Tuesday, October 8, 2013

A Commentary set that may only be published in digital form: learn about the story of the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary

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Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (44 vols.)

The Evangelical Exegetical Commentary is a brand new, 44-volume commentary series which incorporates the latest critical biblical scholarship and is written from a distinctly evangelical perspective.
The EEC is the next standard commentary on the entire Bible for evangelicals. The Word Biblical Commentary and the Baker Exegetical Commentary and other similar commentary sets have served the church for the past decade. Now, a new generation of pastors, students, and scholars will turn to the EEC for expert commentary from the leading scholars on the Bible.
EEC contributors include Eugene Merrill, John Oswalt, Stanley E. Porter, Ronald Youngblood, Eugene Mayhew, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., W. Hall Harris, and dozens of other respected scholars. The entire commentary is assembled under the editorial supervision of H. Wayne House.

How It All Began

The story of the EEC began in 2005, when a core group of Bible scholars began to dream of what a new commentary could look like. What if a new commentary series could be published—a kind of commentary pastors could use for sermon preparation, and a standard reference work seminary students could consult for exegetical research.
It would be of a scholarly caliber that it would be regularly cited in academic works, discussed at conferences, and subject to rigorous scholarly review.
At the same time, this commentary would be well-written and accessible enough that it would enrich the Bible study of anyone who wanted to use it to understand God’s Word more deeply.
This commentary would uphold the Bible as God’s inspired Word, but it would be ready to engage in rigorous critical scholarship—the kind of scholarship respected in both evangelical and secular circles, and everywhere in between.
At that time—back in 2005—there were no new major commentary series on the horizon, and the series in publication at the time were nearly finished. Although new advances in biblical scholarship continued to emerge, no projects were underway to assemble the latest scholarship into a new commentary set on the entire Bible.
It became clear to a core group of biblical scholars that the time had come to begin working on a new commentary set. Wayne House spearheaded the project, assembling a team of scholars, soliciting the help of editors, and meeting with publishers. Authors began the task of research and writing. The editorial team drafted a publication timetable.

The Project Is Derailed

Then, with the EEC well underway, and drafts of the first volumes nearly finished, the fateful call came. The publisher put a hold on the project. After several additional delays, the final blow came: the EEC was cancelled altogether.
The reason was simple: a full commentary series on the entire Bible literally takes many years to draft, write, edit, review, refine and publish. Most of the top commentary series from the past century have taken two or more decades to complete. They have often outlived the ambitions of their founders and the life-spans of some of their authors, and they often require second and third editions of many volumes to keep pace with up-to-date scholarship.
In a world where the future of print is uncertain—where the market share for print books erodes away a little further each year as new digital formats become available—it did not make financial sense for the publisher to risk such a massive investment in a multi-year print project.
Furthermore, the publisher could no longer be sure they could successfully market such a massive commentary series. For many pastors and scholars, spending thousands of dollars on a set of print commentaries is a thing of the past. Print commentary series are cumbersome and difficult to work with. In a world of fast searching, hyperlinked texts, and advanced tagging, it no longer makes sense to thumb through the index of a print book, or spend hours searching for information by flipping through pages. For many pastors and Bible scholars, buying a large print commentary series has become a thing of the past.
There had to be a better way.

The Project is Revived: The EEC Goes Digital

In 2009, Dr. House contacted Logos Bible Software about publishing the EEC. After meeting with House and several EEC contributors, Logos agreed to revive the project. Together, all parties worked out a new plan for moving forward—including an ambitious publication schedule. Learn more about Logos...
Today, nearly all volumes are in various stages of research, writing, or editing. A few of the volumes are nearly complete. With this accelerated publication schedule, Logos will release the first volume in 2011, and the entire 44-volume set will be available in 2019—an unprecedented publication timetable for a commentary of this magnitude.
With the publication of the EEC by Logos, a digital publication company was able to do what no print publisher could do anymore—commit to publish such a massive commentary series on the entire Bible.

The Final Form

The publication of the EEC by Logos marks the first time a major Bible commentary series has been published in digital form before its print counterpart—and the first time it has been published with a digital format in mind.
Because it will be published by Logos, the EEC will be fully integrated into the most advanced biblical and theological library available anywhere, powered by Logos Bible Software. It will be accessible wherever Logos Bible Software’s platform is available, including Windows, Mac, and iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad. Users who purchase the EEC will also be able to access it online at Biblia.com, and on any future platform where Logos is available.
With the Logos edition, the EEC is completely searchable and full of hyperlinks for easy navigation—including links for Scripture references, cross-references, footnotes, and more. It contains accurate metadata and extensive tagging done by real humans, who understand that when you search for sacrament, results for Lord’s Supper and Communion and Eucharist should appear, too.

Order the EEC Today


Complete Digital Edition

The entire set of the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary is available today through Logos Bible Software.

Additional Details

When you order this collection, you will receive all available volumes. You will automatically receive each new volume as a free download as soon as it is issued.
Even though the first volume has shipped, you can still order the collection, but the price for the collection could increase as new volumes are released; however, you will get the entire collection at the price you order it at. This means that ordering early not only ensures you get the lowest price, it also guarantees that you’ll be the first to receive new volumes as they are released.

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