Customer Reviews

The Gospel of Matthew (Sacra Pagina Series, Vol 1)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As someone just getting acquainted with the Scriptures, I found this book extraordinarily helpful. First and foremost, Harrington excels at putting Matthew in its historical context. By tracing changes within the Jewish community from Old Testament times through circa 70AD, he clearly shows how this Gospel was intended to solidify Christian identity and Scriptural validity after the destruction of the temple, when competing theologies were battling for the hearts and minds of the Jewish people. His extensive translation notes are also helpful, as they explain nuances of meaning that would go unnoticed by a lay reader using a thinly-annotated text.

Two other themes of this commentary stand out. First, Harrington takes great pains to demonstrate that Matthew is not an indictment of the Jewish race and has been totally misinterpreted by some as a call to anti-Semitism--an important message in any age. Second, he continually compares Matthew to Mark, pointing out virtually all similarities and differences. While this is interesting (and indirectly useful in understanding Mark), I'm not sure how important these distinctions are in terms of grasping the historical and theological significance of Matthew. On the other hand, presenting Matthew and Mark in this way does highlight the uniqueness of each Gospel--no doubt a worthy end in itself.

I first became familiar with Daniel Harrington's commentary on Matthew's Gospel for the SACRA PAGINA series when I took a graduate class on the gospel. It was the text used for the course.I found it very informative, giving an excellent background to the gospel itself and leading to interesting class discussions. As I did exegetical work on various gospel texts, again I found the commentary helpful as a basis for research and a valuable in pointing to other sources for further study.

The commentary is set up the way that is similar to other volumes in the series. A brief introduction to the Gospel of Matthew is followed by the author's translation of the gospel text. The events of the gospel are broken into smaller units. For each smaller unit there is a line commentary which emphasizes important words and lines in the story. This is followed by an overall discussion of the text which highlights religious, historical, and social issues involved in the story. In many cases in this commentary, Harrington not only discusses the issues of the ancient world by adds how these issue can be of concern to us today.

I no longer use the book for formal research, but turn to it time and again for preparation for preaching and Bible studies groups. Here I have found the commentary most helpful. Harrington's book has scholarly value, but it is written in such a way that it highlights concerns in the text which still concern people today which gives it pastoral value as well. One small example which immediately comes to mind is Harrington's discussion of Jesus' Baptism by John. He not only points out the differences in the synoptic accounts of the events, but the possible historical difficulties and struggles within the early Church, and what the focus should be when preaching or teaching this text. At this point my copy of the book is well worn, a tribute to the many times I refer to it.

As I read some of the other reviews, I noticed that one reviewer noted that this commentary is primarily for Catholics. Since Daniel Harrington is a Jesuit priest, and the Liturgical Press is a Catholic publishing company, the work is certainly Catholic oriented, and since I am also writing from a Catholic perspective, I see this as a plus for the work. However, when I took the course on the Gospel of Matthew which was taught at a Catholic seminary, there were many in the class who were not Catholic, and they seemed to be the people who were most impressed with the scholarship. It was authentic to the Biblical text and had as its goal making scripture accessible to everyone.

While I'm only part way through volume 1. I will be purchasing more of this series. This is state of the art. Multiple opinions and views are considered and each position is well-argued and supported. There is a great deal of attention to detail. Those familiar with older commentaries will be pleasantly surprised by this.

I have been looking for a "scholarly" Catholic commentary of the Bible for awhile. Navarre is limited in complex ideas, such as the justification question presented in Romans, and Collegeville is not detailed enough. Other commentaries, of course, come with a decidedly Protestant interpretation, watering down several key verses, such as Mat 16: 18-20.

As far as I am concerned, the jury is still out on the Sacra Pagina series. The Romans book was outstanding. Matthew, however, is more concerned with the relationship with Mark and the Synoptics Problem. The author presents as FACT the common synoptic solution that Matthew copied Mark. While the author shows some of the argument of the "traditional" side (written in Aramaic/Hebrew for example), he limply explains it away. Father Raymond Brown did a much better job in presenting both view points, while not totally dismissing either side. I don't think the Synoptic solution should be presented as fact, as the author poorly refutes the "traditional" side, merely dismissing it. No one has yet been able to explain to me, for example, WHY someone would write an Aramaic/Hebrew gospel AFTER 70 AD to the Jewish diaspora, who spoke Greek. Many scholars seem to forget the massive destruction caused by the Roman punitive actions, virtually destroying the Jewish nation. Jews in Antioch were mostly Greek speakers, so why and to whom would Matthew be writing AFTER 70 AD in Greek? Perhaps this book needs a second edition, as scholarship of today is beginning to question the dating of Matthew to before 70 AD.

The book actually doesn't have a lot of theological use in of itself. For example, the Beatitudes is explored in a limited fashion. The book is very good in its explanations and comparisions with the Jewish community and Old Testament relationships. However, time and again, Matthew is compared with Mark. While this has its place, I think the theological issues should have been explored more, rather than how the two gospels are similar and different. Also, I found the author's explanations of particular "Catholic" verses, such as Mat 16: 18-20 very limited. The author doesn't take a stand one way or the other, merely presenting the 500 year old argument from a neutral position. Although this might be a more ecumenical manner of doing things, I believe it again shows the author's limited desire to pursue theological issues or pursue ANY sort of point of view regarding Catholicism. If the author is Catholic, you wouldn't know it by reading this book.

Again, I was personally disappointed by the coverage of the book, as I hoped for a Commentary concerned more with theological issues, such as Matthew's concern with ecclesiastics, not the Synoptic problem. Whether the Sacra Pagina series will be the answer to the limited Catholic Commentary available on the Bible remains to be seen. I only have two, and Romans is outstanding in this regard. The Sacra Pagina Matthew is of limited use to someone desiring to read the Bible for its intend purpose. Read with the Navarre Bible, however, this book does have potential, as it does address many Jewish questions very well that Navarre doesn't.

The Sacra Pagina series on the New Testament is an outstanding reference work for any student of the New Testament. The book on the Gospel of Matthew is written by Daniel Harrington. I was introduced to this series when I took a graduate level course in the New Testament. The professor recommended this series as excellent New Testament reference books. I lead a weekly bible discussion group and I have found this series to be of immense help. I am able to review Mathew's gospel line by line and receive the benefit of knowledgeable Catholic bible experts. I may not share the same views as the author on every passage but I can review his analysis and he also points me to other sources. If you needed one book as a guide to Mathew this is it.

There is a movement among Roman Catholic biblical-theologians (not the least of them being Pope Benedict XVI) that is questioning an over-reliance on historical-critical methods. See, for instance 'Behind' the Text: History and Biblical Interpretation (Scripture and Hermeneutics Series). The Sacra Pagina series of commentaries tends to favor historical-critical methods and this work is one of the prime examples of how that can be taken too far. In this case, the priority of Mark and the Quelle (Q) source (a logical conclusion in the eyes of many favoring the historical-critical methods) are taken as fact and referred to continually as a basis for conclusions concerning Matthew's gospel. Even in the introduction, the date of Matthew's writing is based on this hypothesis as fact. A good deal of recent scholarship is finding internal and external evidence that challenges the Markan/Q hypotheses as unlikely. See, for instance, The Gospel of Jesus: The Pastoral Relevance of the Synoptic Problem.

It is not that historical-critical methods are bad in themselves. It is that they are insufficient for a better interpretation of biblical texts. In this case, as has been pointed out by another reviewer, the author is hesitant to make any conclusions about any point in Matthew. This is precisely one of the conclusions the Holy Father keeps pointing to - that the historical-critical methods cannot help us find answers; the historical-critical methods result only in various historical hypotheses with no real answers. The historical-critical tools are not sufficient in themselves but are only one specialized tool in the interpreter's toolbox.

Since the author avoids taking a stand on any question of theological significance that might make this work "Catholic," it cannot be recommended as a truly Catholic commentary. Sad to say, it suffers the same fate as so many others, just one more collections of sometimes interesting but spiritually dead opinions in a vast sea of similarly subjective opinions. It seems the world of biblical interpretation has taken the approach of relativism, afraid or unwilling to take a stand on any truth except the relativist mantra that we cannot know what is true.

Still, given the bias involved in the one-method approach this commentary adopts, there is a great deal of technical detail to be gleaned here. If taken along with other commentaries, there is still much to be gained from the Sacra Pagina commentary. However, it would be recommended primarily only for those gifted with strong critical thinking skills. And it can only be recommended as one in a wider range of study.

`The Gospel of Matthew' is part of `Sacra Pagina', the series which presents commentary on the books of the New Testament. The author of the book is well-know Catholic biblical scholar, professor of New Testament at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge University.
The commentary of `the Gospel of Matthew' by Prof. Harrington is characterized by analysis of translation with a comparison between Hebrew and Greek equivalents and detailed interpretation of the text. The latter includes parallels to other Gospels. Each chapter is finished by references for further studies.
Undoubted merit of the book is the reasonable arrangement of the content. The author presents each chapter by the following parts: the text of the Gospel of Matthew, notes, interpretations and references for further study.
This form of introduction of the content facilitates understanding and learning of the text of the Gospel. In my opinion, this commentary would be appropriate for specialists, students and for the average readers.

The Gospel of Matthew (Sacra Pagina (Quality Paper))

I have used this for a year now and find it sufficient for lay teaching and up to date with current scholarship. It would be too simple for clergy or should be yet more than adequate for lay bible study groups and nihil obstat from a protestant point of view.

Theological and academic analysis of the Gospel of Matthew. One of those vital and basic tools to have in your library for Scriptural inquiry, - to begin or to heighten understanding. But this one is useful across the board; that is, for preachers and academicians, students and professors.

Sacra Pagina is excellent for using in a Bible Study where the participants are experienced in biblical criticism. Sacra Pagina is well documented and contains all the references any study group might want for in-depth study of a New Testament book.