Matthew
Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament
Robert H. Smith
Augsburg, 1989.
348 pages

Full disclosure: Prof. Smith was a teacher and is a friend of mine, so I'm biased. I appreciate his open, accessible style that is always balanced and encouraging. He passed away earlier in 2006, teaching to the end.

Matthew 1-13
Word Biblical Commentary
Donald A. Hagner
Word Books, 1993, 405 pages

Matthew 14-28
Word Biblical Commentary
Donald A. Hagner
Word Books, 1995, 500 pages

Technical commentary with a mix of traditional historical critical and literary analysis.

A Translator's Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew
(Helps for Translator Series)
Barclay M. Newman; Philip C. Stine
London: United Bible Societies, 1988
930 pages, indices.

This work is, as the title indicates, intended to help those translating the Bible into other languages. Thus, it focuses on issues of precise translation: how do you translate "sheep" if the society doesn't have sheep, or, equally serious, regards them or shepherding very differently than the culture of the Bible.

Reading this or any volume is a fascinating study in the slipperiness of language and a good antidote to people thumping away on the King James Version.

Matthew 1-7
Continental Commentary
Ulrich Luz
Augsburg, 1989
450 pages, indices.

A translation from a German original. Careful, technical, detailed commentary. Notable for its attempt to take seriously the history of how each passage has influenced the church and how it has been understood..

Interpretation: The Gospel of Matthew
(October 1992 issue)