Matthew: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Bible, Vol. 26)

This is volume 26 of The Anchor Bible, a new  translation done book-by-book with accompanying  introduction, notes, and  comments.

Matthew is translated and edited by  the late William Foxwell Albright, senior editor  of The Anchor Bible, and by C. S. Mann, dean of the  Ecumenical Institute Theology, St. Mary's Seminary  and University,  Baltimore.

Matthew is the most familiar of the  gospels, best known for its parables, miracle  narratives, and the long Sermon on the Mount. Recognized  by the early Church as the most fitting  introduction to the New Testament, its special concern is to  announce Jesus as the fulfillment of the 0ld  Testament. Hence its emphasis on the Law, on ethics  based on the traditional theology of the Covenant,  and on the centrality of Messianic  hope.

This commentary sets the understanding of  Matthew in the context of its author's own religious  and secular background. Believing that the text  should be approached directly, the writers of the  commentary make constant use of the recently  discovered historical and linguistic evidence now  available to elucidate it. This approach results in  placing Jesus firmly within the framework of  ascertainable Jewish tradition in first-century  Palestine.

The writers hold that the claim of  Jesus to fulfill the Law and not to abolish it must  be taken seriously. They have therefore taken a  fresh look at the legal discussions in  Matthew. In the light of their  examination, there emerges first a revaluation of the meaning  attached to such key words as "parables"  and "hypocrite" and then a new and vital  significance for such words.

The  result is a new respect for  Matthew, a highly reliable early source for the ministry  of Jesus, and an examination of that ministry  uncluttered by the presuppositions of various forms of  modern "Platonism."