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Word Biblical Commentary #47A
Hebrews 1-8, Volume 47A (47)
The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.
Overview of Commentary Organization
Introduction—covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology.
Each section of the commentary includes:
Pericope Bibliography—a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope.
Translation—the author’s own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English.
Notes—the author’s notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation.
Form/Structure/Setting—a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here.
Comment—verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research.
Explanation—brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues.
General Bibliography—occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.
Overview of Commentary Organization
Introduction—covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology.
Each section of the commentary includes:
Pericope Bibliography—a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope.
Translation—the author’s own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English.
Notes—the author’s notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation.
Form/Structure/Setting—a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here.
Comment—verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research.
Explanation—brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues.
General Bibliography—occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.
372 pages, Hardcover
First published November 11, 1991
11 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 2, 2024
About a year and a half ago my New Testament Greek for Beginners Support Group was translating Hebrews. I found it to be tough going. I checked out this book to assist me. Some books in this series go through the Greek line-by-line, and I was disappointed that this one didn’t. So I returned it to the library unread. Recently I read Henry Alford's commentary on Hebrews and it occurred to me that this commentary might make a good companion to his. So I got it again with the intention of completing the translation I started a year and a half ago but never completed.
I really enjoyed the introduction. Lane talks a lot about literary forms of criticism, such as discourse analysis and rhetorical criticism. I took a special effort to see how Lane's interest in these forms of criticism would play out in his commentary. In fact, I noticed them playing a pretty significant role. Since these types of criticism are new to me, I don’t know if Lane is paying attention to these elements over and above other commentators or whether I just haven’t really noticed it before.
Despite the fact that there was no line-by-line analysis of the Greek, I nevertheless found the commentary helpful for doing a translation, especially the textual notes. One thing I did not like was that the way he divided the pericopes up. Some of the sections were quite lengthy, with the textual footnotes sometimes numbering as many as three dozen or more. The fact that the print was smaller in these sections made it quite fatiguing on the eyes, sometimes necessitating taking a break in reading. I’ve noticed that quite a number of reviewers complain about the format of the WBC series. Perhaps this is one feature they are complaining about.
In any case William Lane is an excellent scholar and makes many interesting points. One point of interest that I found fascinating was his idea that the letter to the Hebrews was written to a small house church with no more than 20 people. Wouldn’t that be something? That would mean a document with such a humble beginning came to play a huge role in the development of Christian thought.
I really enjoyed the introduction. Lane talks a lot about literary forms of criticism, such as discourse analysis and rhetorical criticism. I took a special effort to see how Lane's interest in these forms of criticism would play out in his commentary. In fact, I noticed them playing a pretty significant role. Since these types of criticism are new to me, I don’t know if Lane is paying attention to these elements over and above other commentators or whether I just haven’t really noticed it before.
Despite the fact that there was no line-by-line analysis of the Greek, I nevertheless found the commentary helpful for doing a translation, especially the textual notes. One thing I did not like was that the way he divided the pericopes up. Some of the sections were quite lengthy, with the textual footnotes sometimes numbering as many as three dozen or more. The fact that the print was smaller in these sections made it quite fatiguing on the eyes, sometimes necessitating taking a break in reading. I’ve noticed that quite a number of reviewers complain about the format of the WBC series. Perhaps this is one feature they are complaining about.
In any case William Lane is an excellent scholar and makes many interesting points. One point of interest that I found fascinating was his idea that the letter to the Hebrews was written to a small house church with no more than 20 people. Wouldn’t that be something? That would mean a document with such a humble beginning came to play a huge role in the development of Christian thought.
June 28, 2018
The first commentary I've read, cover to cover. Technical, clear, and perfect for my Theological questions. Similarly written to papers I read in high academia.
May 3, 2019
Solid commentary on the first half of Hebrews. Definitely more technical than I needed, yet still accessible. Helpful and clarifying.
May 30, 2024
Excellent commentary that provides thorough sourcing and treatment of alternate interpretations and applications. I am looking forward to reading volume 2.
November 26, 2007
This was not the best commentary I've ever read, but it was pretty decent. I think the entire Word Biblical Commentary series is pretty difficult reading, and the only one I'd ever say I "enjoyed" was Gordon Wenham's 2 volumes on Genesis.
Anyway, Lane does a fair job commenting on Hebrews 1-8 in this volume. I skipped all of the verse-by-verse comments, since I felt like he zoomed in a bit too much and lost the author's flow of thought. However, his sections on "Form/structure/setting" and "Explanation" for each section were very worthwhile.
It's hard for me to separate what I've learned from Hebrews from what I learned from Lane's commentary. So, I'll just write briefly what I've learned from Hebrews (that Lane helped me with).
I look to so many things to fulfill me, when Jesus is really all I need. I often look to my work, books, acceptance from peers, and even my marriage to make me feel valuable. However, the main point of Hebrews is that Jesus is the final revelation of God. Jesus is all we need to be accepted by God. Jesus is far better than any outward religion, particularly the shadows of Judaism. If Jesus is enough, then I can be honest about my sin and failure!
Jesus is fully God and fully man. Jesus is the one who leads us into his rest. Jesus is the great high priest who ministers in the heavenly tabernacle, offering himself once for all. He ever lives to intercede for us.
I don't need any other mediator to bring me God's acceptance.
Anyway, Lane does a fair job commenting on Hebrews 1-8 in this volume. I skipped all of the verse-by-verse comments, since I felt like he zoomed in a bit too much and lost the author's flow of thought. However, his sections on "Form/structure/setting" and "Explanation" for each section were very worthwhile.
It's hard for me to separate what I've learned from Hebrews from what I learned from Lane's commentary. So, I'll just write briefly what I've learned from Hebrews (that Lane helped me with).
I look to so many things to fulfill me, when Jesus is really all I need. I often look to my work, books, acceptance from peers, and even my marriage to make me feel valuable. However, the main point of Hebrews is that Jesus is the final revelation of God. Jesus is all we need to be accepted by God. Jesus is far better than any outward religion, particularly the shadows of Judaism. If Jesus is enough, then I can be honest about my sin and failure!
Jesus is fully God and fully man. Jesus is the one who leads us into his rest. Jesus is the great high priest who ministers in the heavenly tabernacle, offering himself once for all. He ever lives to intercede for us.
I don't need any other mediator to bring me God's acceptance.
November 4, 2013
Detailed and technical. His summaries in the explanation section are useful for sermon prep. I'm finding Bruce, O'Brien, and Guthrie more useful, but Lane should be consulted in tandem if you're preaching through Hebrews (and perhaps Ellingsworth too). Unless you know Greek, the explanation section is where you'll mostly hangout.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews