Lenski on Libronix

Libronix announced today the pre-publication of the R.C.H. Lenski Commentary on the New Testament. Currently the set is running at a pre-publication price of $199.95. (Really not a bad price since they’re planning on selling at $299, when it’s published!)

For years, Lenski’s NT commentary set was probably the most popular Lutheran exegetical commentary on the NT. (I think the current Concordia Commentary series will likely surpass Lenski, especially when the Concordia commentaries come out in Libronix format in the next couple years.) Even so, Lenski’s commentary is still pretty popular in conservative Lutheran circles. Most Lutheran pastors I know (including myself) own at least a few volumes, if not the whole set.

I do recall Prof. Joel Fredrich reminding us in 1 Corinthians class at Martin Luther College, “Lenski is not an oracle”, when we were quick to lean on Lenski for our exegetical work. (When you think about it, that statement could apply to any commentary or biblical interpreter, Lutheran or otherwise.)

Keep in mind Lenski’s not the be all and end all of NT interpretation, especially watch out for his view of objective justification in Romans. As a Libronix product, though, I think this series would be a great blessing and resource for busy Lutheran seminarians and pastors alike! If nothing else, it’ll certainly beat wading through pages and pages of his commentary in print as you quickly search through the digital version. You see, Lenski never did write anything “short-schrift”, if you know what I mean, and his writing can get laborious at times. By the way, from what I understand, that pre-publication price is for a limited time before they raise it to the $299 price, so you may want to consider purchasing it soon!