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Commentaries

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › Holy Scripture › Commentaries

The question

What is the Church view on the commentary of the Bible by Matthew Henry? I was looking for a commentary on 2 kings, but could not find Fr Tadros Malaty’s commentary in English on 2 Kings.  I could only find Matthew Henry's commentary.  Is this a good source to use?

The answer

You should always first search for commentaries from within the Church. If you can only find references written in Arabic, try to find someone who can translate these for you. It will be of great benefit for you to learn from our early church fathers, as well as our contemporary fathers, even if it takes longer to absorb the whole meaning and concept because of the language barrier and adequate translation required. In the meantime, you may search through other commentaries. Matthew Henry's commentaries are well written. However, you must still exercise caution because any non Coptic Orthodox teachings, commentaries, and discourses may have minor or major dogmatic discrepancies according to the doctrine of the Church, and can cause you confusion or an erroneous understanding that you may unknowingly perpetuate to others.

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 2186 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.