It is important to be cautionary about all Bible Commentaries AND all Commentaries that are built-in to Bibles.  

All commentaries, of course, are based upon the editors' views on topics and Scripture. Commentaries should never be easily adopted as God's View or God's Word.  All commentaries are products of the editors' own beliefs and biases (good and bad).  It is equally important to understand the editors' beliefs and biases to properly weigh the true value or error of their commentary.  BUT IT EASIER & SAFER to remain focused upon Scripture alone which we know to always be true.

Your mission, should you chose to accept it ...   
is to remain pure in thought by remaining focused on Scripture alone [Psalms 119:9-11 | Proverbs 4:23 NIV].
Let Scripture speak to you, let Scripture verify or correct your views, and let Scripture answer your questions.
God is in the details of his Word.    Only God is perfect and his Word is true.  Be very careful in using commentaries, if you use them at all.  

AN EXAMPLE:  Caution about AENT (Aramaic English New Testament)....
This statement is common for all Bible Commentaries and is common for Bible translations that include built-in commentaries.  This statement is not special to the AENT, but we are using the AENT as an example here. It is important to understand that the best practice in Bible study is to not easily adopt the views of the editors outside of translation issues. If you do listen to or study commentary, it is vitally important to understand the beliefs and views of the editors first.  Let God teach you what is correct rather than relying upon men.

While the editors of the AENT strongly believe in the deity of Jesus (Y'shua). they follow Messianic Judaism which includes some principles from the Talmud (Oral Law) and Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism). These ideas clearly fall outside of Scripture and are not from God.  Please don't be disheartened by this because the editors from every Bible translation you have ever read have their own set of various beliefs and biases (some good, some bad) yet we continue to value and use their translations with their imperfections because of their proven Scholarly work in language translation and because they believe in the deity of Jesus (Y'shua).   

The AENT editors have a lot of commentary included in their translation.  Some of the commentary are views from Judaism and some are 'translation" oriented commentary about the text.  While the AENT translation of the New Testament is a great resource, the commentary that steps outside of translation topics of Aramaic, these things should be carefully viewed in light of their beliefs and biases or should avoided all together. It is important to separate the two types of commentary and it is wiser to simply focus primarily upon Scripture translation topics alone. 

While the Aramaic New Testament shines an amazing light upon the Gospels and Early Church writings, and there are clearly some translation biases that are good and bad (as there are in all translations).  The editors' "non-translation" oriented commentary clearly introduced ideas and principles that may seem not harmful at first, yet to a more mature disciple of Y'shua (Jesus), one can clearly see the sources being from Judaism, Talmud, and Kabbalah.  Instead of learning all the details of an editor's beliefs and biases, it is easier to just advise all need to remain focused on the actual Biblical texts alone rather than the accompanying commentary.  This is a general rule for all disciples for all Bible translations, not just the AENT. 

Some may ask why do we still recommend the AENT.  To adopt one translation or focus primarily on one or to easily dismiss any single translation in general is not a wise thing to do.  So long as the translation work is done in a Scholarly and wise manner, the translation is mostly likely of value.  While the Word of God in its original form is perfect and without error, every translation has errors and biases in it because all translators are human.  There are also various and sometimes slightly differing available copies of Biblical manuscripts in various languages that also have to be weighed in this process that all Bible translations make choices on.  The wisest thing is to have a more balanced approach that uses a wider variety of translations and sources in one's Bible study.  The AENT and other Aramaic New Testament translations should be a part of every disciple's Bible study collection.  When weighted together with other translations, it will produce a more clearer and more accurate understanding of God's Word. 

We hope this short explanation was helpful and clear.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email us at:  comments@HebrewRoots.info