Customer Reviews

Word Biblical Commentary: Volume 38A, Romans 1-8

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Commentaries are written with a variety of audiences in mind. Some are pitched at a "popular" level; they are accessible to Christians who do not have a degree in theology (and they may not be very helpful, since they tend to rehearse familiar ideas). Some are a little meatier, intended to aid preachers in sermon preparation. And some are written at an academic level; they debate the positions of other scholars.

The Word Biblical Commentary series tries to address both of the latter two audiences. The commentaries provide assistance to scholars, preachers, and other serious students of the Bible.

Word imposes a rigid format. Authors must begin each passage with a bibliography, followed by a translation with notes on the Greek manuscripts. Next there is a "form and structure" section which discusses grammatical and thematic links with other passages and calls attention to the literary techniques employed by the biblical author. Next there is a "comment" section which is quite detailed, allowing some room for interaction with other scholars. Finally there is an "explanation" section, which summarizes the message of the text without repeating all the technical details.

Word's format inevitably introduces some repetition. For busy preachers, the trick is to zero in on the explanation section. Preachers will value the other sections of the commentary when there is a theological or textual problem which merits closer examination.

Dunn's commentary succeeds brilliantly at both levels. Dunn is a leading authority in Pauline studies. His "new perspective on Paul" builds on the work of E. P. Sanders and has attracted the attention of scholars including N. T. Wright. He is bound to have his academic audience in mind at points in a commentary on Romans.

But Dunn also put a great deal of thought into the explanation section of this work. He describes his approach in the author's preface. When he began to write, he concentrated on the explanation section of chapters 1-11 for two years. During that time, he restricted himself to only a few technical aids, in order to maintain a focus on the broad message of Romans rather than the technical details primarily of interest to scholars.

The result is a reference book that any serious student of the New Testament will find helpful. Many readers will read only the explanation section most of the time. But the Word commentaries are relatively inexpensive, so Dunn's two volumes on Romans are still good value for the money.

I am a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity with Biblical Languages). I preach at least twice a month, in addition to writing one paper per month. This is all in addition to my paying job as an Engineer. Because my time is at such a premium, I am always glad to try different commentaries on the Greek and Hebrew texts. Some of you may use a commentary differently than I do. For me, a commentary is my last stop before I write the sermon (or paper). First comes all my own reading and translating of the text. Then I compare my translation to the main English translations (NASB, NEV, NIV, KJV). After all that work, then comes time to read some commentaries.

This is the first volume of the WBC that I have ever tried. Therefore, I cannot speak for the series. This particular volume is very helpful. The author (James Dunn) does an outstanding job of listing all his references. He provides a survey of the opinions of a multitude of Bible scholars, before offering his own opinion. This is precisely how a commentator should write a commentary. Even though I do not agree with every conclusion that Dunn makes, I very much appreciate the amount of work which went into this volume.

For those of you are familiar with the EBC (Expositor's Bible Commentary), the WBC (Word Biblical Commentary) on Romans has more survey of what other writers have said and less analysis of the Greek words. Both commentaries are useful and both have their shortcomings. If you are a full-time preacher (or professor) and have time to read all the original source materials from commentator throughout the ages, this volume might not be for you. However, for the rest of us, this volume is a wonderful source of (a) seeing what other commentators have said (b) gaining a less linguistically analytical view of the Greek text and (c)being challenged to think about Dunn's comments.

Do I recommend this book? Yes, but only for those people who are going to go read Romans first, and then read this commentary.

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!