Old Testament Commentaries/Study Bibles

[JustAnAustralian]

So kind of a spin-off from the Saints Unscripted thread.

What, if any, study bibles or commentaries do people use for the Old Testament?

For the new testament I use the one found at https://feastupontheword.org/Site:NTFootnotes which is essentially just a nice set of footnotes, with a brief intro to each book.

I was hoping to find something similar for the old testament. The Harper and Oxford Annotated (which seem to be the big two), look like they spend a lot of footnote and commentary space on explanations based on the assumption that true prophecy/revelation doesn't exist. Does anyone have any actual experience with any of these (or other O/T commentaries)?

[Nevo]

There is very little in the way of Latter-day Saint commentary on the Old Testament. I know of no equivalent to Kevin Barney's Footnotes to the New Testament for Latter-day Saints, unfortunately.

This Religious Educator article on study bibles recommends the two that you've already ruled out: https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-20-no-3-2019/study-bibles-introduction-latter-day-saints. It also recommends the Jewish Study Bible. If you're looking for something more conservative, try the NIV Study Bible. Give Keil and Delitzsch a try too: https://www.worthy.bible/commentaries/keil-delitzsch-commentary. It's old, but worthwhile.

Personally, I like to read commentaries from a variety of perspectives—conservative, liberal, scholarly, devotional.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Nevo

[longview]

4 minutes ago, Nevo said:

There is very little in the way of Latter-day Saint commentary on the Old Testament.

Don't forget the Book of Mormon.  It is the world's GREATEST commentary on the Bible.  More heavily on the OT but does contain wonderful insights on NT precepts.  It is chock full of the teachings of Lehi, Nephi, etc that are based on symbolism in the Bible.

[JustAnAustralian]

2 hours ago, Nevo said:

recommends the two that you've already ruled out: 

I haven't specifically ruled them out (the Oxford annotated is in my Amazon cart), I was just wondering if there was anything less forceful about treating it like a collection of novels.

[Nevo]

49 minutes ago, JustAnAustralian said:

I haven't specifically ruled them out (the Oxford annotated is in my Amazon cart), I was just wondering if there was anything less forceful about treating it like a collection of novels.

Yes, of course. There are many study bibles that affirm revelation and prophecy. Anything published by Zondervan, Nelson, or Crossway will fit the bill.

[Steve Thompson]

You may want to take a look at:

https://benspackman.com/bibleincontextresources/

He lists various resources for studying the Bible in context, including study Bibles.