Customer Reviews

The Letters to Timothy And Titus (New International Commentary on the New Testament)

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Major recent commentaries on the Pastoral Epistles that have featured a more-or-less conservative and evangelical stance include the NIGTC volume by Knight (1992), the Word volume by Mounce (2000) and the Anchor Bible/ECC hybrid by Quinn and Wacker (2000).

Towner is an authority in this area, and has already penned the IVPNTC volume on these books (1994). He also assisted Marshall in the ICC volume (2000). Thus his NIC volume is certainly the newest but also arguably among the finest.

For quite some time now, the NIC series has been the backbone of evangelical scholarship. Begun in the 1950s, the New Testament set is now almost complete (we still await Matthew and 2 Peter/Jude). It is probably the most consistent series in terms of conservative, evangelical scholarship. (The Old Testament set has quite a few more volumes still forthcoming.)

Towner's volume is a welcome addition to the NIC series. As to the Pastoral Epistles (a term he finds no longer of much value), Towner argues for Pauline authorship. There may have been others who contributed to their composition and message, but Paul is clearly their primary author.

On the vexatious question of women in leadership and ministry, he takes the egalitarian approach, finding fault with both the hierarchical and the radical feminist approaches. He carefully assesses the many issues involved in the question of female leadership, and argues that overall Pauline considerations (such as Gal. 3:28) must not be overlooked in this complex debate.

On some controversial topics, he takes a somewhat safe approach. For example, on the issue of homosexuality, he wisely makes this assessment: "The exegesis of these passages is not in question, and the fate of the current debate about homosexuality will rest on hermeneutics". He then directly moves on to the next passage!

The commentary itself is laid out in the standard manner of the NIC series. A lengthy introduction (90 pages) to the three letters deals with the usual material: text and translation, hermeneutical options, historical and theological considerations, and related matters.

The bibliography is helpful and extensive, although it does not follow the trend of some to list everything under the sun which even remotely relates to the book in question.

The commentary is fluid and easy to read, with more technical discussion relegated to numerous footnotes. Towner is fair and judicious to differing opinions, and is clearly well-versed in all the relevant literature.

In sum, this volume is a monumental achievement, giving these three short epistles major coverage. It will serve both student and scholar for many years to come. A splendid effort.

When first opening this book I was initially overwhelmed by the massive amount of material covered. The reading level is definitely not for beginners, but one will find the material to be well written and well divided. I also found this to be my best source when writing an exegesis paper on 2 Timothy 2:8-13. The massive amount of information assisted me in getting a well rounded view of the passage, in that Towner would take several words or phrases from the text and discuss their meaning or possible meanings historically, contextually, and grammatically.

Great book, definite must buy if you want a good commentary of the Pastoral Epistles on your shelf.

This is a comprehensive yet readable commentary that can be used by both professional and lay person alike. Towner has covered both the historic reading and contemporary debates in developping his thought. He allows teh text to speak for itself while ensuring some guidance in the difficult passages. He avoids lots of technical language in the main body but, as true to NICNT commentaries, provides adequate coverage in footnotes and excursus.

A great comentary and well worth having on the bookshelf.

'In these letters to coworkers, 'truth' stands for God's authoritative revelation (as represented in Paul's gospel).' p 179

P 104: REGARDING FALSE TEACHERS AND FALSE DOCTRINE:

'...the scenario assumed by the language of 1 Tim 1:3 of 'staying' on assignment in Ephesus...and Paul's practice of dispatching delegates to churches are clear from his letters...The verb 'to teach what is false' [Gk: heterodidaskaleo] is rare, occurring in the NT only in this letter (1:3; 6:3)'

P 113: 'This brings us back to the term 'oikonomia theo' in 1:4...the duties of stewardship. The duties include all those to be done by the leaders in the church...is designed to explicate 'God's way of ordering things'. This 'ordering' of church and society...has been misapprehended by the opponents...In any case, the essential starting point of the whole letter under the rubric of the ordering of life by God. Paul's point is then that 'by faith', that is, through acceptance of the correct apostolic preaching and teaching, this divine arrangement can be apprehended and implemented.'

Towner refers to Timothy's divinely appointed office to remain in Ephesus as an 'assignment' (p 107). The interpretation he lends to 'oikonomia theo' (v 4) then becomes a discussion whether to accept 'God's house' or 'God's work' as the correct interpretation. The meaning of 'oikonomia' is steward. As a faithful, accountable and appointed overseer of God's household, this is by no means a regular 'assignment' for a customary 'delegate', for both the function and office speak of a divine custodianship and are inseparable. Paul urged young Timothy to 'remain' in Ephesus to oppose strange doctrines (1 Tim 1:3), and 'left' Titus on Crete to straighten out certain things. Hence the familiar name, 'the pastorals', which eviscerates the fraught notion of 'the lay-preachers'.

'We are not ordained as ministers of the church, except as God at the same time prescribe what He wants us to do.' John Calvin, Commentary on 1 Tim 6:14

Towner insufficiently expands on the connection between 1 Tim 1 and Acts 20:30 'From your own midst they will arise, teaching false doctrine/speaking perverse things' [Gk: diastrepho]. There is a direct link between the first warning given by Paul to the Ephesian elders at Miletus (which certainly was prophetic in nature) and his later letter to Timothy, confirming his fears, and instructing Timothy at Ephesus (and Titus on Crete) to confront false teachers who were inviting others to turn away from 'sound doctrine' [Gk: hygiaino didaskaleo], found in 1 Tim 1:10; 2 Tim 4:3, and Titus 1:9. 'Paul prophesied the rise of false teachers on more than one occasion and he presumably did this through the Spirit (2 Thess 2:1-12; Acts 20:29).' D Guthrie, New Testament Theology p 559 Towner eventually picks up on this important thread in 1 Tim 4:1, 'The opening phrase, 'the Spirit clearly says', establishes the prophetic character of the assessment to follow. What is happening in the church corresponds to the prophetic tradition.' pp. 287-289

'From this discussion of behavior to avoid, Paul proceeds to behavior Timothy is to pursue.' p 519 Instead, Timothy is expected be kind to everyone, able to teach, in humility correcting all those who are in opposition so perhaps God might grant the gift of repentance, 2 Tim 2:25. 'The mention of 'myths and endless genealogies' (1 Tim 1:4) and Paul's urging Timothy to refuse 'profane and old wives fables' (1 Tim 4:7) is opposed to the man of God who is satisfied with the full reliability accorded redemptive history, and who does not promote speculative controversies, but will promote God's Word. In the locus classicus for sound teaching of the truth, 2 Tim 2:15, Towner highlights the compound for 'rightly dividing/correctly handle' [Gk: orthotomeo] as 'to cut straight' (p 521, n 30). Towner seems guarded when grappling for the meaning of 'all Scripture [is] God-breathed' [Gk: pasa graphe theopneustos] (p 585), opting for 'ambiguity' in considering inerrancy, but appears bold and certain of its inspiration as a whole: 'The Pauline gospel may be seen as continuous with the power and intention of the ancient Scriptures, and it is possible that the usefulness of the OT needed to be reaffirmed in the wake of heretical misuse of it.' p 584 Towner's wordplay helps us understand the organic development between 'the Spirit clearly says' (1 Tim 4:1) and 'all Scripture is God-breathed' (2 Tim 3:16), the nett result being a resounding awareness of NT priority: 'For Paul, Christ is the climax of the biblical story.' p 584 A worrying tendency, however, is Towner's dependence on source criticism, albeit limited, exemplified most clearly in his preoccupation with the 'household codes' and 'duty codes'. He sees their origin in a tradition of sorts, whether Greek or Hebraic, and not through inspiration, though he never says this explicitly.

Towner's portrayal of 2 Tim 1:5-8 is certain to cause debate. He depicts the synecdochal 'gift in you' - as a clear allusion to the indwelling Holy Spirit, and not a charismatic misinterpretation; nor ordination derived from the mention of the laying on of hands by Paul in 2 Timothy or the laying on of hands by the elders in 1 Timothy. Berkhof (as from time immemorial) viewed that either one of the two constituted a formal ordination: 'We do not know when his formal ordination took place, whether at the very beginning of his work, or when he was placed in charge at the church in Ephesus.' Louis Berkhof, New Testament Introduction p 144

'The tendency of some to treat (1 Tim 4:1) the phrase as a literal temporal reference (in the future, in days to come) ignores the parallel description in 2 Tim 3:1. The patterns strongly suggest that the two phrases are functionally equivalent and that the reference to the 'later times/last days' is to the eschatological period of the Spirit.' p 289

Towner give an in-depth analysis of the Pastoral Epistles. The background information brings clarity and understanding to the Scriptures. Knowing the cultural setting has allowed me to better understand the themes and subtlties of Paul's writing. Some comments may be a little technical for some. However this is a commentary is definitely one you can grow with.

This book is very good for my study of Pauline Letters. Thansk to the Author and service of Amazon!

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 Testament Commentary Survey by D. A. Carson, (3) Old Testament Commentary Survey by Tremper Longman.

There are good and expensive commentaries such as the Anchor Bible (AB); International Critical Commentary (ICC) or Hermeneia (HERM). [Do not forget of Calvin and Luther].

I don't know about catholic commentaries, but you can check reviews on "Sacra Pagina" and "Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture."

Other than those mentioned above (NIVAC; BST; NICNT; WBC; AB; ICC; HERM) you can also check: Expositor Bible Commentary (EBC); New American Commentary (NAC); Pillar New Testament Commentary (PNTC); New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC); Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (BECNT); and others.

Another thing, it can be a very good commentary, but it does not mean that you will agree with everything in it. Remember, "new" does not mean it's updated, and "updated" does not mean it's better.

Purpose - You can read a book to get information, even if you are not interested in a deep study of the biblical text. In this case it's better to start reading something from your own confession of faith and always on your level of reading. If after some time you become interested in more, go check other commentaries, but please, do not skip "How To Read A Book" by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren.

Responsibility - It is your responsibility study the biblical text before checking a commentary. Sometimes this is not an easy task so I'm giving you some other references that you can check at the end of this review. If I had read a review like this before, I would know how to prevent some mistakes.

Do not let you knowledge kill your faith! - "For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith." Hebrews 4:2 NIV - (Read also 1 Corinthians 1:21-24; 2:13-14; 3:18-23; Jude 1:3).

I can't leave without suggesting some other tools to help you: (1) How To Read A Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren; (2) Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation by Henry Virkler and Karelynne Ayayo; (3) New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors by Gordon Fee; and (4) Old Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors by Douglas Stuart. [Although book #3 and 4 deals with Biblical languages (Greek and Hebrew), you can learn a lot from them even if you do not know the languages]. (5) "Basics of Biblical Greek" Grammar by William D. Mounce [after you start reading it maybe you can add "Biblical Greek Survival Kit" and "Sing and Learn New Testament Greek" audio CD by Kenneth Berding]; (6) "English Grammar in Use" by Raymond Murphy (Third Edition with Cd-Rom). (7) Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History: Complete and Unabridged. - All of these will help you to understand HOW a good commentary must be written. Good Luck!

A bit wordy for my taste. Also doesn't seem to resolve some of the critical issues he raises.