John Goldingay

John Goldingay is a British-born Old Testament scholar active in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, associated with Anglican and broadly evangelical traditions, though at points more eclectic in his approach.

Goldingay’s extensive contribution spans commentaries on Psalms, Isaiah, and the prophetic and narrative books, as well as substantial works in Old Testament theology. He combines linguistic and historical work with imaginative engagement, often inviting readers to hear the Old Testament afresh. His writing ranges from technical commentaries to more popular expositions, aiming to make the Old Testament speak clearly into the life of the church.

He is valued for breadth of learning, creativity, and a desire to let the text challenge modern assumptions. At the same time, readers from more conservative Reformed settings will want to read him with discernment at points.

Key titles include his multi-volume commentary on the Psalms and his Old Testament theology, alongside commentaries on major prophetic and narrative books.

Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical

John Goldingay

John Goldingay is a British-born Old Testament scholar active in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, associated with Anglican and broadly evangelical traditions, though at points more eclectic in his approach.

Goldingay’s extensive contribution spans commentaries on Psalms, Isaiah, and the prophetic and narrative books, as well as substantial works in Old Testament theology. He combines linguistic and historical work with imaginative engagement, often inviting readers to hear the Old Testament afresh. His writing ranges from technical commentaries to more popular expositions, aiming to make the Old Testament speak clearly into the life of the church.

He is valued for breadth of learning, creativity, and a desire to let the text challenge modern assumptions. At the same time, readers from more conservative Reformed settings will want to read him with discernment at points.

Key titles include his multi-volume commentary on the Psalms and his Old Testament theology, alongside commentaries on major prophetic and narrative books.

Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical

John Goldingay

John Goldingay

John Goldingay is a British-born Old Testament scholar active in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, associated with Anglican and broadly evangelical traditions, though at points more eclectic in his approach.

Goldingay’s extensive contribution spans commentaries on Psalms, Isaiah, and the prophetic and narrative books, as well as substantial works in Old Testament theology. He combines linguistic and historical work with imaginative engagement, often inviting readers to hear the Old Testament afresh. His writing ranges from technical commentaries to more popular expositions, aiming to make the Old Testament speak clearly into the life of the church.

He is valued for breadth of learning, creativity, and a desire to let the text challenge modern assumptions. At the same time, readers from more conservative Reformed settings will want to read him with discernment at points.

Key titles include his multi-volume commentary on the Psalms and his Old Testament theology, alongside commentaries on major prophetic and narrative books.

Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical

Reset

Hosea – Micah

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
8.1
Author: John Goldingay
Bible Book: Hosea Joel Micah
Series: Baker Commentary On The Old Testament
Type: Exegetical (Technical)
Publisher: Baker Academic
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical
Resource Type: Commentary

Summary

This volume gathers several prophetic voices and helps the reader hear each one distinctly while also noticing shared burdens. Hosea confronts covenant infidelity with the language of marriage, Joel summons the people to repentance and hope in the day of the Lord, and Amos exposes religious hypocrisy and social injustice with relentless clarity. The commentary aims to keep the reader close to the text, explaining imagery, tracing argument, and highlighting how prophetic proclamation is both judgement and mercy.

The author reads the prophets as preachers to real communities, not as detached predictors of distant events. That matters for the pulpit. The commentary helps you see how the prophets confront idolatry, complacency, and self trust, and how they call the people back to the Lord with both warnings and promises. The book is attentive to the literary shape of oracles and to the emotional force of prophetic speech, which can help sermons land with the weight and urgency the text intends.

Strengths

The strongest strength is the help it gives in reading prophetic language. Hosea and Amos in particular are filled with metaphors, wordplay, and abrupt shifts. The commentary explains those features in a way that supports preaching rather than distracting from it. It shows how imagery functions to shock, to grieve, and to awaken. That is valuable for pastors who want to preach prophets without turning them into either moral lectures or vague spiritual poetry.

Another strength is the theological realism. The prophets expose sin with sharpness, but they also reveal the heart of the Lord who will not abandon His covenant purposes. The commentary is good at holding together judgement and mercy, showing how divine compassion does not erase holiness, and how divine holiness does not erase compassion. That balance helps the preacher avoid flattening the prophets into either anger only or comfort only.

The book is also useful in drawing out how these prophets address worship and justice together. Amos especially refuses to separate liturgy from life. The commentary makes that plain, and it gives pastors a way to preach ethical seriousness without slipping into moralism. The focus remains on returning to the Lord, not on self improvement.

Limitations

Because the volume covers multiple books, there are places where the commentary must move quickly. Some passages will leave readers wanting a fuller treatment than a single volume can provide. If you are preaching a long series in one prophet, you may still want a dedicated commentary for that book.

There are also interpretive decisions that some readers will want to test alongside other works, especially in how certain prophetic texts are related to later biblical developments. The commentary is often insightful, but it does not always press into a full canonical synthesis in every unit. That is not necessarily a flaw, but it means that pastors must do some additional work to connect the prophets to the wider storyline in a way that is both faithful and clear.

How We Would Use It

We would use this as a primary mid level guide when preaching through Hosea, Joel, or Amos, especially for getting the flow of argument, clarifying imagery, and keeping the message grounded in the prophets immediate setting. We would supplement it with a more focused commentary when we need more depth on a difficult passage or a wider range of interpretive options.

We would also use it for teaching leaders how to read the prophets. The book helps readers hear the tone and aims of prophetic speech, and it can train a congregation to welcome correction as mercy from the Lord.

Closing Recommendation

A useful and text attentive companion for preaching three demanding prophets. It helps you handle imagery, urgency, and theological balance with care. Ideal for pastors who want solid guidance without wading through a purely technical tome.

Psalms Volume 3 (90-150)

AdvancedAdvanced students / scholarsStrong recommendation
8.1
Author: John Goldingay
Bible Book: Psalms
Series: Baker Commentary On The Old Testament
Type: Exegetical (Technical)
Publisher: Baker Academic
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical
Resource Type: Commentary

Summary

Psalms 90 to 150 brings the Psalter toward its final doxology, but it does not do so by pretending that pain has vanished. Book 4 begins with the sober realism of Psalm 90, where human frailty is set against the eternity of the Lord. From there, the Psalter builds confidence in the Lord reign, trains the people to trust when kings fail, and gathers praise that grows in intensity until the final Hallelujah chorus. A commentary on this section needs to help the reader follow that movement, from mortality and exile like sorrow toward confident worship that rests on the Lord steadfast rule.

This volume is suited to those who want more than devotional uplift. It supports careful exposition of individual psalms and it highlights how the final books of the Psalter work together. Psalms 90 to 106 repeatedly declares the Lord as King. Psalms 107 to 118 gathers thanksgiving and covenant confidence. Psalms 119 slows everything down into sustained delight in the word. The Songs of Ascents in Psalms 120 to 134 offer pilgrimage shaped worship. The final cluster, Psalms 146 to 150, summons everything that has breath to praise the Lord. A strong commentary helps preachers keep these units distinct while still showing the direction of travel.

For pastors, this section is unusually rich for shaping a church worship and endurance. Psalm 90 teaches humility and wisdom. Psalm 103 teaches doxology rooted in mercy. Psalm 110 anchors messianic hope. Psalm 119 trains the congregation in the sweetness of Scripture. The Songs of Ascents can shape corporate worship for gathered people. The closing psalms teach the church to praise with breadth and depth. A serious commentary can help you preach this material without cliché and without losing the psalm voice.

Strengths

The first strength is the help it offers with structure and sequence. The later books of Psalms can feel like a collection of favourites, but they also carry a theological progression. A careful guide helps you see why the Psalter ends the way it ends, with praise that is hard won. That is not merely information. It is pastoral wisdom. It teaches believers that worship is often forged through suffering and shaped by remembrance.

A second strength is usefulness for preaching major theological psalms. Psalm 90 demands a sense of human limits and the eternity of the Lord. Psalms 93 to 99 demands confidence in the Lord kingship. Psalm 110 demands careful Christ-centred preaching. Psalm 119 demands patience and a clear plan for handling repeated themes without monotony. A commentary with real depth can help you build sermons that feel faithful to the text and spiritually nourishing to the church.

A third strength is assistance with pastoral application. These psalms speak to anxiety, shame, temptation, spiritual fatigue, and joy. They give language for repentance and assurance, for fear and confidence. A good commentary will help you keep application tethered to the psalm logic, so that you are not simply adding inspirational thoughts at the end.

Limitations

The obvious limitation is size and density. At over eight hundred pages, this is not a quick reference tool. It is a long term companion. Also, the breadth of the section means that some parts will feel more immediately preachable than others. You will still need to choose wisely which details to bring into sermons and which to keep in the study.

Another limitation is that psalms like Psalm 110 and Psalm 119 invite broader canonical connections. A commentary can point toward those links, but many pastors will still want to pair this with a biblical theology resource to strengthen the bridge to the gospel and to the life of the church.

How We Would Use It

Use this volume in two ways. First, use it for series planning. Map major units, identify where the Lord kingship theme is most prominent, and decide how you will handle the Songs of Ascents and the final doxology. Second, use it for careful preparation of key texts, especially Psalm 90, Psalm 103, Psalm 110, Psalm 119, and Psalms 146 to 150. Begin with the psalm itself, track movement and emphasis, then use the commentary to clarify structure and difficult phrases. In application, keep the tone of the psalm. Psalm 90 should humble. Psalm 103 should lift worship. Psalm 110 should magnify the Messiah. Psalm 119 should cultivate love for Scripture. The final psalms should teach the church to praise with whole heartedness.

In pastoral care, return to these psalms when people need steadiness. Psalm 90 speaks to mortality and regret. Psalm 103 speaks to guilt and mercy. Psalm 121 speaks to fear and protection. Psalm 130 speaks to waiting for mercy. The commentary can help you use the right text in the right moment.

Closing Recommendation

This is a substantial resource for handling the final third of the Psalter with clarity and depth. It is best for those who want to preach Psalms as a shaped book, not only as isolated favourites. If you can give it time, it will strengthen your exposition and deepen the spiritual maturity of your application.

Psalms Volume 2 (42-89)

AdvancedAdvanced students / scholarsStrong recommendation
8.1
Author: John Goldingay
Bible Book: Psalms
Series: Baker Commentary On The Old Testament
Type: Exegetical (Technical)
Publisher: Baker Academic
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical
Resource Type: Commentary

Summary

Psalms 42 to 89 takes you into darker valleys and larger horizons. The prayers of Book 2 and the opening stretch of Book 3 are often shaped by exile like sorrow, disorientation, and the ache of unanswered questions. You hear longing for the presence of the Lord, memories of worship that now feel distant, and laments that refuse to pretend everything is fine. You also hear robust praise, global confidence in the Lord reign, and repeated reminders that salvation is not self-made. A commentary that gives careful attention here is a gift, because these psalms can be hard to preach well without either softening their pain or losing their hope.

This volume aims to guide readers through that complexity. It helps you attend to the literary shape of the poems and to the way the Psalter is arranged. Psalms 42 to 89 includes well known laments, royal psalms, and corporate prayers for deliverance. It also includes striking moments where the community seems to stand on the edge of despair, especially as the promises to David are questioned in Psalm 89. A serious commentary helps you see that the psalms are doing theology in prayer. They are not merely venting. They are wrestling with covenant promises under real pressure.

For pastors, these psalms are pastorally strategic. They provide language for believers who feel spiritually dry, betrayed, or forgotten. They also train a congregation not to confuse faith with emotional ease. A church that only knows bright worship songs will struggle when life turns dark. Psalms 42 to 89 teaches the church to pray honestly, to keep addressing the Lord, and to hold on to truth even when the heart is shaken.

Strengths

The first strength is the capacity to clarify complex laments. Some psalms in this range move quickly between complaint, memory, trust, and renewed complaint. A careful commentary helps you trace that movement without forcing a neat resolution. That is essential for preaching, because the sermon should reflect the psalm shape. Sometimes the text ends with praise. Sometimes it ends with darkness. In either case, the psalm is faithful speech to the Lord.

A second strength is help with the corporate dimension. Many of these psalms are not private diary entries. They are community prayers. They assume worship, public memory, and shared identity. A good guide will keep you from reducing everything to individual experience. It will also help you apply the psalms to a congregation that is learning to lament together, repent together, and hope together.

A third strength is the attention given to the royal and covenant themes. These psalms are not detached from the story of Israel. They are bound up with the kingship promises and with the reality of national crisis. Understanding those themes helps you preach with a clearer line toward fulfilment. The tension in Psalm 89 is especially important, because it pushes the reader to look for the faithful King who will finally secure the promises without collapse.

Limitations

The main limitation is similar to other large volumes, it requires time. If you are preaching weekly through Psalms, you may find that the depth is more than you can absorb in a single week. Planning ahead will help. Another limitation is that a detailed treatment can feel technical at points, especially when dealing with structure and editorial arrangement. That work is often worthwhile, but you will need to decide how much to bring into the pulpit and how much to keep in the study.

Also, because these psalms raise big questions about suffering and delayed deliverance, preachers will still need to do careful pastoral work in application. A commentary can clarify meaning, but shepherding the bruised heart requires patient listening and wise tone.

How We Would Use It

Use this volume when you are preaching the psalms of longing and distress, especially Psalms 42 to 43, 44, 73, 77, 80, 88, and 89. Start by identifying the psalm main plea and the reasons given for confidence or complaint. Then use the commentary to confirm the structure and clarify references that might be opaque to modern readers. In sermon application, do not rush past sorrow. Let the congregation learn to pray honestly while still addressing the Lord. Then connect the psalm hope to the wider storyline with care. The Psalter often holds a tension that the gospel resolves, not by denying suffering, but by showing the faithful sufferer King and the sure promise of final restoration.

For pastoral care, these psalms are often a better companion than many modern words. Use the commentary to help you select a psalm and to guide someone in praying it with understanding.

Closing Recommendation

This is a weighty resource for handling a demanding stretch of the Psalter. It will serve those who want to preach lament without sentimentality, to teach corporate prayer with realism, and to build a congregation that knows how to hope in the Lord when circumstances are bleak. If you can give it time, it will repay you with steadier exegesis and deeper pastoral application.

Psalms Volume 1 (1-41)

AdvancedAdvanced students / scholarsStrong recommendation
8.1
Author: John Goldingay
Bible Book: Psalms
Series: Baker Commentary On The Old Testament
Type: Exegetical (Technical)
Publisher: Baker Academic
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical
Resource Type: Commentary

Summary

Psalms is familiar and yet endlessly searching. We sing these texts, we pray them in grief, and we lean on them in worship. Volume 1 covers Psalms 1 to 41, the opening book of the Psalter, where the foundations are laid. The way of the righteous and the way of the wicked are set before us, the Lord is confessed as refuge, and the voice of lament becomes a school for faith. A commentary at this size is meant to do more than paraphrase. It is meant to slow you down, keep you honest with the text, and help you hear each psalm as a carefully crafted act of covenant speech.

This volume works best when you approach it with two aims. First, you want the immediate meaning of each psalm, its movement, its tone, and its argument. Second, you want to see how the psalm functions within Book 1. The early psalms do not simply sit beside each other. They form a pattern of trust under pressure, confession of sin, and confidence in the Lord who reigns. That pattern is deeply pastorally useful, because it models how a believer speaks when life is disordered but the Lord is not.

In preaching, Psalms 1 to 41 offers both invitation and warning. It refuses a shallow optimism, yet it also refuses despair. The psalms teach the congregation how to pray when enemies are real, when guilt is heavy, and when the future is uncertain. A serious commentary helps you keep both the theological weight and the human texture in view, so that you can preach Christ from the Psalms without flattening the original voice.

Strengths

The strongest feature is close attention to the shape of each psalm. Many readers know a few lines by heart and assume they know the whole. A detailed commentary keeps you from that mistake. It pushes you to notice transitions, repeated terms, and the logic of the prayer. That matters for exposition, because the application should arise from what the psalm is doing, not from what we wish it were doing.

A second strength is help with genre sensitivity. Book 1 contains praise, lament, confidence, confession, and wisdom, sometimes blended in surprising ways. A careful guide helps you respect those categories without forcing them into rigid boxes. That helps preachers avoid a common error, turning every psalm into the same sermon with different illustrations.

A third strength is usefulness for pastoral ministry beyond the pulpit. Psalms 1 to 41 contains material that regularly appears in counselling rooms and hospital visits. When someone is praying through fear, injustice, betrayal, or deep remorse, these texts give language. A substantial commentary can help you choose an appropriate psalm, understand its emphasis, and apply it with gentleness.

Limitations

The clearest limitation is that the level of detail can feel heavy if you want a quick sermon outline. This is not a lightweight devotional aid. It is a tool for deep preparation. Some sections will ask you to work, to sift what is essential for preaching from what is illuminating for study. That is not wasted effort, but it does mean the volume serves best when you plan ahead rather than reaching for it late on a Saturday evening.

Another limitation is that a large commentary can tempt the preacher to import conclusions too quickly. Psalms reward repeated reading in the text itself. Use the commentary to test your reading, not to replace it. When you do that, the best insights land with more force and with better pastoral accuracy.

How We Would Use It

For sermon preparation, begin with the psalm itself. Read it aloud, mark shifts in voice, and identify the central plea or confession. Then use the commentary to confirm the structure and clarify difficult phrases. After that, ask how the psalm addresses the congregation. Is it teaching fear of the Lord, calling for repentance, modelling lament, or strengthening trust? From there, move to the wider storyline carefully. Psalms often anticipates the King, the faithful sufferer, and the final righteousness that only the Lord can bring. The most faithful Christ-centred preaching will honour the psalm first, then show how its hopes and patterns find their fulfilment in the Messiah.

For small groups, use it selectively. Pull out the key interpretive decisions and one or two strong pastoral angles. The goal is not to overwhelm the group with detail, but to help them pray the text with understanding.

Closing Recommendation

This is a serious resource for readers who want to handle Psalms 1 to 41 with patience and care. It is well suited to those preaching through Book 1, training others in biblical prayer, or building a deeper grasp of how lament and praise shape a church. Used prayerfully and slowly, it can strengthen both exposition and pastoral application.

Joshua

AdvancedPastors-in-trainingStrong recommendation
8.0
Author: John Goldingay
Bible Book: Joshua
Series: Baker Commentary On The Old Testament
Type: Exegetical (Technical)
Publisher: Baker Academic
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical
Resource Type: Commentary

Summary

Joshua is a book that many pastors approach with caution. It includes conquest, judgment, and difficult ethical questions. It also includes deep encouragement about the Lord faithfulness, the necessity of courage under the word, and the reality that God keeps His promises. A commentary on Joshua must therefore help the preacher do two things at once. It must read the book in its own context, and it must teach us how to speak about judgment and mercy with reverence, honesty, and biblical control.

This volume aims to guide readers through Joshua narrative movements, key speeches, and covenantal themes. Joshua is not simply a record of battles. It is a theological narrative about the Lord giving rest, about the people receiving the land as gift, and about the danger of compromise and forgetfulness. It is also a book that culminates in covenant renewal, pressing the people to choose whom they will serve. That ending makes clear that Joshua is not chiefly about military triumph. It is about the Lord claim over His people.

For preaching, Joshua demands careful tone. You must not sanitise the text, and you must not preach it with a swagger that forgets the holiness of God. A helpful commentary gives you the exegetical footing needed to preach with sobriety and confidence, while also pointing toward the larger storyline of God bringing His people into promised rest.

Strengths

The strongest feature is attention to book shape. Joshua moves from entry and initial victories, through distribution and settlement, toward covenantal exhortation. When that shape is clear, you can preach Joshua as a coherent story rather than as a string of famous episodes. This volume helps you keep the map, so your people can see where they are in the narrative and why it matters.

A second strength is the help it gives for handling speeches and covenant language. Joshua contains major theological moments, such as the call to meditate on the law, the memorial stones, the encounter with the commander of the Lord army, and the covenant renewal at the end. These are the points where Joshua reveals its heart. A commentary that explains them clearly equips you to preach Joshua as theology, not as ancient warfare reportage.

A third strength is that it encourages careful moral and pastoral application. Joshua is not a direct template for the church mission. It is part of redemptive history. A commentary that keeps you from careless appropriation helps you preach the text faithfully, showing what it reveals about the Lord and His purposes, and then moving to Christ and the kingdom with care rather than with slogans.

Limitations

Readers looking for a quick sermon aid may find parts of the commentary heavier than expected. Joshua benefits from sustained reflection, and this volume may require more time than a weekly schedule sometimes allows. You may also want additional resources specifically on the ethical questions raised by conquest narratives, especially if your congregation will press those questions hard.

Another limitation is that Joshua invites deep connections to Hebrews and to the theme of rest in Scripture. A commentary can signal that, but you may still want a biblical theology resource to help you craft those links with richness and precision.

How We Would Use It

Use it to plan a Joshua series that gives your people the whole arc. Let it help you handle the hard passages without flinching and without overreaching. Keep returning to the book own emphasis, the Lord keeps His word, the people are called to wholehearted loyalty, and compromise is spiritually ruinous. Then, from that foundation, move carefully to Christ, the true leader who brings His people into lasting rest.

It is also valuable for training leaders to handle Old Testament narrative ethically and theologically. Joshua forces us to preach the Bible as it is, not as we wish it were, and to do so with humility under the Lord.

Closing Recommendation

This is a serious resource for those who want to teach Joshua with fidelity and wisdom. It helps you see the book structure, understand its covenantal weight, and preach with the gravity Joshua requires. Used well, it will strengthen confidence in the Lord promise keeping and deepen reverence for His holiness.

Genesis

AdvancedAdvanced students / scholarsStrong recommendation
8.0
Author: John Goldingay
Bible Book: Genesis
Series: Baker Commentary On The Old Testament
Type: Exegetical (Technical)
Publisher: Baker Academic
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical
Resource Type: Commentary

Summary

Genesis rewards slow reading. It gives us beginnings, but not simplistic beginnings. It introduces the Creator, the fall, the spread of sin, the strange patience of God, and the covenant promises that will shape the entire biblical storyline. It also gives us narratives full of moral complexity, family fracture, and the quiet providence of God that often works through very ordinary means. A commentary on Genesis must therefore do at least three things. It must read each unit carefully, it must follow the book movement from primeval history to patriarchal promises, and it must show how Genesis lays foundations for worship, hope, and obedience.

This volume is written at a level that expects serious engagement. It aims to explain the text, attend to its literary shape, and clarify how the narratives function as theology in story form. Genesis is often preached as moral example, but its deeper purpose is to show the living God acting in judgment and mercy, calling a people, and binding Himself by promise. When a commentary helps you see that, your preaching shifts from character lessons to covenant confidence.

For pastors, Genesis can also be intimidating because it raises many questions. The early chapters are hotly debated. The patriarch narratives include troubling episodes. A good commentary helps you keep the main lines clear, it shows what the narrator emphasises, and it helps you preach with honesty and reverence rather than with embarrassment.

Strengths

The strongest feature is breadth with seriousness. Genesis is treated as a theological narrative, not merely as a historical record or a devotional storybook. You are helped to see patterns, repeated motifs, and the way scenes are crafted to teach. That is particularly valuable for long series preaching, where the congregation needs to feel the book coherence.

A second strength is the care given to the Abraham cycle and beyond, where promises, testing, and providence intertwine. Genesis shows God blessing the world through a family that often appears unfit for the task. A commentary that highlights that tension supports Christ-centred preaching without forcing Christ into every verse in a wooden way. You learn to preach the promise line, the covenant faithfulness of God, and the need for a better seed who will finally bring blessing without failing.

A third strength is that the book encourages interpretive humility on difficult passages while still giving concrete reading guidance. Genesis invites conviction, but it also invites carefulness. That posture helps pastors serve their people well, especially where congregations include both cautious readers and confident debaters.

Limitations

Because Genesis is so wide-ranging, some readers will want more direct sermon help, such as ready-made outlines and application prompts. This volume is better for building your understanding than for giving a quick preaching scaffold. You may pair it with a more homiletical commentary if you want faster movement from exegesis to structure.

Also, where interpretive questions are especially contested, you may want additional voices. Genesis is not served well by relying on only one commentator, however strong that commentator is. This volume works best as one major pillar in a wider toolkit.

How We Would Use It

Use this commentary when planning a Genesis series and when preparing key doctrinal sermons, such as creation, fall, covenant, and providence. Let it help you follow the narrator emphasis and avoid common moralising shortcuts. Then bring the text into the wider storyline with care, letting Genesis do its own work first, and then showing how its promises and patterns find fulfilment in Christ.

It is also valuable for advanced study, especially for those training to preach Old Testament narrative with integrity. Read it alongside the text itself, and treat it as a guide that pushes you back into Scripture rather than away from it.

Closing Recommendation

This is a weighty, serious Genesis commentary that rewards patient work. It is suited to those who want deeper understanding of the book theological movement and narrative craft. If you are willing to read slowly, it can strengthen preaching that is both faithful to Genesis and rich in gospel promise.

Ezekiel

AdvancedAdvanced students / scholarsUseful supplement
7.9
Author: John Goldingay
Bible Book: Ezekiel
Series: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary
Type: Expository
Publisher: Lexham Press
Resource Type: Commentary

Summary

We come to Ezekiel needing help with a book that is both visually arresting and theologically intense. It confronts sin with severity, it speaks judgement with frightening clarity, and it also offers hope that is grounded in the Lord’s zeal for His name. Preaching Ezekiel requires careful handling. If we rush, we will confuse people. If we soften, we will blunt the Word. A large commentary can serve us if it helps us follow the structure, understand the imagery, and keep the message coherent across long sections.

Ezekiel is also a book of sustained prophetic argument. It is not merely a collection of vivid moments. There is a logic to the judgement oracles, a reason for the sign acts, and a pastoral aim in the promises of restoration. We need to see how the Lord exposes false confidence, dismantles idolatry, and then rebuilds hope through covenant promises. We also need to handle the temple vision and the restoration sections without turning them into speculative charts.

A full commentary in this series is likely to be used as a major reference rather than as a quick read. We will benefit most when we plan ahead. Ezekiel often requires patient work with context, especially with repeated phrases and symbolic actions. The goal is not to impress, it is to preach so that God’s holiness and God’s mercy are both felt.

Strengths

First, we are served when a commentary helps us keep the book’s structure visible. That matters for preaching series. Ezekiel can feel sprawling to hearers if we do not guide them. A structured approach helps us show why the judgement sections are as long as they are, and why the restoration promises arrive when they do. It helps us show that the Lord is not volatile. He is righteous, patient, and faithful to His word.

Second, we need help with imagery and symbolism. Ezekiel’s visions can be mishandled in two opposite ways. We can domesticate them, turning them into vague metaphors, or we can over interpret them, turning every detail into a secret code. A wise commentary helps us avoid both errors. It pushes us to ask what the imagery is doing in its context, and how it functions to confront and to comfort.

Third, a substantial work can help us maintain theological coherence. Ezekiel speaks repeatedly about the Lord acting for His name’s sake. That is not cold. It is covenant love. It means the Lord’s commitment to His glory is the very foundation of His commitment to His people. When we preach that well, it produces humility and assurance together.

Limitations

The obvious limitation is size. A 976 page volume is not a casual tool. It will demand time. We should not expect to consult it profitably without planning. There is also a pastoral limitation inherent in any large reference work. The commentary can help us understand, but it cannot create the reverence and trembling we need when preaching judgement. That must be sought from the Lord in prayer.

We should also remember that Ezekiel includes difficult sections that will require additional pastoral sensitivity. The commentary may help with meaning, but we still need to think carefully about how to speak to different hearers and different wounds.

How We Would Use It

We would use this in a preaching series with an early start. Outline the book, plan units, then consult the commentary for interpretive decisions and structural clarity. We would use it especially for the vision passages and the restoration sections, where misreading is common. We would also use it to ensure that our applications remain tethered to the text, rather than driven by contemporary speculation.

For teaching and training, it can serve advanced students and leaders who want to handle Ezekiel responsibly, with attention to both its original setting and its canonical role.

Closing Recommendation

This is a major resource suited to those who want a serious companion for Ezekiel. It is best for planned preaching and deeper study, and it can help us preach with clarity, gravity, and steady hope in the Lord who restores for His name’s sake.

Daniel

AdvancedAdvanced students / scholars, Pastors-in-trainingUseful supplement
7.7
Author: John Goldingay
Bible Book: Daniel
Series: Word Biblical Commentary
Type: Exegetical (Technical)
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical
Resource Type: Commentary

Summary

We find Goldingay’s Daniel a serious Word Biblical Commentary volume that serves careful preparation. It keeps us close to the passage, attending to structure, key terms, and the flow of argument so we can handle the text with greater honesty.

Because it is written for detailed work, it is strongest when we have time to study. It is less about ready made sermon outlines, and more about giving us the textual footing we need for faithful proclamation.

Why Should I Own This Commentary?

We should own this commentary when we want a technical companion that helps us slow down and read with discipline. It is particularly useful when a passage is disputed, dense, or easy to mishandle through hurried assumptions.

We also benefit when careful scholarship tests our instincts. Even where we do not follow every proposal, the work often strengthens our reasoning and sharpens our awareness of what the text actually says.

For Reformed preaching, the gain is often indirect. Strong exegesis supports clearer Christward proclamation, and it helps us serve the church with confidence rather than guesswork.

Closing Recommendation

We recommend this as a robust desk resource for pastors and students who want depth. It works best alongside a more directly expositional commentary that assists with sermon shape and application.

As pastoral next steps, we can read the Bible Book Overview, consult Top Recommendations, and browse the Reformed Commentary Index to build a wiser shelf.


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The Book Of Lamentations

Mid-levelAdvanced students / scholars, Busy pastors, Pastors-in-trainingStrong recommendation
8.4
Author: John Goldingay
Bible Book: Lamentations
Series: New International Commentary On The Old Testament
Type: Exegetical (Technical) Expository (Mid-Level) Homiletical
Publisher: Eerdmans
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical Reformed
Resource Type: Commentary

Summary

The Book of Lamentations by John Goldingay (NICOT) is a thoughtful, pastorally sensitive yet scholarly commentary on one of the Bible’s most moving books. Goldingay begins with a robust introduction exploring background, authorship, textual issues, theology, and the social-historical context behind Lamentations. Then he provides his own English translation based on the Masoretic Text and delivers a verse-by-verse commentary. The commentary reflects deep engagement with the Hebrew, literary features such as the acrostic structure, ancient Near Eastern parallels, and theological themes — all while never losing sight of the grief, protest, and hope embedded in the poems.

Why Should I Own This Commentary?

First, this volume serves the preacher’s task with real care. Goldingay does not burden the text with endless linguistic minutiae that obscure the message. Instead he draws out how Lamentations confronts trauma, judgment, grief, and trust in Yahweh, themes that speak powerfully to churches facing suffering or uncertainty. The style is accessible yet serious, making it usable not just for seminaries but for busy pastors preparing sermons or group teaching.

Second, Goldingay brings a mature balance between historical-critical insight and reverent faith. He acknowledges uncertain matters responsibly, for example about authorship and dating, without forcing neat conclusions. He also helps the reader feel the emotional and theological weight of the poems. The “Reader’s Response” sections after each poem help the preacher imagine how original worshipers might have heard and lived these laments, a feature rare in academic commentaries.

Closing Recommendation

We believe this commentary is a strong addition to any pastor’s or teacher’s library. It stands as a bridge between scholarly insight and pastoral application, a resource that honours the original text and yet speaks to real hearts. For those wanting to preach or teach Lamentations with care, clarity, and theological weight, Goldingay’s work will not disappoint.

As pastoral next steps, we can visit the Bible Book Overview, browse Top Recommendations, and use the Reformed Commentary Index to build a wiser working library.

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The Book Of Jeremiah

Mid-levelAdvanced students / scholars, Busy pastors, Pastors-in-trainingStrong recommendation
7.9
Author: John Goldingay
Bible Book: Jeremiah
Series: New International Commentary On The Old Testament
Type: Exegetical (Technical) Expository (Mid-Level) Homiletical
Publisher: Eerdmans
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical Reformed
Resource Type: Commentary

Summary

John Goldingay’s Jeremiah in the New International Commentary on the Old Testament is a large, careful, and often searching walk through a difficult prophetic book. Jeremiah is long, uneven in tone, and full of sorrow and confrontation, yet Goldingay works steadily through the whole text with his own translation, detailed notes, and sustained exposition. He pays attention to shifts between prose and poetry, to the different kinds of material in the book, and to the way Jeremiah’s words arise out of concrete historical moments in Judah’s final years.

Goldingay is an experienced Old Testament scholar, and that shows. He is willing to engage questions of composition, redaction, and structure, yet he treats Jeremiah as Christian Scripture rather than as an archaeological specimen. The book’s theology of covenant, judgement, mercy, and new heart is brought into view, and he helps readers see how these themes are woven through oracles, narratives, and symbolic actions. This is not a light read, but it is a serious attempt to listen carefully to what Jeremiah actually says and why it still matters.

Why Should I Own This Commentary?

If you are planning to preach or teach Jeremiah, this volume gives you something pastors rarely have with this book: a steady guide. When you come to a confusing chapter, a harsh oracle, or a tangled sequence of events, Goldingay maps the terrain, explains the likely flow, and sets out the main interpretive options with reasons. That does not remove all difficulty, but it does mean you are not guessing in the dark when you stand up to preach.

From a Reformed and evangelical perspective, there is much to appreciate and a few things to watch. Goldingay is broadly evangelical in tone and treats Jeremiah as the Word of God, but he is also comfortable with some critical questions about how the book has been shaped. For many pastors that will be acceptable and even stimulating, though some may wish to read with discernment at points where he is more open to complex compositional history. What is encouraging is that he does not hollow out the message of judgement, sin, and grace that runs through the book.

Jeremiah is also a book where Christ centred preaching can feel difficult. Goldingay does not press hard into explicit Christological readings, but he gives you the theological scaffolding you need. The new covenant promises, the theme of a faithful remnant, the hope of restored hearts and a renewed relationship with God, all receive careful attention. A Reformed preacher can then trace how these strands find their fulfilment in Christ and the gospel, without feeling that they are ignoring the text’s own structure and emphasis.

Closing Recommendation

We recommend John Goldingay’s Jeremiah in NICOT as a substantial, thoughtful companion for pastors, students, and serious Bible readers. It is not a quick reference or a sermon outline factory. It is a deep resource that will help you handle Jeremiah with more confidence and more care. Used alongside more explicitly Christ focused and pastoral works, it can play a very valuable role in a well rounded preaching library on the prophets.

As pastoral next steps, we can visit the Bible Book Overview, browse Top Recommendations, and use the Reformed Commentary Index to build a wiser working library.

🛒 Purchase here