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The Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (EGGNT) closes the gap between the Greek text and the available lexical and grammatical tools, providing all the necessary information for greater understanding of the text. The series makes interpreting any given New Testament book easier, especially for those who are hard pressed for time but want to preach or teach with accuracy and authority.
Each volume begins with a brief introduction to the particular New Testament book, a basic outline, and a list of recommended commentaries. The body is devoted to paragraph-by-paragraph exegesis of the Greek text and includes homiletical helps and suggestions for further study. A comprehensive exegetical outline of the New Testament book completes each EGGNT volume.
Each volume begins with a brief introduction to the particular New Testament book, a basic outline, and a list of recommended commentaries. The body is devoted to paragraph-by-paragraph exegesis of the Greek text and includes homiletical helps and suggestions for further study. A comprehensive exegetical outline of the New Testament book completes each EGGNT volume.
464 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2017
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About the author
Alan J. Thompson
8 books8 followersAlan J. Thompson (PhD Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the head of the New Testament department at Sydney Missionary and Bible College in Sydney, Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 4, 2017
Alan J. Thompson is lecturer in New Testament at Sydney Missionary and Bible College in Croydon, New South Wales, Australia. Thompson received his PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is the author of The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus: Luke’s Account of God’s Unfolding Plan (IVP Academic, 2011) and One Lord, One People: The Unity of the Church in Acts in its Literary Setting (T&T Clark, 2008). Most recently, Thompson has produced a new and notable volume in the growing Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (EGGNT) series on the Gospel of Luke.
The EGGNT series was birthed out of a desire to function as a type of middle-ground resource that seeks to narrow the gap between the text of the Greek New Testament (UBS5) and the available lexical and grammatical tools being used by pastors and teachers today. In this present volume, Thompson has delivered a wealth of exegetical wisdom and theological insight into the Third Gospel. The book begins with a very brief introduction focused on authorship, date, audience, purpose, etc.. Thompson prefers a mid-50s and early-60s date of composition, but provides a brief survey of the various positions. The introduction concludes with a short discussion surrounding the pros and cons of five recommended commentaries and additional resources used throughout the volume.
The commentary section has skillfully utilized a similar format and layout as the other volumes in the EGGNT series. Like Harris’ EGGNT volume on John, some accommodations have been made given the nature of the gospels themselves, as opposed to that of epistles. For example, the reader is not going to find as much sentence diagraming in this volume as the others, and the layout centers primarily around the verse level as opposed to the clause level in the other volumes. I found this to be somewhat of a disappointment because of the helpfulness of the clause level interaction for the task of exegesis. Nevertheless, I think the reader will find that the verse-by-verse discussion is executed extremely well, and Thompson is successful in guiding the reader through Luke with a fine-tooth exegetical comb.
Where, in my opinion, Thompson could have offered more attention to detail is the department of textual evidence for some of the major textual problems in the Gospel of Luke. One obvious example is Luke 22:43-44. Thompson acknowledges the “strong” external evidence for its omission, but then accepts its inclusion because it is found in a few manuscripts and doesn’t have a Synoptic parallel. It would have been helpful for the reader if Thompson acknowledged or discussed the spurious nature of manuscripts that include it (e.g. Codex D), instead of dismissing the omission to move forward. Finally, after each section of the text has been examined, like the other volumes in the series, Thompson provides the reader with a “For Further Study” section, and a “Homiletical Suggestions” section to aid the pastor or teacher in constructing a communicational roadmap based on the previous sections.
As each new volume of the EGGNT series is released the bar of exegetical example is raised. Alan J. Thompson has done a tremendous job continuing this example and adding to a really amazing volume to an increasingly helpful series. If you are a pastor, teacher, or learned laymen (with at least some level of proficiency in New Testament Greek), then this resource will prove itself to be an invaluable addition to your library. If you are a professor and looking for a faithful guide to send home with your students, then Thompson will prove to be both trustworthy and dependable. Apart from the few minor shortcomings mentioned above, I couldn’t recommend this resource more!
The EGGNT series was birthed out of a desire to function as a type of middle-ground resource that seeks to narrow the gap between the text of the Greek New Testament (UBS5) and the available lexical and grammatical tools being used by pastors and teachers today. In this present volume, Thompson has delivered a wealth of exegetical wisdom and theological insight into the Third Gospel. The book begins with a very brief introduction focused on authorship, date, audience, purpose, etc.. Thompson prefers a mid-50s and early-60s date of composition, but provides a brief survey of the various positions. The introduction concludes with a short discussion surrounding the pros and cons of five recommended commentaries and additional resources used throughout the volume.
The commentary section has skillfully utilized a similar format and layout as the other volumes in the EGGNT series. Like Harris’ EGGNT volume on John, some accommodations have been made given the nature of the gospels themselves, as opposed to that of epistles. For example, the reader is not going to find as much sentence diagraming in this volume as the others, and the layout centers primarily around the verse level as opposed to the clause level in the other volumes. I found this to be somewhat of a disappointment because of the helpfulness of the clause level interaction for the task of exegesis. Nevertheless, I think the reader will find that the verse-by-verse discussion is executed extremely well, and Thompson is successful in guiding the reader through Luke with a fine-tooth exegetical comb.
Where, in my opinion, Thompson could have offered more attention to detail is the department of textual evidence for some of the major textual problems in the Gospel of Luke. One obvious example is Luke 22:43-44. Thompson acknowledges the “strong” external evidence for its omission, but then accepts its inclusion because it is found in a few manuscripts and doesn’t have a Synoptic parallel. It would have been helpful for the reader if Thompson acknowledged or discussed the spurious nature of manuscripts that include it (e.g. Codex D), instead of dismissing the omission to move forward. Finally, after each section of the text has been examined, like the other volumes in the series, Thompson provides the reader with a “For Further Study” section, and a “Homiletical Suggestions” section to aid the pastor or teacher in constructing a communicational roadmap based on the previous sections.
As each new volume of the EGGNT series is released the bar of exegetical example is raised. Alan J. Thompson has done a tremendous job continuing this example and adding to a really amazing volume to an increasingly helpful series. If you are a pastor, teacher, or learned laymen (with at least some level of proficiency in New Testament Greek), then this resource will prove itself to be an invaluable addition to your library. If you are a professor and looking for a faithful guide to send home with your students, then Thompson will prove to be both trustworthy and dependable. Apart from the few minor shortcomings mentioned above, I couldn’t recommend this resource more!
May 15, 2025
A great companion for translating the Greek text. I wondered how the EGGNT would treat a larger book like Luke versus a shorter book like Philippians (I really liked Hellerman's contribution in the series). In short, it doesn't give Thompson much occasion to work theologically or even to offer very many competing translations. Occasionally he does, but that's a constraint of the volume size.
Nevertheless, this was helpful for my first whack at the Greek during my translations while preaching.
Nevertheless, this was helpful for my first whack at the Greek during my translations while preaching.
April 12, 2017
FYI - have not read, just dipped in as a resource. Found it an extremely useful help for handling the Greek text. Great resource for preachers. Nice and cheap on kindle too.
May 11, 2017
As a student of Biblical Greek, of which this mastery did not come easy, I am always on the lookout for new aids in the study of biblical original languages. Most of these works are in the form of reference materials, such as grammar books. The Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament series is a lexical aid and exegetical Biblical Greek commentary. The newest work in the fantastic series is Luke by Alan J. Thompson, and edited by series editor Andres J. Köstenberger and Robert W. Yarborough and exceeds all of my preconceptions.
Needless to say , one must have a through knowledge of Biblical Greek to use this work. Yet if you do have a thorough knowledge of Biblical Greek then this exegetical guide is an invaluable resource for those who want to dig deeper into the text and shine light into difficult to translate passages. Digging into the work itself, it begins with the traditional introductory matters. This might be the only weakness of this aid, and the reason is that it is only two pages long, which could be expanded upon. Yet with these matters not being of primary importance in a lexical aid with some added commentary, two pages is all that is needed.
One of the greatest strengths is also found in the introduction section. Thompson has a small section that details what he perceives are the greatest and most helpful commentaries on the gospel of Luke. After seeing the scholarly work which Thompson put into this exegetical guide these recommendations are worth the cost of the guide itself.
This aid to Luke is truly unique in its approach; each verse is broken down with each Greek word being expertly dissected with a small argument about syntax and commentary. I look forward to the new installments in this recently begun series. In the end I fully recommend this work to any pastors who know their Biblical Greek and want to use it in their sermons.
This book was provided to me free of charge from B & H Academic Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament: Luke
© 2017 by Alan J. Thompson
Publisher: B & H Academic Publishing
Page Count: 414 Pages
ISBN: 978-1433676178
Needless to say , one must have a through knowledge of Biblical Greek to use this work. Yet if you do have a thorough knowledge of Biblical Greek then this exegetical guide is an invaluable resource for those who want to dig deeper into the text and shine light into difficult to translate passages. Digging into the work itself, it begins with the traditional introductory matters. This might be the only weakness of this aid, and the reason is that it is only two pages long, which could be expanded upon. Yet with these matters not being of primary importance in a lexical aid with some added commentary, two pages is all that is needed.
One of the greatest strengths is also found in the introduction section. Thompson has a small section that details what he perceives are the greatest and most helpful commentaries on the gospel of Luke. After seeing the scholarly work which Thompson put into this exegetical guide these recommendations are worth the cost of the guide itself.
This aid to Luke is truly unique in its approach; each verse is broken down with each Greek word being expertly dissected with a small argument about syntax and commentary. I look forward to the new installments in this recently begun series. In the end I fully recommend this work to any pastors who know their Biblical Greek and want to use it in their sermons.
This book was provided to me free of charge from B & H Academic Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament: Luke
© 2017 by Alan J. Thompson
Publisher: B & H Academic Publishing
Page Count: 414 Pages
ISBN: 978-1433676178
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews