Every NICOT and NICNT Commentary, Ranked

I knew the New International Commentary (NIC) series appeared often on bestcommentaries.com, but I was curious to see just how they stacked up, so I did some digging.

A few titles especially stood out, and I highlight them below. Beneath that, I include the full list volumes and how they rank on bestcommentaries.com. An impressive number of volumes—thirty-seven!—rank in the top three.

As you spot volumes you might be interested in, take a look at the various NIC bundles.

Highlights from the series

Matthew, R. T. France

Written by a member of the NIV translation committee and “Matthean scholar par excellence” (according to Donald Hagner), this verse-by-verse commentary is thorough and stays close to matters of context. France frequently draws attention to the distinctive nature of the province of Galilee and the social dynamics involved when a Galilean prophet presents himself in Jerusalem as the Messiah.

Judicious, well-written, and informed, […] likely to become a standard work on Matthew for some time to come.

—D. A. Carson

Mark, William L. Lane

Highly praised, this commentary adeptly uses redaction criticism to produce a work that is insightful for professionals but accessible to lay people. William Lane’s The Gospel of Mark presents this Gospel as a complete literary work in its own right, and a work of special genius that kickstarts the tradition of Gospel writing.

Romans, Douglas J. Moo

Moo teaches advanced Greek, New Testament theology, and Pauline studies at Wheaton College. This work finds him in his wheelhouse, which explains its strong reputation.

If a student could own but one commentary on Romans, this should be it—now and for a long time to come.

—Craig L. Blomberg, Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary

Joshua, Marten H. Woudstra

This volume must surely be regarded as the finest commentary on the Book of Joshua. . . . Should be a part of the library of any serious student of the Scriptures who anticipates teaching or preaching from this important and colorful Old Testament [book].

—Bibliotheca Sacra

Isaiah, John N. Oswalt

This commentary will be one of the most widely used and appreciated [in the NICOT series], and perhaps even one of the flagship volumes.

—Southwestern Journal of Theology

The completion of John Oswalt’s commentary on Isaiah in 1998 was a major blessing to the Christian church … It should be on the desk of every student of the Old Testament.

—Keith Mathison, Professor & Author

 

Volume ranking on bestcommentaries.com

Here’s a breakdown of how each volume ranks on bestcommentaries.com, which bases its decisions on which have received the best reviews.

Old Testament

Book	Ranking
Genesis, Victor P. Hamilton	2
Exodus	(Not yet included in series)
Leviticus, Gordon J. Wenham	1
Numbers, Timothy R. Ashley	4
Deuteronomy, Peter C. Craigie	1
Joshua, Marten H. Woudstra	2
Judges, Barry G. Webb	26
Ruth, Robert L. Hubbard, Jr.	3
1 Samuel, David Toshio Tsumura	2
2 Samuel, David Toshio Tsumura	9
1–2 Kings	(Not yet included in series)
1 Chronicles	(Not yet included in series)
2 Chronicles, Paul S. Evans	(Forthcoming)
Ezra-Nehemiah,* F. Charles Fesham	2
Esther	(Not yet included in series)
Job, John E. Hartley	2
Psalms, Nancy DeClaisse-Walford; Rolf A. Jacobson; Beth LaNeel Turner	10
Proverbs, Bruce K. Waltke	1
Ecclesiastes, Tremper Longman III	2
Song of Songs, Tremper Longman III	1
Isaiah, John N. Oswalt	1
Jeremiah, John A. Thompson	1
Lamentations, John Goldingay	18
Ezekiel, Daniel I. Block	1
Daniel, Chapters 1–6, John H. Walton	(Too new to rank)
Hosea, J. Andrew Dearman	4
Joel,* Leslie C. Allen	1
Amos, M. Daniel Carroll R.	4
Obadiah,* Leslie C. Allen	1
Jonah,* Leslie C. Allen	1
Micah,* Leslie C. Allen	1
Nahum,* O. Palmer Robertson	1
Habakkuk,* O. Palmer Robertson	1
Zephaniah,* O. Palmer Robertson	1
Haggai,* Pieter A. Verhoef	2
Zechariah, Mark J. Boda	5
Malachi,* Pieter A. Verhoef	2

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New Testament

Book	Ranking
Matthew, R. T. France	1
Mark, William L. Lane	3
Luke, Joel B. Green	2
John, Leon Morris	3
Acts, F. F. Bruce	4
Romans, Douglas J. Moo	1
1 Corinthians, Gordon D. Fee	1
2 Corinthians, Paul W. Barnett	3
Galatians, Ronald Y. K. Fung	8
Ephesians, F. F. Bruce	4
Philippians, Gordon D. Fee	1
Colossians, F. F. Bruce	2
1 & 2 Thessalonians, Gordon D. Fee	8
1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philip H. Towner	2
Philemon, F. F. Bruce	2
Hebrews, F. F. Bruce	4
James, James B. Anderson	34
1 Peter, Peter H. Davids	7
2 Peter	(Not yet included in series)
1–3 John, Howard I. Marshall	2
Jude	(Not yet included in series)
Revelation, Robert H. Mounce	2

New and notable NIC volumes

• Deuteronomy, Chapters 1–11, Bill T. Arnold
• Ruth, Peter H. W. Lau
• Ezra and Nehemiah, Hannah K. Harrington
• Jeremiah, John Goldingay
• Daniel, Chapters 7–12, John H. Walton
• Joel, Obadiah, and Jonah, James D. Nogalski
• Micah, James D. Nogalski
• Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, Thomas Renz
• Haggai and Malachi, Mignon R. Jacobs
• John, J. Ramsey Michaels
• Galatians, David A. deSilva
• Ephesians, Lynn H. Cohick
• Colossians, Scot McKnight
• Philemon, Scot McKnight
• Hebrews, Gareth Lee Cockerill
• James, Scot McKnight

Purchase in bulk with bundles

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Comparable commentaries series

• Zondervan Exegetical Commentary Collection | ZEC (30 vols.)
• Word Biblical Commentary | WBC: Old and New Testament (61 vols.)
• The New American Commentary Series | NAC (43 vols.)
  Baker Commentary on the Old Testament (12 vols.)
• Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament | BECNT (18 vols.)

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