Customer Reviews

Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 33a, Matthew 1-13 (hagner), 483pp

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This, and the second volume on Matthew 14-28, is an excellent commentary; detailed, critical, balanced, and comprehensive. In my opinion it is the best commentary at present of Matthew's Gospel, and stands at the head of many other good commentary. I use it as required reading for a graduate course I teach in the Synoptic Gospels.

The author expounds the text from a generally conservative perspective. He does often (and at significant points) depart from traditional evangelical interpretations, but he remains within the broad evangelical tradition. The work is strong on considering structure, but he can sometimes get bogged down in source-critical issues. He argues for Markan priority and sensus plenior fulfillment of Old Testament quotations. It generally considers all the significant issues in interpretation of the text and provides valuable insight, though some more conservative readers may be unsatisfied with some of his conclusions. Sometimes his discussion of interpretive problems is disappointing brief.

I bought this and its companion volume to research "fulfillment theology," especially what Matthew meant by saying Jesus has come to "fulfil" the Law and the Prophets. (5:17) I've written a couple books on the subject (Jesus and the Religions of Man; How Jesus fulfills the Chinese Culture) and am now doing a dissertation exploring it in more depth; and this is the commentary I've found most useful so far. (Allison & Davies are also helpful, as another reviewer said; their analysis of the Sermon on the Mount is very interesting; but I found them unreasonably skeptical a lot of the time.)

What I like about this commentary is its clarity and general good sense. Coming from a comparative or history of religions background, rather than New Testament studies, I'm also using these two volumes to teach myself NT Greek, which works pretty well. (Probably more than 70% of new vocabulary is explained, so I only need to look up 20-30%.) Fulfillment is one of Matthew's most pervasive themes, and it's been an exciting adventure to trace it systematically through the Gospel, and see how Matthew applies it implicitly to Gentile cultures at times, with the help of Hagner and other commentators.

Surely there will be someone else writing about this book, so I'm going try to help you in another way.

When you start reading biblical commentaries you will need to be aware that the thoughts expressed by the author deal with facts and speculations that should of happened. You can NEVER rely on only one commentary to affirm something about the Bible. You need at least three good commentaries.

Try to read biblical commentaries from different confessions of faith (e.g., Calvinism vs. Arminianism; Pentecostal vs. non-Pentecostal; Catholic vs. Protestant; Egalitarian vs. Complementarian; Amillennialism vs. Premillennialism vs. Postmillennialism; etc). Look for their arguments: What do they agree or disagree on? Which of them is closest to the biblical text? It's not a sin to read commentaries written from other points of view. You will notice that what is fact or solid argument will be seen over and over on different commentaries, so you will start learning what is speculation and what is not.

As Haddon W. Robinson said in his book, Biblical Preaching, (second edition, page 22), "In approaching a passage, we must be willing to reexamine our doctrinal convictions and to reject the judgments of our most respected teachers."

Remember, a commentary is not the biblical text. Do not replace the authority of the Bible with a commentary. The same apply for Study Bibles. The study notes there are not written by "apostles and prophets," so never confuse the "gospel" with the teacher or preacher. Learn to separate it.

Commentaries are important because nobody can get a poem from one language and translate it with the same structure to another language. This simply does not exist. Words, phrases, and sentences are rooted in a specific time, culture and custom. About Bibles, the best way is to check different translations, but be cautious about a very loose translation.

For you to appreciate any biblical commentary you need to know what level of reading you are. I'm going call them beginner, intermediate and advanced. I recommend the following biblical commentaries that you can start from. All of them have both Old Testament and New Testament. (If you're thinking of buying the whole set, look for the CD edition; it's cheaper and you can take it with you where you go.)

Beginner - NIV Application Commentary (NIVAC) by Zondervan.
(or) The Bible Speaks Today Series by IVP (This is a growing series and not yet complete.)

Intermediate - New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT) and New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT) by Eerdmans

Advanced - Word Biblical Commentary (WBC) by Thomas Nelson

These are basic commentaries on their own level, but there are a lot of commentaries today, so don't forget to look for more information. Maybe you can get information from one of these: (1) Commentary and Reference Survey: A Comprehensive Guide to Biblical and Theological Resources by John Glynn, (2) New Testament Commentary Survey by D. A. Carson, (3) Old Testament Commentary Survey by Tremper Longman.

There are good and expensive commentaries such as the Anchor Bible, International Critical Commentary or Hermeneia.

I don't know about catholic commentaries, but you can check reviews on "Sacra Pagina" and "Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture."

About Matthew, other than those mentioned above (NIVAC; BST; NICNT; WBC; AB; ICC; HERM) you can also check: Expositor Bible Commentary (EBC); New American Commentary (NAC); Pillar New Testament Commentary (PNTC); New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC); Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (BECNT); and others.

Another thing, it can be a very good commentary, but it does not mean that you will agree with everything in it. Remember, "new" does not mean it's updated, and "updated" does not mean it's better.

Purpose - You can read a book to get information, even if you are not interested in a deep study of the biblical text. In this case it's better to start reading something from your own confession of faith and always on your level of reading. If after some time you become interested in more, go check other commentaries, but please, do not skip "How To Read A Book" by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren.

Responsibility - It is your responsibility study the biblical text before checking a commentary. Sometimes this is not an easy task so I'm giving you some other references that you can check at the end of this review. If I had read a review like this before, I would know how to prevent some mistakes.

Do not let you knowledge kill your faith! - "For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith." Hebrews 4:2 NIV - (Read also 1 Corinthians 1:21-24; 2:13-14; 3:18-23; Jude 1:3).

I can't leave without suggesting some other tools to help you: (1) How To Read A Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren; (2) Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation by Henry Virkler and Karelynne Ayayo; (3) New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors by Gordon Fee; and (4) Old Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors by Douglas Stuart. [Although book #3 and 4 deals with Biblical languages (Greek and Hebrew), you can learn a lot from them even if you do not know the languages]. (5) "Basics of Biblical Greek" Grammar by William D. Mounce [after you start reading it maybe you can add "Biblical Greek Survival Kit" and "Sing and Learn New Testament Greek" audio CD by Kenneth Berding]; (6) "English Grammar in Use" by Raymond Murphy (Third Edition with Cd-Rom). (7) Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History: Complete and Unabridged. - All of these will help you to understand HOW a good commentary must be written. Good Luck!

I do not agree with the other reviewers that this is such an excellent commentary. For being a Word commentary it is rather brief. Hagner does not deal with all the issues you wonder about. D.A. Carsons commentary in EBC vol 8 is much better. I also have Davies/Allisons ICC commentary (the first volume) and that is even better if you can take the price and the technical nature of it.

I've read the intro., and man is it mind-blowing!!! I'm getting into the infancy narrative, and this too, is top-notch scholarship! I highly recommend this commentary.