Customer Reviews

Jewish New Testament Commentary: A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I write this review for two reasons: (1) to attempt to be helpful to those interested in buying the book, and (2) in an unashamed attempt to persuade those interested in buying the book that they should buy it.

The absolute worst thing about this commentary is that it is not enough. It is ample as far as most commentaries are concerned, boasting almost a thousand pages of commentary on the New Testament. But the commentary is so good that it invariably leaves the reader wanting even more.

First, while this commentary would be a great commentary on its own, and would still elicit five stars from me (more if I could), this commentary is by far best experienced in tandem with Stern's Jewish New Testament or the Complete Jewish Bible (My advice--purchase the Complete Jewish Bible--see my review there). In this commentary, one of the things Stern does is explain in detail why he has chosen to render certain passages in the way he has chosen. The purchase of one of those books is highly--I repeat: HIGHLY--recommended.

But wait...there's more! Obviously, this commentary is more than a apologetic work by Stern to defend his Jewish New Testament. While the above paragraph is true, the commentary is primarily a fully competent, well researched, well supported, well written commentary on the New Testament (or B'rit Hadashah). Stern's goal (my words, not his) in writing this commentary is to show the inherent Jewish backdrop to the New Testament, and how that backdrop forms the stage for all of the things we read on those pages. His premise is that to understand the New Testament, you must understand the context within which it was written. Stern does a masterful job of accomplishing his goal.

The commentary itself is easily manageable, well written, and very easy to understand--and mildly informal at times. Since this commentary is the work of one man, it has some drawbacks and benefits. For one, the author is able to insert the informal element which makes the work so appealing. Of course the obvious drawback is that it is only one man's work--one man is only able to perform one man's research.

That said, I feel confident in saying that you'll hardly notice the drawback just mentioned. Stern's scholarship in this piece is truly great. Furthermore, many of you will appreciate (as I do) that Stern is willing to admit his ignorance where appropriate.

The commentary is, in short, fantastic. After reading this commentary in your study of the New Testament you will understand passages which you never understood before--even passages from the Old Testament where those themes cross over to the New (which is frequent).

This commentary will paint a picture of the New Testament to which many of us have never been exposed. My hope is that this review has been helpful--my greater hope is that I have persuaded you to buy this book--I am unable to laud it enough! You will do yourself a great disservice if you pass this one up!

The reviews of this Commentary that criticize it for being a deceptive conversion tool are surprising to me. A careful but brief review of the back cover and the summary write-up on this page should make it clear what this is: first, one man's version of a New Testament commentary, nothing more or less; and, second, a commentary written with an explicit Jewish perspective on the New Testament, intended to highlight for any reader (but probably more intended for Western Gentiles) the "Jewishness" of Christ and the First Century setting of the New Testament. Ironically, while some have critized this work for being a deceptive piece intended to convert Jews, I think that the author's desire is to "convert" Christians to a more Jewish perspective. Stern clearly and persuasively (and repeatedly) condemns historical Christian persecution of Jews, and makes great efforts to remind readers of the "connection" between Christians and their undeniable Jewish roots. Anyway, the bottom line for me is that this is another useful tool for anyone's library if you desire a unique and helpful perspective for New Testament studies. If that's what you want, then this should be on your shelf. If you are expecting an indictment of the New Testament, this isn't one and you'll be surprised by this book as others have been.

David Stern has done a remarkable job intepretting the New Testament from a Messianic Jewish perspective. His expertise in Jewish culture, tradition, and belief bring fresh insights to the student of the New Testament.

He sometimes quotes from the Talmud or other ancient sources that help amplify New Testament comments. His understanding of Jesus, Paul, and the Apostles as Jewish help us discern what was in the author's mind, one of the goals of good interpretation.

Though the commentary is not thorough or greatly detailed, many of its insights are not just the same old recirculated ones found in most commentaries. Stern's work is not just a large research paper, but offers material that is unique.

As a pastor of over 20 years and a serious student of the Word, I consider this work invaluable and would not want to be without it.

Dr. Stern has given us a great gift. This commentary is an essential companion to the Jewish New Testament. Conventional Christians may find the Jewish New Testament a puzzle when they do not recognize the words Dr. Stern uses to translate some scriptures verses. His commentary explains his reasoning and he often gives the readers several options for consideration when discussing controversial issues found in the New Testament. With the possible exception of Luke, the authors of the NT were Jewish. Most commentaries miss the mark and David Stern provides meat for serious students who wish to understand the teachings of the Messiah and His followers.

I love browsing in this book, and when people ask me questions about how Jewish people have felt about the issue of Messiah, I reach for this volume! I love how David presents the many sides of each issue, letting the reader come to his own conclusions. The book is well-written, concise, thoughtful, and well-balanced. :) It's one of the books in my library I refer to over and over-- whether I am speaking with believers or not. :)

When David Stern first announced he was coming out with a commentary to complement his translation of the New Testament (Jewish New Testament) I was rather excited. No Messianic Jewish author had ever done a project of this sort and there was great potential for good discussion and interaction between contrasting views of scripture.

The dissappointment came the first time I ever tried to use it as a reference. Dr. Stern simply doesn't comment on many a problem text for the Messianic view of scripture. The ones that he does comment on he very rarely interacts with other scholars with contrasting views, thus taking some credibility away from his work.

Dr. Stern also doesn't defend his rendering of some texts the way he does when translating a verse in a controversial way. Some verses he does defend his rendering, but still doesn't interact with scholars who interpret in other ways.

From what I understood, his purpose was to make a commentary that is a recource for Messianics and non-Messianics to look to to see a representation of a Jewish interpretation of scripture. In this respect he succeeded, it is basically an introduction to Messianic Judaism, but is by no means in depth. This book really only earned its third star because it was the first attempt of its kind, otherwise it's only a two star.

It's a shame to compare this to other sets of wonderful, scholarly commentaries such as the NICNT or Word or others of the like. Nowhere near as indepth (it's one volume) or as diverse (by one man) or as authoritative (his Ph.D. is a business degree). All in all, this is probably a good source for the Messianic to have in his library, but nowhere near as valuable as other full length commentaries.

This is one of the finest commentaries and New Testament scholars I've seen. It is one of the FOUNDATIONAL books to Messianics everywhere, and a MUST read--and reflects not just Stern but the views of many many Hebrew Christians and Messianics that influenced Stern. There are volumes and volumes of "lukewarm" largely incorrect commentaries out there written by Christian theologians that both knowingly and unknowingly BUTCHER (yes indeed-amen-that is an understatement) the Jewishness out of the New Testament and Yeshua(Jesus), which is in fact not a seperate book but only a continuation of TANAK. It amazes me continually how so few people deal with Scripture on the correctly Jewish levels David Stern and other Messianics like myself do and beyond. Barely handfuls of CHRISTIANS OR JEWS are fully aware of what is really going on in the TANAK and New Testament, because of false interpretations ignorant of context and the times, and because the Jewishness has been stripped from it for millenia. If you have fully read this commentary, I don't see why anyone in their right mind who is Christian (or not a Christian) would not realize they should be Messianic. Yet only God can save Israel. An outstanding work, it is better than a large very many whole sets of New Testament commentaries combined, better than attending many seminaries or Bible Institutes even (unfortunately that is harsh reality as few if any Christian seminaries etc. emphasize Jewishness of the Scriptures.)
Shalom Alecham to all those who seek righteousness and wish for the Kingdom to come quickly in fullness.

The intro alone is worth the price of this book! This is a great commentary that reminds us that the New Testament is a book comprised of Jewish documents. The authors were Jewish; they were not Greek, not Roman, not English, not Chinese, not Latin, but they were Jewish (some would argue about Luke, but he teaches the same Jewish traditions as the rest of the Scriptures, which would make him part of the commonwealth of Israel). And the audience-- Jews and Gentiles-- together worshiped the God of Israel. This great commentary explains many concepts prevalent in traditional Judaism and how they are applied and properly interpreted in the New Testament. This book is a great tool to have when reading the New Testament, which we must read in context. A must have!

To truly understand the Hebraic mindset of today's Jewish believer's and the Jews of the first century Body of Messiah this commentary is more than a commentary. Rather, it is a must-have companion to the Jewish New Testament, and Complete Jewish Bible. Buy it; use it; cherish it! Shalom

I was looking for a resource that would help me connect the dots between Jesus'Jewish heritage and the true church God has called today and this book has exceeded my expectations. I teach Bible Study and my students can't get enough of the valuable nuggets that tell "the rest of the story." Obviously this book will irritate non-believers because it gives more proof than ever that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God.