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[TCanji]

Greetings,

 

I have a favor to ask. Actually 3 of them

 

1. I would very much appreciate a feedback from those of you who purchased the John Phillips Commentary as to the quality and satisfaction with the product. How does it stack against NIV Application, Tyndale, EBC, namely less technical commentaries? A review from a pastoral perspective would be more than welcome, even a short one!

 

2. Besides great photos, how much have you benefited from ZIBBCOT / ZIBBCNT in comparison with IVP OT / NT background commentaries?

 

3. Would you consider ZEB to be your # 1 or go to Dictionary?

 

Thank you in advance.

Edited April 20, 2012 by Tomi

[Kevin Sigafoos]

1. So far I have used the Phillips Commentary mostly for the outline of the passage. He is very good at structuring the passage and his heading make good sermon points (especially if you like alliteration). His comments on the verses are rather basic. You'll definitely get more analysis from almost any other commentary.

 

I really like the NIV Application commentary for the, um, application. I find in my preaching that coming up with appropriate application is the most difficult part of developing my sermon.

 

I like the Tyndale and EBC sets for exegesis on difficult texts (the Word, NICNT and NIGTC are probably tops in this regard for me.)

 

2. I have ZIBBCOT/ZIBBCNT and the IVP OT/NT background sets and I refer to them early in my examination of the text, but I can't say that I use any of them all that much.

 

3. I don't have ZEB. My go to English dictionary is either the Anchor or ISBE. I really like NIDNTT for Greek and NIDOTTE for Hebrew (even better than BDAG/HALOT).

 

Hope this helps.

Kevin

[A.D. Riddle]

Tomi,

 

I know nothing about #1.

 

ZIBBCOT is outstanding, more up-to-date, and is larger than the IVP backgrounds. But both are good.

 

I do not use ZEB. I have Anchor. Anchor is my top pick, but it is starting to show age, and some articles are a little idiosyncratic (depending on the author). I do not think there is anything that can really compete with it. (I could be corrected on the last statement, though.)

 

In the end, it is really better to use more than one dictionary, more than one atlas, more than one English version.

 

A.D. Riddle

Edited April 21, 2012 by A.D. Riddle

[TCanji]

I appreciate your input, thank you!

[Tony Lawrence]

Tomi,

 

I just noticed your question when you thanked everyone for their input. Even if it is a little late, let me offer my penny's worth.

 

1. I just recently purchased the Phillips Commentary and have been very pleased with it. In my opinion the greatest strength is its alliterated outlines. This can be of tremendous help when trying to structure an outline for a sermon. I do not have the NIV Application but do have Tyndale and EBC. While I have been pleased with the down to earth comments of Phillips it does not rise to the level of the Tyndale or EBC (other others) for in-depth analysis of a passage.

 

2. I have both the ZIBBCOT/ZIBBCNT and the IVP OT/NT commentaries. I find myself using the Zondervan set just a little more due to their visual nature, however, when I consult the IVP series I find I appreciate their insight just a little more than the Zondervan pair. If you can only own one set (and thus money is an issue), I would strongly recommend the IVP set as they come with some great other tools and a superb price. I will add, I already owned a lot of the photos in the Zondervan series as many of them are licensed from Todd Bolen's bibleplaces.com. The Pictorial Library of the Bible Lands set is phenomenal!

 

3. I don't own ZEB, but I do have the ZPEB (the earlier edition that was released with the Zondervan Scholarly Suite). I consult it fairly often but will most often refer to the Eerdman's Dictionary. It seems to contain most of the information that I seek in a more concise format. If I need more then I generally will move on to ZPEB.

 

I like your questions. Responses from others sometimes helps me rearrange my "wish list."

 

Tony Lawrence

[TCanji]

Thank you Tony.