by Ralph Martin
published: 2001-04-18
© 2001 Theologybooks.com, Wipf and Stock.
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Individual Commentaries
This will obviously be the lengthiest chapter as we survey what are, in one person's judgment, the best titles to look for in the field of commentary writing on a book-by-book basis. There are two overriding considerations, namely (a) what are the books of a former generation that have had an enduring influence and are accessible in larger library collections or purchasable, from time to time, in used book shops; and (b) what books are available in the current marketplace and worth acquiring. The interests of pastors, preachers, and teachers have been kept uppermost, with an occasional glance in the direction of the scholar and the research student.
Students at the beginning of their academic and ministerial career often ask that someone provide them with a clear-cut recommendation of a single title as the "best buy," similar to the way reviewers of gramophone records mark a special recording as "outstanding." I have responded to this desire at the end of each section. Sometimes two or more commentaries are tied for first place, and I have so indicated.
This will obviously be the lengthiest chapter as we survey what are, in one person's judgment, the best titles to look for in the field of commentary writing on a book-by-book basis. There are two overriding considerations, namely (a) what are the books of a former generation that have had an enduring influence and are accessible in larger library collections or purchasable, from time to time, in used book shops; and (b) what books are available in the current marketplace and worth acquiring. The interests of pastors, preachers, and teachers have been kept uppermost, with an occasional glance in the direction of the scholar and the research student.
Students at the beginning of their academic and ministerial career often ask that someone provide them with a clear-cut recommendation of a single title as the "best buy," similar to the way reviewers of gramophone records mark a special recording as "outstanding." I have responded to this desire at the end of each section. Sometimes two or more commentaries are tied for first place, and I have so indicated.
1. MATTHEW
After several decades of dearth when it was difficult to recommend a good full-scale commentary on Matthew's Gospel (in English, at least), we are faced with a number of choices. Robert H. Gundry's Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art, incorporating the techniques of midrashic comparison and redaction criticism, vies with Francis W. Beare's more traditionally conceived commentary. Beare's volume carries the lighter touch and is easier to use as a tool, but some of his historical judgments will provoke disagreement. Gundry's book also has raised a debate and will be valued more for its interest in Matthew's purpose than as an aid to preachers. David Hill's slightly older and more compact study (NCB) is a commentary in the traditional sense and full of exegetical insight; it stands out as serviceable and less expensive. If Hill's book is used alongside some monographs on Matthew's role as theologian and church teacher (a term made familiar by Krister Stendahl's The School of St. Matthew, 1954), the combination will be all the preacher needs.
Among monographs on Matthew's role as theologian and church teacher I would place Tradition and Interpretation in Matthew, by Gunther Bornkamm, Gerhard Barth, and Heinz J. Held; this volume is a basic tool to show the gains of redaction criticism for the preacher. Another useful volume is The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount, by W. D. Davies, which needs to be complemented now by Robert A. Guelich's excellent recent study The Sermon on the Mount, on Matthew 5-7. And see also The Theme of Jewish Persecution of Christians in the Gospel According to St. Matthew, by Douglas R. A. Hare. Last (but not least by any means) is a most helpful exposition of recent work on Matthew's Christology by Jack D. Kingsbury titled Matthew: Structure, Christology, Kingdom. This brings up to date the information in Edward P. Blair's fine Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, which unfortunately never found a British publisher.
An older work (on the Greek text) by A. H. McNeile still has value but is severely dated. For a penetrating study of Matthew's Gospel pericope by pericope, there is still nothing to rival Pierre Bonnard in the French CNT series, which ought to have been translated into English. William F. Albright and C. S. Mann (AB) join to produce a serviceable, if not too exciting, effort, with a good introduction to the Gospel. There are helpful exegetical aids in Floyd V. Filson (Harper-Black), J. C. Fenton (Pelican), and J. P. Meier. Eduard Schweizer's succinct commentary is a translation of his contribution to Das Neue Testament Deutsch (NTD), and when used in conjunction with Hill will be found to complement that volume nicely. Both books fulfill the promise of the series of which they form a part: they are basically exegetical tools, which every preacher will need to keep within arm's length in the study.
Preachers who turn to Matthew's Gospel for a text will be less concerned with studies about Matthew's literary usage (seen in M. D. Goulder's pioneering work and now in Gundry's book, mentioned above) than with the evangelist's role as church leader and teacher. Here redaction criticism can be of real assistance, as noted above, but T. W. Manson's The Sayings of Jesus should not be ignored, since it provides a virtual commentary on Jesus' teaching in this Gospel as understood in the pre-Bornkamm era.
RECOMMENDATION: Either Hill or Schweizer.
After several decades of dearth when it was difficult to recommend a good full-scale commentary on Matthew's Gospel (in English, at least), we are faced with a number of choices. Robert H. Gundry's Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art, incorporating the techniques of midrashic comparison and redaction criticism, vies with Francis W. Beare's more traditionally conceived commentary. Beare's volume carries the lighter touch and is easier to use as a tool, but some of his historical judgments will provoke disagreement. Gundry's book also has raised a debate and will be valued more for its interest in Matthew's purpose than as an aid to preachers. David Hill's slightly older and more compact study (NCB) is a commentary in the traditional sense and full of exegetical insight; it stands out as serviceable and less expensive. If Hill's book is used alongside some monographs on Matthew's role as theologian and church teacher (a term made familiar by Krister Stendahl's The School of St. Matthew, 1954), the combination will be all the preacher needs.
Among monographs on Matthew's role as theologian and church teacher I would place Tradition and Interpretation in Matthew, by Gunther Bornkamm, Gerhard Barth, and Heinz J. Held; this volume is a basic tool to show the gains of redaction criticism for the preacher. Another useful volume is The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount, by W. D. Davies, which needs to be complemented now by Robert A. Guelich's excellent recent study The Sermon on the Mount, on Matthew 5-7. And see also The Theme of Jewish Persecution of Christians in the Gospel According to St. Matthew, by Douglas R. A. Hare. Last (but not least by any means) is a most helpful exposition of recent work on Matthew's Christology by Jack D. Kingsbury titled Matthew: Structure, Christology, Kingdom. This brings up to date the information in Edward P. Blair's fine Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, which unfortunately never found a British publisher.
An older work (on the Greek text) by A. H. McNeile still has value but is severely dated. For a penetrating study of Matthew's Gospel pericope by pericope, there is still nothing to rival Pierre Bonnard in the French CNT series, which ought to have been translated into English. William F. Albright and C. S. Mann (AB) join to produce a serviceable, if not too exciting, effort, with a good introduction to the Gospel. There are helpful exegetical aids in Floyd V. Filson (Harper-Black), J. C. Fenton (Pelican), and J. P. Meier. Eduard Schweizer's succinct commentary is a translation of his contribution to Das Neue Testament Deutsch (NTD), and when used in conjunction with Hill will be found to complement that volume nicely. Both books fulfill the promise of the series of which they form a part: they are basically exegetical tools, which every preacher will need to keep within arm's length in the study.
Preachers who turn to Matthew's Gospel for a text will be less concerned with studies about Matthew's literary usage (seen in M. D. Goulder's pioneering work and now in Gundry's book, mentioned above) than with the evangelist's role as church leader and teacher. Here redaction criticism can be of real assistance, as noted above, but T. W. Manson's The Sayings of Jesus should not be ignored, since it provides a virtual commentary on Jesus' teaching in this Gospel as understood in the pre-Bornkamm era.
RECOMMENDATION: Either Hill or Schweizer.
(Vijon)
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