The Epistle to the Hebrews (Rev. ed.)
in New International Commentary on the New Testament
Pages
448
Publisher
Eerdmans
Published
1/1/1996
ISBN-13
9780802825148
Collections
This book appears in the following featured collections.
- Best Exegetical Commentaries by Jim Rosscup
- Basic Library Booklist by Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary
- Building an NT Commentary Library by Invitation to Biblical Interpretation (Kostenberger & Patterson)
- Recommended New Testament Commentaries for Evangelical Pastors by Thomas R. Schreiner
Reviews
Extensive for it's size. Bruce shows good detail to what should be paid attention to (for the most part). Deals consistently with extra biblical Jewish literature if that's your thing. Doesn't neglect OT context for use of OT quotes. Introduction wasn't too much. You can tell how well he moved forward the work on Hebrews by all of those after him that use him as a sort of foundation to build off of.
Some notable omissions, including skipping over "our confession" in 3:1-6 and didn't mention the word for atonement(lit. Propitiation) at all in 2:10-18.
Reading him along with Calvin, you can see that Bruce follows Calvin's thought closely in many places, which Bruce himself admits in the preface to the commentary of his being a large help(although I thought he had singled him out early on for his brevity among other things, but can't seem to find it now if I had read that).
I have the old edition, which is quite dated. Haven't seen the revised version and how much was changed. In spite of its somewhat outdated wording, it is still a helpful resource. It is my second choice (behind L.T. Johnson). Bruce is always a trustworthy exegete, and can be counted on to provide a solid analysis.
Keith Mathison says that this is one of the best of the many commentaries Bruce wrote over the course of his lifetime. He concludes “The commentary is thorough yet accessible and should be consulted by all students of this book of Scripture.” Note that this commentary was originally published in the 60’s but revised and republished in 1990; if you have the older volume, or can buy it used, there may be little use in purchasing the update.
[Full Review]
Great resource.
Bruce's work is lighter than either Lane or O'Brien. Though exceedingly valuable, particularly in the expositional chapters (7:1-10:18), Lane and O'Brien's commentaries are just a slight cut above Bruce's work, I believe.
F. F. Bruce wrote a number of fine commentaries during his lifetime. His commentary on Hebrews is one of those. Originally published in the mid-1960s, this commentary was completely revised and republished in 1990, the year of Professor Bruce's death. The commentary is thorough yet accessible and should be consulted by all students of this book of Scripture.
[Full Review]