Capes, David B. Matthew through Old Testament Eyes. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel, 2017. Pb. 389 pp. $30.99. Link to Kregel David B. Capes is the executive director of the Lanier Theological Library. With Rodney Reeves, E. Randolph Richards, Capes contributed to Rediscovering Jesus (IVP Academic, 2015, reviewed here) and Rediscovering Paul (IVP Academic, 2017). His The Divine Christ: Paul, the Lord Jesus, and the Scriptures of Israel was published in the Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology series (Baker Academic, 2018). This is the fourth volume of the Through Old Testament Eyes series, the first since Seth Ehorn joined Andrew Le Peau as coeditor. In the series introduction, Le Peau observes that the New Testament writers were Old Testament people. Although this seems obvious, the symbols and literary patterns of the Old Testament are often overlooked in popular preaching and teaching on New Testament books. The TOTE series attempts to bridge the gap by setting the documents of the New Testament in the context of the Old Testament. This commentary is not a detailed intertextual study nor a commentary on how the New Testament uses the Old. The commentary aims to shed light on the Gospel of Matthew by observing various Old Testament texts to provide context. The Old Testament text may or may not be directly quoted or alluded to in Matthew. It is often the overall biblical theology of the Old Testament that is used to illuminate the New Testament. In his ten-page introduction, Capes explains that Matthew was the favorite gospel of the early church. After surveying the evidence for this status, he suggests that one of the reasons that Matthew achieved is that Matthew “creatively and consistently engages with the text of the Old Testament” (16). Matthew is structured around five sermons, and a key literary feature of the Gospel is the fulfillment of Scripture. Matthew often uses a fulfillment formula (Matt 2:13-15, for example). Many events in the gospel are grounded in the Old Testament. For example, unlike Luke, the virgin birth is a fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. Jesus is “God with us” who continues to be with us even until the end of the age (Matt 28:19-20). With respect to authorship date and place of writing, he acknowledges the book is anonymous. However, there is a strong tradition that the apostle Matthew was the author (19). Citing Papias And other early traditions, Capes states that “we are on good grounds” that the author was an eyewitness, likely writing from Syrian Antioch. He is sure that Matthew used the gospel of Mark, but he is unsure whether the temple was still standing when Matthew wrote. The Olivet Discourse uses language like a prophetic Oracle, which would imply a date in the late 60s or early 70s. He concludes this brief section on introductory matters by observing that the date for Matthew’s gospel does not matter as much for reading Matthew in context. In Matthew, Jesus is often seen in tension with Jewish groups, especially the Pharisees. Jesus describes them as hypocrites, even if they are faithful interpreters of the law. For Capes, these tensions are an intra-family issue (23). Not all Jews are responsible for Jesus's death. This is an important observation since the commentary intentionally reads Matthew’s gospel through the lens of the Old Testament. Like other volumes in the TOTE series, each chapter covers each chapter of the book. The commentary is on the English text (Although clearly informed by the Greek text). Sometimes, the notes are brief, treating phrases and sometimes larger chunks of text. This is necessary due to the brevity of the commentary style. No secondary literature is cited in the body, but occasional end notes point toward other academic literature. In keeping with the goals of the commentary, he often draws attention to Old Testament passages which help explain the text in question. For example, commenting on the story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man by first forgiving his sin (Matthew 9:1-3), Capes draws attention to Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the temple (2 Chronicles 7:13-14). The key phrase is “I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive the sin their sin, and I will heal their land.” “Forgiveness is not automatic,” Capes says, “it depends on God's people humbling themselves, praying, and repenting of their sin. But notice: God is the one who forgives” (143). He then cites Micah 7: 1819 and several other passages that describe God as the one who forgives sin. In the context of the miracle in Matthew 9, these Old Testament texts enhance our understanding of Jesus’s claim to be the one who forgives sin. Occasionally, the commentary blends Old Testament texts with Second Temple Judaism. For example, commenting on the miracles in Matthew 11: 4-6, he looks at miracles in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q521) and Isaiah. However, the commentary does not attempt to understand Jesus through the lens of the Judaism of his day but rather the Old Testament. This is not a “Through Mishnah Eyes” commentary! In keeping with the series design, each chapter has three types of sidebars. First, “What Does the Structure Mean?” These sidebars comment on the outline of the gospel, such as a discussion of the apocalyptic discourse in Matthew 24-25 or the structure of a series of parables (Matthew 19:30-20:16). Capes provides a comment on the three predictions of Jesus death (234-25). Although he indicated his belief that Matthew used the gospel of Mark, he rarely discusses any synoptic issues. Capes’ focus is entirely on the text of Matthew and how Matthew is better understood through the lens of the Old Testament. Second, each chapter contains at least one “Through Old Testament Eyes” sidebar. These comments examine connections to the Old Testament. For example, Matthew 12:42 refers to the Queen of the South. This leads to a discussion of Solomon and the visit of the Queen of Sheba. When discussing the virgin birth, Capes examines the obvious connection to Isaiah 7:14. Matthew 12: 5-21 is an opportunity to discuss the servant poem in Isaiah. Third, each chapter contains at least one sidebar entitled “Going Deeper.” These sidebars tend toward biblical theology and other intra-canonical connections. For example, he deals with the connection between sin and sickness, demonstrated by the healing of the lame man in Matthew 9:2-8. He looks back at several Old Testament texts that connect sin and sickness, but then he's quick to comment that not all disease and sickness are directly or indirectly related to sin (145). Conclusion. This commentary on Matthew does not cover every detail in Matthew's text, nor does it even attempt to. Nor is this an exegetical commentary on the Greek text of Matthew. Those are not the aims of the commentary series. Capes achieves his goal of reading the Gospel of Matthew “through Old Testament eyes” by providing a basic commentary on the English text and drawing attention to how the Old Testament sheds light on Matthew’s gospel. The style of the commentary will be valuable for laypeople as they work their way through the church’s favorite gospel. Other volumes in the Through Old Testament Eyes series: • • • Andrew Le Peau, Mark Through Old Testament Eyes (Kregel, 2017). Karen Jobes, John Through Old Testament Eyes (Kregel, 2021). Tremper Longman, III, Revelation Through Old Testament Eyes (Kregel, 2022) NB: Thanks to Kregel Academic for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work. Published on April 3, 2024 on Reading Acts.