Matthew 8-20, by Ulrich Luz. Trans. James E. Crouch. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001. Pp. xxxvii +606. $69.00. At long last we have more of Ulrich Luz's brilliant Matthew commentary available in English translation. The is little complicated. Chapters 1-7 of the commentary in English translation had already been published by Augsburg in 1989 (German, 1985), long before Luz's commentary was co-opted for the Hermeneia series. In an editor's note at the beginning of the present volume, Helmut Koester promises new volume 1 (chs. 1-7) for Hermeneia, to be produced after the publication of volume 3 in the Hermeneia series (covering chs. 21-28). The new volume 1 will be a revised edition. . . reflecting the author's changes and including full bibliographic information as well as indices for the entire work (p. xxxvii). The present volume contains all of volume 2 of the German EKK (Evangelisch-- Katholischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament) together with about one-third of volume 3 (which covers chs. 18-25). Although volume 2 of the German edition was published in 1990 and is hence twelve years old, there is unfortunately no updating in the present volume and hence its bibliography is outmoded by more than decade. It seems pity that it was not brought up to date when the obvious occasion of putting it into the Hermeneia format presented itself, but this may well be due to the fact that when the present volume was being produced Luz was still busy working on the fourth volume. Since volume 3 of the German was published in 1997, the bibliography for chs. 18-20 in the present volume is not quite so badly out of date. Volume 4 of the German has recently been published and contains the commentary on chs. 26-28, adding now yet another dimension, namely, extensive treatment of the influence of Matthew's passion and resurrection narratives in the of art (including many pictures) and even music. Unquestionably the most unusual and remarkable trait of this commentary is the extensive space given to Wirkungsgeschichte, history of influence, that is, examination of the way in which each pericope has been interpreted throughout the of the church and the cumulative effect of earlier interpretations upon later ones. This provides exceptionally rich insight into what might be called the interpretive potential of each passage. Indeed, it was this aspect of the commentary, as Luz worked through the text, that impacted him in the most significant way. What became increasingly apparent to him in the study of Wirkungsgeschichte was the openness or multivalency of texts and the extent of the role that the interpreter's own setting and presuppositions play in the interpretation of texts. The revolutionary implications for traditional, historical-critical exegesis in its quest of single, objective meaning-the intention of the author-have been spelled out by Luz in his Matthew as History: Interpretation, Influence and Effects (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994), which can serve as companion volume to the commentary. The of interpretation demonstrates that texts can have different meanings in different contexts. The range of constructive uses of pericope is in effect virtually unlimited. This does not mean for Luz, however, that any or every interpretation of text is acceptable. He advocates the use of two criteria that can be used in separating valid interpretations from false ones: correspondence with the essential elements of the of Jesus and congruence with an expression of love. Because of our inability to arrive at final, definitive interpretation of any passage, Luz rightly insists upon the importance of humility and dialogue. The amount of attention to Wirkungsgeschichte and its significance for interpretation makes this commentary unique. Working my way through it, I was repeatedly struck by its distinctiveness. Unlike the typical commentator, Luz does not feel obligated to comment on every detail of the text in more or less equal depth. …