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New International Greek Testament Commentary
The Gospel of Matthew (New International Greek Testament Commentary
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 Gospel's sources or historical background, Nolland places his central focus on the content and method of Matthew's story. His work explores Matthew's narrative technique and the inner logic of the unfolding text, giving full weight to the Jewish character of the book and its differences from Mark's presentation of parallel material. While finding it unlikely that the apostle Matthew himself composed the book, Nolland does argue that Matthew's 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, Nolland's Gospel of Matthew will stimulate students, preachers, and scholars seeking to understand more fully Matthew's presentation of the gospel narrative.
Without neglecting the Gospel's sources or historical background, Nolland places his central focus on the content and method of Matthew's story. His work explores Matthew's narrative technique and the inner logic of the unfolding text, giving full weight to the Jewish character of the book and its differences from Mark's presentation of parallel material. While finding it unlikely that the apostle Matthew himself composed the book, Nolland does argue that Matthew's 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, Nolland's Gospel of Matthew will stimulate students, preachers, and scholars seeking to understand more fully Matthew's presentation of the gospel narrative.
1579 pages, Hardcover
Published November 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 3, 2017
John Nolland delivered this major, massive commentary on Matthew in the highly-respected New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC) series. I’ve had his three-volume commentary on Luke in WBC for several years, and had heard that most scholars found this volume on Matthew more energetic and robust than the earlier one on Luke. After my own interaction with this commentary, I fully agree with that assessment. Further, though this is a Greek series, those who do not read Greek will find no problem as most every Greek phrase has its English counterpart nearby. For that reason, a wider range of readers than you might expect can check out this thoroughly scholarly volume.
The bibliographies in this book are gigantic. On the other hand, the Introduction is shorter than I expected. The commentary proper is the perfect length for the important Book of Matthew. If you want to know the author’s viewpoint, he defines it himself in the preface as a “redaction-critical” work that also uses narrative criticism.
He begins the Introduction with a discussion of the authorship of Matthew. Unfortunately, he finds it unlikely that Matthew wrote the book. In the next section, he wrote about the sources of Matthew with a grating certainty that I could not follow at all. In fairness, however, he’s no worse than many other scholars who write the major exegetical commentaries. In a surprising twist for one who doubts the authorship of Matthew as being Matthew, he still finds the book written fairly early, at least before 70 A.D. The Introduction became much more helpful when he wrote about the provenance of Matthew and other structural and unique features of Matthew. He managed to dip back into the unproductive conversation of sources at other points of the introduction, but was much more productive when he discussed the theology of Matthew. What you don’t want to miss his annotated structural outline of Matthew. That was an awesome way to present an outline!
In the commentary proper, each passage has his translation, brief textual notes, a bibliography for just that passage, and clearly marked off commentary of each verse. He is very thorough in what he addresses. While there are plenty of examples of some esoteric features that only appeals to scholars, there’s much productive, interesting, and helpful information to be gleaned from what he has written.
The competition is fierce among major exegetical commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew, but this volume cannot be overlooked because of the important contribution it makes to scholarship.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
The bibliographies in this book are gigantic. On the other hand, the Introduction is shorter than I expected. The commentary proper is the perfect length for the important Book of Matthew. If you want to know the author’s viewpoint, he defines it himself in the preface as a “redaction-critical” work that also uses narrative criticism.
He begins the Introduction with a discussion of the authorship of Matthew. Unfortunately, he finds it unlikely that Matthew wrote the book. In the next section, he wrote about the sources of Matthew with a grating certainty that I could not follow at all. In fairness, however, he’s no worse than many other scholars who write the major exegetical commentaries. In a surprising twist for one who doubts the authorship of Matthew as being Matthew, he still finds the book written fairly early, at least before 70 A.D. The Introduction became much more helpful when he wrote about the provenance of Matthew and other structural and unique features of Matthew. He managed to dip back into the unproductive conversation of sources at other points of the introduction, but was much more productive when he discussed the theology of Matthew. What you don’t want to miss his annotated structural outline of Matthew. That was an awesome way to present an outline!
In the commentary proper, each passage has his translation, brief textual notes, a bibliography for just that passage, and clearly marked off commentary of each verse. He is very thorough in what he addresses. While there are plenty of examples of some esoteric features that only appeals to scholars, there’s much productive, interesting, and helpful information to be gleaned from what he has written.
The competition is fierce among major exegetical commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew, but this volume cannot be overlooked because of the important contribution it makes to scholarship.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
February 14, 2023
Helpful though discernment is needed when using this. From a technical standpoint this is fantastic.
The commentary itself does not lack content. It deals with modern scholarship, yet it doesn’t drown in responses to questions we aren’t asking.
The commentary itself does not lack content. It deals with modern scholarship, yet it doesn’t drown in responses to questions we aren’t asking.
April 11, 2025
I referred to multiple commentaries while working through the gospel of Matthew and Nolland always added some new insights.
March 9, 2015
Nolland works from a Marcan-priority mindset, such that his Matthew commentary is first and foremost a commentary on where and how Matthew diverges from Mark. Although not free from allowing that some material is original with Matthew, the general tone finds most material borrowed from some other source.
Nolland does not exhibit wonder at Jesus Christ or the Scriptures. It is difficult to tell from this book what exactly Nolland believes.
Nolland does not exhibit wonder at Jesus Christ or the Scriptures. It is difficult to tell from this book what exactly Nolland believes.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews