Throughout my reading of Genesis I have been referencing a commentary written by Robert Jamieson and published by the BibleStudyTools
website, because it's easily accessible and it may be reproduced without permission. However, I've come to realize that this commentary is really, really bad. And not at all helpful. Jamieson accepts the subjugation of women (
Gen 24), racism (
Gen 29), and a really bizarre view of genetics and the inheritance of traits (
Gen 30), as well as advocating that people should not try to understand when the Bible says something irreconcilable (
Gen 5). But his acquiescence and credulity aside, he doesn't offer any actually
helpful commentary, like explaining what any of this stuff means. He speculates about people's motives (in an insufferable Christian sort of way), speculating about things that he has no idea (even going so far as to pull a recipe for ragout out of his ass), without offering anything that would help a reader who actually wants to understand what's going on.
So, I am putting out a call for help to the Internet: do you have a Bible commentary that you like, that you find particularly useful, that you would recommend for me? I'm not looking for a commentary with an atheistic viewpoint; I have SAB for that. I want an interpretation or commentary on the Bible that would help make it understandable to a modern reader. Here are my criteria:
- Must be applicable to the King James Version of the Bible
- Must be available online, with rights to reference and quote without restriction
Apart from that, I'm just looking for something that is understandable and helpful. Check out some of the references to Jamieson above for a good example of what's NOT helpful.
Suggestions can be submitted as comments on this blog post. Thanks!
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