Baker Commentary On The Old Testament

Baker Commentary On The Old Testament is a modern evangelical commentary series designed to help readers stay close to the text while keeping theology and proclamation in view.

It is published by Baker Academic, and its volumes typically aim for a readable style that still takes the biblical languages and historical setting seriously.

The general editorship of Tremper Longman signals an intention to combine scholarly responsibility with church facing usefulness, and to keep the main line of the passage visible.

Across the series you will usually find careful structure, measured judgement on disputed questions, and a consistent effort to move from understanding toward teaching and preaching.

Publisher: Baker Academic

Series Editor: Tremper Longman

Series: Baker Commentary On The Old Testament

A pastor friendly evangelical series that keeps the argument clear and presses toward faithful proclamation.

Level: Mid-level Perspective: Broadly Evangelical Best for: Busy pastors, Pastors-in-training, General readers Priority: Strong recommendation Overall score: 8.4

Strengths

The strongest feature is sustained attention to the flow of the biblical argument. The better volumes help you see why each paragraph sits where it does and how the author is persuading the reader.

There is often a healthy balance of exegesis and theology. When the series is at its best, it gives enough detail to ground confidence, but it does not lose sight of the church’s need for clarity.

It commonly provides structured guidance that supports sermon preparation, especially in outlining, tracing themes, and handling key interpretive decisions without drama.

Limitations & Cautions

Depth can vary between contributors. Some volumes will feel richer in interaction with scholarship, while others will be more straightforward and selective.

Because the series aims to serve a broad evangelical readership, the theological accent is not always distinctly confessional. Reformed readers will sometimes want to test emphases and tighten formulations.

How to Use This Series

Use it early in preparation to get the passage’s shape and to identify the major interpretive decisions that will affect your sermon or study.

Then return to it later for help with difficult phrases, structural turns, and connections to the wider book. It works well alongside a more concise series for quick reference and a more technical work when a point must be nailed down.

Standout Volumes

The CSV does not specify volume level details for standout volumes. In a series of this kind, the strongest contributions are usually those that keep close to the text, explain the argument with patience, and offer a clear bridge to proclamation without forcing application.

Weaker or Less Helpful Volumes

The CSV does not specify volume level details for weaker volumes. Where a volume feels less effective, it is usually because the exposition becomes fragmented, the key interpretive decisions are left implicit, or application drifts from the author’s stated aims.

Series in Context

It generally offers more breadth than shorter series like Tyndale, with less technical weight than the most detailed critical series. It can sit well beside The Bible Speaks Today as a preaching companion, while pointing readers to deeper specialist works when needed.

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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.

Numbers

AdvancedPastors-in-trainingStrong recommendation
8.1
Author: Mark Awabdy
Bible Book: Numbers
Series: Baker Commentary On The Old Testament
Type: Exegetical (Technical)
Publisher: Baker Academic
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical
Resource Type: Commentary

Summary

Numbers is often treated as a difficult book to preach. It contains censuses, wilderness logistics, and episodes that can feel repetitive. Yet Numbers is a profoundly pastoral book. It shows a redeemed people in the desert, tested by hardship, tempted by complaint, and repeatedly exposed in their unbelief. At the same time, it shows the steadfast patience of the Lord, the seriousness of holiness, and the necessity of faithful leadership. A strong commentary helps you see that Numbers is not filler. It is theology in the school of pilgrimage.

This volume aims to guide readers through the structure of the book and the meaning of its major movements. Numbers is not random. It has a narrative arc that moves from preparation for the journey, through failure and judgment, toward renewed hope for entry into the land. That arc is vital for preaching, because it gives the congregation a sense of direction and purpose rather than a week by week parade of disconnected incidents.

For church life, Numbers also gives sober lessons about leadership, congregation dynamics, and the cost of unbelief. It shows how sin spreads, how grumbling reshapes a community, and how the Lord disciplines His people without abandoning His promises. A commentary that can explain those patterns with clarity becomes a useful tool for shepherding.

Strengths

The best contribution is making the book intelligible. Numbers requires structure. It requires the reader to see how narrative and law, judgment and mercy, complaint and provision, all fit together. This volume helps you follow those links. That is especially valuable for those teaching Numbers to congregations who may never have heard it preached well.

A second strength is attention to the pastoral purpose of the wilderness narratives. These stories are not merely ancient history. They are warnings and instruction for the church, as later Scripture makes plain. A commentary that keeps the theological weight clear helps you avoid simplistic moralising. The point is not that we should try harder. The point is that unbelief is deadly, that God is holy, and that only the Lord can sustain His people through pilgrimage.

A third strength is the assistance it provides for handling the more technical sections, such as the censuses and camp arrangements. These parts are not exciting, but they are meaningful. They show order, identity, and the Lord organising His people around His presence. When those sections are explained well, they become preachable rather than embarrassing.

Limitations

The book of Numbers is long, and any commentary at this level can become demanding. Some readers will want more summary and less detail in certain units. If you are preaching weekly under time pressure, you may need to prioritise sections rather than attempting to absorb everything.

Numbers also connects to later biblical theology in complex ways, especially through themes like priesthood, sacrifice, and the testing of the people. A commentary can highlight those links, but you may still want additional biblical theology help when crafting explicit connections to Christ and to the new covenant.

How We Would Use It

Use this commentary when planning a Numbers series and when handling key episodes such as the rebellion narratives, the bronze serpent, or the oracles that shape the book hope. Let it help you see how each section fits in the larger movement from Sinai toward the land. Then preach with confidence that Numbers addresses the reality of life between redemption and rest.

It is also useful for training leaders. Numbers exposes the temptations that come with fatigue, fear, and frustration. Leaders who learn Numbers will be better prepared to shepherd a congregation through seasons of pressure.

Closing Recommendation

This is a serious, helpful commentary for those who want to teach Numbers with clarity and weight. It will not do the preaching for you, but it will strengthen the foundation so that your preaching can be faithful, coherent, and pastorally sharp.

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.