Davies & Allison, "Matthew" (3 volumes, ICC)
a brief review
Valuable insights
For me, the most valuable insights relate to the aphoristic sayings of Jesus. Almost every one of these is attested by one or more versions in Matthew's gospel.
Weaknesses
Its source analysis is based on a dubious belief in the hypothetical "Q".
- In spite of an extensive investigation into the Q hypothesis (Vol. I, pp.97-126), the authors nowhere consider the possibility that the Q material was partly derived from a source consisting entirely of aphorisms, and partly the result of Luke making use of Matthew. - see Luke used Matthew and a sayings source
- They concede that it is impossible to date the Q document, or to identify the city in which it was composed. Nor can they state who wrote it. This should have set alarm bells ringing about the supposed historicity of the document.
Overall Assessment
This commentary is amazingly well-researched. Apart from its endorsement of Q, it is absolutely superb, and is to be highly commended.