What criteria are used to denote one commentary as "better" than another? What are the hallmarks of a good commentary?

Upvote:2

In order to evaluate the spiritual value of anything, we have to apply the "Regula Fidei", or "Rule of Faith".

Regula Fidei

A quick definition:

the rule of faith means something extrinsic to our faith, and serving as its norm or measure
Catholic Encyclopedia

Essentially, the Rule of Faith is the ultimate authority that is used to measure doctrines, practices, or beliefs (or other items in Christianity).

Ultimate Authority

Applying the Rule of Faith is much more tricky since it depends on what you consider the "ultimate authority". Sola Scriptura adherents, for example, consider the Bible to be the ultimate authority;

For Catholicism:

But since Divine revelation is contained in the written books and unwritten traditions (Vatican Council, I, ii), the Bible and Divine tradition must be the rule of our faith
Catholic Encyclopedia

Applying Regula Fide for Commentaries

Ultimately, when examining commentaries, we have to use the Regula Fidei to determine if a commentary is valid. For Sola Scriptura adherents, this means that we have to use the Bible to determine if a commentary is valid or not (which is often not easy). Fortunately, in Catholicism, there is a bit larger body of work to draw upon.

All commentaries come from a certain doctrinal standpoint. Often, a commentary (as others have mentioned) will note their doctrinal standpoint, but sometimes they will not. In these cases, it's most important to examine the Bible and Divine traditions to see if the commentary contradicts anything within the Bible or Divine traditions. If it does, then clearly the commentary should be avoided.

Upvote:3

There really are only two possible ways:

  1. Read the commentary enough to know for sure. Assuming some biblical knowledge, by comparing different commentaries on same passages it'll be easy to weed out some of the not-so-good ones.
  2. Get a recommendation from someone you really trust.

If these aren't practical, you can always just use a commentary with a skeptical attitude. If the commentary says anything unexpected that doesn't immediately make sense, beware.

Upvote:4

This is a question of hermeneutics. You can think of a hermeneutic as the lens you use to view and interpret scripture and come to doctrinal conclusions. Having an explicit, clear hermeneutic in mind as you study will help you build interpretations that are consistent. It provides a measuring stick by which specific interpretations of passages can be evaluated and helps avoid the problem of finding the conclusion first, and the scriptural support second.

Most commentaries will have an introduction or preface, and in the preface the author should declare something of the hermeneutic used in that commentary. This will help you decide if the commentary is a good selection for you.

Upvote:5

christianbook.com has a commentary page that lets you refine by "theological tradition", among other criteria. That is probably a good start, and will at least let you find commentaries written by Catholics.

Additionally, you could look a commentary up on bestcommentaries.com and read what reviewers have to say about it. That might not tell you whether the commentary is "safe" or not, but it should at least tell you what perspective the author has.

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