The Acts of the Apostles : A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary Paperback – November 13, 1997

`The Acts of the Apostles, A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary' by the distinguished and prolific professor, Ben Witherington III may be one of the most readable Bible commentaries I have found. For that and several other reasons, it may be the very best commentary for any reader who approaches the Christian scriptures as literature rather than as Gospel.The author's subtitle emphasizes the fact that unlike so many other commentaries, such as the superior volumes from Luke Timothy Johnson (Sacra Pagina series) and Joseph Fitzmyer (Anchor Bible series) as well as Pastoral aids such as the Robert W. Wall contribution on `Acts' in `The New Interpreter's Bible', this volume is far less dedicated to linguistic studies or theological interpretation. One symptom of this emphasis is that the book does NOT include either the author's own translation of the text, or anyone else's translation. You need a copy of the Bible open to `Acts' as you read Witheringtons book. This is especially true since much of Witheringtons text is a verse by verse commentary on the text. But, unlike Johnson, Fitzmyer, and others, the text flows in one continuous narrative rather than being broken up into different sections on `interpretation', `exegesis', and `commentary'. The other side of the coin is that unlike Robert Tannehill's widely quoted `The Narrative Unity of Luke - Acts', Witherington deals with the text from beginning to end, rather than dealing with topics, with common material taken from different parts of the text, making it a difficult resource when one is studying the text chapter by chapter.In addition to these organizational aspects, Witherington's text is simply better written than many commentaries, and therefore, it yields its insights far more readily than those texts weighed down with references to every scholarly work on `Acts' since Eusebius. That is not to say there are no scholarly references. It's just that Witherington integrates them into his writing in a far smoother manner.It also helps in that Witherington is dealing with his subject's (Luke) writing style and social and historical context. This adds to the interest to a lay reader. To highlight this emphasis, Witherington often digresses into historical asides to aid in understanding the context. Witherington also discusses certain aspects in depth that other commentators may ignore or pass over with the briefest comment. One example is the occurrence of the `we' passages which pop up in parts of the narration of Paul's missionary journeys. These have no theological or linguistic significance, but they are fascinating evidence for the fact that either author Luke accompanied Paul on some of his trips or Luke was copying material verbatim from another travel companion's journals.Overall, Witherington's works are a real breath of fresh air when compared to many other Biblical commentary writers. I have seen other commentaries on `Acts' and some Hebrew scriptures which are simply one scholarly reference piled upon the next, making them unreadable except to someone doing a dissertation on the subject.Witherington does not ignore comments on Luke's Greek, but his reflections seem to have more substance than most. The problem is that one needs a second volume to see the Greek in context. One is best served by having an interlinear text open as you read Witherington's linguistic comments.If you are doing a Lay Bible study of `Acts', Witherington's book should really be one of your sources, but you should supplement it with Johnson, Fitzmyer, or F. F. Bruce's `The Book of the Acts'.

Without a doubt, the finest work on Acts to date!! I am just winding up a series in Acts, it'll be 30-some parts, and in the process of preparing these sermons over the last 2/3 of the year I have read and discarded more commentaries on Acts than one could imagine, and by some "fine" authors. But no one does what Witherington does, in bringing together the best of existing research and commentary work on Acts, weeding through and synthesizing the narrative material (and earlier commentaries thereon) into a beautiful and cohesive whole. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR TIME ON ANYTHING LESS THAN THIS BOOK! Witherington succeeds in really getting to the core of Luke as a believer, as a chronicler of the early Church movement; Witherington digs deep into historical background and the issues that Paul, Peter, Barnabas, early church et al., are dealing with, in a way that makes passages and texts long cloudy and mysterious, finally clear and lucid (e.g., stuff on the holy spirit, and 2nd baptisms; underlying rationale for the direction and motivation of Paul's 3-4 missionary journeys, etc.) The end result being that if you stick with this--as a preacher of the Gospel--you will do a tremendous service to your congregation, bringing first rate, deeply abiding, Gospel rich encouragement, knowledge, and challenge to your people.Now as to the criticisms I've seen listed in the reviews section; not to be too disparaging, but they are weak criticisms, wielded I think by the intellectually tired or just lazy. The text is certainly thick (≈840pgs.), and for that reason perhaps intimidating. But it is highly readable, and if you find the Gospel and the Church and Jesus at all interesting, then it is nothing short of riveting stuff; like your wife is calling you 3 times to dinner for your inability-to-put-it-down-goodness! I would also add that the crossover material, his dealing with issues that crop up in Corinthians and Romans, is a beautiful bonus for understanding and preaching many of the other epistles. By the end of this book you'll find yourself not only grateful to God for the work Witherington has done, but a little disappointed frankly in most of the rest of your library; i.e., Witherington raises the bar in every way, not just on Acts but on every book. If every great Church scholar we had were simply tasked with committing themselves thoroughly to one book of the Bible and doing it the way Witherington has, our libraries would all be far smaller and, paradoxically, more complete. Well done Witherington!P.S., oh, and if you're a Reformed guy, worried that Witherington being not-Reformed affects the handling of this book, fear not. Witherington is so faithful to the exposition of the narrative scope of Acts that systematics never enters into the game. I love that Witherington exercised such professional restraint and grace.

This is good but heavy going. Would suit academics and pastors.

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