Book Review: INTERPRETING THE PAULINE LETTERS

INTERPRETING THE PAULINE LETTERS: AN EXEGETICAL HANDBOOK

By John D. Harvey, Kregel Academic, Grand Rapids, 2012

This is the first of a series on interpreting the New Testament. In addition to the Pauline letters there will be one on Apocalyptic Literature, Gospels and Acts, and the General letters.

Harvey does a good job on the Epistles of Paul and adds a good persprctive to their understanding. There are five features of this work that I like:

1. It guides the reader from background, interpretation, to application from text to sermon.
2. Each chapter begins with a overview, and ends with a conclusion of the chapter.  This aids the reader in knowing where the chapter is going and where it has been with a brief conclusion.
3. There are very usable charts within the chapters that are understandable.
4. Interspersed in the chapters are listed sources for the reader to consult. For example on translation of the text he gives a number of sources including Greek text, lexicons, and even software.  At the end he list his bibliography in an unusual way—instead of one long lists, he breaks it down into sections, such as: Editions of Greek New Testament, Resources for Textual Criticism, New Testament Commentary Series, Commentaries on Paul’s Epistles, with each book listed and resources listed under each book. I find this refreshing and easy to use. However, his bibliography is somewhat limited, and is one weakness of the book.
5. He also has a glossary at the end for terms an average reader may not understand.

As to the content of the book, I found it reader friendly and easily understandable. He upholds a high view of Scripture. While I enjoyed the book, there were some areas that I found especially worthy: The chapter on The Genre of Paul’s Letters gave me a better understanding of Paul and his epistles in the light of first century communication. His chapter on The Theology of Paul’s Letters centers upon the overall idea of two spheres of human existence—“In Adam” and “In Christ.” For Paul, faith is the means of transferring from one sphere to the other. Then, the chapter on From Text to Sermon should be read by every Pastor. It gives great examples of how to handle the Biblical text for sermons. His guidance is very helpful on how to integrate interpretation into hermetical usefulness. 

This book will be a valuable addition to any library.

 [Thanks to Kregel for providing a free copy of this book for my honest review.] 

REVIEW: CHARTS ON THE LIFE, LETTERS, AND THEOLOGY OF PAUL

CHARTS ON THE LIFE, LETTERS, AND THEOLOGY OF PAUL

Lars Kierspel (Kregel, Grand Rapids, 2012).

This is the second issue of Kregel Charts of the Bible. While books on charts can be limited, this series is the exception. This volume covers a wide range of issues. While the charts are divided into four sections: Paul’s Background and Context; Paul’s Life and Ministry; Paul’s Letters; Paul’s Theological Concepts. In these sections one will find numbers details that will aid any student of the Bible. The charts are timely and deal with up to date issues (even includes a chart on the new perspective, and modern Jewish views). It also has an up to date bibliography, including articles from major journals. It gives good snapshot charts of each of Paul’s epistles. I really appreciate the charts of key words in each epistle.

One weakness of many charts is the lack of explanations, however in this series there is a section on chart comments. I really appreciate this and find it a great help, although brief. What is helpful is that in many of the explanations there are references for more and deeper information.

There are two things I like about this series. First, as a student of the Word, it condenses what you get from wordy commentaries with good summaries; yet lets the student know where to go to find more detailed information. Second, it greatly aids the student, teacher, and preacher with useable and practical charts. Not all of the 111 charts have the same weight or value, especially for the Pastor. However, even those can aid his in study of the Word. It is a time saver. These charts provide a seed to use to help you blossom in deeper study of His Word. It will also stimulate you to deeper study of the subjects that the charts cover. This book is a true aid; not simple charts to show. It is simplistic with profound information what will aid any level of student. It is a valuable resource that should be in every teacher’s and Pastor’s library.

I received a free copy of this book from Kregel Academic in exchange for a fair and honest review.