Customer Reviews

Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 46, Pastoral Epistles

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I had heard that this book was extremely good, and now that I have actually gotten to read some of it, I must agree wholeheartedly! Not only does Mounce go into incredible detail in discussing the Greek of the Pastoral Epistles, he shows the reader the various viewpoints regarding controversial passages as well as listing the strengths and weaknesses of each. One can tell that his research is exhaustive and accurate. Although the sheer amount of information can be daunting (I won't be able to read if cover to cover for quite a while), this book can be a great asset to a Bible student, whether he is writing a paper or simply studying the Word of God.

Prior to reading this commentary, I had considered the Pastoral Epistles (I & II Timothy and Titus) to be among the few 'boring books' of the New Testament - nice to read every once in a while, but not a lot of interest there. Mounce's commentary changed all that and made the Pastorals very exciting books for me. His knowledge of early Christianity and the social backgrounds of the time is outstanding and he puts these to good use in the commentary, digging out of the text important insights about the early church, its organization and function, and the way these early Christians did life and church together. This commentary is wonderfully written and much more accessible and much more of an easy read (despite its depth and scholarliness) than most other technical commentaries - even ones of one eighth the length. Mounce offers wonderful arguments in favor of the traditional view of the texts' origin - Pauline authorship - and his introduction to the books is overall excellent. He handles difficult passages admirably, covering the various views and the arguments for each. His interpretations of the passages on women are a bit more traditional than how I would be inclined to take them but he provides good evidence for his position and considers opposing views. My only quibble would be that I wish he had spent more time on the perplexing arguments given by Paul in the sections on women in the church, especially on how they are to be interpreted. The discussions on these points were very short and mentioned in passing in larger discussions on the letters' views on women. I had no clearer idea what was going on in these arguments after I read the commentary than before, which is a shame. Other than the points where this happens (which are VERY few), this is an excellent work that I highly recommend for anyone looking for a great, easily accessible (for a scholarly or semi-scholarly commentary, that is) technical commentary on the Pastorals. Sure it's the size of several volumes in one but when you read it you soon forget this as you become immersed in the lives of Paul and the early Christians.

I'm going to admit right up front that I have not read the entire commentary. There are things that I do and don't like about this massive work by William D. Mounce.

First the good: This book is a pretty good deal when you consider that it includes 3 of the Pastoral Epistles. The author sticks to an orthodox/conservative view on the Pauline authorship of the epistles. He also defends the conservative view on many of the controversial passages in Timothy.

I didn't like the layout of this book. It was harder than usual to find a particular passage. The reading tended to be a little more dense and scholarly that I'm used to. I don't know if a commentary on Timothy is available in the NICNT or Pillar series, but I've found the NICNT and Pillar commentaries to be very illuminating while being significantly easier to read.

If you are looking for one commentary that covers 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus from a conservative point of view, this work by Mounce deserves your consideration. Be forewarned though that the layout is not as nice as that in the NICNT and Pillar series commentaries.

This commentary is well written and easy to read. Even the introduction is extremely indepth, but all of the information is interesting and useful; it's not a bunch of scholarly drivel. Knowing/understanding Koine Greek and it's usage makes reading this commentary a little easier. Overall Mounce has done a fantastic job.

Mounce has done his homework. Incredible scholarship, clarity of writing, fairly well-organized. I wish there was more of a substantive introduction to each book on its own, but overall, this commentary has been an excellent resource for leading a Bible study group through 2 Timothy.

I was so delighted when I began using this commentary. I have never used a better commentary on any book. Well written, packed with information, and good arguments. He also believes in Pauline authorship.

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!