Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes

Keil & Delitzsch is a great help that I use quite often. Sometimes a little dry, and not the best book to read while you are sleepy, nevertheless K & D will give you a wealth of information as to what the original Hebrew says.I've found these volumes particularily useful studying the prophets. When there was a point of comparison in the Hebrew poetry that I didn't understand, K & D came through for me with a clear explanation.An even better OT Commentary is the one by Leupold. I find his "Genesis" clearer and better written than Keil & Delitzsch. Unfortunately, Leupold did not write a commentary on the ENTIRE OT, so K & D remains your best source for sound commentary on the whole Old Testament.

Originally published in the late 19th century, the Keil and Delitzsch commentaries on the Old Testament are virtual monuments of rigorous scholarship. The authors have given us a work that is full of historical, linguistic, and archaeological information, a great majority of which is still quite current. They perform very admirably, as well, in refuting the rationalistic Biblical criticism of their day and in upholding the veracity of the Scriptures. A word of warning, however, is in order. Hendrickson Publishers (who is responsible for this edition) has done a less-than-thorough job of editing the text. I have had my set for less than a year and have done in-depth study in only two of the volumes. However, both of these have been riddled with typographical errors. There are several punctuation mistakes, but the real problem lies in running words together (for instance, the phrase "it has been" appears as "ith as been," and so forth). These can be mildly annoying but, in the end, the sheer value and richness of the commentary overshadows these problems and should not deter the interested reader from taking advantage of the tremendous learning of Messrs. Keil and Delitzsch.

It's like plowing in fertile soil to peruse the volumes of Keil & Delitzsch. The authors examine the cultural aspects that background each Old Testament book, and squeeze the Hebrew and cognate languages to provide the best possible interpretation. Nor are the authors myopic; for they note within the text and within rich footnotes the conclusions of others --even those with whom they disagree. One does not always have to agree with an author's harvested conclusion in order to find benefit in study. Sometimes just being in the sun and walking behind the plow is a "harvest" in itself.