So, each day and each week I have the opportunity not only to struggle through the text and write commentary upon it, but also to see practically how this is working (or failing) in a local church context.

Sometimes I would like to be an academic, uninvolved with practical ministry. It seems easier to me. On the other hand, I find that practical ministry informs and forms my scholarship (whatever minute claim I may have to it). I see them almost as necessarily going hand-in-hand. What seems to work well in theory oftentimes falls flat in practice – and the challenges of practice oftentimes drive me back to scholarship – to study, theorize, and design.

As we were concluding Matthew, practical experience pushed me to evolve my approach yet again. I realized that while Utley’s commentaries are excellent they also weren’t quite fitting the needs of the congregation even with my minor tweaks here and there to remove technical and textual discussions and clarify certain terms. I do not mean to criticize Utley’s commentaries in any form – they are and remain a great source of information for me and for many others – but in this context I realized I needed something different…

So…I decided to write the commentary myself…and by write I mean compile, condense, and expound the ideas of wise and capable scholars. So, rather than beginning with Utley’s text I am beginning with a blank page and reading Bob Utley, Thomas Constable, the New American Commentary, the Bible Knowledge Commentary, the NLT Study Bible, the Daily Study Bible commentary, and so on on a given passage – taking extensive notes on what I consider to be the most salient points from each and compiling them by verse order. I then create a new document and bring all of this together (along with any insights I might have) into a single commentary.

You can see the results of this approach with my first try with Matthew 28 and then with the fresh start with Jonah (Introduction and Chapter 1).

What differs from the commentaries I am reading and the resulting commentary I am compiling? I would consider these to be the salient features:

1. Removal of textual considerations relating to the choice of word order and so on in a passage based on varying manuscripts. I believe this discussion is important, but I also see (in most instances) the changes in meaning as being insubstantial and the larger meaning of the text maintained. I am beginning with the assumption that modern translations are a reasonably accurate portrayal of the original text, though perhaps containing some minor corruptions. If someone is interested in learning about textual variations, I will point them to my sources – rather than attempt to include such a conversation within this commentary.
2. I remove the use of Greek and Hebrew characters and use transliterations instead, as most of my readership (and myself when it comes to Hebrew) do not read Hebrew or Greek.
3. I remove the discussion of underlying original language words except when it seems to have a substantial effect upon the text – e.g. when the underlying word is an idiom, uses a tense in a significant manner, or is repeated multiple times in the original text but translated with different words in the translation.
4. I remove significant amounts of interpretation and application. My desire is to provide mainly grammatical, historical, literary, and cross-textual insights and explanations which provide a framework within which an individual can interpret and apply…though, I must admit, that when I find something extremely exciting within the text I cannot resist the temptation to share my interpretation and application.
5. I attempt to provide insight into the individual trees while maintaining a brevity that allows one to see the entire forest. Most commentaries allow one to easily become lost within a single word, phrase, verse, or paragraph – I desire to highlight the salient features of each tree but not at the expense of the forest.
6. Most of the commentaries I am relying upon are fairly evangelical, but where they are not (e.g. Daily Study Bible series) I am adopting a standard evangelical interpretation of the text in almost all cases.
7. I am not nearly as interested in establishing synoptic interpretations of events, I prefer to interpret each book (generally) within its own context, rather than across contexts (especially with the gospels), as I see each author as providing unique insights into God and humanity and the integration of multiple texts oftentimes weakens the perspective each author is attempting to provide.

I do not mean any of this to be a criticism of the sources upon which I rely. No, these are excellent sources and I am most thankful for what they have accomplished. Without them Layered Bible would not be possible.

The purpose of these source commentaries are different from that of Layered Bible. The audiences are different. The times are different. Each has there place and I hope that those who utilize Layered Bible will find themselves not feeling satiated with this commentary but rather driven to dive deeper – looking to commentaries such as the sources I am using to enter into more technical discussions.

• 2005~ – I am first burdened with the desire for a commentary that provides in-depth historical, grammatical, and theological insights for the lay reader.
• Aug. 2007 – I register the Layered Bible domain.
• May 2009 – I launch a basic rendition of the site requesting feedback on the project idea. I began with Proverbs.
• July 2010 – My efforts on Proverbs faltered, no publishable material is created, and I reboot the project with Nahum.
• Aug. 2011 – My efforts on Nahum also falter, no publishable material is created, and I reboot the project with Matthew – using Utley’s commentaries as a base layer.
• Sept. 17, 2011 – I’ve completed a significant portion of the initial commentary layer for Matthew and also begun on Galatians.

My goal is to complete a first draft of the entire Old and New Testaments within five years – so around Sept. 2016. While I am currently moving at the pace of one chapter a week I expect to expedite this pace somewhat while moving through select books/chapters – e.g. some shorter books, the Psalms, chronologies, and so on.

In May of 2009 I first posted a Request for Comments on the basic concept of Layered Bible and in the same month I undertook to begin the first commentary – which was to be on Proverbs. A year later, in July of 2010, I had not made significant progress and decided to reboot the project with a shorter initial commentary on Nahum.

Now it is August of 2011, another year later, and while I made more progress with Nahum than with Proverbs, I still find myself very far from completion. So I suppose it is time to update with another fit, another start – which may or may not yield to fruition, but which I feel comfortable saying I believe will reach fruition.

Over the past year I became familiar with Dr. Bob Utley’s commentaries, which he has generously made freely available online. I found these commentaries to be in a similar vein to what I desired for the Layered Bible series and thought about abandoning the series and just recommending Utley’s commentaries. But after further experiences in ministry I decided there was still a need for a Layered Bible-type series which provided the depth of Dr. Utley’s commentaries but in a more approachable fashion for the lay individual.

Dr. Utley generously provided me with permission to make use of his commentaries in the Layered Bible series and so now I am in the process of revamping chapter by chapter Dr. Utley’s commentaries – beginning in Matthew.

I have rewritten each of the pages on this site to reflect the latest updates in the Layered Bible vision and methodology, have deleted a few pages to streamline the site overall, and am slowly posting the updated commentary sections chapter by chapter as I complete them. You can currently view chapters 12, 13, and 14 from the Book of Matthew.

A few notes of importance:

• At this juncture I’ve focused my efforts in a few small areas when it comes to updating / revamping the commentaries:
• Moving various textual and other technical conversations into footnotes.
• Changing the commentary from an outline format to a more paragraph based format.
• Providing explanatory footnotes whenever terms appear which may not be familiar to the lay reader (e.g. eschaton).
• Moving various references to Special Topics and the like into footnotes.
• It is important to note that each of these requires multiple revisions. For example, there are areas in each chapter where I have left myself notes to include such and such (e.g. specific textual examples or explanatory footnotes)  and there are references to special topics which are not always available (my intent is to integrate some special topics directly into the commentary text and sometimes to create a supplementary volume containing a collection of the special topics as appropriate).
• I welcome feedback on various errors or enhancements that may be made to the work. I hope over time that it will become a worthy resource.

1. I’m leaving my studies of Proverbs for the time being. Instead I’m undertaking a smaller book (Nahum). With only three chapters this will provide me with a “easier” place to work out my methodology.
2. I’m reducing my expectations of myself regarding research before writing the volume. My goal is an orthodox, evangelical volume – not to innovate. For this reason I will reserve myself to a few commentaries and will not attempt to settle or innovate upon outstanding disputes. At this juncture (for Nahum) this looks to be the NAC, NICOT, NIVAC, DSB, and BKC.
3. That said, I’ll still be spending a lot of time with the text itself – albeit through translations (I don’t know Hebrew) – I expect the NLT, NJB, NASB, NIV, NET, ESV, MSG, Lexham, and so on to play a significant role through repeated readings.
4. I hope to complement these personal studies with discussions (in-person) with various individuals who have familiarity with Nahum and may be able to provide insights and comments which will be useful in the final volume.
5. I’m reminding myself that b/c this is a free volume that will be largely delivered online I can considered it a first draft and yet publish it. I will use an iterative approach and hopefully in twenty years I will be able to present a volume which has been expanded with the knowledge I will accumulate in the meantime. At the same time, I believe this volume will be useful.

I expect the next volume after Nahum to be Jonah – a personal favorite of mine. Yes, yes, I’m going chronologically backwards. =)

1. It involves prayer. While it has been on my heart to undertake this project for several years, I am seeking to search out the Lord’s will. I am not one who hears the Lord voice clearly, so I begin with some trepidation.

2. It will start with Proverbs. I know, this may seem a strange starting point but I have chosen Proverbs for several reasons:

- Due to the recommendations of a Sunday School teacher (Mr. Brisson) during my teenage years I read Proverbs repeatedly chapter by chapter each month over a period of years, so it is a book I have significant familiarity with.

- Proverbs, while containing real and deep wisdom, is a fairly straightforward book. Thus, it is a great book for teenagers and will (hopefully) not present me with significant difficulties in interpretation.

- Proverbs is a relatively non-controversial work when it comes to interpreting and applying its teachings and will thus be a relatively straightforward book to write a orthodox commentary on.

- N.T. Wright has begun a series in the tradition of William Barclay and is currently working through the New Testament. Bill Doolittle has lent me Wright’s volumes on Romans (Paul for Everyone Romans Parts One and Two) for review to see if they might fulfill my need in the New Testament arena. Since there may be an alternative available, I do not see use at this juncture in duplicating that work.

I’ve already begun my work. On Thursday I spent a few moments in Philadelphia Biblical University‘s library and borrowed a number of volumes – on wisdom literature in general as well as commentaries on Proverbs in specific. Unfortunately, both Waltke and Trenchman’s commentaries on Proverbs were checked out, but PBU does have the volumes available on reference so I intend to spend some time in the library in the near future taking advantage of these references. I also borrowed The Expositor’s Bible Commentary on Proverbs from Rev. David Lebo.

Thus far I have begun by reading the introductions to Proverbs in Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, and Old Testament Wisdom an Introduction by Crenshaw. I also borrowed from PBU the English translation of the Aramaic Targum on Proverbs and began reading this as well. While I am going to read through the Aramaic translation, it appears that the Targum contains little commentary on the book and will serve as a cross-reference rather than primary reference for me.

I’ve also begun taking copious notes from all these references – 3 pages in 10pt font thus far.

I appreciate your prayers and thoughts as I undertake this endeavor.

I am a fan of William Barclay. He wrote commentaries on each book of the New Testament that combined several unique factors together to make them useful and endearing books not only to me but to many millions around the world and across several decades. These commentaries combine several interesting features:

• Divided into daily devotional readings containing a portion of the text and then Barclay’s commentary on the text. This makes the volumes extremely readable as part of one’s daily devotions (thus the name for the series of Daily Study Bible).
• Include manageable explanations of the text. Barclay somehow magnificently balances good biblical exegesis with lay readability. He manages to explain difficult theological concepts without being confusing and causes the reader to rejoice over original languages word studies.
• Provides robust historical insight as well as (then) contemporary illustrations to bring the text to life.
• Attempts to not only allow the reader to understand the original meaning of the passage but also applies that passage to one’s personal life.
• Provides a robust discussion of the differing (unorthodox) viewpoints on a given text/idea without (generally) endorsing these ideas.

That said, I run into several dilemmas with William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible series:

• Barclay was personally unorthodox in his beliefs (as reflected in his spiritual autobiography) and while he generally maintains a neutral tone on such topics, occasionally speaks out in a manner that would gravely concern most evangelicals (e.g. seriously advocating the denial of the virgin birth).
• The books are only available in print (and the entire collection is somewhat expensive) and is still under copyright – making digital distribution and manipulation impossible.
• The books have begun to suffer from aging illustrations.
• The books do not contain significant resources for further exploration of any given passage (excluding a small bibliography at the end).

What I am considering is creating a new series of commentaries in the tradition of William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible. This post is a RFC to the Christian community requesting recommendations (a) of alternative resources similar to Barclay’s that might fill this observed need (I see no need to recreate something that already exists, and want to hear what other alternatives exist before embarking upon such a major task), (b) if no such alternative resources exist, recommendations of which commentaries/other books/papers would be must-read resources on each book of the bible, and (c) further ideas from the community on better ways to pursue this project, additional features that should be included in the works, etc.

Outline of the Layered Bible Project:

This outline tackles only the need for a daily/devotional, lay-oriented commentary series of an orthodox nature on the bible. It does not tackle the entire vision of the Layered Bible Project at this time, due to the fact that this initial phase could take many years to complete alone (but keep in the back of your mind that this is only the base of a much larger project).

• A commentary series that is divided by book and includes the Scriptural text as part of the commentary. This commentary will be useful in daily devotional reading.
• A commentary series that is orthodox in its overall tone. On controversial passages it will support what is considered the best orthodox position while also explicating other alternative positions and occasionally examining them.
• A commentary that focuses on readability combined with significant biblical scholarship (word studies, historical context discussions, definition of theological terms). It will not shy away from technical discussions but must always do so in a way that can be understood by any reader who is willing to engage the text.
• A commentary that is available freely via the internet (in addition to print) in its entirety.
• A commentary that includes not only observations on the original text but also application of the text to life today.
• A commentary that offers significant insight into additional resources for further examination of various scripture portions or ideas presented therein.

Who Am I?

I have pondered this project for perhaps two or three years. One obstacle that has constantly loomed in front of me is that I find myself unqualified for such an endeavor. I am merely twenty-five with a Bachelors in Biblical Studies from Philadelphia Biblical University. I work full-time in the Information Technology industry. I struggle with the Scriptural text enough on my own, how can I expect to teach it to others? At every juncture my only real consolation has been a quote from William Barclay, “I have a second-class mind. It is the simple truth that I never had an original idea in my life. . . . I don’t make the slightest claim to inspiration in preaching or writing.” Now, I am far less qualified than Barclay – so much so that even comparing myself in some sense too him is embarassing in itself…but the essence of his quote is what I hold onto. Is it possible that while I may not be qualified or capable of providing first-quality insight and commentary, that I would be able to aggregate and summarize the works of the great minds of both yesterday and today?

Conclusion:

This project is still in the formative stages. The first stage is to examine available alternative materials which may/are available to fill this need. If a suitable resource is found, then this project need go no further. However, if it is found that resources are lacking, the next endeavor would be to collect a representative sampling of the best commentaries across time on each book and to utilize these in conjunction with more knowledgable contemporary individuals to create an orthodox commentary on each book.

Misc.:

• When I say orthodox I mean that position held by the majority of the church, particularly from a Protestant perspective. This will include attempting to provide a neutral explanation of a text even should such an interpretation vary from my own personal beliefs.
• While advocating the orthodox position it is my intent to portray neutrally (as Barclay generally did) alternative positions.