Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in 6 Volumes

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Summary: Superb Commentary of God's Word
Review: I gave Henry 4 stars (I wish I could have given 4.5 stars), not because the books lack greatness and longevity, but because the text and theology are somewhat dated. (I have the 6 Vol set) This commentary is exhaustive in its look at Scripture and takes on many issues and many points that commentaries usually do not delve into. And, Henry typically deals with these topics very well. There have been many advances in historical and cultural knowledge regarding the Biblical times since Henry wrote this and the text can be hard to read at times. But, with this said, I absolutely recommend that every Christian has this commentary set, simply because few commentaries have such depth and breadth as Henry's. There are a few commentary sets that are better and up-to-date (Gaebelein's Expositor's Commentaries (OT and NT= 13 Vol)), but to start a library, one can not do better than to start with Henry's works. They will help guide you in your search for Christ-like behavior. As with all commentaries though, know that none is perfect and study accordingly.

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Summary: It was a good book
Review: I need this books in spanish let me know how to get it. Please

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Summary: Every home should have this set of commentaries!
Review: I only gave it only four stars because the letters are so tiny. Otherwise, this is a very great set of commentaries. This set of books have been very helpful to me when I prepare my sermons. The Lord certainly gifted Matthew Henry in writing these commentaries. As a result, we too can be blessed by reading them! While you may not agree 100% with what he says, you will surely appreciate his deep thoughts on scripture. This is definately one of my top three favorite set of commentaries!

Rating:
Summary: Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible
Review: In plain english, the mysteries of the Bible are explainted. Written in the 15th century, the lessons of his time are even more relevant today. If you ever wanted a companion to the Bible that will allow you to understand the Bible and make it relevant to your everyday life, this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible
Review: In plain english, the mysteries of the Bible are explainted. Written in the 15th century, the lessons of his time are even more relevant today. If you ever wanted a companion to the Bible that will allow you to understand the Bible and make it relevant to your everyday life, this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: a classic work--but one which still requires close reading
Review: Matthew Henry is certainly a pioneer in the field of biblical commentaries. His work is lengthy, discussing his interpretations and thoughts of literally every single verse in the Holy Scriptures. Just to have written such a massive work is evidence that Henry is a man of God who holds the Scriptures in high regard. I gave the work 3 stars rather than 5 for several reasons: 1)Henry either was not aware of (which is expected) or else does not disclose important cultural and historical information which is critical to any study of the Scriptures; 2)Henry's tone usually sounds so authoritative that I have to remind myself that his work is simply a commentary and NOT fact; and 3)Henry very rarely discusses the original Hebrew/Greek/Aramaic words, and how this influences our understanding of the Scriptures.

I encourage any reader of Henry's commentary to think for themselves, under guidance of the Holy Spirit, using solid methods of biblical hermeneutics (interpretation).Below are some of Henry's comments from Genesis Chapter 1, verses 1 through 2, which you can read from Amazon's "Look Inside This Book." I have included my own comments as well, to show some of the numerous instances where I disagree with Henry, or am at least uncertain of his interpretations.

HENRY'S COMMENT
"In these verses we have the work of creation in its epitome and in its embryo...in its epitome, v.1, where we find...that God the Father Almighty is the Maker of heaven and earth."

MY COMMENT
The New American Standard version (NAS) of the Bible reads as follows (verse 1): "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." In the NAS, God is not specified as being God the Father. How does Henry reach this conclusion? How do we know that the Holy Spirit, or perhaps even Jesus, did not create the heavens and the earth? This may be evident in later Scriptures, but nonetheless I think it would be helpful if Henry explained his reasoning to the reader here, in his discussion of Genesis 1:1.

HENRY'S COMMENT
"It is the visible part of the creation that Moses here designs to account for, therefore he mentions not the creation of angels..."

MY COMMENT
First of all, we don't know for sure that Moses wrote Genesis, this deduction is derived from tradition. But granted that Moses DID write Genesis, how does Henry know Moses' "design" in writing Genesis 1:1? I have no idea what Moses was thinking when he wrote Genesis 1:1, but perhaps Henry was (divinely?) given some information that the rest of us don't have.

Second, it is my own opinion that angels are not mentioned in verse 1 because they were not created at that time. It makes more sense to me that Chapter 2, v.1 describes the creation of angels: "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts." Are angels not the "hosts" of heaven, and human beings the "hosts" of the earth?

I write these comments only to remind that Henry's commentary is neither authoritative nor exhaustive. You could combine Henry's commentary with 10 other complete commentaries and only begin to unravel the truths and mysteries contained in God's Word.

In summary, this is a solid, conservatively written commentary with many insights. Nonetheless, there is no substitute for plain old-fashioned study of God's Word. Use this commentary as A source if you like, but not THE ultimate source, God's Word.

Rating:
Summary: just when i thought christianity was dead
Review: Matthew Henry's commentaries are incredibly spiritual..he was definetly an inspired writer. I can't keep my nose out of them.His was a simple faith.. he was full of love and wisdom and he had a very liberal dose of the Holy Spirit.. in other words we could all benefit from this great work..its been around for 3 centuries, so he must have done something right..the six volume set has the king james text and this new edition is eminently readable..i have seen some that the printing was miniscule.. not this edition...very good and godly...please read these

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Summary: Complete Commentary on every Verse
Review: Matthew Henry's commentary covers every verse in the Bible. If you have a question on a particular verse, you can always turn to Matthew Henry and he'll give you some insight on the meaning as well as link it to other verses that talks about that concept. This edition has extremely small font size and is very hard on the eyes to read. In one sitting it is probably wise to only study about 5 verses in depth, as it is definitely full of meaning and not for skimming.

Rating:
Summary: Complete Commentary on every Verse
Review: Matthew Henry's commentary covers every verse in the Bible. If you have a question on a particular verse, you can always turn to Matthew Henry and he'll give you some insight on the meaning as well as link it to other verses that talks about that concept. This edition has extremely small font size and is very hard on the eyes to read. In one sitting it is probably wise to only study about 5 verses in depth, as it is definitely full of meaning and not for skimming.

Rating:
Summary: The best commentary
Review: Matthew Henry's Commentary is sound in teachings, solid in doctrines, and rich in wisdom. As for the faithfulness to the Word of God, we can rely on this commentary because it has stood the test of time. I came across this commentary about 20 years ago when I was almost at a loss in finding good commentaries. In those days I was reading "Lectures to My Students" written by C.H. Spurgeon, and there he mentioned this commentary. Spurgeon says, "If a man can purchase but very few books, my first advice to him would be, let him purchase the very best..... Matthew Henry's Commentary having been mentioned, I venture to say that no better investment can be made,..... Get it, if you sell your coat to buy it." Recently they have published it in a new format without making major changes as far as the 6-volume boxed set publishied by Hendrickson Publishers is concerned. This new modern edition is readable especially for the younger generation. For our practical use, Matthew Henry"s Commentary is the best commentary on the Whole Bible.