Customer Reviews

Revelation 6-16 (Word Biblical Commentary 52b)

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I certainly agree with points made by one reviewer who described these volumes as encyclopaedic "database for specialists", but that is inconsistant with his being doubtful of the usefulness of some sections and their level of detail. He may never had to write an exegesis paper for a graduate level course on a biblical subject. Of course, I am giving away my point of view. That said, I would NEVER recommend this book, or any one of its volumes to the casual reader who wanted to know something about Revelation. I would not even recommend the Word series for pastors. For that, there are lots of really good books, such as Ben Witherington's social commmentary or Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza's feminist leaning commentary, or best of all, Bruce Metzger's "Breaking the Code".

The Word series is for professors who teach in seminaries, and who deal with deep textual and translational problems. This is especially true of Aune's three volumes.That is as long as Nolland's 3 volumes on the Gospel of Luke, which is longer book in the Bible. Part of this may be due to the fact that Revelation may be the most poorly written book in the Greek New Testament. Even as late as Erasmus' 1516 edition of the Greek NT, we did not have good sources for the whole book. Erasmus filled in the gaps by back translating parts from St. Jerome's Latin translation. (These missing Greek pieces have since been found. Jerome did NOT make those parts up.)

I have used several different works in the Word commentary series, alway with some other commentary open at the same time. Almost invariably, the Word contribution is more even handed, more thorough, and more accurate in avoiding far fetched theories about the text. Aune, however, does stray from this standard in a big way with his theory, ably described in Mr. Garrow's review. I will also agree with Mr. Garrow's review of the first volume, and his source, Dr. Richard Bauckham, that unlike the Gospel of John, for example, Revelation is probably the result of a single hand, maybe not all in one sitting, but that would help to explain the atrocious Greek.

Reading Word commentaries can be a bit tedious, but if you are looking for information on an especially detailed matter in the text, this is the place to come. I think library search software may someday replace the Word series, but that time has not yet come.

Aune has hit a home run with his commentary on Revelation 6-16 in the Word Biblical Commentary series. Exhaustive in treatment of words, excellent in comparison of their use within Revelation, and extensive in offering alternate meanings with their sources, this book is a must for anyone seeking to update their collection of reference books on this last and controversial book of the New Testament.