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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
If you are only going to buy one commentary on the letter to the Hebrews, William L Lane's two-volume commentary is probably the one to buy. It is at the time of writing this review the most recent major commentary (vol 1 published in 1991, vol 2 in 2000). It is the most comprehensive, and it contains the highest number of insights into the text.
To have the full commentary on the whole of Hebrews, it is necessary to buy both volume 47A and 47B. Only volume 47A contains the introduction, which is over 150 pages long.
Then why only four stars? For a series of reasons.
Print quality is sometimes poor, with portions of letters missing and/or black marks on some pages. This does not make anything illegible, and in my opinion was not bad enough to merit returning the book to obtain a replacement. But it is not up to the standard of print quality that people have come to expect over the past few hundred years!
Layout is extremely poor. In fact, it would appear that the publishers gave no thought at all to layout. Solid text for page after page makes this book very uninviting to pick up and dip into. Verse references are printed in bold at the beginning of the line, but these are not particularly prominent and there is no gap between the commentary on one verse and that on the next one.
Turning to the content itself, Lane clearly dedicated many years to the preparation of his commentary, and seems to have read virtually everything of significance that has been published on the letter to the Hebrews in a wide range of languages. The bibliographies he includes are also very comprehensive. However, his very closeness to all this literature clearly made it hard for him to summarise, and there is thus a tremendous amount of repetition in this book. Three pages on one author's opinions may be followed by another three pages on another author's opinions, even when most of the opinions are the same. It would have been possible to present this in a different way. Quite simply, it would be possible to write, "Both author X and author Y state that ..." The book could be edited down to 60-70% of the current length without losing any information, although I appreciate that both Lane and his publisher will have been so pleased when he finally finished the manuscript that they had no appetite to edit the text, a massive task which would no doubt have added further years of delay before this work was published.
So one needs to develop one's skill at skimming and scanning. It is worth the effort, as in this book there are many treasures that can be found together in one place nowhere else.
I studied in detail the Greek text of the letter to the Hebrews, using three commentaries: this one and those by H W Attridge and by F F Bruce. Lane's is the most thorough of the three, although the other two commentaries also have much to commend them.
To have the full commentary on the whole of Hebrews, it is necessary to buy both volume 47A and 47B. Only volume 47A contains the introduction, which is over 150 pages long.
Then why only four stars? For a series of reasons.
Print quality is sometimes poor, with portions of letters missing and/or black marks on some pages. This does not make anything illegible, and in my opinion was not bad enough to merit returning the book to obtain a replacement. But it is not up to the standard of print quality that people have come to expect over the past few hundred years!
Layout is extremely poor. In fact, it would appear that the publishers gave no thought at all to layout. Solid text for page after page makes this book very uninviting to pick up and dip into. Verse references are printed in bold at the beginning of the line, but these are not particularly prominent and there is no gap between the commentary on one verse and that on the next one.
Turning to the content itself, Lane clearly dedicated many years to the preparation of his commentary, and seems to have read virtually everything of significance that has been published on the letter to the Hebrews in a wide range of languages. The bibliographies he includes are also very comprehensive. However, his very closeness to all this literature clearly made it hard for him to summarise, and there is thus a tremendous amount of repetition in this book. Three pages on one author's opinions may be followed by another three pages on another author's opinions, even when most of the opinions are the same. It would have been possible to present this in a different way. Quite simply, it would be possible to write, "Both author X and author Y state that ..." The book could be edited down to 60-70% of the current length without losing any information, although I appreciate that both Lane and his publisher will have been so pleased when he finally finished the manuscript that they had no appetite to edit the text, a massive task which would no doubt have added further years of delay before this work was published.
So one needs to develop one's skill at skimming and scanning. It is worth the effort, as in this book there are many treasures that can be found together in one place nowhere else.
I studied in detail the Greek text of the letter to the Hebrews, using three commentaries: this one and those by H W Attridge and by F F Bruce. Lane's is the most thorough of the three, although the other two commentaries also have much to commend them.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
Best Commentary on Hebrews: A
10 July 2011
This commentary is like reading a Dekker novel: exciting!! See my review on 1st volume: Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 47a, Hebrews 1-8
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
The Covenant: The Sign Of God's Faithfulness
1 Jan 2011
The salvation of mankind as foretold in the OT was made manifest in the person of Jesus Christ, but the transition from the old covenant to the new covenant required the death of the Testator, Jesus. Truly, the author of Hebrews heralded the central message of salvation in a dynamic way.
God's covenant with Abraham rests on two immutable things: His promise and His oath, which the author directly grounded in the divine Being: the divine will ('the immutability of His counsel') and the divine nature ('it is impossible for God to lie')(6:13-18). The account of Abraham is the inspired record of God keeping His promise and establishing His purpose. 'This is the sheet anchor of the Christian's conviction. He knows his assurance depends not on the stability or strength of his own faith, but on the absolute trustworthiness of God's word.' Donald Guthrie, Hebrews p 152 Inspiring an almighty trust in God, the unknown author/orator dispelled doubt over their eternal security and cast that anchor heavenward, fastening it to the rock of Calvary, the exalted Christ (6:19-20). That mediatorship, Christ's High Priestly office, was made identical with the superiority of the new covenant (7:22), and declared to be after the order of Melchizedek, priest of biblical Salem. 'All of this demonstrates that the OT had two priesthoods, and the greater of the two was that of Melchizedek. When God appointed Jesus the great High Priest, He made Him a priest, not after the order of Levi, but after the order of Melchizedek, as the psalmist had prophesied.' RC Sproul, What Is Reformed Theology? p 96 Especially by virtue of His present ministry of advocacy Christ enjoins Himself to the elect (7:25). It is a weighty subject, substantiated by Lane's comment on 'He swore with an oath': 'The irrevocable character of the intention expressed in God's promise has specific reference to Gen 22:16-17.' p 152 It is important that we maintain that God's decree is both immutable and efficacious, as the Abrahamic 'heirs of promise' (of salvation) experience its realization in the new covenant: 'The sworn assurance of God is extended to them.' Ibid
The author's words pulsated with the exhilaration of the fulfillment of this OT promise, while he directed the attention of the church in Rome to even 'better promises' (8:6) associated with Christ. The intensification of 'covenant' in Hebrews 8:6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13 must be interpreted as indicative of its eternal importance; its pervasiveness demonstrates it is as uniform as its OT counterpart. Lane did make the case, as did the author, that the old covenant which had become obsolete, is not the Abrahamic, which is the covenant of grace, but the Mosaic: 'Only in 8:7 is the new covenant described as 'second', in relation to the description of the Sinaitic covenant as 'the first'.' p 208 The new covenant to be made with Israel and Judah (Jer 31:31) signified the end of hostilities and the ushering in of a future age of grace, the promise being made by God while the two kingdoms were still under the severe division experienced in Jeremiah's day. Philip Edgcumbe Hughes summed up its monergistic and teleological design: 'The inauguration of the new covenant would be due entirely to the gracious initiative of God: 'I will establish a new covenant', He says (8:8). The new covenant would bring together those who had been divided by bitterness and hostility: it was to be established with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. The promise of the reunion of Israel and Judah was symbolical of the healing of every human breach and the reconciliation of all nations and persons in Christ.' Hebrews p 300
In ch 9 the author reverted to a comparison of the first and the second covenants, the new distinguished as 'heavenly', 'true', and 'superior' revelation, p 211. 'The tabernacle and its ritual provide him with a vocabulary and grammar with which he is able to express the insights that have been disclosed to him by the Holy Spirit (9:8).' p 225 Of the first covenant, Scripture states: 'It was symbolic for the present time' (9:9). The cultic language adequately reflected the deficiencies of the old Levitical system and set the stage for the redeeming work of Christ, the true and final High Priest, now ministering in the heavenly sanctuary (9:11-28). Philip Edgcumbe Hughes again delivered the goods regarding the match up in 9:15, viewed under the rubric of the one covenant of grace: 'Accordingly, the Abrahamic covenant is continuous with the new covenant, as its root, and identical with it. The 'new' covenant, therefore, not only superseded the 'first' or Mosaic covenant, but was also antecedent to it. The new covenant is not new to God but to us.' Hebrews p 365 We can now see that we are fully justified in viewing the Abrahamic promise as a referent to God's plan of salvation for all those who will come to believe.
Cleansed once for all, 'we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (10:10).' He made us at one with God by His offering of Himself, which further cast a shadow over the old covenant observances, delimiting them as proleptic. The OT sacrificial system pointed forward to Christ's effectual sacrifice, by which 'one offering He has perfected forever them that are sanctified' (10:14). The author repeated his indebtedness to the witness of 'the Spirit of grace', this time for illumination (10:15): 'The present tense of the verb in the introductory formula is significant; it indicates that through the quotation of the prophetic oracle the Holy Spirit is speaking now. The Spirit brings the detail of the text from the past into the present and makes it contemporary with the experience of the readers.' p 268 Divine grace speaking in the word served to confirm that the promises God made beforehand had immediate relevance for the people addressed in this homily. A third reference to the Holy Spirit was advanced in the fourth warning section (10:19-39). The gravity of defiance was expressed in 10:28 as 'violates', which, according to Lane, 'signifies the wilful repudiation of a divine institution.' p 293 That institution is the new covenant, and to trample the Son of God underfoot is equated with counting the blood of the covenant a common thing (10:29). This is tantamount to apostasy; a contemptuous insult directed toward the 'Spirit of grace'. How much severer will the judgment be of these who deliberately persist in sin, who spurn the provisions and privileges of the new covenant! 'Alternatively, the presence of the Spirit in the congregation is the sign of the eschatological grace of God expressed through Christ.' p 294 Lane glowingly defined trinitarian salvation, entreating the witness of the Holy Spirit, who intrudes into community life and by His very presence bespeaks of heaven continuously.
Orthodox Christians have always known suffering, but the challenge was to place it in a context as requisite to the attainment of true spirituality (indicated by the introductory formula, 'by faith'), and not self-improvement, heard so often in super-spiritual renditions of 11:1. 'Substance', as perpetuated by the Latin Vulgate, is more accurately rendered as 'foundation' [Gk: hypostasis], and therefore commentators have submitted in their exposition that God's gift of faith is the foundation on which our hope rests. Its etymological origin, providing further grounds of assurance, means 'possessing a title deed to a promise' or 'the Lord's guarantee to fulfill what He has promised'. Yet, as we are not at liberty to develop a system of our own liking, we are not to deny that the possession of faith necessitates the introduction of trials. The author of Hebrews recognized the intense suffering of those he was writing to as the cause for their wavering faith, but it was 'followed by the frank acknowledgment that the demonstration of invincible faith did not imply an immunity from persecution, humiliation, and violent death.' p 388 Lane disclosed a theology of perseverance: 'Although 'all' had received attestation in Scripture, 'they did not receive what had been promised' (11:39). The exemplars of the past did not obtain the promised eternal inheritance. The realization of particular promises (e.g. vv 11, 33) is not to be confused with the definitive fulfillment of the promise. Living in terms of the promises of God without experiencing the eschatological reward became characteristic of faith itself.' p 392
In the final warning passage, 12:14-29, Lane argued that the superior textual reading, the anarthrous 'the many' (12:15), be accepted, and as that which expressed an inclusive nuance, thereby rendering the warning valid unto 'the whole community', p 439. Parallelism is introduced by the triple warning to 'look diligently' [Gk: episkopeo]: 'watch continually that no one forfeits the grace of God'; 'watch continually that no bitter root grows up'; 'watch continually that no one becomes apostate or secular like Esau'. In their pursuance of personal sanctification, the members of the church in Rome were not to neglect the call to communal vigilance. To further depict the effect of the forfeiture of God's grace, the danger was presented in a different way, as that of the root of bitterness, which was to be combatted by the intimate engagement of all church members, seen as a preventative measure against defilement. The third parallel, that of Esau, was climaxed by 'godless' [Gk: bebelos], which is 'consistent with the writer's appeal to Deut 29:17 as the one who breaks covenant with God.' p 455 The eschatological hopes of the people of God are predicated upon their ability to understand the efficacy of Jesus' redemptive death, which Lane submits, as the new covenant Testator, is to be taken as a 'covenant sacrifice', p 472. This covenant sacrifice 'speaks of better things than that of Abel' (12:24). Lane unflinchingly explains why: 'The ratification of the new covenant on the ground of Jesus' death secured for the Church the promised blessings attached to that covenant.' p 473
In 13:1 our author continued the theme of brotherly love as shepherded through mutual care in the church. The practice thereof authenticated their worship. 'Authentic worship is an expansive concept that makes sacred all of life.' p 572 But the pastoral invocation of 12:20-21 formed the proper peroration to the homily; what follows on that is known as the postscript. If the death of Christ served as the ground for their receiving the promises, the resurrection of Christ served as the guarantee that His blood was not spilled in vain, for it is the divine seal of a covenant that is 'everlasting' (12:20).
'In all that He has done and does our Lord Jesus displays Himself as the great shepherd of the sheep - great, that is, in comparison with all other shepherds (12:20).' Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, Hebrews p 589
God's covenant with Abraham rests on two immutable things: His promise and His oath, which the author directly grounded in the divine Being: the divine will ('the immutability of His counsel') and the divine nature ('it is impossible for God to lie')(6:13-18). The account of Abraham is the inspired record of God keeping His promise and establishing His purpose. 'This is the sheet anchor of the Christian's conviction. He knows his assurance depends not on the stability or strength of his own faith, but on the absolute trustworthiness of God's word.' Donald Guthrie, Hebrews p 152 Inspiring an almighty trust in God, the unknown author/orator dispelled doubt over their eternal security and cast that anchor heavenward, fastening it to the rock of Calvary, the exalted Christ (6:19-20). That mediatorship, Christ's High Priestly office, was made identical with the superiority of the new covenant (7:22), and declared to be after the order of Melchizedek, priest of biblical Salem. 'All of this demonstrates that the OT had two priesthoods, and the greater of the two was that of Melchizedek. When God appointed Jesus the great High Priest, He made Him a priest, not after the order of Levi, but after the order of Melchizedek, as the psalmist had prophesied.' RC Sproul, What Is Reformed Theology? p 96 Especially by virtue of His present ministry of advocacy Christ enjoins Himself to the elect (7:25). It is a weighty subject, substantiated by Lane's comment on 'He swore with an oath': 'The irrevocable character of the intention expressed in God's promise has specific reference to Gen 22:16-17.' p 152 It is important that we maintain that God's decree is both immutable and efficacious, as the Abrahamic 'heirs of promise' (of salvation) experience its realization in the new covenant: 'The sworn assurance of God is extended to them.' Ibid
The author's words pulsated with the exhilaration of the fulfillment of this OT promise, while he directed the attention of the church in Rome to even 'better promises' (8:6) associated with Christ. The intensification of 'covenant' in Hebrews 8:6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13 must be interpreted as indicative of its eternal importance; its pervasiveness demonstrates it is as uniform as its OT counterpart. Lane did make the case, as did the author, that the old covenant which had become obsolete, is not the Abrahamic, which is the covenant of grace, but the Mosaic: 'Only in 8:7 is the new covenant described as 'second', in relation to the description of the Sinaitic covenant as 'the first'.' p 208 The new covenant to be made with Israel and Judah (Jer 31:31) signified the end of hostilities and the ushering in of a future age of grace, the promise being made by God while the two kingdoms were still under the severe division experienced in Jeremiah's day. Philip Edgcumbe Hughes summed up its monergistic and teleological design: 'The inauguration of the new covenant would be due entirely to the gracious initiative of God: 'I will establish a new covenant', He says (8:8). The new covenant would bring together those who had been divided by bitterness and hostility: it was to be established with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. The promise of the reunion of Israel and Judah was symbolical of the healing of every human breach and the reconciliation of all nations and persons in Christ.' Hebrews p 300
In ch 9 the author reverted to a comparison of the first and the second covenants, the new distinguished as 'heavenly', 'true', and 'superior' revelation, p 211. 'The tabernacle and its ritual provide him with a vocabulary and grammar with which he is able to express the insights that have been disclosed to him by the Holy Spirit (9:8).' p 225 Of the first covenant, Scripture states: 'It was symbolic for the present time' (9:9). The cultic language adequately reflected the deficiencies of the old Levitical system and set the stage for the redeeming work of Christ, the true and final High Priest, now ministering in the heavenly sanctuary (9:11-28). Philip Edgcumbe Hughes again delivered the goods regarding the match up in 9:15, viewed under the rubric of the one covenant of grace: 'Accordingly, the Abrahamic covenant is continuous with the new covenant, as its root, and identical with it. The 'new' covenant, therefore, not only superseded the 'first' or Mosaic covenant, but was also antecedent to it. The new covenant is not new to God but to us.' Hebrews p 365 We can now see that we are fully justified in viewing the Abrahamic promise as a referent to God's plan of salvation for all those who will come to believe.
Cleansed once for all, 'we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (10:10).' He made us at one with God by His offering of Himself, which further cast a shadow over the old covenant observances, delimiting them as proleptic. The OT sacrificial system pointed forward to Christ's effectual sacrifice, by which 'one offering He has perfected forever them that are sanctified' (10:14). The author repeated his indebtedness to the witness of 'the Spirit of grace', this time for illumination (10:15): 'The present tense of the verb in the introductory formula is significant; it indicates that through the quotation of the prophetic oracle the Holy Spirit is speaking now. The Spirit brings the detail of the text from the past into the present and makes it contemporary with the experience of the readers.' p 268 Divine grace speaking in the word served to confirm that the promises God made beforehand had immediate relevance for the people addressed in this homily. A third reference to the Holy Spirit was advanced in the fourth warning section (10:19-39). The gravity of defiance was expressed in 10:28 as 'violates', which, according to Lane, 'signifies the wilful repudiation of a divine institution.' p 293 That institution is the new covenant, and to trample the Son of God underfoot is equated with counting the blood of the covenant a common thing (10:29). This is tantamount to apostasy; a contemptuous insult directed toward the 'Spirit of grace'. How much severer will the judgment be of these who deliberately persist in sin, who spurn the provisions and privileges of the new covenant! 'Alternatively, the presence of the Spirit in the congregation is the sign of the eschatological grace of God expressed through Christ.' p 294 Lane glowingly defined trinitarian salvation, entreating the witness of the Holy Spirit, who intrudes into community life and by His very presence bespeaks of heaven continuously.
Orthodox Christians have always known suffering, but the challenge was to place it in a context as requisite to the attainment of true spirituality (indicated by the introductory formula, 'by faith'), and not self-improvement, heard so often in super-spiritual renditions of 11:1. 'Substance', as perpetuated by the Latin Vulgate, is more accurately rendered as 'foundation' [Gk: hypostasis], and therefore commentators have submitted in their exposition that God's gift of faith is the foundation on which our hope rests. Its etymological origin, providing further grounds of assurance, means 'possessing a title deed to a promise' or 'the Lord's guarantee to fulfill what He has promised'. Yet, as we are not at liberty to develop a system of our own liking, we are not to deny that the possession of faith necessitates the introduction of trials. The author of Hebrews recognized the intense suffering of those he was writing to as the cause for their wavering faith, but it was 'followed by the frank acknowledgment that the demonstration of invincible faith did not imply an immunity from persecution, humiliation, and violent death.' p 388 Lane disclosed a theology of perseverance: 'Although 'all' had received attestation in Scripture, 'they did not receive what had been promised' (11:39). The exemplars of the past did not obtain the promised eternal inheritance. The realization of particular promises (e.g. vv 11, 33) is not to be confused with the definitive fulfillment of the promise. Living in terms of the promises of God without experiencing the eschatological reward became characteristic of faith itself.' p 392
In the final warning passage, 12:14-29, Lane argued that the superior textual reading, the anarthrous 'the many' (12:15), be accepted, and as that which expressed an inclusive nuance, thereby rendering the warning valid unto 'the whole community', p 439. Parallelism is introduced by the triple warning to 'look diligently' [Gk: episkopeo]: 'watch continually that no one forfeits the grace of God'; 'watch continually that no bitter root grows up'; 'watch continually that no one becomes apostate or secular like Esau'. In their pursuance of personal sanctification, the members of the church in Rome were not to neglect the call to communal vigilance. To further depict the effect of the forfeiture of God's grace, the danger was presented in a different way, as that of the root of bitterness, which was to be combatted by the intimate engagement of all church members, seen as a preventative measure against defilement. The third parallel, that of Esau, was climaxed by 'godless' [Gk: bebelos], which is 'consistent with the writer's appeal to Deut 29:17 as the one who breaks covenant with God.' p 455 The eschatological hopes of the people of God are predicated upon their ability to understand the efficacy of Jesus' redemptive death, which Lane submits, as the new covenant Testator, is to be taken as a 'covenant sacrifice', p 472. This covenant sacrifice 'speaks of better things than that of Abel' (12:24). Lane unflinchingly explains why: 'The ratification of the new covenant on the ground of Jesus' death secured for the Church the promised blessings attached to that covenant.' p 473
In 13:1 our author continued the theme of brotherly love as shepherded through mutual care in the church. The practice thereof authenticated their worship. 'Authentic worship is an expansive concept that makes sacred all of life.' p 572 But the pastoral invocation of 12:20-21 formed the proper peroration to the homily; what follows on that is known as the postscript. If the death of Christ served as the ground for their receiving the promises, the resurrection of Christ served as the guarantee that His blood was not spilled in vain, for it is the divine seal of a covenant that is 'everlasting' (12:20).
'In all that He has done and does our Lord Jesus displays Himself as the great shepherd of the sheep - great, that is, in comparison with all other shepherds (12:20).' Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, Hebrews p 589
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