The Epistle to the Romans (Pillar New Testament Commentary) [Hardcover]

Leon Morris (Author), D. A. Carson (Series Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 1988 | Series: Pillar New Testament Commentary

An outstanding, fresh look at Pauls most difficult epistle. Morriss commentary is delightfully easy to read, even while it introduces readers to the complexities of interpretation of Romans. The text is intelligible to lay people, though the footnotes take account of a good deal of recent scholarship.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

(1914–2006) Leon Morris retired as Principal of Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia, in 1979. He is the author of more than forty books, including The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, the volumes on Matthew and Romans in The Pillar New Testament Commentary, and the volumes on John and the Thessalonian epistles in the New International Commentary on the New Testament.

D. A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois. He has written nearly fifty other books, including The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism, How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil, and Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 590 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (February 5, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802836364
• ISBN-13: 978-0802836366
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid commentary; but based on the NIV... what?, May 16, 2008

By 

William Petruzzo (Annapolis, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Epistle to the Romans (Pillar New Testament Commentary) (Hardcover)

Back in January I started a slow study through Romans along with the Pillar New Testament Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans written by Leon Morris. This morning, I finished the study.

When I started the study, I was looking to walk through something that wouldn't spend too much time teaching the reader how to apply the text (not that that's a bad thing) but would spend more time exegeting the actual text and leave the application up to the individual. That's quite exactly what this commentary did; I know that has a name, but I'm not accustomed to it.

The format of the commentary is simple and familiar. A block of scripture is laid out, followed by a deconstruction and explanation of each verse. Explanations on any one verse ranged anywhere from one or two sentences, up to three or four pages, but with most of them coming in around two paragraphs. Multiple verses are scarcely combined into one comment. The first four chapters of Romans make up about forty percent of the commentary, as much of the foundation for the Apostle's theological statement fall within those chapters.

Morris has a manner of writing that communicates an appealing sense of humility. While he holds his particular views, he also (usually) uncritically presents the opposing views and the arguments for all of them. During my reading of the book, this style helped me to look at the text and think critically for myself about what is said. In the majority of cases, Morris' standpoint is the most rational and represents of the majority view of bible scholars.

Morris is clearly a member of the reformed theology tradition, but in his writing he presents himself as firstly committed to scripture. This comes out clearly in several places in which he is not at all afraid to unpack scripture that appears `dangerous' to reformed thought. Rather than trying to fanangle the scripture, he treats in plainly and openly.

Although it's based on the NIV, the PNTC Epistle to the Romans comes across as a scholarly commentary. It finishes out at about 550 pages and spends a good deal of time on linguistics and Greek.

Looking back on the commentary, I have only two real criticisms. The first criticism being that it's not too clear why the commentary was based on the NIV. In Morris' comments he regularly makes reference to NIV having "missed the mark"; not every time, but often enough to make one wonder why they didn't just go with the ESV (a translation that Morris regularly refers back to with fond words). The other criticism is that Morris places a lot of information within parenthesis. This makes reading choppy at times. Had the parenthetical information been placed in the footnotes, reading would have been much clearer and smoother. Both of these are minor concerns.

All in all, this is a good commentary that I recommend as a reference tool to anyone, and a good tool for a student's private study. The average reader may not benefit from purchasing this commentary purely for reference, as similar reference tools are available for free online (check my links to the right). For a student, the purchase is easily justified. And likely beneficial.

21 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A servicable commentary, September 20, 2001

By 

Shawn W. Gillogly "DenSem Grad" (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Epistle to the Romans (Pillar New Testament Commentary) (Hardcover)

This is a good commentary on Romans by a fine scholar. He seems to have interpreted the theme of the work more from Systematic theology than the text itself. But all in all he deals with the text well, if not with all the depth one might like.

This is a good commentary for getting to know the issues surrounding Romans. For a thorough discussion of them, the commentaries of Cranfield, Moo and Schreiner are all preferable.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid work, as expected, December 8, 2009

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W. Horn (Topeka, KS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Epistle to the Romans (Pillar New Testament Commentary) (Hardcover)

Leon Morris always does a solid job, and this commentary is no exception. He deals with the text, presents his interpretations on the tricky parts (which is the main reason an exegete should use a commentary), and uses sound exegetical technique throughout. I highly recommend this as a comprehensive and solid commentary on the Letter to the Romans.