Proverbs

Proverbs is by its nature difficult to examine in-depth, it is non-linear and rather like trying to comment on the sayings of Poor Richard's Almanac in the secular world. To present a cohesive experience, Dr. Kidner cleverly brings the most common subjects of the book together in a studies section and includes a short concordance. The studies particularly cull the book for a linear look at its most important topics and are very readable. His introduction is also a pleasure to read as he is a fine writer and as mentioned in another review, a sage. Combining both wit and learning is a rare gift. The commentary is handled well with reference to earlier thoughts to avoid repetition. This can be a bit annoying if you have forgotten what went before, but I doubt there is a better way to handle the problem of repetition which is frequent in Proverbs. Overall a great introduction to a tough book when thought of as a whole rather than parsed into pithy sayings.

All of the commentators on the commentaries regard Kidner’s as an excellent commentary, though one limited by the constraints of the TOTC series which requires short, popular-level volumes. Longman says, “This small commentary is packed with helpful insight and comments on the text. It is exegetically sensitive, theologically helpful, and orthodox.” This is a great option for devotional reading, for simple Bible studies, and for providing application. [Full Review]

Kidner is a sage. He is brilliant, pithy, and attractive in his communication. Why read a commentary on Proverbs by any other type of scholar? "What [wisdom] takes is not brains or opportunity, but decision. Do you want it? Come and get it" (p.67).

As noted in the introductory comments to my post on the Top 5 Job commentaries, Kidner has written one of the more helpful introductions to biblical wisdom literature. Here he applies that knowledge to one specific example, the book of Proverbs. As with the other Tyndale commentaries, this is an introductory level work, but it is probably the best of the introductory level works on the book. [Full Review]

Evangelical balanced reflections on the meaning of each of the proverbs. [Full Review]

Kinder's introduction is still very valuable, but the commentary itself is extremely short, making this a good second or third companion volume, but not a primary source.