Major Review: Matthew: A Commentary

although Probably best known for his seminal and creative work on the Gospel of John, R. Alan Culpepper has produced what many preachers and teachers may regard as his magnum opus: a detailed and thorough analysis of Matthew’s Gospel that will become a standard guide to exegetical study for decades to come. Those who are familiar with Culpepper’s Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel (Augsburg Fortress, 1987) should know that he is doing something different here. The book does not offer a literary analysis of Matthew’s narrative with attention to plot lines, characterization, point of view, and the like. This commentary (like others in the New Testament Library series) draws upon traditional methods of historical criticism: textual analysis, redaction criticism, and other strategies for studying ancient texts.