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The New Interpreter's Bible : Acts - First Corinthians (Volume 10)

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The New Interpreter's Bible is a twelve-volume series, updating the popular Interpreter's Bible from a few decades ago. There are several key features common to all of the volumes of this series. First, each includes a two-column, double translation of the Biblical text (NIV - New International Version, and NRSV - New Revised Standard Version) arranged by topical unit or story. Then, they provide commentaries that look at the passages as a whole, as well as verse-by-verse. Third, interesting Reflection pieces that relate the passages to each other, to history, and to current concerns occur at the conclusion of each passage. Fourth, introductory articles for each book are provided that discuss transmission, historical background, cultural setting, literary concerns, and current scholarship. Finally, there are general articles about the Bible, each Testament, and various types of literature (Narrative, Gospel, Wisdom Literature, etc.) are provided to give general placement and knowledge about the text overall.

The list of contributors, editors, and consultants on the project is a veritable Who's Who of biblical and theological scholarship, representing all major traditions and schools of thought liberal and conservative. Leander Keck, of the Yale Divinity School, is the primary editor of the series.

The volumes were published individually, and can be purchased individually, which is a good thing, given that they are a bit expensive. But for any serious biblical scholar, preacher, student, or enthusiast, they are invaluable.

--Volume X--

The tenth volume of the New Interpreter's Bible continues the New Testament, containing the books of Acts, Romans and First Corinthians, including an introductory essay on Epistolary Literature (i.e., letters). This was the final volume to be published. The series is now complete.

Robert Wall of Seattle Pacific University provides both the commentary on Acts as well as the essay on Epistolary Literature. The introductory article on Acts includes maps and drawings of archaeological sites, and looks at Acts from the standpoint of composition and conversation. Thus, Acts can serve as a story, as theology, or as historical framework.

In the essay on Epistolary Literature, Wall looks at both the Pauline collection and the letters attributed to other apostles. He examines the issues of dating and sequencing, the controversies over authorship on some letters, and the literary issues and features of letters versus other types of literature.

N. Thomas Wright, theologian of the Church of England, examines the Letter to the Romans. Looking at the structures and the themes of Romans, Wright argues against the idea of pulling out a few verses here and there as representative of the whole. `One might as well try to get the feel of a Beethoven symphony by humming over half a dozen bars from different movements.'

J. Paul Sampley of Boston University looks at First Corinthians. Sampley explores the city of Corinth, the church in the community there, Paul's relationship with the Corinthians, particular themes that appear in the letter as representative of early Christianity.

High praise goes to the general editorial staff for working with such strong authors/scholars, that their work fits together well as part of this set while retaining the individual characteristics (much like the writers of the Bible itself!).

--Other volumes available--

The following is a list of each volume in this twelve-volume set, and the contents of each.

Volume I: General Articles on the Bible; General Articles on the Old Testament; Genesis; Exodus; Leviticus

Volume II: Numbers; Deuteronomy; Introduction to Narrative Literature; Joshua; Judges; Ruth; I & II Samuel

Volume III: I & II Kings; I & II Chronicles; Ezra, Nehemiah; Esther; Additions to Esther; Tobit; Judith

Volume IV: I & II Maccabees; Introduction to Hebrew Poetry; Job; Psalms

Volume V: Introduction to Wisdom Literature; Proverbs; Ecclesiastes; Song of Songs; Book of Wisdom; Sirach

Volume VI: Introduction to Prophetic Literature; Isaiah; Jeremiah; Baruch; Letter of Jeremiah; Lamentations; Ezekiel

Volume VII: Introduction to Apocalyptic Literature; Daniel; Additions to Daniel; Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Johan; Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi

Volume VIII: General Articles on the New Testament; Matthew; Mark

Volume IX: Luke; John

Volume X: Acts; Introduction to Epistolary Literature; Romans, I Corinthians

Volume XI: II Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; I & II Thessalonians; I & II Timothy; Titus; Philemon

Volume XII: Hebrews; James; I & II Peter; I, II & III John; Jude; Revelation

Published at least a year later than originally announced, this volume completes the 12-volume New Interpreter's Bible Commentary (Volume 1, Genesis-Leviticus, having been published in 1994). I've really come to enjoy and rely on the broad and balanced scholarship represented in this series (although I have to admit I haven't read any of the volumes from cover to cover). Volume X has the text and commentary for The Acts of the Apostles, Romans, and 1 Corinthians, plus an excellent "Introduction to Epistolary Literature" by Robert W. Wall.

Although the volumes are large and you'll need to dedicate 28 inches of shelf space if you intend to acquire the entire series (and you should), you'll appreciate the large, easy-to-read typeface and the inclusion of two English translations of every passage of the Bible (NRSV and NIV for the 66 books used by both Protestants and Roman Catholics; NRSV and NAB for the Deuterocanonical Books read primarily by Catholics). Besides verse-by-verse commentary, each book has a general introduction, "Overviews" to large sections within the books, and periodic "Reflections" (intended, I presume, to help kick-start many a pastor's sermon preparation). In addition, there are occasional Excursuses on a variety of fascinating topics (although there are none in Volume X, there are 4 in Volume VIII on the Gospel of Matthew). On the off chance that these commentaries won't answer every question you may have, the detailed footnotes and thorough bibliographies will direct you to all the right sources.

My only gripe is that the series does not cover ALL the books of the Apocrypha as represented in the NRSV translation. There is nothing, for instance, on 1 and 2 Esdras or 3 and 4 Maccabees. My copy of Volume X came with an announcement that in Spring 2003, Abingdon Press would be coming out with the New Interpreter's Study Bible. I plan to pre-order it as soon as I can. My only hope is that this Bible will include the Apocryphal books they neglected in the Commentary. The announcment also stated that an index volume would be issued in Fall 2003. Can a CD-ROM be far behind?

Review: 4 of 5; good work, worth a look.

Now for the comments on the topic:

Let me suggest to the reader that they do their own investigation into NT Wright before they simply assume someone else's view is correct. NT Wright certainly has some different interpretations of Romans and Paul, but a couple of points need to be made.

First, have you that have criticized him actually read his work? And that is, not parts of a couple of books and some reviews online, but have you read and studied his work? This common courtesy should be offered to any author.

Second, The comment is made that Wright's views depart from those of the Reformers: from Luther, Calvin, etc.. Let us not forget that these are merely Christian scholars too. We must compare an authors work against scripture and not be so taken with a particular theological camp that we are in danger of lifting tradition higher than it ought to be. That was what the reformers themselves were concerned about and fighting against: bringing back to scripture the significance that was being placed on tradition. Sola Scriptura was the cry and it should be the cry still today.

Concerning Wright's view of Paul, and while I am not completely sold on it yet, it seems plain after having read his work (and spoken with him) that he does not tear down that which was established at the Reformation, but he builds upon it. Through all of this he appeals with passion and sincerity to scripture, therefore, let your criticism be born of scripture also.
The above review reads almost verbatim the numerous criticisms online from Reformed pastors and theologians. Of all those criticisms that I have read (and I have read over a dozen conservatively) some make some valid points but most if not all of them discredit themselves with ignorant, or defensive or simply unwarranted accusations.

Concerning justification (this is a major simplification), it should be clear from the vocabulary what the word justification means. When justice is served, then someone has been found guilty or not guilty of something. When someone is justified they are declared righteous (the verdict is declared). They are not righteous because they are declared righteous. They are declared righteous (justified) when/because they have been found to BE righteous. A defendant is not declared innocent (or justified in his actions or lack thereof) because someone declared him so, but someone declared him so because the evidence demonstrated he was innocent. We are to be judged; Christ speaks the evidence on our behalf; due to the righteousness of Christ awarded us because of our faith in Jesus, God (or the judge) declares us innocent! With God, justice must be served -- He must make a decision one way or the other -- will He declared us unjust or just? Are we "unjustified" or are we "justified"? Because of Jesus and our faith in Him we are declared at JUSTIFIED! And the gavel slams down!

Bottom line is that you are not justified by faith because you believe in justification by faith. You are justified (declared just) because of the righteousness (the condition) that you received in faith in Christ. From the other side, if you 1)did not have faith in Christ, you would 2)not receive Christ's righteousness, therefore you would 3)not be declared just (or be "justified") by God.

There is a great deal more to this and I certainly do not claim to speak for Wright. I am simply suggesting that you investigate for yourself. There are plenty of resources available. And for goodness' sake, don't agree or disagree with something because it agrees with or does not agree with the Reformation. The Reformers would not. Sola Scriptura!

As NT Wright says on page 497, "When exegesis comes out smoothly it shows that we are approaching the text from the right angle; when it comes out awkwardly, with phrases and sentences that do not fit, we should take it as a sign that the chapter is being forced in the wrong direction." For so long, exegetes have assumed Paul to be rather simple-minded, providing an argument then backing that up with some scripture. They have contorted verses, such as 3:23, into a proof-text to "prove that we're all sinners." As true as that may be, 3:23 is one of the most beautiful verses in all of scripture, giving everyone hope, for everyone sinned. Wright does an excellent job of show-casing Paul's incredible mind, showing at each step how the argument is wonderfully woven with both what has gone before and what is coming in mind. To get a handle on Wright's theology, this is a wonderful place to start, if one can shell out the $50. There's a reason there's not too many cheap used ones; those who've purchased them are not going to let them go, especially not for cheap. A MUST BUY, even if you disagree with him.

`The New Interpreter's Bible' is a 10-volume commentary on the Christian Bible, including the books of the Apocrypha. This review concentrates on Volume X, particularly on the commentary on Paul's letter to the Romans, easily one of most important books of the New Testament. The 375-page commentary on Romans in this volume is longer than many standalone `Romans' commentaries.

I am especially happy that it is possible to buy individual volumes from this set, as I suspect there are many potential readers who may be interested only in the Old Testament or only in the Gospels or, like me at the moment, only in the commentary on Romans.

While the set is edited and published by Methodist organizations, I am certain that the work as a whole is not colored by those things which distinguish Methodist theology from, for example, Lutheran, Baptist or Episcopal thought. I do, however, sense a stronger influence of Protestant over Catholic points of view. The `Romans' commentary is written by N. T. Wright, who wears the hats for both preacher and theologian for Westminster Abby, the ultimate center of The Church of England and, by extension, the godfather center for the Episcopal Church in America.

My understanding of this work as a whole is that professional Biblical scholars for a professional, but not scholarly audience who wishes to interpret the Bible for others write it. Thus, the audience is primarily pastors, Sunday school class teachers, and Bible Study group participants. This last may be something of a stretch, as my experience with many Bible Study participants is that they are quite happy to stay with an unassisted reading of the scriptures. And, as I have spend the last several months exploring some of the more arcane corners of Pauline scholarship, I confess this is quite a good choice for many readers. The problem is that Paul's letters are DIFFICULT reading, at least as difficult as, for example, Plato's `Republic', and may be even more difficult than the more obscure `Timaeus'. This is due to the fact that while Paul's thinking is deep, his rhetorical skills may be a bit unpolished. I have read that his texts show far less erudition in technique than his Alexandrine Jewish contemporary, Philo, in spite of the fact that both write in the same Hellenistic Greek.

Wright, just like many other recent popular writers on Paul, stress that it is important to understand Paul's overall argument before trying to pry lessons for life out of the kind of sound bite we get from the readings during our Sunday morning service. The organization of the `Interpreter's Bible' is eminently suited for those who want to see the forest and not just the trees. Each Book has a longish general introduction, followed by a Bibliography of major works on the subject. Reading the Bibliography on `Romans' is revealing in that it is limited to works that have been published in the last quarter of the 20th century. From that period, I believe Wright has pointed us to the cream of the crop, especially with his references to books by C. E. B. Cranfield, James Dunn, Ernst Kasemann, E. P. Sanders, and Wright himself. One small problem with this is that it leaves out almost 1600 years of commentary from everyone between St. Augustine to John Barth and Albert Schweitzer, most especially glossing over Martin Luther and John Calvin. But Luther's point of view is eminently represented by the `Commentary on Romans' from Ernst Kasemann.

The next item is a very detailed outline of the subjects and the argument(s) in the letter. It is important that Wright's outline is not universally accepted. Kasemann has a different outline that several other writers, including F. F. Bruce in his exegesis on Paul's Epistle to the Romans have adapted. Fortunately, there are not huge differences between the two, so I feel comfortable following Wright's outline. And, in the course of my guiding the study of `Romans' for a Bible study class, I have found the outline illuminating.

The main body of the commentary uses this outline to break up the discussion into four great sections (I through IV), with each major section being broken up into three (3) to eleven (11) sub-sections (A through K), which may or may not be broken into further subdivisions. Each major section begins with its own overview and ends with `Reflections' which are personal observations on the relevance of the section to Christian belief. All general sections are far more useful for the illumination of faith than for the comparative study of theologies.

Between these two bookends is the text of the scripture from both the NIV and theNRSV translations, followed by a verse by verse commentary on both the translation(s) and Paul's meaning within the context of his arguments. The commentary is liberally laced with references to both Old Testament texts explicitly and implicitly cited by Paul and New Testament texts from both Paul's other letters and the Gospels.

It is with the scriptural references where I start to find some problems. First, misprints or author errors I believe, corrupt a small number of the references. Fortunately, there are very few of these, and they are not too important. Other problems are with relevance. I am hard pressed to see the relevance of a minority of the citations. This brings us to my biggest problem with Wright's commentary, where he frames the new covenant, living in the body of Christ who dies in the law and rises to replace the law as a reference to a `new Exodus'. Not only do I not see allusions to this in `Romans', but I see a distinctly different Paul where Christians move from a slavery to the flesh to a slavery to the Spirit of Christ. This is part of Luther's using Paul as the foundation for his predestination theology.

Paul may not have been a `Lutheran', but he does offer more support to Luther's important arguments than the Wright lets on.

Volume X of the New Interpreter's Bible contains a commentary on Acts, the essay Introduction to Epistolary Literature (both by Robert Wall), Romans (NT Wright), and 1 Corinthians (J. Paul Sampley).

The format of the NIB series seems to be designed with Pastors and preachers in mind. Each commentary opens up with an overview and basic outline of the book to be discussed, followed by an introduction for each smaller section. The NIV and NRSV are given in parallel before jumping into the text itself. I would like to have seen the original language provided here as well, or at the very least the commentator's own translation, rather than two popular versions. I'm sure this is done for the preacher, but it does little to add to the exposition.

The bulk of each section contains the commentary proper, followed by a brief section offering the author's reflections on the text. These reflections provide some possible applications of the themes of the preceding section, and because the volume features authors from both sides of the pond the applications are generally focused on the larger world scene and Western culture in a broader sense.

The exegesis of the NIB contributors is outstanding, and while I would appreciate a more technical approach, the writing is accessible and enjoyable to read. Wright in particular does a fantastic job of bringing together Paul's Old Testament and Apocryphal references, allusions and quotations, and his knowledge of 2nd Temple era Judaism is unmatched in the Christian world.

My biggest complaint is that the scholars interact primarily with the NIV and NRSV translations, rather than the Greek or Hebrew of the original texts. That may not matter to some, but if you are looking for a highly technical commentary that deals directly with the original languages of the scriptures there are other commentaries that may be better suited to your needs. Still, the excellent exegesis and exposition is well worth the price and makes for some great reading.

As a student of Christianity, I find these 12 volumes of New Interpreter's Bible to be the gold standard of what is available to me as commentary.

This, along with other volumes from the series, is a must for every preacher who takes Biblical preaching seriously.