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The Hodder Bible Commentary
The Hodder Bible Commentary: Luke
50 volumes. 4 million words. Global representation.
Engage with the latest theological thinking in this new, readable exposition of the Bible in 50 volumes. Covering all books of the Bible and including the full the Anglicised New International Version (NIV) text, the Hodder Bible Commentary series makes connecting scripture and scholarship easier than ever.
Explore how the Bible intersects with 21st century life with commentary that is doctrinally sensitive and globally aware, sourced from a team of contributors representing a variety of cultural and ecclesiastical contexts from around the world.
Designed to be accessible to all adult readers and particularly for those who preach, teach, and lead Bible studies, each book is split into manageable sections suitable for talks or study groups. Read the Bible text and the commentary side by side to gain a deep knowledge of scripture and the variety of interpretations that can be made from it.
Be refreshed with new understanding. Be encouraged to apply your conclusions to life today.
Engage with the latest theological thinking in this new, readable exposition of the Bible in 50 volumes. Covering all books of the Bible and including the full the Anglicised New International Version (NIV) text, the Hodder Bible Commentary series makes connecting scripture and scholarship easier than ever.
Explore how the Bible intersects with 21st century life with commentary that is doctrinally sensitive and globally aware, sourced from a team of contributors representing a variety of cultural and ecclesiastical contexts from around the world.
Designed to be accessible to all adult readers and particularly for those who preach, teach, and lead Bible studies, each book is split into manageable sections suitable for talks or study groups. Read the Bible text and the commentary side by side to gain a deep knowledge of scripture and the variety of interpretations that can be made from it.
Be refreshed with new understanding. Be encouraged to apply your conclusions to life today.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 18, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 6, 2024
At just under 20,000 words Luke’s gospel is the longest of the gospels. Like the other gospels it has its own specific interests and these are most clearly recognised and appreciated by readers when Luke’s gospel is read with a commentary like this one.
Some commentaries on Luke’s gospel are enormous multi-volume series. Other books content themselves with summarising the key themes. This book is pitched between the middle of those extremes. It covers the main themes in the gospel and it also engages with some key elements of the specifics of the Greek text. In places it also signposts readers to where more detail on specific points can be found.
The book is generally informative and interesting, although there were a few places where points could have been pressed a little harder.
Luke’s gospel is particularly careful to contextualise itself by referring to names and dates outside of the gospel. For example, it tells us that there was a ‘world-wide’ census of births initiated by Augustus. But this book also informs us that some of those details are hard to understand, as we have no other evidence of them. (14%). So does this mean that Luke’s gospel is historically inaccurate? What does it mean for biblical inspiration? A little more detail to address questions like that would have been welcome.
Another set of issues arose with regard to the supernatural elements in the gospel (eg miracles, angels, demons, etc). This book generally seems to take the approach that there is no reason to discount the truth of such matters (eg 18%). But some models of demythologising treat those kinds of issues as metaphors to be interpreted, rather than as claims to be determined as true or false. It would have been helpful to flag up to readers that there are very different ways of interpreting supernatural elements of the text.
Some of the parables and incidents in Luke’s gospel also have historical significance, in that they were points of contention in particular contexts. For example, the parable of what this book calls ‘the Shrewd manager (ie Luke 16: 1– 13) raises some serious questions because it looks like Jesus is approving of dishonesty. Luke himself refers to the servant in the story as ‘unjust’ (adikia) and this led some historical critics of Christianity to cite this parable and accuse Christianity of being a religion of criminality. Disappointingly none of that background is mentioned, and arguably this book moves a little too quickly in saying that there is no problem in this parable because the owner of the servant (eventually) approves of his actions (67%). If the servant behaves honestly (because his master says so), then why does Luke describe him as ‘unjust?’
Overall this is a useful book which will benefit Christians wanting to understand the gospels in more detail, as well as helping non-Christians to get a better sense of what the texts mean.
(These are honest comments based on a digital ARC (advanced review copy) of the text).
Some commentaries on Luke’s gospel are enormous multi-volume series. Other books content themselves with summarising the key themes. This book is pitched between the middle of those extremes. It covers the main themes in the gospel and it also engages with some key elements of the specifics of the Greek text. In places it also signposts readers to where more detail on specific points can be found.
The book is generally informative and interesting, although there were a few places where points could have been pressed a little harder.
Luke’s gospel is particularly careful to contextualise itself by referring to names and dates outside of the gospel. For example, it tells us that there was a ‘world-wide’ census of births initiated by Augustus. But this book also informs us that some of those details are hard to understand, as we have no other evidence of them. (14%). So does this mean that Luke’s gospel is historically inaccurate? What does it mean for biblical inspiration? A little more detail to address questions like that would have been welcome.
Another set of issues arose with regard to the supernatural elements in the gospel (eg miracles, angels, demons, etc). This book generally seems to take the approach that there is no reason to discount the truth of such matters (eg 18%). But some models of demythologising treat those kinds of issues as metaphors to be interpreted, rather than as claims to be determined as true or false. It would have been helpful to flag up to readers that there are very different ways of interpreting supernatural elements of the text.
Some of the parables and incidents in Luke’s gospel also have historical significance, in that they were points of contention in particular contexts. For example, the parable of what this book calls ‘the Shrewd manager (ie Luke 16: 1– 13) raises some serious questions because it looks like Jesus is approving of dishonesty. Luke himself refers to the servant in the story as ‘unjust’ (adikia) and this led some historical critics of Christianity to cite this parable and accuse Christianity of being a religion of criminality. Disappointingly none of that background is mentioned, and arguably this book moves a little too quickly in saying that there is no problem in this parable because the owner of the servant (eventually) approves of his actions (67%). If the servant behaves honestly (because his master says so), then why does Luke describe him as ‘unjust?’
Overall this is a useful book which will benefit Christians wanting to understand the gospels in more detail, as well as helping non-Christians to get a better sense of what the texts mean.
(These are honest comments based on a digital ARC (advanced review copy) of the text).
March 1, 2025
Overall, this commentary is a verse by verse guide on reading and understanding Luke. While I would recommend this as helpful and well written, I don’t think it offers particularly engaging or helpful insight beyond just summarizing previous understanding. There were places it would have been helpful to know why the author decided on specific interpretations outside a few sources that appear over and over again. He does a great job at summarizing them and bringing them all together, but I would have appreciated involvement of his own thoughts and dialogue on complicated passages such as demonology and angelic visits. One of the strengths of this commentary is his before and after summaries of the sections of Luke.
If you are looking for a simple, concise, and well informed study on Luke, this is a great resource but I believe it is average when it comes to what is offered on a well read/studied part of the Bible.
If you are looking for a simple, concise, and well informed study on Luke, this is a great resource but I believe it is average when it comes to what is offered on a well read/studied part of the Bible.
September 7, 2024
This commentary is an excellent sermon / bible study resource. It requires some background knowledge but gives great incite into the text.
It sets out to "proclaim afresh" for this generation, "the word of God, for the glory of God" and achieves this with flying colours. Can't wait to experience the next Hodder Bible Commentary.
Thank you to David Peterson, Hodder and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to write this review, which reflects my honest opinion.
It sets out to "proclaim afresh" for this generation, "the word of God, for the glory of God" and achieves this with flying colours. Can't wait to experience the next Hodder Bible Commentary.
Thank you to David Peterson, Hodder and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to write this review, which reflects my honest opinion.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews