Acts
About
"An excellent comprehensive analysis of the Lukan corpus. . . . Bock's interpretation is consistently clear, balanced, and well informed on contemporary scholarship. This commentary will no doubt become a standard on Acts."--Mark L. Strauss, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Following his authoritative two-volume commentary on Luke in the acclaimed BECNT series, Darrell Bock provides a substantive yet highly accessible commentary on Acts. With extensive research and thoughtful chapter-by-chapter exegesis, Bock leads readers through all aspects of the book of Acts--sociological, historical, and theological--to help them better understand and explain this key New Testament book.
As with all BECNT volumes, Acts features the author's detailed interaction with the Greek text. This commentary admirably achieves the dual aims of the series--academic sophistication with pastoral sensitivity and accessibility--making it a useful tool for students, professors, and pastors. The user-friendly design includes shaded-text chapter introductions summarizing the key themes of each thought unit.
About the series: The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (BECNT) series provides commentaries that blend scholarly depth with readability, exegetical detail with sensitivity to the whole, and attention to critical problems with theological awareness.
Endorsements
"Darrell Bock's long-anticipated sequel to his fine and detailed work on the Gospel of Luke is now available--a 760-page commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. Writing in a clear and engaging manner that most anyone can grasp, yet without skimping on interaction with scholarly discussion, Bock manages to critically analyze the huge corpus of literature on Acts with grace and finesse and to make his own contributions along the way. This commentary will serve us well for many years to come. Bock is back, and better than ever."--Ben Witherington III, professor of New Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary, doctoral faculty, St. Andrews University
"This commentary on Acts is a worthy complement to Darrell Bock's fine commentary on Luke's Gospel. While the text is unfailingly traditional in its interests and scope, Bock remains in touch with today's church by seeking to facilitate a robust conversation between Acts and contemporary readers. I especially appreciate his attention to the theological cast of Acts, rightly identifying God as the story's central character and the text's most essential referent. Judicious, learned, reverent, as clearly written as it is clearheaded in exegetical decisions, Bock's commentary makes a fine contribution to Acts criticism. I recommend its use for the seminary classroom and the pastor's study."--Robert W. Wall, Paul T. Walls Professor of Scripture and Wesleyan Studies, Seattle Pacific University
"Acts provides an enormous challenge to commentators, and we must be thankful to Darrell Bock for this fine, accessible commentary on the book. Bock convincingly maintains that Acts is a book focused on God and what God is doing, rather than a merely human-focused view, and repeatedly shows how the story of Acts is a story of God's actions to save and redeem people. He is particularly strong in giving careful attention to the exegetical payoff of the meanings of words and syntax. He provides judicious and accurate summaries of a wide range of scholarly viewpoints in English, French, and German--particularly valuable for those who read only English--and good critical engagement with these views. The commentary is well organized, and it is easy to navigate to a particular section or point of discussion. It will be of great value to pastors as well as students and their professors."--Steve Walton, senior lecturer in Greek and New Testament studies, London School of Theology
"Bock has written a superb commentary on this pivotal New Testament document. He has mastered the narrative of Acts as well as contemporary scholarship, and he has done so in a manner that is eminently accessible to the pastor and serious nonspecialist. He draws on the disciplines of theology, history, and sociology to bring the text to life for those who wish to study the second volume in Luke's story of the three earliest decades of the Christian movement. I recommend this book with enthusiasm."--W. Ward Gasque, author of A History of the Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles, president emeritus, Pacific Association for Theological Studies
Praise for the series:
"This series has set a new standard in reader-friendliness with its attractive presentation that combines detailed exegetical comment on the Greek text with accessibility for those who have little or no knowledge of the original language of the New Testament."--I. Howard Marshall, University of Aberdeen
The Author
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Darrell L. Bock
Darrell L. Bock (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is executive director for cultural engagement at the Hendricks Center at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas, where he also serves as senior research professor of New Testament studies. He is the author or...
Continue reading about Darrell L. Bock
Reviews
"For those familiar with Darrell Bock's mother-of-all-Luke-commentaries, you'll welcome the addition of his (delightfully more concise) volume on Acts. . . . Bock's commentary itself is very detailed, easy to read, and open to theological reflection. Bock is at his best when commenting on inter-textual links with the Old Testament and his discussions are always informative. . . . This is a commendable volume and is useful for students and pastors."--Michael F. Bird, Euangelion blog
"Bock, whose commentaries on Luke already belong on the preacher's bookshelf, has now released Acts. . . . The Acts volume completes Bock's magisterial study of Luke's writings in the New Testament."--R. Albert Mohler Jr., Preaching
"The Baker [Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament] series brings the best of Evangelical biblical scholarship to an intended audience of pastors, students, and biblically literate lay readers. . . . Fulfilling the purpose of this series and faithful to its Evangelical tradition, the commentary text is clear and insightful, offering plenty of leads to the historical context of Acts and its theological message."--Donald Senior, CP, Bible Today
"[Bock's] arguments are sensible and well documented. The strengths of this commentary are its comprehensive scope, close attention to textual issues and socio-historical context as well as the author's broad engagement with many of the critical issues in Acts scholarship. This last feature is demonstrated by an extensive and impressively up-to-date bibliography which directs the reader to more focused and in depth studies of individual issues. Bock achieves the difficult balance between producing a commentary useful for pastors and students, yet technical enough to be a valuable contribution to ongoing Acts scholarship. The writing is crisp and engaging, with an impressive level of clarity given the depth and complexity of the issues addressed. I recommend this book for theological libraries and for pastors, especially where resources are limited and one is seeking a foundational volume on Acts."--Aaron Kuecker, Theological Book Review
"Bock's much-anticipated Acts is now the standard comprehensive evangelical commentary on this book. This is one to definitely purchase and to use as the first step in careful exegesis passage by passage."--Ray Van Neste, Preaching
"A welcome addition to the Baker Exegetical Commentary series. Like the other volumes in this series, this one charts a middle course between overly technical commentaries on the Greek text and some all-too-brief expository ones, making it a helpful resource for pastor and scholar alike. One benefit of this volume is that the same author wrote the two-volume work on Luke's Gospel in the same series. . . . The ability to follow one author's assessment of Luke's themes consistently from the birth narrative to Paul's imprisonment in Rome in a three-volume set is a great asset. . . . Bock's work [is] an excellent comprehensive analysis of the Lukan corpus. . . . Bock's interpretation is consistently clear, balanced, and well informed on contemporary scholarship. This commentary will no doubt become a standard on Acts. . . . For student and pastor alike, this would be a good 'first buy,' when looking for a commentary on Acts."--Mark L. Strauss, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
"Bock's commentary on Acts is everything we would expect from a leading evangelical New Testament scholar and Dallas Theological Seminary professor. It is conservative in outlook, yet interacts with a wide range of scholarly views. It is clearly written and thus accessible to a broad spectrum of readers, but it also engages important critical issues. . . . Valuable bibliographic notes point the reader to other relevant works. . . . A concise introduction provides helpful summaries of key issues (e.g. genre, date, author, purpose) and major Lukan themes. . . . I warmly recommend this commentary as a wise and useful work of sound, evangelical scholarship. Christians in general and Pentecostals in particular will be well-served by this clear, balanced, and edifying commentary."--Robert P. Menzies, Pneuma
"All users will benefit from a distinguished scholar's massive erudition."--International Review of Biblical Studies
"Bock is best known for his various works on Luke's Gospel. . . . He now turns his skills to Acts. . . . The notes are full, fair and useful. . . . Among my students this is already the most popular commentary on Acts, I presume because they find it accessible and full."--Pieter J. Lalleman, European Journal of Theology
"Darrell Bock has made another important contribution to Lukan scholarship and the exegetical resources of pastors. . . . Bock meets the twin editorial aims of the Baker Exegetical series by providing serious engagement with both the primary text of Scripture and the secondary scholarly literature. . . . Bock's detailed verse-by-verse exegesis richly engages 'the terms used by Luke.' Their context is illuminated with 'a plethora of extra-biblical references,' and detailed attention to Luke's rich interaction with Israel's Scripture. Busy pastors will be drawn to summary paragraphs at the end of each section that rehearse its 'central teaching' and suggest its implications for Christian identity."--Gregory R. Perry, Interpretation
"Bock's industry has resulted in fine commentaries on [Luke and Acts] which leave few, if any, major scholarly issues pertaining to Luke and Acts unconsidered. . . . Bock has produced a most user-friendly commentary that is written with great clarity. The exegetical comments are carefully argued and opposing positions are discussed with due respect. . . . This commentary deserves to stand alongside the other major commentaries as a highly significant treatment of the text of Acts."--Paul Foster, Expository Times
"The best commentary on Acts is the one by Darrell Bock in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series. . . . Bock is exhaustive without being exhausting. His conclusions are judicious and his application, though relatively sparse, is solid. This was my go-to commentary [for preaching through the book of Acts]. An easy to use and well laid out series."--Kevin DeYoung, The Gospel Coalition blog
Praise for the series:
"In this age of unprecedented proliferation of biblical commentary series, it is an outstanding accomplishment for the Baker Exegetical series consistently to have produced what with only rare exceptions have become the best available commentaries on the Greek text of the New Testament book or books treated."--Craig Blomberg, Denver Journal
"Rigorous exegesis by seasoned scholars with explicit evangelical commitments. This is also one of the best-designed, easy-to-read series as it includes intro matters, then each commentator's translation, commentary, and textual notes for every passage. Very reliable."--Bruce Riley Ashford and Grant Taylor, Between the Times blog