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Written by notable evangelical scholars, each volume in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series treats the literary context and structure of the passage in the original Greek. The series consistently provides the main point, an exegetical outline, verse-by-verse commentary, and theology in application in each section of every commentary. Critical scholarship informs each step but does not dominate the commentary, allowing readers to concentrate on the biblical author's message as it unfolds. While primarily designed for those with a basic knowledge of biblical Greek, all who strive to understand and teach the New Testament will find these books beneficial. The ZECNT series covers the entire New Testament in twenty volumes; Clinton E. Arnold serves as general editor. In this volume, Grant Osborne offers pastors, students, and teachers a focused resource for reading the Gospel of Matthew. Through the use of graphic representations of translations, succinct summaries of main ideas, exegetical outlines, and other features, Osborne presents the Gospel of Matthew with precision and accuracy. Because of this series' focus on the textual structure of the scriptures, readers will better understand the literary elements of Matthew, comprehend the author's revolutionary goals, and ultimately discovering their vital claims upon the church today.
1152 pages, Hardcover
First published September 20, 1996
73 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Clinton E. Arnold
78 books18 followersClinton Arnold (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is the Dean and Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Talbot School of Theology.
Dr. Arnold enjoys teaching, speaking and writing on various aspects of the New Testament. He has had a special interest in the historical and cultural setting of the letters of Paul. He is currently serving as the Vice President of the Evangelical Theological Society. Arnold is the editor of the four-volume Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary for which he wrote commentaries on “Acts," "Ephesians” and “Colossians”. He is the general editor of the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament for which he has written the volume on “Ephesians.” Arnold has published in Christianity Today and was a regular columnist for Discipleship Journal. His research articles have appeared in such journals as New Testament Studies, Novum Testamentum, Journal for the Study of the New Testament and the Journal of Psychology and Theology. Arnold, his wife and three boys are vitally involved in their local church.
Dr. Arnold enjoys teaching, speaking and writing on various aspects of the New Testament. He has had a special interest in the historical and cultural setting of the letters of Paul. He is currently serving as the Vice President of the Evangelical Theological Society. Arnold is the editor of the four-volume Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary for which he wrote commentaries on “Acts," "Ephesians” and “Colossians”. He is the general editor of the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament for which he has written the volume on “Ephesians.” Arnold has published in Christianity Today and was a regular columnist for Discipleship Journal. His research articles have appeared in such journals as New Testament Studies, Novum Testamentum, Journal for the Study of the New Testament and the Journal of Psychology and Theology. Arnold, his wife and three boys are vitally involved in their local church.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 5, 2024
A solid edition to this series of commentaries. I really enjoy this series and used it throughout my teaching time on the Gospel of Matthew
December 8, 2021
Full review https://spoiledmilks.com/2015/02/22/r...
Osbourne starts his commentary with a bit of a hermeneutics course which gives the reader an explanation for what he does (proceeding from the macro- to the micro-structure), while at the same time explaining the purpose of the ZECNT series. Osbourne breaks Matthew down into 122 different chapters, with each section covering between 6–12 pages.
The final section has a helpful guide to some major themes in Matthew’s gospel. This would be a good section to read when encountering any of these points in the text one is studying. Osbourne looks through the whole of Matthew to put each theme into perspective:
* Christology
* The Jewishness of Matthew
* The Gentile Mission
* Eschatology
* The Church
* Discipleship
Every section of the ZECNT’s layout is helpful. Every piece contributes to the readers knowledge of the passage, and of Matthew, as a whole. The Theology in Application section is a major plus. Each chapter includes anywhere between one to seven applications. This is especially helpful for pastors, teachers, and laypeople. Anyone who reads this commentary would be encouraged by this section.
Osbourne excels because he does exactly what the commentary sets out to do, getting to-the-point without getting bogged down in scholarly discussions. Many pastors don’t have the time for these discussions, and this is the place they can go for clear writing.
Pastors, teachers, and laypeople will greatly benefit from this commentary. It is easily understandable.
Osbourne starts his commentary with a bit of a hermeneutics course which gives the reader an explanation for what he does (proceeding from the macro- to the micro-structure), while at the same time explaining the purpose of the ZECNT series. Osbourne breaks Matthew down into 122 different chapters, with each section covering between 6–12 pages.
The final section has a helpful guide to some major themes in Matthew’s gospel. This would be a good section to read when encountering any of these points in the text one is studying. Osbourne looks through the whole of Matthew to put each theme into perspective:
* Christology
* The Jewishness of Matthew
* The Gentile Mission
* Eschatology
* The Church
* Discipleship
Every section of the ZECNT’s layout is helpful. Every piece contributes to the readers knowledge of the passage, and of Matthew, as a whole. The Theology in Application section is a major plus. Each chapter includes anywhere between one to seven applications. This is especially helpful for pastors, teachers, and laypeople. Anyone who reads this commentary would be encouraged by this section.
Osbourne excels because he does exactly what the commentary sets out to do, getting to-the-point without getting bogged down in scholarly discussions. Many pastors don’t have the time for these discussions, and this is the place they can go for clear writing.
Pastors, teachers, and laypeople will greatly benefit from this commentary. It is easily understandable.
February 5, 2018
There are many different types of commentaries, some are more scholarly, some are more devotional in nature. In the end while some are on either extreme, most fall somewhere in the middle, as is the case with Zondervan Exegetical Commetnary on the New Testament series published by Zondervan. The newest commentary in this series is Matthew by Grant R. Osborne, and it is a master piece. This is common place for a commentary series which is known for excellence in scholarship yet practical in application. This commentary is a mid-level commentary, weighing in at over 360 pages, Osborne’s attention to detail of the original meaning makes this commentary a worthwhile read for both the pastor and the laymen, with a slight bent to the laymen.
A pastor will find that Osborne’s practical insights extremely helpful in giving application from the text to his congregants, while the laymen will find this commentaries easy to use formant and the non-technical format an easy read. It is truly the best of both worlds.
When looking specifically a this commentary Osborne spends about 50 pages on introductory matters. While this seems small, when compared with the relatively small size of the commentary itself the introductory comments take up over 10% of the work, which is larger than average. When investigating maters specifically with the text of scripture, Osborne takes an interesting approach. When exegeting on Matthew he deals mostly with the imagery that the apostle whom Jesus loved wrote in. Yet he does not fall into the trap of many commentators in allegorizing the imagery.
In the end I would recommend this commentary as in introduction to pastors and Sunday school teachers, that help tremendously with the laymen a pastor will want another commentary to pair with this wonderfully practical commentary on scripture.
This book was provided to me free of charge from Zondervan Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
A pastor will find that Osborne’s practical insights extremely helpful in giving application from the text to his congregants, while the laymen will find this commentaries easy to use formant and the non-technical format an easy read. It is truly the best of both worlds.
When looking specifically a this commentary Osborne spends about 50 pages on introductory matters. While this seems small, when compared with the relatively small size of the commentary itself the introductory comments take up over 10% of the work, which is larger than average. When investigating maters specifically with the text of scripture, Osborne takes an interesting approach. When exegeting on Matthew he deals mostly with the imagery that the apostle whom Jesus loved wrote in. Yet he does not fall into the trap of many commentators in allegorizing the imagery.
In the end I would recommend this commentary as in introduction to pastors and Sunday school teachers, that help tremendously with the laymen a pastor will want another commentary to pair with this wonderfully practical commentary on scripture.
This book was provided to me free of charge from Zondervan Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
October 18, 2017
Absolutely love the format of this series! Really valuable for study and preaching. Osborne did a good job with the text of Matthew though I certainly had my disagreements with his arminian dispensational conclusions at points. Still, a very valuable study I’m glad I made use of!
April 17, 2025
Excellent commentary on Matthew, full of exegetical analysis and practical application.
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June 28, 2010Matthew: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on The New Testament
I understand that Zondervan has already released a couple of other volumes of this commentary series. Volume 1, the Matthew commentary is scheduled to release in the fall of 2010.
Because this is a relatively new series I think it wise to give an overview of the scheme for this commentary series.
The commentary is for those who:
1.Have taken Greek (while this is so, I must say that my Greek skills are less than elementary and I found myself helped still. The Greek is not so technical that one unskilled in the use of it cannot benefit from what is there.)
2.Want a concise, one or two sentence statement of the main point of each passage.
3.Would like help interpreting the words of Scripture without the intensity of scholarly debate.
4.Would like expert guidance from solid evangelical scholars who have the goal of explaining the original text as simply and as plainly as possible.
5.Would find it helpful to see a brief summary of the theological insights that can be found in each passage and an application of them to present day issues.
The series is designed for pastors and teachers and is prepared with the input of many who stated their desires.
Each passage is dealt with in a seven fold manner:
1.Literary context- the passage is presented in its literary form as well as in its broader context.
2.Main idea- a brief summary is given of the main idea of the passage.
3.Translation and graphical layout- a form of sentence/structural diagram that shows the flow of the text.
4.Structure- an explanation of the flow of the text and how/why certain relationships in the text are presented and treated as they are by the commentator.
5.Exegetical outline- a detailed outline of the passage that helps one understand the flow of the passage and gain the main thought and purpose in the passage.
6.Explanation of the text- commentary in which the Greek is translated and the historical, social, religious, and cultural context of each passage is explained, and various text-critical and interpretational issues are dealt with.
7.Theology in application- a must for the teacher and preacher. This section deals with how the passage is relevant to our theology and our life.
Having been studying Matthew for quite some time, I began reading at chapter twenty. I was pleased with the commentary. I enjoyed the manner in which it was laid out, I appreciated the content of the exegesis and commentary, and did especially appreciate the theology in application section. I not only want to understand what is being said in the passage, I want to know what it means for us today. How can I apply this? How is it relevant? How may I faithfully apply the exegesis that I've done? These things are dealt with in the section on application. While all of the commentary and exegetical work will be helpful, this commentary does many others do not: it gives the exegesis, commentary, and application. How many commentaries actually integrate all of these things into their work?
I have a feeling that this commentary series will be immensely helpful to pastors and teachers everywhere. I look forward to getting the other volumes that have already been released, as well as anticipate buying each new volume as it is released.
Note: This review is based upon a galley of the first three-fourths of the commentary on Matthew. The book was provided by Zondervan with no requirement of a favorable review.
I understand that Zondervan has already released a couple of other volumes of this commentary series. Volume 1, the Matthew commentary is scheduled to release in the fall of 2010.
Because this is a relatively new series I think it wise to give an overview of the scheme for this commentary series.
The commentary is for those who:
1.Have taken Greek (while this is so, I must say that my Greek skills are less than elementary and I found myself helped still. The Greek is not so technical that one unskilled in the use of it cannot benefit from what is there.)
2.Want a concise, one or two sentence statement of the main point of each passage.
3.Would like help interpreting the words of Scripture without the intensity of scholarly debate.
4.Would like expert guidance from solid evangelical scholars who have the goal of explaining the original text as simply and as plainly as possible.
5.Would find it helpful to see a brief summary of the theological insights that can be found in each passage and an application of them to present day issues.
The series is designed for pastors and teachers and is prepared with the input of many who stated their desires.
Each passage is dealt with in a seven fold manner:
1.Literary context- the passage is presented in its literary form as well as in its broader context.
2.Main idea- a brief summary is given of the main idea of the passage.
3.Translation and graphical layout- a form of sentence/structural diagram that shows the flow of the text.
4.Structure- an explanation of the flow of the text and how/why certain relationships in the text are presented and treated as they are by the commentator.
5.Exegetical outline- a detailed outline of the passage that helps one understand the flow of the passage and gain the main thought and purpose in the passage.
6.Explanation of the text- commentary in which the Greek is translated and the historical, social, religious, and cultural context of each passage is explained, and various text-critical and interpretational issues are dealt with.
7.Theology in application- a must for the teacher and preacher. This section deals with how the passage is relevant to our theology and our life.
Having been studying Matthew for quite some time, I began reading at chapter twenty. I was pleased with the commentary. I enjoyed the manner in which it was laid out, I appreciated the content of the exegesis and commentary, and did especially appreciate the theology in application section. I not only want to understand what is being said in the passage, I want to know what it means for us today. How can I apply this? How is it relevant? How may I faithfully apply the exegesis that I've done? These things are dealt with in the section on application. While all of the commentary and exegetical work will be helpful, this commentary does many others do not: it gives the exegesis, commentary, and application. How many commentaries actually integrate all of these things into their work?
I have a feeling that this commentary series will be immensely helpful to pastors and teachers everywhere. I look forward to getting the other volumes that have already been released, as well as anticipate buying each new volume as it is released.
Note: This review is based upon a galley of the first three-fourths of the commentary on Matthew. The book was provided by Zondervan with no requirement of a favorable review.
December 16, 2010
This commentary on Matthew is a thick but surprisingly easy and interesting read. I know the basics of biblical Hebrew and intend to learn biblical Greek, so I was interested in this commentary but was concerned it'd be "over my head." It wasn't. While you probably will get the most out of it if you know some biblical Greek and it certainly helps to understand terms like past tense, genitive absolute, etc., you can still clearly understand the author's point even if you don't. I suspect pastors and teachers will find these commentaries useful, but I'd also highly recommend them to individuals who want to take their study of the Bible deeper and want to better understand some of those confusing passages or differences between translations that you've noticed.
The commentary had an introduction which included an outline of Matthew. Each chapter then covered a section of this outline (usually one scene) and examined the text and its interpretation. The author first looked at how the passage fit within the theme of the whole book. He then explained the main message of the passage. Next, he laid out the Bible verses in a diagram showing the flow of thought in the passage (with tags like: setting, problem, solution, fulfillment). After that, there was an outline of the scene.
The main part of each chapter was the examination of the text. Each verse (usually only part at a time) was given in English and then in the original Greek. The author then commented about notable tenses or word meanings, cultural or historical background information, and other information which would help the reader get the most out of the passage. Differing opinions were briefly mentioned. He gave excellent footnoting to tell where the information came from and/or comment more in depth about something in the text. At the end of each chapter, there were a couple pages discussing the themes in the passage and how to apply their message to modern life.
I received this book as a review copy through the koinonia blog.
The commentary had an introduction which included an outline of Matthew. Each chapter then covered a section of this outline (usually one scene) and examined the text and its interpretation. The author first looked at how the passage fit within the theme of the whole book. He then explained the main message of the passage. Next, he laid out the Bible verses in a diagram showing the flow of thought in the passage (with tags like: setting, problem, solution, fulfillment). After that, there was an outline of the scene.
The main part of each chapter was the examination of the text. Each verse (usually only part at a time) was given in English and then in the original Greek. The author then commented about notable tenses or word meanings, cultural or historical background information, and other information which would help the reader get the most out of the passage. Differing opinions were briefly mentioned. He gave excellent footnoting to tell where the information came from and/or comment more in depth about something in the text. At the end of each chapter, there were a couple pages discussing the themes in the passage and how to apply their message to modern life.
I received this book as a review copy through the koinonia blog.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews