Epistle to Hebrews

by F.F. Bruce

Book Overview

New in the Eerdmans Classic Biblical Commentaries collectionFor many readers the Epistle to the Hebrews is among the most difficult books of the New Testament. Understanding this rich, complex letter... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802823165
• ISBN13: 9780802823168
• Release Date: June 1990
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Epistle of the Hebrews

The Epistle to the Hebrews (The New International Commentary on the New Testament) This is a brilliant commentary on Hebrews. One of the better theologically written by one of the theological greats! A must have for any serious Bible student. Bruce's opinion on Roman Jews being the designated target audience was not thoroughly convincing, yet he does say himself he is not completely convinced in his introduction. That is the only real negative on this commentary. I look forward to David Allen's commentary in the NAC series :O)

Scholarly and Spiritual at the same time

As I was preparing to teach an adult Sunday School class on the book of Hebrews I bought three books on the epistle. One was a "common man's" explanation, another was a commentary from a famous preacher, the other was F.F. Bruce's commentary. My thought to use the "common man's" version for simple breakdown of the book, the famous preacher for color, and F.F. Bruce would fill in with scholarly commentary and insights. By the end of our class, I never even cracked the other two books. F.F. Bruce does it all. What I found was that the common man's explanation was a mess, and the famous preacher nearly identically copied F.F. Bruce's structure and argumentation (but he had cool stories). The surprising thing about this commentary is Bruce's use of Evangelical poetry by Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, and John Bunyon to illustrate points the writer of Hebrews was trying to make. His use of historical documents to bolster points was also helpful to me. In one instance he used a portion of a letter Lucian wrote regarding how Christians were looking after an imprisoned Christian named Proteus Peregrinus. This was used as an example of the type of love being called for in the 13th chapter. To those who care about such things, it is a solidly Evangelical work. I am guessing Jesus Seminar scholars may want to set their hair on fire after reading some of Bruce's conclusions. His conclusions, though are based on solid reasoning and scholarship. They are not haphazard. Another thing to warn is that this book is not for a beginner. The format and writing borders on the "dry" side. It's a commentary, not entertainment. But the treasures held inside are worth digging for. I really appreciate the effort he put into this.

Superior exegesis

F. F. Bruce, long a leader in biblical exegesis, is at his best in this tome on the letter to the Hebrews. Repackaging an earlier work, this edition is a fine addition to any pastor's or biblical student's library.

A first rate commentary on Hebrews

I have to disagree with two of the reviewers here who have some negative comments on this commentary. As I am preaching through Hebrews, I've been looking at a number of commentaries. I look for helpful exegetical comments and summarizations, interaction with other scholarly viewpoints, and for spirituality in the comments. I believe Bruce gives us all three categories. Let me illustrate what I mean. F.F. Bruce sees Hebrews 1 as part of a larger section of material extending through the end of chapter 2. He titles this 'The Finality of Christianity'. He then breaks chapter 1 into two parts, v.1-4 (more than prophets, Jesus is God) and 5-14 (superior to the angelic beings-citing seven groups of verses). He points out there are seven statements about Christ in v. 1-4 and seven scripture quote sections in v.5-14. He then goes on to draw implications from these that are helpful for the scholar somewhat, but more so for a bible course teacher or a preacher in the pulpit. One of his applications is the demolition of the JW view that Christ was originally an angel. After all the second section deals entirely with the concept that Christ is superior to angels. His exegetical comments on the term 'universe' in Hebrews 1 help cut the legs out from under a lynch pin in the heretical view called 'open theism'. Although he doesn't take time to dive into the controversies, if you are familiar with them even a little, his comments are enough to help you realize that these verses are very significant in crucial debates among contemporary Evangelical circles. I just found the observations he makes skip over the superfluous ones I have read in some other commentaries. His points seem pretty convincing and pretty relevant. I think this is another excellent commentary from F.F. Bruce. It's amazing to me that one man could produce so many good commentaries on so many different books of the bible. I also think his material would help a SS teacher who goes deep in his classes. Although one doesn't need to know Greek to use this commentary, he deals with significant points in the Greek text. Again in chapter 1 he points out that the scepter of uprightness uses a term which originally meant 'straight'. The idea of just or straight measurements does help clarify the exact nuance of the sort of rule referenced by this passage (I don't think this is an etymological fallacy-but a helpful insight by Bruce). After reading several commentators besides Bruce, I found others to either lack in exegetical balance but to contain a lot of spiritual vim and vigor...or to be exceptionally boring and technical. This commentary blends scholarship and spirituality well. I would say it is truly superior to most of the other commentaries I have. Other excellent ones on Hebrews include Ellingworth and Murray. Lane is good also.

For the serious(but not necessarily scholarly) Bible student

Bruce has carefully and thoroughly digested the scholarship of the Book to the Hebrews. The novice might find some portions difficult or even beyond them but any Bible College student will benefit from the text and footnotes. I am using this book as the textbook for a course I am teaching in Hebrews.