Luke

Rating:
Summary: An excellent value
Review: ... Craig Evans has given us a commentary on Luke that is packed with information. This commentary is not nearly as detailed or in-depth as others on Luke (i.e. Bock, Fitzmeyer, etc), but it wasn't intended to be; as is acknowledged by Evans in the introduction. Evans begins with a concise, yet helpful introduction in which he argues that this gospel was written by Luke, a companion of Paul, sometime around 75-85 C.E.

After the intro, Evans picks up the commentary on Luke by breaking it into sections of roughly a half chapter in length. The commentary is based on the NIV translation. For a commentary as short as this one, I was amazed at the amount of historical background provided. Its obvious that Evans is very well-read on this gospel. He covers many differing opinions on passages which have received different interpretations.

If you're looking for your first commentary on Luke and you're on a tight budget, then you can't go wrong with this one.... Evans fills a much needed area by providing an affordable, yet scholarly commentary on Luke.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent value
Review: ... Craig Evans has given us a commentary on Luke that is packed with information. This commentary is not nearly as detailed or in-depth as others on Luke (i.e. Bock, Fitzmeyer, etc), but it wasn't intended to be; as is acknowledged by Evans in the introduction. Evans begins with a concise, yet helpful introduction in which he argues that this gospel was written by Luke, a companion of Paul, sometime around 75-85 C.E.

After the intro, Evans picks up the commentary on Luke by breaking it into sections of roughly a half chapter in length. The commentary is based on the NIV translation. For a commentary as short as this one, I was amazed at the amount of historical background provided. Its obvious that Evans is very well-read on this gospel. He covers many differing opinions on passages which have received different interpretations.

If you're looking for your first commentary on Luke and you're on a tight budget, then you can't go wrong with this one.... Evans fills a much needed area by providing an affordable, yet scholarly commentary on Luke.

Rating:
Summary: You Get What You Pay For
Review: Craig Evans is a well-respected New Testament scholar and this is one of the least expensive commentaries by someone of his caliber that you will find. Even so, it remains true that you get what you pay for.

In a brisk introduction, Evans covers authorship, date, emphasis, relationship with the other canonical gospels, and basic outline. He then moves through the text, section by section in brief overviews of each that have a few additional notes at the end. As you would expect of someone of Evan's caliber, he often provides insight and overviews that are helpful to the layperson. However, if you are a layperson who is a little more informed than the average, you will probably be better served by saving up a few bucks and buying a more expensive commentary.