Tyndale Commentaries (IVP) continues its quest to revise its venerable Old and New Testament series. With a few Old Testament volumes already out, this volume is the first one for the New Testament. In this case, the editors chose to retain well-known scholar Douglas Moo. Although it is not a major revision (some paragraphs are unchanged), Mr. Moo is an active scholar who has also written a larger commentary on James as well as several others. The editors made a good choice here.

As we have come to expect from this series, the introduction is succinct and appropriate. All the key issues are brought up and made sense of. Authorship, background, date, structure, and theological emphasis are all well covered. I found myself agreeing with many of his conclusions.

In the commentary, each passage is discussed in terms of context, commentary, and theology. That format is ideal to help grasp the meaning of the passage. The help is more substantial than many of the briefer commentaries out there.

In the key test in evaluating the value of any commentary on James, this volume succeeds in making friends of Paul and James and their respective theologies. Both in the Introduction and the commentary proper, Mr. Moo, with clear analysis of the theological points and probing interaction with the text itself, makes his case.

Of course there is much more to James and this volume handles it well too. This is a solid commentary.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.