If you are looking for a quality textbook on Paul, then you should consider this second edition of “Rediscovering Paul” by David B. Capes, Rodney Reeves, and E. Randolph Richards. It addresses enough of modern scholarly debates on Paul to please students while being well-written enough to please pastors or Bible students.

I felt that chapter 1 about placing Paul in his times and world was worth the price of the book. It read so well, and so engages the reader, that it was a pure joy. Some works that explain to us how we err in viewing Paul through Western eyes are so dry, but that could not be said of this one.

The next chapter addresses what the authors call the Christophany. Some modern scholars almost paint Paul and Christ as rivals, but these authors do a good job of making them friends. Still, they reference and interact with some of those wild scholarly theories. In fairness, as a textbook they had no choice.

Chapter 3 looks at Paul as a letter writer and contains some interesting information I had not seen anywhere else. The next four chapters consider Galatians, the Thessalonian letters, the Corinthian letters, and Romans. The other Pauline letters are addressed in chapters 8 and 9. The final chapters consider Paul’s theology, his legacy, and then viewing his letters in modern times.

There are some maps, a very helpful glossary for students, a lengthy bibliography, and several helpful indices at the end of this attractive hardback.

There were some capitulations to some of the newer scholarly conclusions that I couldn’t agree with, but overall this is a quite helpful book. It succeeds on every level as a textbook, but as a pastor I’d label it an asset to the rest of us too. It’s engaging writing style was its best asset. Some of the interesting asides covering no more than a page or so were also appreciated. I warmly recommend this volume.

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.

These early volumes of the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (EEC) series are impressive. Just think, if they hadn’t decided to start printing these formerly digital-only volumes, I would’ve missed it completely. This volume on the Book of Jude by Herbert W. Bateman IV is of the same high quality of the earlier volumes I’ve seen.

Bateman has turned out a fine Introduction to the Book of Jude. I love the way he clearly expresses his conclusion at the end of each section. He begins with discussing some of the textual issues before he jumps into authorship and place of writing. As you would expect, he discusses which Jude this book is about and other theories of authorship. His conclusions are conservative. When he addresses the recipients of the letter, he seems to feel that we are to decide between either Jewish or Gentile Christians. He concludes a Jewish ethnicity of Jude’s readers and that affects everything he discusses thereafter. He next discusses dating the letter and has an outstanding overview of other scholarly opinions. He sees it as written during the apostolic period.

He reaches a unique conclusion that the revolutionary forces of the Judean rebels are the false teachers, or opponents, of Jude. To be honest, I wasn’t convinced of his conclusion, but found it fascinating. You couldn’t accuse this volume of being a regurgitation of some other commentary for sure. The Introduction is thorough and including the bibliography almost reaches 100 pages.

The commentary is outstanding and holds up well with any major exegetical commentary. The depth is good, the options well-defined, and the conclusions are carefully stated. He interacts with scholarship both ancient and modern in this carefully researched volume. Every passage receives an introduction, textual notes, translation, and detailed commentary, followed by biblical theology comments and application and devotional implications.

If you pick up this commentary, I think you’ll agree that it has to be in the running for the best exegetical commentary we have on the Book of Jude today.

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.

Volume 12 of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary (EBC) is a major revision of volume 11 of the old series that also covered Ephesians through Philemon. Only two authors revised their earlier works and every other commentary is a new treatment by a different scholar. What we have here will be a real blessing to pastors and Bible students.

The Book of Ephesians is now handled by William Klein. Considering the importance of Ephesians, some will label it a very concise volume. Still, don’t see the brevity as superficiality. This volume is well done. In the Introduction he discusses authorship, structure, setting, date of composition, purpose, the relation to Colossians, theology, and textual issues. There’s also a fine bibliography and outline. If you see a negative review of this one, you may find that it’s not for any lack of quality work, but his corporate view of election and the fact that he’s a complementarian may be the real reason. I appreciate this work.

The Book of Philippians now has highly-respected scholar David Garland as its commentator. That’s a coup for this series. The writer of massive, major commentaries has proven himself adept here with a briefer entry. In the Introduction, he discusses background, date and place of origin, integrity of the letter, purpose and occasion, literary form, followed by a bibliography and outline. The commentary itself is outstanding.

Todd Still does Colossians. In his introduction he begins by discussing the overarching Christological theme. He surveys all the other typical introductory issues, also providing a bibliography and outline. The commentaries in the same fine style as the rest of these in the series.

Robert Thomas revises his earlier work on Thessalonians. Some criticize him for his dispensational viewpoint, but I’ve always enjoyed reading it. It appears to me that he took care in doing the revision and it’s even a far better work than before.

Andreas Kostenberger replaced two authors from the old series in his handling of the Pastoral Epistles. He has since written other commentaries on those epistles and this is a fine improvement over the older series (though I like them as well). He tackles each of those three epistles separately. Again, this is a quality commentary for pastors to have.

Philemon sees a revision by the previous author and continues to be a very usable entry.

This book is another economical, wonderful tool for pastors and teachers. Many of us have used the older set for several years, and appreciate the care that went in producing this new set that will last for years to come. I give it the highest recommendation.

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.

Volume 2 in this revised edition of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary (EBC) now covers from Numbers through Ruth. It’s a huge volume of over 1300 pages! You will find the same quality commentary throughout that the series is known for. It is a pastor’s favorite for many.

The Book of Numbers has been revised by Ronald Allen. He was given more space in the old set and that continues to be true in the 450 pages of quality commentary we have here. Though there has been some updating, the Introduction is still divided into the same 12 parts. Some of the most provocative are the two sections that outline the problem of the large numbers and the suggestion of a solution.  I can’t personally follow his theory there, but appreciate the overall conservative approach. The commentary itself is one of the better available today.

The commentary on Deuteronomy has been replaced with a new one by Michael Grisanti. The Introduction is short, but covers the basis. The bibliography is extensive, and some helpful maps have been added to the commentary. The commentary itself is successful because of its clarity and conservative conclusions.

The commentary on Joshua also has a new author in Helene Dallaire. Though briefer than Numbers and Deuteronomy above, it has still been well received as a mid-length commentary. The Introduction gives an overview of the book, and one of Joshua,  followed by a discussion of authorship and composition, literary form, historical background and dating, the people of the land, and theology. There’s also a bibliography and outline. Since the scholarly world is really varied in dating Joshua, the author gives a good synopsis of both conservative and liberal views. There are some helpful charts throughout the commentary too. I would label this commentary as solid and helpful.

The commentary on Judges also has a new author, this time by highly respected Mark Boda. He stays within the confines of the series, which limits page number, but still succeeds in providing a concise, yet penetrating volume. He approaches Introduction by discussing in turn, its canonical forms, its historical contexts, its sociological dynamics, it’s a literary shape, it’s rhetorical purpose, and its theological potential. He also has a nice bibliography and outline. In using it you will easily see the hand of a seasoned commentator.

George Schwab provides a new commentary on the Book of Ruth. I had a lot of trouble agreeing with his conclusions in the Introduction. The chart on page 1308, however, was outstanding. The commentary itself is helpful, but I found a few conclusions in the commentary a little over the top as well. I’m not saying it isn’t worth consulting, just that it wouldn’t be my favorite.

I don’t see how you could go wrong with this thick commentary covering five books of the Old Testament. When you think about what you’re getting, you could even call it an economical value too. This is really a nice one!

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 book is the inaugural volume in the Through Old Testament Eyes commentary series. Series editor Andrew T. Le Peau contributes this volume on the Gospel of Mark. As we are starting to see such a proliferation of commentary series these days that the market is almost glutted, so a new series especially needs a unique contribution to not get lost in the multifarious market. If this first volume is any indication, I think this series is going to have something to say that’s not found in others. The Old Testament angle is only part of its success.

Be sure to read the Series Preface to see how it’s set up. In the Introduction to Mark’s Gospel, you immediately see that this series is aimed at pastors and Bible students, not academic types. He gives a long movie analogy of movies borrowing from older movies to describe Mark’s borrowing from the Old Testament. It’s in this Introduction that you find one of the highlights that will be carried through the whole commentary. Scholars often make a discussion of structure a quite nebulous exercise, but he takes it and in a few paragraphs turns it into something truly helpful. Compared to others, the Introduction is short, but I think it succeeds for what this series intends to be.

Every passage has commentary with an emphasis on its relation to the Old Testament. That does help where other commentaries sometimes lack. It’s those sections in the dark shading that I love the most. They contain all kinds of helpful information. It often involves explaining structure. Many times there’s a helpful chart that aids understanding even more.

I see this commentary as the perfect secondary commentary. It holds up well with the other serious paperback commentaries on the market. If this series can sustain what we have here, it will likely be quite successful. In any event, this first work on Mark is a winner.

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 volume by Murray Harris is one of the most respected in the well-known New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC) series. Its success arises from its masterful exegesis, its scholarly clarity, and its warmth. Along the way, you will have one of the most conservative entries in the series as well. Having already written a helpful commentary II Corinthians in the EBC series aimed at pastors, Harris flexed his scholarly muscles in producing this meticulous, yet clear technical commentary.

Harris provides a massive bibliography running 100 pages. He begins the Introduction by digging into the literary issues of II Corinthians. I appreciated that on page 1 he wasted no time in saying, “one of the areas in which there is consensus among NT scholars is that Paul was the author of 2 Corinthians….” Quickly he segues into where the strongest debate concerning this book always happens – how it fits with I Corinthians. He explains what he calls “the severe letter”. He works through all the main possibilities before he begins defending the integrity of II Corinthians. There’s debate also about some of the passages and if they possibly come from a different hand than Paul. Again, these passages are covered from every possible angle and he is quite open to conservative solutions.

He also tackles the occasion, purpose, and outcome of the book. From there, he comes back at the book with a view to explain historical issues. In doing so he will review the date, Paul’s opponents, and the collection for Jerusalem. He works with care in producing a chronology before he dives into discussions about structure. There’s also some good discussion of theology in the book, which you will also find in the commentary itself.

The commentary proper is over 800 pages on the text. It is in perusing these pages that you will see that Harris lives up to the reputation that has attached to this book. As with most volumes in this series, the English translation of the Greek presented is nearby and fairly easy to follow even for non-Greek readers.

This volume is easily the best we have on the more technical side for II Corinthians today. Don’t miss it.

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.