Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Set: Old Testament Hardcover – October 24, 2009

Please note this is not a Bible commentary like you normally think of, but rather a commentary with highlights from the cultures and peoples of the region around the setting for each book of the Bible covered in this series. It's extremely helpful that this material is organized by Bible book, chapter and verse. So you can open up your commentary to the passage in the Bible you are studying and see relevant data in a few minutes. And since this set is focused on the Old Testament, the background is the Ancient Near-East (ANE) region. That is in the book's title (Bible Backgrounds Commentary) so the book is successful in hitting it's stated target. That's partly why I give this book five stars. This is probably my favorite illustrated commentary. The photos are truly insightful and inspiring. And some of them are "worth a thousand words" as the old saying goes. This commentary then is not like a regular commentary at all. Having said that, it may become your favorite tool as you study passage after passage.To illustrate what I mean by this, let me share with you the overall difference between this commentary and a 'regular' commentary. I will select another commentary that I consider a five star as well, the NICOT volume on Genesis 18-50 by Victor P. Hamilton. I will show you a little on Genesis 22, the famous story about Abraham and Isaac going up the mountain to make a sacrifice.In Hamilton's commentary we have a full 20 pages of discussion about the overall text and what other scholars have written about the meaning of the text, a verse by verse detailed discussion of the meaning of each verse, and some final comments. For Genesis 22's account of Abraham and Isaac going up the mountain, the ZIBBOT Vol 1 contains two and a quarter pages of material. In those two pages there is a map (nothing special) with an explanation as to why this event may or may not have happened in Jerusalem, a photo with a special article on child sacrifice in the ANE that gives a two paragraph summary, two photos of knives from the period (those are interesting and very insightful), and a photo of a Ram in the thicket from a royal tomb (ANE). Perhaps the most interesting photo in the two pages of material is the one showing a ram in the thicket taken from a royal tomb in Ur. However, no commentary is provided on this at all. I was disappointed with that.In short the emphasis in this article yields a couple key points: Where this happened may not be in Jerusalem since Abraham brings wood and the hills around Jerusalem had plenty of trees already. (My own aside: this may weaken the idea that this passage foreshadows Christ's death on the cross which was outside Jerusalem, or it may have no significance on the Christological implications of this passage. ZIBBOT does not address application issues like this).Secondly the sacrifice of an older child (like Isaac) was not normal in the ANE.Interestingly enough, Hamilton argues (in NICOT) that the verb used in Genesis 22:10 is reserved for child sacrifice in the Hebrew texts. So Hamilton attempts to focus the meaning (on verb selection alone) directly on a comparison of the ANE practice of child sacrifice and states this darkens the meaning of this passage. The ZIBBOT almost directly contradicts this in my opinion. In my understanding it narrowed the scope of child sacrifice and transformed my understanding of the context quite a bit.In light of that, the emphasis in ZIBBOT for this passage makes more sense. In essence, it adjusts or modifies how you might interpret a regular commentary like NICOT. Combined, the two resources give a pastor or Bible teacher a fuller view of the passage.I do often wish the ZIBBOT had more details in the text. For example, I think the ram in the thicket statute from a royal tomb in Ur is relevant to this story, providing no text to explain that leaves me hungering for something. Perhaps some detail on what are the potential options in relevance? So I could summarize my comments by saying this: Very cool and rarely found photos for each passage with scant explanation. All information is focused on ANE, where a typical commentary focuses mainly on the biblical text.I don't know of another tool quite like this one. If you are serious about Old Testament studies, you ought to get a copy of this series. Enjoy it! It's a great way to kick off further study on the ANE background of the Old Testament. I tend to go to ZIBBOT before I go to OT Commentaries. I love the look and feel of it and I love the photos. There are a couple thousand of them and many of them are difficult to obtain. It's a fabulous resource.

Great books. Great for bible study.

When Studying the Torah, or to understand the Tanaj, the information contained within these books enlighten the mind about the context in which the words were written. The context is supreme to bring about the correct interpretation of the text.

I have both this set, and the corresponding New Testament set. I use these every week for sermon preparation, and almost always find some significant piece of background information on the texts I am preparing for. While these volumes suggest that they are background commentaries, in reality the OT volumes in particular often make interpretive suggestions. This isn't really a criticism, but they are somewhat other than what their title suggests.I also use the IVP one volume Old Testament Bible Background commentary, but I generally find the Zondervan set to be superior primarily for their scholarship, but also for the illustrations (pictures).

My FAVORITE commentary set!! The content is practical and straight to the point. Because I'm a visual learner, tje pictures help tremendously!

This was advertised as a box set. Where’s the box??

Item received and better than expected. Seller is super responsible and fast to resolve issues. Recommended for future purchases.

I appreciate this set for what it is but it is crucial when buying that you understand what this is. This set provides you with historical background on passages of Scripture but in doing so focuses heavily on ANE parallel writings. For example, if you looked up a passage in Judges it may point you to a Ugaritic or Akkadian text which uses similar language. Yet what this series is not going to do and never intends to do is tell you what a text means. It is enlightening but depending on what your interest is, may or may not be helpful for you. Often there are pictures of the region which the Scripture is talking about which are gorgeous to look at and helpful to fully understand the landscape and the action. This set is great for what it is but before you buy it understand what that it is before you cry about a wasted $100+.