Guthrie - The Letter to the Hebrews: an introduction and commentary

The original Tyndale Commentaries aimed to provide help for the general reader in his study of the Bible. They concentrated on the meaning of the text without going into scholarly technicalities. They aimed at a mean between being too short to be useful and being too extensive for the present reader. Most who have used the books agree that there has been a fair measure of success in reaching that aim.

Times, however, change. The first Tyndale Commentaries appeared over twenty-five years ago and it is felt that some volumes do not meet the changed needs. New knowledge has come to light in some areas. The discussion of critical questions has moved on. Bible-reading habits have changed. In an earlier day most people read the Authorized Version and comments could be based on that. This situation no longer obtains and indeed the last commentary in the original series was based on the Revised Standard Version. In all the circumstances it is felt that the needs of students will best be served by replacing some of the original volumes. This is not meant as an expression of dissatisfaction with them. They served the needs well, but in these days some new needs will be better served by new books.

The original aims remain. The new commentaries are neither minuscule nor unduly long. They are exegetical rather than homiletic. They do not aim to solve all the critical questions, but none is written without an awareness of the critical questions that engage the attention of New Testament scholars. Serious consideration is normally given to such questions in the Introduction, sometimes in Additional notes. But the main thrust of these commentaries is not critical. These books are written to help the non-technical reader to understand his Bible better. They do not presuppose a knowledge of Greek, and all Greek terms discussed are transliterated; but the authors have the Greek text before them and the commentaries are written in the light of the originals. The English text used is normally the Revised Standard Version, though it is borne in mind that these days readers use a variety of translations.

The original series owed an immense debt to Professor Tasker. He edited the whole, and wrote four of the commentaries himself. It is fitting to place on record this acknowledgment of our debt. I can therefore conclude in no better way than by echoing what Professor Tasker said of the original series. It is the hope of all concerned with these replacement volumes that God will graciously use them to help readers understand as fully and clearly as possible the meaning of the New Testament.

Leon Morris

There are some books in the New Testament which hold a certain fascination, not because they have an instant appeal, but because they are more than usually difficult. The epistle to the Hebrews falls into the latter category for me. That in itself might have provided a suitable reason for not writing a commentary on it. Yet its difficulties provide a challenge which cannot be lightly pushed aside. If my first aim has been to clarify my own understanding, this should provide an encouragement to the reader. I am in fact inviting you to join with me in exploring a book which contains many treasures of spiritual wisdom and theological insight.

My hope is that the quest will lead to as much spiritual enrichment for the reader as it has done for the writer. This is not to promise that all the problems have been solved, nor that this commentary can make any claims to fresh explorations. Writing a commentary is something like a personal testament. Although I have been deeply indebted to so many others who have preceded me in the task, my own contribution can claim uniqueness only on the grounds that it is the result of an encounter between the text and my own personal experience of New Testament study and Christian life.

Donald Guthrie