Romans 1-8, Volume 38a: 38

by James D.G. Dunn

Book Overview

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310521823
• ISBN13: 9780310521822
• Release Date: April 2015
• Publisher: Zondervan Academic
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Read it before before buying it

Surely there will be someone else writing about this book, so I'm going try to help you in another way. When you start reading biblical commentaries you will need to be aware that the thoughts expressed by the author deal with facts and speculations that should of happened. You can NEVER rely on only one commentary to affirm something about the Bible. You need at least three good commentaries. Try to read biblical commentaries from different confessions of faith (e.g., Calvinism vs. Arminianism; Pentecostal vs. non-Pentecostal; Catholic vs. Protestant; Egalitarian vs. Complementarian; Amillennialism vs. Premillennialism vs. Postmillennialism; etc). Look for their arguments: What do they agree or disagree on? Which of them is closest to the biblical text? It's not a sin to read commentaries written from other points of view. You will notice that what is fact or solid argument will be seen over and over on different commentaries, so you will start learning what is speculation and what is not. As Haddon W. Robinson said in his book, Biblical Preaching, (second edition, page 22), "In approaching a passage, we must be willing to reexamine our doctrinal convictions and to reject the judgments of our most respected teachers." Remember, a commentary is not the biblical text. Do not replace the authority of the Bible with a commentary. The same apply for Study Bibles. The study notes there are not written by "apostles and prophets," so never confuse the "gospel" with the teacher or preacher. Learn to separate it. Commentaries are important because nobody can get a poem from one language and translate it with the same structure to another language. This simply does not exist. Words, phrases, and sentences are rooted in a specific time, culture and custom. About Bibles, the best way is to check different translations, but be cautious about a very loose translation. For you to appreciate any biblical commentary you need to know what level of reading you are. I'm going call them beginner, intermediate and advanced. I recommend the following biblical commentaries that you can start from. All of them have both Old Testament and New Testament. (If you're thinking of buying the whole set, look for the CD edition; it's cheaper and you can take it with you where you go.) Beginner - NIV Application Commentary (NIVAC) by Zondervan. (or) The Bible Speaks Today Series (BST) by IVP (This is a growing series and not yet complete.) Intermediate - New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT) and New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT) by Eerdmans Advanced - Word Biblical Commentary (WBC) by Thomas Nelson These are basic commentaries on their own level, but there are a lot of commentaries today, so don't forget to look for more information. Maybe you can get information from one of these: (1) Commentary and Reference Survey: A Comprehensive Guide to Biblical and Theological Resources by John Glynn, (2) New Tes

A reference book for any serious student of the N.T.

Commentaries are written with a variety of audiences in mind. Some are pitched at a "popular" level; they are accessible to Christians who do not have a degree in theology (and they may not be very helpful, since they tend to rehearse familiar ideas). Some are a little meatier, intended to aid preachers in sermon preparation. And some are written at an academic level; they debate the positions of other scholars.The Word Biblical Commentary series tries to address both of the latter two audiences. The commentaries provide assistance to scholars, preachers, and other serious students of the Bible.Word imposes a rigid format. Authors must begin each passage with a bibliography, followed by a translation with notes on the Greek manuscripts. Next there is a "form and structure" section which discusses grammatical and thematic links with other passages and calls attention to the literary techniques employed by the biblical author. Next there is a "comment" section which is quite detailed, allowing some room for interaction with other scholars. Finally there is an "explanation" section, which summarizes the message of the text without repeating all the technical details.Word's format inevitably introduces some repetition. For busy preachers, the trick is to zero in on the explanation section. Preachers will value the other sections of the commentary when there is a theological or textual problem which merits closer examination.Dunn's commentary succeeds brilliantly at both levels. Dunn is a leading authority in Pauline studies. His "new perspective on Paul" builds on the work of E. P. Sanders and has attracted the attention of scholars including N. T. Wright. He is bound to have his academic audience in mind at points in a commentary on Romans.But Dunn also put a great deal of thought into the explanation section of this work. He describes his approach in the author's preface. When he began to write, he concentrated on the explanation section of chapters 1-11 for two years. During that time, he restricted himself to only a few technical aids, in order to maintain a focus on the broad message of Romans rather than the technical details primarily of interest to scholars.The result is a reference book that any serious student of the New Testament will find helpful. Many readers will read only the explanation section most of the time. But the Word commentaries are relatively inexpensive, so Dunn's two volumes on Romans are still good value for the money.