The Acts of the Apostles [Paperback]

F. F. Bruce (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 628 pages
• Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press; 3Rev Ed edition (1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851117643
• ISBN-13: 978-0851117645
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #610,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) was Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester in England. During his distinguished career, he wrote more than forty bestselling commentaries and books, including several titles published by InterVarsity Press, A Mind for What Matters and Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free. He also served as general editor of The New International Commentary on the New Testament.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent commentary, December 10, 2011

By 

TRA "TRA" (Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Acts of the Apostles (Paperback)

This was the first book by F F Bruce that I had read, and having finished it and decided to study the letter to the Hebrews, I immediately sought out Bruce's commentary on that text.

This commentary will be pitched at the right level for a wide range of people who wish to study the book of Acts. On the one hand, it gives careful consideration to the Greek text, on the other, it is not too long (slightly under 500 pages in the edition that I have).

In my study of the book of Acts I also read J Fitzmyer's commentary and Parsons & Culy's "Handbook on the Greek Text". Each book serves a different purpose. Bruce is more concise than Fitzmyer, but is often more insightful. As regards bibliographical information on other authors, it is less up-to-date than Fitzmyer, at least in the 2nd edition, which I have, which was printed in 1952 - but then many students of Acts may not require the degree of detail provided by Fitzmyer concerning the opinions of other writers.

F F Bruce provides the full Greek text of Acts, using the edition prepared by Westcott and Hort in 1881. For current studies most theologians would recommend the Nestle-Aland 27th edition text of 1986, which is the same as the UBS4 text of 1993 (apart from some punctuation). NA27 is often referred to by its Latin title, "Novum Testamentum Graece". It is published by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (German Bible Society) and by others, and numerous editions of this text are available on Amazon. Students at an earlier stage in their Greek studies could do worse than obtain "The New Greek English Interlinear New Testament", edited by J D Douglas. While the interlinear text has occasional quirks, the Greek font used is extremely clear, and the NRSV text is included "as a bonus".

With the exception of the members of one sect, it is probably safe to say that no scholars today refer to the Westcott & Hort text. In spite of this limitation, it must be stated that the differences between the W&H text and the NA27/UBS are in general not major, and one can in any case skip the W&H text in Bruce and read the Greek text from one of the other editions referred to above.

Unlike Fitzmyer and Parsons & Culy, Bruce does not provide a translation of the Greek text, but he does comment in detail on Greek words and phrases that may present difficulties to the reader.

It is, however, in the main text of the commentary that his insight shines through. Scholarly and academic, yet expressed in straightforward English, his suggestions clarify many passages. Fitzmyer may be suitable for quoting in university or seminary essays, but only with considerable editing in Bible studies and sermons; Bruce is justifiably still quoted in both of these contexts. Bruce's standpoint is that of respect for the integrity of the Greek text, so (unlike Fitzmyer) he does not spend time hypothesizing about which sources Luke may have used for a given passage.

As well as all the Biblical cross-references and historical and geographic information that should be in any commentary, Bruce's suggestions and opinions often cast fresh light on a passage and give a new understanding of it. To give just two examples that I have randomly selected:

1. Commenting on the riot in Ephesus that is recorded in Acts 19, Bruce says (on verse 32), "The result of the general ignorance of the purpose of the meeting was that the agitation was as much anti-Jewish as anti-Christian, especially when they saw Alexander." (p. 366 in my edition)

2. Concerning how Paul's nephew heard about the plot to ambush and kill him, in Acts 23, Bruce says (on verse 16), "If he was present at the conspiracy, either his relation to Paul was unknown, or Paul's bitterest enemies may have been those of his own household, in which case the presence of one of Paul's relatives would have occasioned no misgivings." (p. 415 in my edition). (To this comment I would add a reference to Matt 10:36.)

Two minor details detracted a little from the text for me:
1. Biblical chapter numbers are given in Roman numerals (but verse numbers in Arabic numerals). This was a convention at the time when my edition was printed for texts on the Bible. However, I soon discovered that I had not forgotten Roman numerals. Newer printings of this commentary may indeed have the chapter numbers in Arabic numerals - perhaps owners of such editions may wish to comment on this.

2. Bruce assumes that readers will have a knowledge of Latin and of Classical Greek, and therefore does not translate quotations in these languages that he uses. This is no longer likely to be the case for most readers. However, such quotations are not frequent, so their presence did not prevent understanding of what Bruce was saying.

Notwithstanding these minor niggles, I would consider Bruce's commentary as being as relevant today in the 21st century as it was when it was first published in 1951. Warmly recommended.