BARGAINS FOR A BARE-BONES LIBRARY

THESE CHOICES WILL, I hope, provide the average student or pastor with the best resources, given an extremely limited budget. The following might be termed best bargains, though few would be a first choice if one had plenty of shekels to spend. Or you might think of these as emergency purchases, where, say, you really want a commentary for a new Sunday School class on Exodus but only wish to spend $12 – 15. I have chosen for the most part one vol. commentaries in paperback with an evangelical perspective. (Believing scholarship should, I think, be given a priority in building a personal library of restricted size.) The choices also tend to be exegetical rather than homiletical in their aim. Several things to consider: (a) don’t miss all the free commentaries online, such as Calvin, Keil & Delitzsch, and Matthew Henry — see ccel and other sites; (b) buying books s/h often saves 50 – 60 percent; (c) it could be that with scarce resources you would be best off buying a commentary series or two digitally. Since commentaries are often sold at a discount in entire sets, you also might consider building your library around a series, like the Tyndale OT and NT Commentaries, or the Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Revised. In this list, names appear in the order of preference — perhaps with cost as a leading consideration — where the connectives “and” or “or” are used.

GENESIS	Hartley (NIBC) or Kidner (TOTC); For Gen – Exod combined, Ross (CorBC)
EXODUS	Motyer (BST) or Bruckner [ℳ], (NIBC); For Gen – Exod combined, Oswalt (CorBC)
LEVITICUS	Sklar (TOTC) or Tidball (BST); Tidball is more expositional
NUMBERS	Wenham (TOTC)
DEUTERONOMY	Wright (NIBC) or Woods (TOTC); Wright is more expositional
JOSHUA	Hess (TOTC) or Firth (BST); Firth is more expositional
JUDGES/RUTH	Block (NAC); Judg – Ruth in one hb; there’s no good cheap exegesis. For a theological exposition, Davis (Judges) and Ferguson (Ruth).
SAMUEL	Baldwin (TOTC); Far better Vannoy s/h.
KINGS	Provan (NIBC)
CHRONICLES	Selman (TOTC); Far better Boda s/h.
EZRA/NEHEMIAH	Kidner (TOTC) or Allen (NIBC); Clines (NCB on Ezra-Esther) good s/h.
ESTHER	Laniak (NIBC) or Baldwin (TOTC) or Reid (TOTC) or Firth (BST, more expositional)
JOB	Wilson (NIBC) or Andersen (TOTC)
PSALMS	Longman (TOTC) or Broyles (NIBC); Kidner (TOTC) still appeals.
Proverbs	Hubbard (WCC) or Kidner (TOTC); Consider Wilson’s new TOTC.
ECCLESIASTES	Hubbard (WCC, one-vol. Eccl – Song) or Kidner (BST)
SONG OF SONGS	Duguid (TOTC); Or Hubbard’s one-vol. Eccl – Song, or Carr (TOTC)
ISAIAH	Motyer (TOTC)
JEREMIAH/LAM.	Lalleman (TOTC) or Longman (NIBC); Wright BST more expositional
EZEKIEL	Tuell (NIBC) or Wright (BST); Tuell isn’t conservative, but offers the most and best exegesis for the money. Wright is more expositional. Even better Duguid s/h.
DANIEL	Baldwin (TOTC) or Davis (BST, more expositional)
MINOR PROPHETS	McComiskey, ed. in one vol.; On one prophet, probably buy TOTC.
MATTHEW	France (TNTC) or Mounce (NIBC); Perhaps Carson’s old EBC s/h.
SERMON ON MT.	Stott (BST)
MARK	Hurtado (NIBC) or Cole (TNTC); Perhaps Lane s/h
LUKE	Bock (IVPNT) or Evans (NIBC) or Morris (TNTC)
JOHN	Kruse (TNTC)
ACTS	Marshall (TNTC) or Stott (BST, expositional); Williams (NIBC) and Longenecker (EBC, s/h)
ROMANS	Stott (BST) or Bruce (TNTC); Great s/h buys are Moo (NIVAC), Morris, and Murray
1 CORINTHIANS	Morris (TNTC); Bruce (NCB) on 1 – 2 Cor s/h, or Kistemaker s/h
2 CORINTHIANS	Kruse (TNTC); Bruce (NCB) on 1 – 2 Cor s/h, or Kistemaker s/h
GALATIANS	Jervis (NIBC) or Cole (TNTC), or Stott (BST, expositional)
EPHESIANS	Stott (BST); Consider s/h Bruce (Eph – Col – Phlm)
PHILIPPIANS	Fee (IVPNT) or Martin (TNTC); Fee (NICNT) worth the extra money
COLOSSIANS	Wright (TNTC); Consider s/h Bruce (Eph – Col – Phlm)
THESSALONIANS	Beale (IVPNT) or Williams (NIBC) or Morris (TNTC); Pastors may prefer Stott.
PASTORALS	Towner (IVPNT) or Fee (NIBC) or Kelly (BNTC s/h) or Guthrie (TNTC)
PHILEMON	See Colossians commentary incorporating Philemon
HEBREWS	Hagner (NIBC) or D. Guthrie (TNTC); Bruce or G. Guthrie s/h
JAMES	Davids (NIBC) or Moo (TNTC)
1 PETER	Hillyer (NIBC, on 1 – 2 Peter, Jude = cheapest) or Grudem (TNTC); Cf. Schreiner (NAC, Peter – Jude)
2 PETER/JUDE	Hillyer (NIBC, on 1 – 2 Peter, Jude = cheapest) or Green (TNTC); Cf. Schreiner
1 – 3 JOHN	Stott (TNTC) or Johnson (NIBC)
REVELATION	Michaels (IVPNT s/h) or Morris (TNTC); Perhaps Mounce s/h