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The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary
The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is a comprehensive yet concise resource for Bible teachers, pastors, and any student of the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, it provides the reader with essential information and insight that can be a clarifying touch point at every stage of preparing to teach or preach.
For each book of the Bible, an introductory section gives an overview that introduces
The commentary illuminates each verse in the Bible by focusing on a few verses at a time. The outline for each book serves as the headings throughout the commentary. This feature enables the reader to move from the big picture to the details in section-by-section fashion. The commentary is illustrated with photos and other graphics that bring the world of each Bible book to life for the reader. Also, each book of the Bible includes a substantial bibliography that enables the reader to explore more deeply.
For each book of the Bible, an introductory section gives an overview that introduces
The commentary illuminates each verse in the Bible by focusing on a few verses at a time. The outline for each book serves as the headings throughout the commentary. This feature enables the reader to move from the big picture to the details in section-by-section fashion. The commentary is illustrated with photos and other graphics that bring the world of each Bible book to life for the reader. Also, each book of the Bible includes a substantial bibliography that enables the reader to explore more deeply.
1600 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2015
10 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 11, 2015
The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is a comprehensive reference tool produced with the Bible teacher, pastor, and student in mind. This new one-volume commentary covers both the Old and New Testament. Each book of the Bible includes a brief introductory section that aims to provide a detailed overview of the circumstances of writing, including the author and background, the message and purpose, contribution to the Bible, structure, and outline of the specified book. The content of the commentary is arranged in a section-by-section format that seeks to help the reader gain a greater sense of understanding of the bigger picture of the biblical book, and the numerous illustrations throughout helpfully drag the reader into the biblical world with minimal effort. Each book of the Bible closes with a healthy bibliography that allows the reader to further explore specific interests of study.
Many readers will undoubtedly find the content of The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary strangely familiar. That is because the basis of the commentary itself is the HCSB Study Bible. E. Ray Clendenen and Jeremy Royal Howard explain such in the preface, writing, “The basis of this one-volume commentary is the award winning HCSB Study Bible. Those verses that escaped comment in the original work due to space limitations have been included in the present work, with comments provided by E. Ray Clendenen” (p. IX). In other words, The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is essentially the study note content of the HCSB Study Bible with some additional comments and complementary illustrations reformatted and repackaged.
Should the reader who already owns the HSCB Study Bible seek to add The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary to their library? This is ultimately going to be a decision that the reader must make. Still, two comments are in order that may help the decision process. First, after spending a good hour and a half intentionally flipping through the pages comparing content between the two resources I found little that differed from the HSCB Study Bible. There is additional content, but it’s minimal at best. Second, for most readers, I think that the format of The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is to be preferred over the HSCB Study Bible. It’s clean, easy to read, and user-friendly. Not that such characteristics are absent from the HSCB Study Bible, but rather The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is going to be a much better option if the study note content is your primary target for pulling the HSCB Study Bible off the shelf.
The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is an excellent one-volume commentary. It’s comprehensive and yet concise. It’s user-friendly and well formatted. It has a clear objective, and it accomplishes that objective with excellence. Takes the award-winning study notes from the HSCB Study Bible, written by some of today’s leading biblical scholars, expand the content slightly, add numerous illustrations, maps, and photographs, pack it between a high-quality hardcover binding, and you have the recipe for something amazing—a future best-seller. Regardless if you own the HSCB Study Bible or not, The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is a resource you will want on your shelf. It comes highly recommended.
I received a review copy of these books in exchange for and honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Many readers will undoubtedly find the content of The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary strangely familiar. That is because the basis of the commentary itself is the HCSB Study Bible. E. Ray Clendenen and Jeremy Royal Howard explain such in the preface, writing, “The basis of this one-volume commentary is the award winning HCSB Study Bible. Those verses that escaped comment in the original work due to space limitations have been included in the present work, with comments provided by E. Ray Clendenen” (p. IX). In other words, The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is essentially the study note content of the HCSB Study Bible with some additional comments and complementary illustrations reformatted and repackaged.
Should the reader who already owns the HSCB Study Bible seek to add The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary to their library? This is ultimately going to be a decision that the reader must make. Still, two comments are in order that may help the decision process. First, after spending a good hour and a half intentionally flipping through the pages comparing content between the two resources I found little that differed from the HSCB Study Bible. There is additional content, but it’s minimal at best. Second, for most readers, I think that the format of The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is to be preferred over the HSCB Study Bible. It’s clean, easy to read, and user-friendly. Not that such characteristics are absent from the HSCB Study Bible, but rather The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is going to be a much better option if the study note content is your primary target for pulling the HSCB Study Bible off the shelf.
The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is an excellent one-volume commentary. It’s comprehensive and yet concise. It’s user-friendly and well formatted. It has a clear objective, and it accomplishes that objective with excellence. Takes the award-winning study notes from the HSCB Study Bible, written by some of today’s leading biblical scholars, expand the content slightly, add numerous illustrations, maps, and photographs, pack it between a high-quality hardcover binding, and you have the recipe for something amazing—a future best-seller. Regardless if you own the HSCB Study Bible or not, The Holman Illustrated Bible Commentary is a resource you will want on your shelf. It comes highly recommended.
I received a review copy of these books in exchange for and honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
August 27, 2015
As a pastor I think I have found the perfect resource to recommend to folks serious about studying the Bible–this new whole Bible commentary by Holman Reference, edited by E. Ray Clendenen and Jeremy Royal Howard. This volume is perfect for the person trying to read the Bible but struggling with certain passages. Even if you have been studying the Bible for years, you will still find this a real asset.
You have some measure of commentary on every verse. It may not give all the detail you would want on that verse (no one-volume commentary can), but you can at least grasp the general idea. There are fine maps as you see in other Holman resources as well interesting pictures. It really has a nice look.
While I do not know the names of all the contributing scholars here, I see many that are known to be outstanding scholars. Each book gets a short background, themes (message and purpose), how it fits in the Bible as a whole (Contribution to the Bible), and Structure. These are well done.
The only thing missing is an Introduction to the Bible as a whole or of each Testament, but no volume can have everything.
I highly recommend this commentary!
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
You have some measure of commentary on every verse. It may not give all the detail you would want on that verse (no one-volume commentary can), but you can at least grasp the general idea. There are fine maps as you see in other Holman resources as well interesting pictures. It really has a nice look.
While I do not know the names of all the contributing scholars here, I see many that are known to be outstanding scholars. Each book gets a short background, themes (message and purpose), how it fits in the Bible as a whole (Contribution to the Bible), and Structure. These are well done.
The only thing missing is an Introduction to the Bible as a whole or of each Testament, but no volume can have everything.
I highly recommend this commentary!
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews