Matthew, Volume 1 (International Critical Commentary Series | ICC)

by Dale C. Allison Jr.; W. D. Davies

Publisher:

T&T Clark

, 1988

Overview

In this first volume of Matthew, W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, Jr. cover chapters 1-7 of the first gospel.

For over one hundred years, the International Critical Commentary series has held a special place among works on the Bible. It has sought to bring together all the relevant aids to exegesis—linguistic and textual no less than archaeological, historical, literary and theological—with a level of comprehension and quality of scholarship unmatched by any other series.

No attempt has been made to secure a uniform theological or critical approach to the biblical text: contributors have been invited for their scholarly distinction, not for their adherence to any one school of thought.

Editors at the Time of Publication: John Adney Emerton, Charles E. B. Cranfield, Graham Norman Stanton

Original Series Editors: Samuel Rolles Driver, Alfred Plummer, Charles Augustus Briggs

The depth of analysis found in the International Critical Commentary (ICC) Series has yet to be surpassed in any commentary collection. One of the best features of this series is the extensive amount of background information given in each volume's introduction, where all of the analysis is provided before the actual commentary begins. Each volume packs more information into the introduction than you will often find in the body of most commentaries! Also consider that with the electronic versions of each volume, you will never need to leaf through the hundreds of pages in each volume searching for the passage you are studying.

Contents

Top Highlights

“The parable of the unforgiving servant, Mt 18:23–35 (M), is especially instructive for understanding the present verse; it is indeed the parabolic equivalent of 6:12; and its conclusion makes plain Matthew’s conviction that ‘if you do not forgive your brother from your heart’, God will not forgive you. The meaning of this is not that forgiveness can be earned (cf. Lk 7:41–2; 17:10). The point has to do not with deserts but with desire: God’s forgiveness, although it cannot be merited, must be received, and it cannot be received by those without the will to forgive others.” (Pages 610–611)

“Most modern commentators see the undescribed¹² and mysterious magi as representatives of the best wisdom of the Gentile world, its spiritual elite: and while the Jewish leaders reject their Messiah, the Gentiles from outside the Land of Israel are anxious to greet him (cf. Augustine in PL 38, col. 1035).” (Page 228)

“Jesus must have been born shortly before this, probably between 7 and 4 b.c. Matthew’s concern, however, is not with chronology. Herod matters for two reasons. First, in his attempt to slaughter the Messiah he is like the Pharaoh of Jewish tradition, who sought to kill the first redeemer, Moses. Secondly, Herod, although he could boast no royal genealogy, was a king, and our evangelist is interested in contrasting his rule and kingdom with the rule and kingdom of Jesus the Davidic Messiah.” (Page 227)

“In the biblical tradition, the heart (= lēb, lēbāb) is the real or true self, the psyche at its deepest level; it is the seat of emotions (Deut. 28:47; Prov 27:11; Isa 35:4; Acts 14:17), volition (Prov 6:18; Jer 3:17; 23:20; Dan 1:8), and the intellect (Gen 27:41; Judg 5:16; T. Gad. 5:3; 1QH 4:21; Mk 2:6; m. Ber. 2:1), as well as the internal sphere in which the divinity is encountered (Ps 27:8; Eph 3:17). See further on 6:21.” (Page 456)

Endorsements

A magnificent commentary on Mathew that students, pastors and scholars will want to add to their libraries. It offers the best exegetical, hermeneutical, critical, textual, literary and historical commentary, based on the Greek text that is yet available. Because of the quality of its scholarship and the many references and quotes about it in many other commentaries and theological texts, I fully recommend this commentary.

— Online Reviewer

The most thorough commentary on the Greek text of Matthew....

— Jon Weatherly

Product Details

• Title: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Volume 1
• Authors: Dale C. Allison Jr., W. D. Davies
• Series: International Critical Commentary
• Volume: 1
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Print Publication Date: 1988
• Logos Release Date: 2005
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. N.T. Matthew › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9780567083555, 0567083551
• Resource ID: LLS:ICC_MT1
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:04:32Z

About the Authors

Dale C. Allison, Jr., (PhD, Duke University) is the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, USA, and the author of many books, including Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History and the International Critical Commentary volume, James.

W. D. (William David) Davies (D.D., University of Wales) was Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Emeritus Professor of Christian Origins, Duke University.