WORD BIBLE COMMENTARY:
ACTS 1-9:42
By Steve Walton
Zondervan Academic. 697 pages. £57
ISBN 978 0 310 599 388
I have used most of the volumes of the Word Bible Commentary (WBC) over the past four decades. It has been a surprise that it has taken until now for the first volume of a proposed three-volume commentary on Acts to appear.
WBC has a reputation for being thorough, well-researched, technical commentaries. Some readers find the format rather clunky. It provides the following sections for each Biblical passage: Bibliography – Translation – Technical Notes – Form/Structure/Setting – Comment – and finally, Explanation.
I asked the author about this, and he explained his approach: “Once I got my head round the format, it was fine. It was important to realise that I was writing the different sections for different audiences. The Bibliographies are primarily for scholars and research students. The Translation and Notes I’ve written with a second-year Greek class in mind, asking [myself] which constructions, words, phrases, or textual variants they would need help with.
“The Form/Structure/Setting is for a similar audience, identifying and commenting on the major critical issues in studying the passage. I hope pastors will also find the structure analysis helpful in preparing to preach and teach. The detailed Comment is written for students and pastors. Greek is always translated, so as to be accessible to those who don’t have Greek or whose Greek is rusty. The Explanation section is for pastors and preachers, giving an overview of what’s going on in the passage and how it fits into the Acts narrative.”
My experience of WBC is somewhat hit and miss in theological stance and overall usefulness to the preacher. What about this one of Acts; is it a hit or a miss?
This volume begins with an extensive up-to-date General Bibliography.
Steve Walton’s Introduction is brief as he explains he is going to leave all the introductory material to the third volume but also sets the tone for the whole project. The opening line of his Introduction is: “Acts is an exciting book…” What becomes clear when reading the commentary is that the author communicates something of that excitement as he carefully handles the Biblical text.
This excitement can be felt even when ploughing through the denser more technical parts of this commentary. The joy can be seen in the Walton’s willingness to take a deep dive into the details of Luke’s second volume. It is one of those commentaries that shows the readers its workings. The author, when making exegetical choices, lets the reader in on the available options, before offering his own interpretation of the text. This means that even when the reader is not fully convinced by a detail of interpretation, they have found their own exegetical instincts challenged and their hold on that interpretation being strengthened and more fully informed.
Walton suggests that the best way to read the commentary is to read the Explanation section on a passage first, to get the “big picture” of what’s going on. Then dive into the detail in the earlier sections.
When I asked Steve Walton what he wanted the commentary to achieve, he said that he would love for the commentary to lead to a revival of interest in Acts in the academy and the church. His conviction is that Acts as narrative does “teach” by repetition, contrast, characterisation, plot and so forth. “I would be delighted if my commentary led to high-quality preaching on Acts as narrative”, he says.
This reviewer very much enjoyed reading this commentary. It has informed my study of Acts for some recent teaching and sermons. I am looking forward to using this volume in the future and for the appearance of volumes Two and Three in due time!
