve the reading of the text. Using them well, after observing for yourself, deepens your own reading.

Misunderstanding: The more recent the commentary, the better.

Correction: Recent works use newer evidence, but older works may have insights that later writers neglect. Use both, and ask for reasons.

Misunderstanding: If experts agree, there is no need to check the text.

Correction: Agreement among experts is weighty, but it is not a proof. Check the reasons and note where the experts differ.

Misunderstanding: A free online commentary is as good as any other.

Correction: Quality varies. Check the author’s credentials, date and method, and compare with sources you trust.

Knowledge check

Why draft your own observations before consulting commentaries?

A confident commentary can set the terms of your thinking and keep your own questions from forming. Drafting first lets you see where the commentaries confirm, correct or challenge you, and ensures that your study rests on your own observation of the text.

Name three kinds of reference work and what each is good for.

A technical commentary treats language, variants and debate; a Bible dictionary gives background on persons, places and topics; a lexicon gives the range of meanings of a word; a concordance traces where a word occurs. Any three, with their uses, are correct.

What should you record when you take an idea from a commentary?

Record the author, work, edition and page, the claim, the evidence offered and how it compares with your draft. Put the idea in your own words and mark clearly that it came from someone else, so that you can cite it honestly.

Why is it wise to include voices from the church’s tradition?

The fathers, medieval writers, Reformers and Jewish commentators show how the text has been read over the centuries. They provide interpretations you might not find otherwise and let you report on how different traditions have understood the passage.

Think it through

  1. Which kind of reference work have you used most, and what has it taught you?
  2. How would you know if you were being led by a commentary rather than weighing it?
  3. What is the value of reading a commentary written from a tradition different from your own?
  4. How do you decide whom to trust when two experts disagree?

Independent assignment

Consult and compare

After finishing your observation sheet, consult three works on your passage: one introduction or Bible dictionary entry, and at least two commentaries, preferably from different traditions or methods. In your notebook, make a table with columns for the source, its main claim, its evidence and how it relates to your draft. Then write 300 to 450 words on where the sources confirm, correct or challenge you and which you find most persuasive and why. Cite each source. Keep your work in your notebook.

Further study