4 Bad Reasons (and 4 Good Ones) to Use a Commentary

Use with Intention

In college, I (Megan) learned to teach Shakespeare’s plays using a side-by-side text with the original verse in one column and a modern English translation in the other. For teenagers experiencing iambic pentameter for the first time, the parallel columns opened their eyes to Shakespeare’s meaning. “But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks?” became much clearer as “Hush! Is that a light shining through that window there?” Moving between Elizabethan and contemporary English, students could immerse themselves in the unfolding story of the world’s most famous star-crossed lovers.

I noticed, however, that what was a useful tool for some students quickly became a harmful shortcut for others. Some used the modern English to lead them back to the original language with greater appreciation, but others read only the translation, satisfied to have learned the basic plot points without having been touched by Shakespeare’s poetry. Fair Verona’s drama may have been something they could adequately recount on a quiz, but they never felt its joys and sorrows in their heart.

Similarly, Bible commentaries can be an invaluable tool when used with intention, but careless use can hinder real learning. The goal of all Bible study is not that we would assimilate the facts we find in our study aids but that we would dive deeply into God’s Word and grow to love its divine author.

Before you open that Bible commentary (or rush to put it back on the shelf!), consider four bad reasons—and four excellent ones—to use it.

Don’t use a commentary to avoid exercising your mind.

The Bible isn’t always easy to read. Even the apostle Peter, writing about Paul’s letters, said, “there are some things in them that are hard to understand,” (2 Pet. 3:16). It can be tempting to pick up a commentary to avoid struggling with a hard-to-grasp text. In just a few sentences, the commentator will answer your pressing questions about the relevance of Old Testament dietary laws, the meaning of Ezekieal’s vision, and the implications of Paul’s teaching about women in the church. You’re used to asking Siri for recipes, AI for summaries of email threads, and Apple Maps for directions. A commentary can seem like an equally handy way to get the upshot of Scripture without too much mental effort.

Do use a commentary to help you think deeply.

Instead of using a commentary to bypass the discomfort of deep thought, use it to help you think even more deeply. Before picking up a commentary, read the Scripture text a few times. What do you think the verses are saying? What clues can you gather from the surrounding passage? Where do you see similar words or themes elsewhere in Scripture? How do these verses relate to the Bible’s big redemption story?

Then, armed with your preliminary work, let the commentary point out what you may have missed. A commentary will define difficult words and phrases, set the context for the verses, show you where they are echoed elsewhere in Scripture, and suggest how they fit into the book’s themes. Use this new knowledge to go to the text again. How does this information fit with what you thought? How might you need to adjust your understanding? Read the text again with all the pieces in mind. What have you learned? What do you still need to wrestle with? If your brain is tired when you close a commentary, you’re probably on the right track.

The goal of all Bible study is not that we would assimilate the facts we find in our study aids but that we would dive deeply into God’s Word and grow to love its divine author.

Don’t use a commentary to avoid engaging your heart.

Maybe for you a commentary opens up a world of ideas and connections that your mind can’t get enough of. Instead of using commentaries to bypass thinking, you want to do nothing but think—in new and exciting directions with every verse. You’re delighted by obscure allusions, niche interpretations, and textual variants you’ve never before considered. You could easily spend hours on what the patristics say about each phrase, but you may never consider: “How is the Spirit applying this verse to my heart and life?”

Do use a commentary to fuel the Spirit’s work.

The Bible is so much more than a book of propositions; it’s “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man [or woman] of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (1 Tim. 3:16–17). Use a commentary to help you understand the text, yes, but then bring your understanding to the Spirit and ask him to use it in your heart. When you close the commentary and return to the text, you should be not merely smarter but holier, not merely intellectually stimulated but burning with greater love for the true and living Word: Christ himself.

Don’t use a commentary to avoid forming convictions.

What do you believe about infant baptism? The end times? Predestination? Open a commentary and you’ll get an answer to common theological controversies. A good commentary will lay out interpretive options for each issue, but the commentator will also give her conclusion. It’s tempting to simply go along with the commentator’s position and outsource your convictions to someone else.

Do use a commentary to benefit from others’ wisdom.

Genuine Bible study requires you to reach your own, Spirit-led convictions about what God’s Word teaches. This means you’ll have to study the text with prayer and seek the Lord’s help to know what you should believe about any number of issues. Your convictions about spiritual things are too important to be thoughtlessly borrowed from someone else.

But that doesn’t mean you ought to reach your convictions in isolation. The Lord graciously sets us in the local church and under the teaching of pastors and elders, in part to develop our biblically-informed convictions. He also gives us the witness of church history—the record of saints in other places and at other times wrestling through the same questions we have. And he gives us Bible resources, like commentaries, to reveal how Bible scholars understand Scripture’s teaching. Use a commentary like you would a conversation with another mature believer—to sharpen your own thinking about the Bible and its implications for your beliefs.

Don’t use a commentary to avoid sounding like a learner.

If you are a Bible study leader, the pressure of teaching the Bible can be intense. Women are coming to each session looking for you to have answers about the meaning and application of the text. Sometimes that’s pretty straightforward. Other times, it’s not. It can be tempting to turn to a trusty commentary to find a definitive answer to give the group and to make yourself look smarter at the same time. If you parrot the carefully-crafted words of a commentary, everyone will be satisfied. You’re supposed to be the expert, after all.

Do use a commentary to model the Bible study process.

Instead of hiding behind a commentary and presenting its words as your own, consider how using a commentary can help you model the process of Bible study. Every woman—whether teacher or student—is called to be a Bible learner. “Let a woman learn,” writes Paul (1 Tim. 2:11), and so we must. When you tell the group that you don’t have all the answers, and you’re transparent about the resources you’ve used to prepare your lesson (and how you’ve used them), you’ll equip everyone in the room to thoughtfully use Bible study tools.

A Commentary’s Bigger Purpose

Ultimately, a commentary is a supplemental resource, not the primary text.

Used rightly, a verse-by-verse commentary should lead you deeper into the original text of Scripture, drawing your heart along with your mind as you engage God and his Word with fresh understanding.

If not, feel free to put it back on the shelf.

Lydia Brownback and Megan Hill are co-editors of the Conversational Commentary Series.

Related Articles