Customer Reviews

The First Epistle to the Corinthians (New International Greek Testament Commentary)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For this review, it may help to know that I am a pastor and a Ph.D. candidate. On the one hand, this is an amazing scholarly achievement. Having read several key passages, I am thoroughly impressed by Thiselton's abilities: his mastery of secondary material, his sophisticated understanding of language and interpretation, his exegetical nuance and synthetic skill. This is simply the best commentary on 1 Corinthians in English for the scholar or seminary student. On the other hand, if you are a pastor trying to preach/teach through 1 Corinthians, I recommend you look elsewhere. There is just too much extraneous information in this book which does not directly bear on our tasks. Also, while I commend Thiselton for listing nearly every possible position on a subject, it is frustrating to read so many pages and not be sure what Thiselton's opinion is or why he holds it. There is an astonishing amount of erudite information in this book, but often too much! I wish the publishers of the ever more girthsome commentaries would realize that often, less is more! Thus, I rate the book 4 stars (5 for scholars, but only 3 for preachers). For the pastor, I still recommend Fee as the best commentary, with Barrett and Kistemaker as great complements.

First of all, the NIGTC series has never claimed to be anything but a scholar's series. So it needs to be judged on those terms. Judging it on value to the pastor who may or may not have the advanced Greek knowledge this commentary demands (2 years minimum, probably exegesis experience as well), is like judging the NIV Application series' value for scholars. This is not to say Thistleton does not deal with issues of application, he does. But the primary purpose is to survey the critical literature in view of the text.

Thistleton is one of the leading British scholars of hermeneutics today, and it shows in the work. This is thorough and careful exegesis, often much more careful than Fee's work, which I also admire. This, plus Thistleton's immense vocabulary, can daunt even the most sophisticated reader. But his style is lucid, and, for a commentary, enjoyable. His scholarship is impeccable, and even when one disagrees with him in the end, one understands why one can come to such a view rationally even if you don't accept his presuppositions, which is not always possible in Fee's work.

In short, this commentary is the new standard in Greek scholarship, and is set to be it for a long time. If you don't have the background for this commentary, it is very difficult going. But it rewards careful study.

It is virtually unanimous among those involved in biblical studies that Gordon Fee's NICNT volume is the best commentary written on 1 Corinthians or, for that matter, perhaps on any book. I will whole heartedly agree with that statement. This commentary by Thiselton is not a competitor but a complement to Fee's work. The NICNT volume is based on the NIV, with corrections made by Fee where appropriate. Comments on the Greek text are minimal and usually only found in the footnotes. Fee's comments are clear and concise, even if a bit underdeveloped for the needs of scholars and Greek students. Perhaps the best feature of Fee's volume is his wonderful introductions and summaries found at the opening and closing of each section of the book. This is especially important when discussing an epistle and conveys Fee's understanding that, despite the proliferation of word studies and word-by-word commentaries, words can only be understood in light of their entire context. Fee does all of these things wonderfully, and even includes helpful insights into modern application and contextualization.
I have included all of this about Fee, so that the work of Thiselton can be seen for the gem that it is. This volume is massive (almost one-hundred pages devoted to each chapter). For some, this is a problem. However, as one who as actually read the commentary (many reviewers have only read a few pages of the book they review), the bulk is absolutely necessary. In the preface Thiselton says that it was his intention to answer every question a responsible scholar might bring to the text. As he says, "I am keenly aware of the sense of disappointment so often experienced when readers take up a substantial, scholarly commentary only to find that in the end it has failed to address precisely the questions to which they are seeking some kind of answer" (xvi). If you have every experienced this frustration, you won't find it here.
Thiselton is a Greek scholar, an accomplished linguist, philosopher and theologian. This background makes this the most thorough commentaries I have ever read. Having been through the entire commentary, I can say, there is no question that he does not address. This is not to say that I agree with all of his solutions, but at least he attempts an answer. He pays close attention to the Greek text, addressing text critical issues where appropriate as well as syntactical issues.. He gives sociological and rhetorical criticism sufficient weight, without allowing these more subjective disciplines to run away with the clear sense of the text. He carefully traces the flow of argument in the epistle, and like Fee, introduces and summarizes every major section of the letter so as to keep the entire argument in focus as the commentary progresses. He offers many special studies into particular sticking points of the letter--the point of rhetoric in 1:10-4:21, the possible source of the divisions, the meaning of sophhia and teleios, divorce, Paul's use of the OT and MUCH more. As I said, every responsible question is addressed. As a counterpart to Fee's not to present day application, Thiselton includes a substantial section on the history of interpretation and wirkungsgeschichte after each chapter.
So, is this commentary worth the money? First ask, what are your needs? This commentary, despite the claims of the NIGTC editors, is not altogether suited for those just beginning Greek student, and certainly not for those unfamiliar with the language. These two groups could still utilize certain sections, but would miss many of Thiselton's careful points. If, though, you are skilled in Greek and fed up with commentaries that go on and on about simple points and never address the challenges of the text, this is for you.

Thiselton's commentary is a must for anyone working with the Greek. This does not exclude those who do not know any Greek at all, and thus it does not exclude those who know only a very little. Dr Thiselton has an impressive command of all the literature on the topic, and his translations of the texts are fresh and insightful. One would be foolish indeed to not consult this commentary when doing a class on 1 Corinthians.

One thing I like about him, unlike O'Brien in his NIGTC commentary on Philippians, is that if he disagrees with an accepted scholarly consensus about a topic, he does not merely say so. He points out fallacies and weaknesses and thus allows the reader to make his/her own judgements. Another is that while he himself is quite orthodox in his beliefs, his commentary is neither too conservative nor too liberal (I dislike either of those terms anyway) and thus one is assured a good moderate commentary composed by one who is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge--all put in a way that the beginner can grasp the most difficult spots of Paul's Greek.

Thus for really anybody--Greek expert or not--who wants to make up his/her mind about topics in 1 Corinthians with all the major relevant information in one volume, this is one commentary you need. It is a fitting companion to the New Interpreter's Commentary which, for this book, is disappointingly sparse on information.

The breadth and depth of this commentary does its author great justice, and it is a worthy addition to the NIGTC series. Thiselton shows tremendous scholarship and knowledge of both primary and secondary sources in covering a wide variety of topics and issues in dealing with the text of 1 Corinthians. He even presents possibly the most cogent explanation of "being baptised on behalf of the dead" (1 Cor 15:29) that I have read, and his elucidation on the meaning of 1 Cor 14:31 "for you can all prophesy one by one" is equally compelling.

On rare occasions, he does promote his own opinion with slightly less than adequate consideration of other opinions, such as the nature of prophecy being equivalent to inspired preaching, but it is by no means a completely unreasonable position.

While no commentary can hope to cover everything that might be discussed or be of interest, this one covers more than most. The only short coming might be that a doctoral level of Greek and exegesis is required to get the most out of it.

Nevertheless it remains an outstanding example of contemporary New Testament scholarship.

I don't want to simply add to the (mostly) accurate views of the reviews that have already been posted - but I do want to commend this commentary to anyone who intends to get into the 'nitty-gritty.' As I have been writing exegetical papers for school what has made Thiselton's commentary stand head and shoulders above every other commentary I've ever used was the user-friendliness. Not only does he discuss every conceivable question, be it exegetical, textual, or theological, he also provides extensive and easy to reference bibliographies for each major issue he discusses. I have found myself wishing that Thiselton had published a commentary on every subsequent book of the Bible that I have studied.

Thistleton has written much about the art/science of hermeneutics. In this work, he has scientifically applied his hermeneutical principles to First Corinthians, carrying the principles with artistic grace and humility to their logical conclusions, leaving the reader with a depth of understanding that facilitates depth of love for First Corinthians. Yet he has done this without the dogmatism that is normally associated with such detailed work. Bravo!

I'm writing a commentary on 1 Corinthians and have regularly used a few dozen commentaries. This is without doubt the best in English, and in world-wide competition comes in second only to Wolfgang Schrage's An die Korinther (EKKNT, 1991-2001) in four volumes. Thiselton easily beats out the solid volumes by Fee (NICNT, 1987), Garland (BECNT, 2003) and Fitzmyer (Anchor Bible, 2008). It is also more technical than these three and requires a firm grasp on the Greek text.

Additional note: By the way, since someone above wondered aloud whether people read the books they review, I have read all of these volumes from cover to cover. Thiselton is not for those who want rapid answers, so he's not an easy read. Still, he wins the blue ribbon in English commentaries.

The scholarship in this commentary is immense. You will not find a more exhaustive commentary on 1 Corinthians. The writing can be highly technical which is good if you are an exacting scholar and preacher. If you would like stories, illustrations and pastoral comments I would check out the commentary by Gordon Fee, which is also excellent.

This commentary is simply too much of a good thing. It has too many words, too many concepts, too many theories, too many names--to be useful to anybody but either a very scholarly pastor or a seminary professor. It is unnecesarily technical and often gets lost in overly subtle hermeneutical or linguistic arguments. I am very grateful for his own translation (why France writing on Mark in the same series opted not to do the same is a mystery). It should also be noted that Thiselton is much more of a philosopher/hermeneut/semanticist than he is a theologian per se. Also, Thiselton does almost no serious text criticism, which is a notable failure for a commentary on the Greek text! Lastly, in defense of others who find the book too technical, it must be recalled, in the words of the editors, "the purpose of the series is to cater to the needs of students who want something less than a full scale commentary . . .the authors will bear in mind the needs of the beginning Greek student as well as the pastor or layperson...who does not use the language on a regular basis." If that is the stated aim of this series, Thiselton has failed that aim since this is the largest, most technical commentary on 1 Corinthians in the history of the English language. I would like to see this commentary reduced by about half, removing the scholary paraphenalia, and highlighting his conclusions. Thus, our best bet for a scholarly commentary interacting with the Greek text of 1 Corinthians remains Fee's in the NICNT series, and we look forward to Garland's commentary in the BECNT series.