OK, so I’m on a Proverbs kick tonight. In advance of the online colloquium entitled on recent trends in the interpretation of the Book of Proverbs on the Biblical Studies discussion list, I thought I could offer a modest survey of commentaries available on the Book of Proverbs.
Proverbs is one biblical book that is better to take in small doses, rather than read straight through. That being said, there have been some recent scholarship on the composition and redaction of the book of Proverbs that suggests it was not compiled haphazardly (see my post on the compilation and redaction of the Book of Proverbs here). Most of the more recent commentaries also explore the connections and smaller collections within the book of Proverbs. In this regard note especially Garrett, Van Leeuwen, and Waltke.
When we turn to commentaries on the book of Proverbs there are a lot of different options. Murphy is one of the preeminent scholars on the wisdom literature of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. His three works on Proverbs are all worth consulting, though his WBC is perhaps the best of his work. Fox is also excellent for scholars and pastors, as is Clifford. I would be remiss to not mention the excellent and extremely thorough (albeit somewhat conservative) commentary by one of my former professors, Bruce Waltke. I highly recommend it. Hubbard is a good popular commentary, and I have been impressed with Farmer and Koptak. Wright‘s volume is invaluable for a historical perspective.
- Clifford, Richard J. Proverbs: A Commentary. Old Testament Library. WJK, 1999. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Farmer, Kathleen Anne. Who Knows What Is Good? A Commentary on the Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. International Theological Commentary. Eerdmans, 1991. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Fox, Michael V. Proverbs 1-9: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Bible. Doubleday, 2000. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Garrett, Duane A. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. New American Commentary. Broadman & Holman, 1993. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Horne, Milton P. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. Smith & Helwys Bible Commentary. Smyth & Helwys, 2003. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Hubbard, David Allan. Proverbs. Mastering the Old Testament. Word, 1989. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Kidner, Derek. The Proverbs: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. InterVarsity, 1975. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Koptak, Paul E. Proverbs. The NIV Application Commentary. Zondervan, 2003. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- McKane, William. Proverbs, a New Approach. Old Testament Library. Westminster, 1970. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Murphy, Roland E. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. New International Biblical Commentary. Hendrickson, 1999. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Murphy, Roland E. Proverbs. Word Biblical Commentary. Word, 1998. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Murphy, Roland E. Wisdom Literature: Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Canticles, Ecclesiastes, and Esther. Forms of the Old Testament Literature. Eerdmans, 1981. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Perdue, Leo G. Proverbs. Interpretation. John Knox Press, 2000. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Toy, Crawford. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Proverbs. International Critical Commentary. T. & T. Clark, 1959. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Van Leeuwen, Raymond C. Proverbs. New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 5: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, and Sirach. Abingdon, 1997. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Waltke, Bruce K. The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 1-15. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Eerdmans, 2004. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Waltke, Bruce K. The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 16-31. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Eerdmans, 2005. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Whybray, R. N. The Book of Proverbs. Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge University Press, 1972. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Whybray, R. N. Proverbs. New Century Bible. Eerdmans, 1994. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
- Wright, J. Robert. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Old Testament. InterVarsity, 2004. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
For more listings and evaluations of commentaries on other biblical books, see my Old Testament Commentary Survey.