This is the inaugural volume of the New Word Biblical Themes series. For some reason, only 15 volumes were ever written in the old series meaning that by far most in the WBC series did not have a corresponding offering in this series. The first thing you notice now is that unlike the old series each volume is not written by the author of the corresponding WBC volume. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes this new series more distinct, less likely to rehash information from the WBC series, and not bound by any of the weaknesses (or strengths) of the commentary. This series will be entirely in the hands of the new authors and the work they do.

That brings me to Nijay Gupta, who additionally happens to be the series editor. Richard Longenecker did the WBC volume back in 1990. That has been ranked as a high-class exegetical work ever since, though it has been consistently labeled a bit overboard with its entertainment of newer perspectives by many in the more conservative camp. Spring forward 34 years and I will say the same thing about Gupta. He works well from where he reasons, but do you accept that line? I found his work here easy to read and follow with all necessary scholarly spade work behind it, but he is dialed in to the wrong frequency for me.

Perhaps you’ve already guessed he is sympathetic to the New Perspective on Paul (NPP) and (full disclosure) I am not. Still, he divides how we view Paul’s thought in four main ways: 1) The Reformation Approach, 2) NPP, 3) the Apocalyptic Paul Approach, and 4) the Salvation-Historical Approach. He sees it as a combination of #2 and #4 while I would see it as a combination of #1 and #4. My viewpoint is unimportant as you are seeking a review of his book. My point is, more than in most books, your viewpoint is going to greatly affect your valuation of this book. Gupta himself says, “… leaning into one of these approaches leads to a particular kind of reading of Galatians, and promoting another one presents a different reading, sometimes starkly different.” This is a book about themes and your guiding theme orients everything else you say.

I still must commend certain things about this book. He lays the issues out well even if he, in your opinion, chooses the wrong option. There is value sometimes in reading on an entirely different track. Also, he very cogently and succinctly lays out his position in an understandable way. It’s quite easy to see what he believes, and why he believes it, even if you cannot agree with it.

And there you have it. Part of this book’s final score will be the viewpoint you had before you even cracked it open.

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.

This was the inaugural volume of the new Commentaries for Christian Formation (CCF) series. I’m sure they were pleased to snag N. T. Wright since he is such a major scholar. To be sure, he is controversial because he is one of the proponents of the New Perspective on Paul. Because I especially liked the new volume on Hebrews in this series, I backed up to check out this one. Since I’m not a NPP guy and because Wright isn’t in any of the main series I’ve consistently reviewed, this was my first foray into Wright’s writing.

By the end of the Introduction here, I felt I understood Wright and could see what all the hoopla was about. He is an engaging, even provocative writer. Rather than an academic work, I felt I was reading a captivating essay. The more I read, the more I wondered if it would help a lot of works to adopt that style. It is much more gripping and makes for more of what we might call a real reading experience. I must give Wright all the props for his writing.

Still, I wasn’t fully persuaded by his arguments. They had enough going for them that I could find places for caution in running mindlessly to our usual conclusions, but not enough to just overthrow them. (You can decide if I was too biased a reader). For example, he is convinced that the Reformation oriented New Testament studies away from what they were in the First Century (that will never do in some circles! ). Again, I think he gives us enough to consider more carefully earlier concerns, but no where near enough to think the Reformation recreated Christianity in its own image. From there his comments had value mostly in regard to when he was not trying to advance his scheme because, as I said before, the man unquestionably possesses advanced writing skills.

His work still has value in the commentary section. I see him as a guy standing at a different vantage point. Sometimes it’s too far away to see through all the bushes, but where he has a clear line of sight, it’s something else.

He’s probably geared quite nicely for Christian formation, probably more so than for theological precision for sure too. Based on what I’ve said, you’ll know how many stars to give this work.

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.

Galatians gets its turn in the outstanding EEC series. The series is one of my favorites in the major exegetical commentary category. In that vein, many releases are coincidentally coming out on Galatians (probably not the timing publishers really wanted), but this is easily one of the best.

The Introduction is well done and pretty conservative. It’s engagingly written and touches all the needed places. He takes the South Galatia View and lays out his case well. I wish he would have more directly addressed structure beyond his simple outline.

Even better than the Introduction is the Commentary proper. Exegesis fills his wheel house from wall to wall. In each passage, he gives some very detailed textual notes followed by his own translation. From there, he offers his most helpful work in the commentary section. It’s detailed, copiously footnoted, and hits the sweet spot on depth. After that, he gives theological comments of varying lengths. Pastors will appreciate the application and devotional implications section. Most sections have an additional exegetical comments, though I couldn’t quite gauge what determined if it went here or the earlier section. Each passage had its own selected bibliography.

If you’re building a theological library, you could start here. I’m pleased with this offering in this series I admire.

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.