Habakkuk

This commentary is somewhat helpful on the basics, especially historical background. Bruce is an excellent historian, but not as good of a commentator. I felt that his commentary suffered from cross-reference-itis. Much of my time reading, I found myself asking, "yes, those are nice verses that use the same words that Habakkuk used, but what was Habakkuk's point?" All in all, I would prefer a more expositional commentary, and fewer word studies (which have their place, but aren't the most important things when seeking to interpret a text).

F.F. Bruce wrote the Habakkuk section of this multi-author commentary. Bruce was primarily a New Testament scholar, but he did occasionally write on the Old Testament. As with the whole series, he treats the exegesis and exposition separately, each running in parallel with the other, one on the top of the page and the other on the bottom. The exegesis deals with the Hebrew text and is scholarly in its approach. It's hard to read if you don't know Hebrew. I have been told by someone who knows Hebrew fairly well that he wasn't all that impressed at Bruce's exegesis. The exposition is intended to be readable to anyone. As with other commentaries by Bruce, theology is going to be a weakness. What strikes me as thoroughly strange about this commentary is that the exegesis is on the Hebrew text and meant for scholars yet isn't too detailed. It picks out key details but isn't complete enough to count as a full-length scholarly commentary. Yet it's too difficult for someone less well-trained. The exposition is readable no matter who is reading it, but much of what supports the exposition is in the exegesis. It's for that reason that I can't recommend this commentary as a first choice for someone of any category of commentary reader. It's worth having as a supplement to a fuller and/or more readable work, but I don't put it as first place. [Full Review]

The commentary on Habakkuk in this volume was written by F.F. Bruce, who is always insightful. The commentary is technical and requires some knowledge of Hebrew. It is very helpful [Full Review]

Separate, but parallel, textual and expositional comments. Quality of commentary on each book will vary according to the contributor. Evangelical. [Full Review]