Abstract
The First Urban Churches 2: Roman Corinth
edited by James R. Harrison and L. L. Welborn
Writings from the Greco-Roman World Supplement Series 8. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2016. 353 pp. $71.95 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-88414-111-2.
Volume two of The First Urban Churches focuses on the urban context of Christian churches in first-century CE Roman Corinth. An investigation of the material evidence of Corinth helps readers today understand the challenges, threats, and opportunities that the early Corinthian believers faced. Contributions from leading scholars focus on the inscriptions, archaeological remains, coins, and iconography of ancient Corinth in order to reconstruct the past and its social, religious, and political significance. The essays demonstrate decisively the importance of employing more than the upper-class literary evidence in grappling with the meaning and context of the Corinthian epistles in the New Testament.
1 Corinthians 1–9: A Handbook on the Greek Text
by Timothy A. Brookins and Bruce W. Longenecker
Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2016. 287 pp. $29.95 ISBN 978-1-6025-8763-2.
1 Corinthians 10–16: A Handbook on the Greek Text
by Timothy A. Brookins and Bruce W. Longenecker
Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2016. 262 pp. $29.95 ISBN 978-1-481-0534-1.
These volumes provide a foundational analysis of the Greek text of 1 Corinthians, with explanation of the form and syntax of the biblical text, guidance for deciding between competing semantic analyses, and engagement of important text-critical questions that are frequently overlooked or ignored by standard commentaries. By reflecting the most recent advances in scholarship on Greek grammar and linguistics, these handbooks are indispensable tools for anyone committed to a deep reading of 1 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians: A Handbook on the Greek Text
by Fredrick J. Long
Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2015. 350 pp. $34.95. ISBN 978-1-6025-8739-7.
What distinguishes the handbooks in this series from other available resources is the detailed and comprehensive attention paid to the Greek text of the New Testament. Each handbook provides a convenient reference tool that explains the syntax of the biblical text, offers semantic analyses, and deals with text-critical questions that have a significant bearing on how the text is understood, all in a succinct and accessible manner. The handbooks also reflect the most recent advances in scholarship on Greek grammar and linguistics.
The Wisdom and Foolishness of God: First Corinthians 1–2 in Theological Exploration
edited by Christophe Chalamet and Hans-Christoph Askani
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2015. 415 pp. $44.00. ISBN 978-1-4514-9020-6.
The first two chapters of 1 Corinthians have played a significant role in the history of Christian theology. Interpreting the central event in Christianity, namely the crucifixion of Jesus, Paul reflects on the wisdom and foolishness of God, which he opposes to the world’s wisdom. The “word of the cross,” which is “foolishness” to some and “scandal” to others, leads to an upheaval in standard ways of thinking. For two millennia, theology has often turned to these passages in order to sustain its reflection. Many central questions emerge from Paul’s text on the meaning of a crucified messiah and on God’s omnipotence, weakness, and suffering. This volume places exegetes, historians, philosophers, and theologians in conversation in order to better understand Paul’s text and its reception, and also to examine the ways in which it can nourish theological reflection today.
Exploring Second Corinthians: Death and Life, Hardship and Rivalry
by B. J. Oropeza
Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2016. 870 pp. $99.95 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8841-4123-5.
In 2 Corinthians, Paul responds to reports that the Corinthian congregation is questioning his competence as a divinely sent messenger. Through apologetic demegoria and the use of graphic imagery related to triumphal processions, siege warfare, and emissary travels and negotiation, Paul defends his constancy, persona, and speaking abilities as he extends the offer of clemency and reconciliation to his auditors. Oropeza’s multifaceted, comprehensive commentary combines rhetorical pictures (rhetography) with interpretive layers (literary features, intertextuality, socio-cultural, ideological, and sacred textures) to arrive at the rhetorical impact of Paul’s message for ancient Mediterranean discourse.
Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and His Letters, Second Edition
by Michael J. Gorman; foreword by John M. G. Barclay
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016. 731 pp. $48.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-7428-3.
This comprehensive, widely used text presents a theologically focused, historically grounded interpretation of the apostle Paul and raises significant questions for engaging Paul today. After providing substantial background information on Paul’s world, career, letters, gospel, spirituality, and theology, Gorman covers in detail each of the thirteen Pauline epistles. The text also includes questions for reflection and discussion at the end of each chapter, as well as numerous photos, maps, and tables throughout. The new introduction in this second edition helpfully situates the book within current approaches to Paul. Gorman also brings the conversation up-to-date with major recent developments in Pauline studies and devotes greater attention to themes of participation, transformation, resurrection, justice, and peace.
Paul and Economics: A Handbook
edited by Thomas R. Blanton IV and Raymond Pickett
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017. 474 pp. $39.00. ISBN 978-1-5064-0603-9.
The social context of Paul’s mission and his congregations has been the focus of intense investigation for decades, but only in recent years have questions of economic realities and the relationship between rich and poor come to the forefront. In Paul and Economics, leading scholars address a variety of topics in contemporary discussion, including an overview of the Roman economy; the economic profile of Paul and of his communities, and stratification within them; architectural considerations regarding where they met; food and drink, idol meat, and the Lord’s Supper; material conditions of urban poverty; patronage; slavery; travel; gender and status; the collection for Jerusalem; and the role of Marxist theory and the question of political economy in Paul scholarship.
God and the Faithfulness of Paul
edited by Christoph Heilig, J. Thomas Hewitt, and Michael F. Bird
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017. 842 pp. $49.00. ISBN 978-15064-2167-4.
N. T. Wright’s magnum opus Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2013) is a landmark study on the history and thought of the apostle Paul. This volume brings together thirty-three international scholars to critically assess an array of issues in Wright’s work. Essays in Part 1 set Wright in the context of other Pauline theologies. Part 2 addresses methodological issues in Wright’s approach, including critical realism, historiography, intertextuality, and narrative. In Part 3, scholars measure Wright’s representation of early Judaism, Greek philosophy, paganism, and the Roman Empire. Part 4 turns to Wright’s exegetical decisions regarding law, covenant, and election, the “New Perspective,” justification and redemption, Christology, Spirit, eschatology, and ethics. Part 5 speaks to the implications of Wright’s work for the church’s theology, sacraments, and mission, and for global responsibility in a “postmodern” age. The volume includes a critical response from Wright.
Theology as Interdisciplinary Inquiry: Learning with and from the Natural and Human Sciences
edited by Robin W. Lovin and Joshua Mauldin; foreword by William Storrar
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017. 202 pp. $32.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-7388-0.
Can a neuroscientist help a theologian interpret a medieval mystical text? Can a historian of religion help an anthropologist understand the effects of social cooperation on human evolution? Can a legal scholar and a theologian help each other think about the relation between fear of God and respect for the law? In this volume leading scholars in ethics, theology, and social science sum up three years of study and conversation regarding the value of interdisciplinary theological inquiry. This is a valuable and challenging collection for all who set out to think, write, teach, and preach theologically in the contemporary world.