The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text (New International Greek Testament Com (Eerdmans)) [Hardcover]

John Nolland (Author)

Book Description

Series: New International Greek Testament Com (Eerdmans) | Publication Date: December 2005

Having devoted the past ten years of his life to research for this major new work, John Nolland gives us a commentary on the Gospel of Matthew that engages with a notable range of Matthean scholarship and offers fresh interpretations of the dominant Gospel in the history of the church. Without neglecting the Gospels sources or historical background, Nolland places his central focus on the content and method of Matthews story. His work explores Matthews narrative technique and the inner logic of the unfolding text, giving full weight to the Jewish character of the book and its differences from Marks presentation of parallel material. While finding it unlikely that the apostle Matthew himself composed the book, Nolland does argue that Matthews Gospel reflects the historical ministry of Jesus with considerable accuracy, and he brings to the table new evidence for an early date of composition. Including accurate translations based on the latest Greek text, detailed verse-by-verse comments, thorough bibliographies for each section, and an array of insightful critical approaches, Nollands Gospel of Matthew will stimulate students, preachers, and scholars seeking to understand more fully Matthews presentation of the gospel narrative.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1481 pages
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (December 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802823890
• ISBN-13: 978-0802823892
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #667,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Decent Commentary (3.5 stars, since there was no option for it, I put 4), February 23, 2006

By 

Kelly D. Kerr (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text (New International Greek Testament Com (Eerdmans)) (Hardcover)

There are many good things about this commentary. Nolland has a huge bibliography for anyone interested in further reading and research on Matthew. He provides a good deal of historical background that is helpful to understanding Matthew. But, the most beneficial part of the commentary to me was the literary structures (mainly the chiastic structures) that he would point out that seem to pervade Matthew. The book as a whole seems to be chiastic:

A. Introduction
B. First Discouse (Sermon on the Mount)
C. Teaching/Healing
D. Second Discourse
E. Teaching/Healing
F. Third Discourse (Parables)
E'. Teaching/Healing
D'. Fourth Discourse
C'. Teaching/Healing
B'. Fifth Discourse (Olivet Discourse)
A'. Conclusion

This can be scrutinized, of course, but generally it seems to work.

The one big detraction of the book was the text, source, and redaction critical approach that it seemed to take and Matthew's supposed interaction with Q. If you can get around that, then there are still some great insights that can be gleaned from this commentary.

39 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for the Greek text, but with reservations., November 22, 2007

By 

littlegull (Glendale, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text (New International Greek Testament Com (Eerdmans)) (Hardcover)

This hefty and rather expensive commentary on the Gospel of Matthew definitely has its merits, but it also manifests some of the same shortcomings one finds in other modern commentaries on the First Gospel.

On the positive side, the reader will note immediately that Nolland's treatment of the Greek text is indeed thorough and masterful. His book is an up-to-date resource that takes into account all the textual and lexical study that has enriched our understanding of Matthew over the past 75 years. Furthermore, because Nolland pays close attention to the sequence of thought within the gospel, a reader seeking to understand how a particular passage relates to its wider context will find this commentary very helpful.

A conservative or traditionalist reader, however, will be disappointed with this book on two counts. First, Nolland's assumption of Markan priority among the Gospels -- and of Matthew's literary dependence on Mark -- sometimes mars his exegesis of certain pericopes. The reader thus finds himself working through explanations of how Matthew altered Mark's account by rearranging material and drawing on additional sources to enrich his own telling of the story. For a preacher concerned with presenting Matthew's Gospel on its own terms, this kind of discussion is less than helpful. Second, Nolland sometimes leaves one with the impression that Matthew's depiction of Christ is perhaps more theologically instructive than historically accurate. Does the evangelist show us the "real" Jesus, or merely a "theologized" figure of his own creation? In both these respects, Nolland's book is, unfortunately, very much like the already numerous commentaries that apply the usual methods of source/redaction criticism to the First Gospel.

Anyone interested in building a collection of erudite and reliable commentaries on the Greek text of Matthew should consider buying this volume. Others -- and especially more traditional/conservative readers -- will be happier with the most recent works on Matthew by R. T. France (Eerdmans, 2007) and Jeffrey A. Gibbs (Concordia, 2007).

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A British Evangelical Work, July 4, 2006

By 

Commentary Surveyor (Stoughton MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text (New International Greek Testament Com (Eerdmans)) (Hardcover)

John Nolland, expositor of The Gospel of Matthew in The New International Greek Testament Commentary Series (Eerdmans) has been working on this commentary for ten years. Believing that the apostle Matthew was not the author, he nevertheless holds that the portrayal of Jesus' ministry is mostly accurate and that the gospel was written prior to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. In addition to a thorough exegesis of the Greek text, Nolland focuses on the presentation of Matthew as story.