• Is based on the Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic text.
  

• Was (preferably) published in the last 40 years or so.
  

• Has a large bibliography and footnotes.
  

• Often has a translation of the original text.
  

• Focuses on narrower areas of the text (such as a book or a few books that can be grouped together, such as the Johannine Epistles).
  

• Tends to have a significant portion of their text devoted to behind-the-text issues such as the composition of the book, history of interpretation, text-critical issues, etc. These issues can have their own chapter.
  

Examples of critical commentaries include:

• The Anchor Bible Commentary series or the Anchor Yale Bible Series (AYBC)
  

• Word Biblical Commentary (WBC)
  

• Hermeneia Series
  

• The Interational Critical Commentary Series (ICC)
  

• The New Cambridge Bible Commentary (NCBC)

• The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT)
  

• The Old Testament Library Series (OTL)
  

• The New Testament Library Series (NTL)

• Pillar New Testament Commentary (PNTC)

• The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (BECNT)
  

• The New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC)
  

• The New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT)
  

This is in contrast to commentaries based on the English text and homiletical and/or devotional commentaries (such as Interpretation, Teach the Text, or The Old/New Testament for Everyone) which would NOT be considered critical commentaries.