The 2008 Preaching Survey of Bibles and Bible References

Paul’s World, ed. Stan Porter (Brill; hb., 284 pp.), though more technical, contains helpful essays on background issues and exegesis, but the price will make it prohibitive for most.

The revised Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 5 covering Romans to Galatians has appeared. Don Hagner updated E. Harrison’s Romans commentary, Verbrugge replaces Mare on 1 Corinthians and R. K. Rapa replaces James Montgomery Boice on Galatians. These are by nature more brief than other commentaries. Harris’ commentary on 2 Corinthians was one of the stronger contributions in the earlier edition so it is good to see it updated here. It provides a compact coverage of what can now be found in Harris’s NIGTC volume on 2 Corinthians.

Twelve Challenges Churches Face, by Mark Dever (Crossway; pb., 193 pp.), is a collection of twelve sermons from 1 Corinthians. Good sermons which are built on sound exegesis and deep theological thinking are so beneficial for sermon preparation, and these are of that sort.

Ben Witherington’s The Letters to Philemon, the Colossians, and the Ephesians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Captivity Epistles (Eerdmans; pb., 382 pp) is particularly concerned in this commentary to show that Paul is using a certain form of rhetoric common to Asia Minor. The focus is thus on rhetoric, and I found it less useful in expounding the theology and meaning of the text.

Charles Talbert’s Ephesians and Colossians (Baker, pb., 296 pp.) is the inaugural volume in the Paideia Commentaries on the NT series, and I really like it. The commentary examines each paragraph according to three categories: introductory matters, tracing the train of thought, and theological issues. This format is very helpful, and I found that it answered more of the questions I am looking for than many other formats. Talbert provides a good overview of interpretations making sane observations. This will be helpful for preachers.