New Testament Books for Pastors and Teachers - VI

________________________________________

by Ralph Martin
published: 2001-04-18
© 2001 Theologybooks.com, Wipf and Stock.
________________________________________

6. ROMANS
Commentaries on the pivotal epistle to the Romans as a key to Paul's theology and indeed to the New Testament teaching on salvation and salvation history come in all shapes and sizes.
Pride of place must go to Charles E. B. Cranfield's two-volume contribution to the revised ICC, though the older ICC by William Sanday and Arthur C. Headlam should in no way be disregarded. Their commentary is easier to use, and with less detail it will not tax the reader's patience and concentration; both virtues are needed to get the best out of Cranfield, who packs an amazing amount of detail into his exegesis. Every conceivable option is given, so that the reader knows what are the possibilities, both in the ancient church and among modern interpreters, before he learns how Cranfield inclines. In that sense Cranfield's Romans is a definitive work, and its objectivity is one of its foremost and finest assets. A close second is Ernst Käsemann's newly translated work, full of theological perception and marked by Teutonic Griindlichkeit. Fresh surprises await the reader at every turn, and one comes away from Käsemann with appreciation for Paul as a theologian, whether we agree with every position and argument of the commentator or not.
For practical purposes Franz J. Leenhardt's translated commentary has much to offer and is worth consulting. C. K. Barrett (Harper-Black) has put preachers in his debt with a plainly written but remarkably interesting commentary that goes to the heart of the Pauline gospel. For any preacher still unsure what that gospel was (and is), let me urge an acquaintance with Barrett's compact Reading Through Romans as a minor masterpiece, second to which is John A. T. Robinson, Wrestling with Romans, which unhappily seems to run out of steam after treating ch. 8.
Commentaries that pursue a particular tack, that have what is called today a distinctive Tendenz, would include the dated work of C. H. Dodd (Moffatt), which represents the best in the older liberal tradition (see Dodd on the "wrath of God" in Romans 1, and his dismissive attitude to Romans 9-11); and John Murray (NICNT, 2 vols.), who views Romans through the spectacles of classical Reformed theology, much in the wake of Charles Hodge's mid-nineteenth-century commentary, reprinted in 1951. Of course, you may say that the latter is no bad thing, but prospective readers ought to be aware of a commentator's penchant.
In the field of smaller works, F. F. Bruce writes the Tyndale commentary with never a wasted word, and Handley C. G. Moule has given us two efforts in expounding the text of the epistle: a treatment of the Greek text (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) that is excellent, and a more devotional exposition in The Expositor's Bible. Brief comments on the text are found in A. M. Hunter's Torch edition and Ernest F. Scott's commentary. Special mention ought to be made of Matthew Black in NCB for two striking features: pointed comments on the text, and a remarkably full bibliography of recent work on Romans (up to 1973).
Karl Barth's The Epistle to the Romans (1922 ed.) is of course a classic. This book is the one that dropped like a bomb in the theologians' playground; but his A Shorter Commentary on Romans (1919) is very serviceable for getting to the nub of Barthian exegesis. From a strictly theological stance nothing is better than Anders Nygren's commentary, even if it fails as a verse-by-verse exposition. In the same tradition of Lutheran scholarship is the more succinct treatment by Roy A. Harrisville.
There are still other more devotionally and homiletically oriented books on Romans; we will mention John R. W. Stott's Men Made New (on Romans 5-8) and Earl F. Palmer's Salvation by Surprise (with useful study questions appended). To shed light on a dark place (Romans 9-11) there is nothing more illuminating than Christ and Israel by Johannes Munck.
The list of foreign-language commentaries is headed by Otto Michel (MeyerK series) and Hans Lietzmann (HzNT), the former exegeting the text with great thoroughness, the latter offering pithy comments. A volume with more detailed scope and theological penetration is Ulrich Wilckens in the EKK series, designed with European clergy, both Catholic and Protestant, in mind.
RECOMMENDATION: Cranfield is a clear leader for sound and sober exegesis, but you cannot go wrong with Barrett (Harper-Black). The two titles complement each other and often disagree on points of detail.

New Testament Books for Pastors and Teachers - V

________________________________________

by Ralph Martin
published: 2001-04-18
© 2001 Theologybooks.com, Wipf and Stock.
________________________________________

4. JOHN
John's Gospel is by common consent a treasure trove for preachers and teachers of the word. Yet it poses a set of problems that every generation must seemingly wrestle with on its own. In particular, the issues of historical value and the meaning of John's symbolism are the two interlocking questions that honest preachers must look squarely in the eye before they announce a text from the Fourth Gospel. Books that elucidate John's background and thought world are good; but even better are the commentaries that help us unpack John's message as part of the diversity of New Testament truth. And that means the best commentators will be those who write with a concern to explore John's theological dimension at some depth, to do for our day what William Temple's two volumes (Readings in St. John's Gospel) did for his time. One representative example of this in-depth exegesis is Robert H. Lightfoot's commentary volume St. John's Gospel; and from the Barthian standpoint Edwyn C. Hoskyns and Francis Noel Davey have put together a stimulating-if sometimes wayward-book, exegetically weak, but facing the theological questions head-on.
For thorough exegesis there is no substitute for C. K. Barrett on the Greek text. His volume should be our first resource, as we are able to use it, before we move on. Rudolf Schnackenburg's contribution to the Herder commentary series has now been translated in three volumes, which are repositories of learning and information. A close partner to these leaders in the field is Raymond E. Brown (two volumes in AB), easier to use because there is no Greek language barrier, and full of exegetical perception.
Rudolf Bultmann's massive work contains much data as background material, but he is so erudite as to leave the reader who has concerns other than discovering religious-historical parallels rather breathless.
Both literary analysis and historical learning are worn lightly by Barnabas Lindars (NCB), whose fat volume in a series otherwise lean and sleek should be within arm's reach. Another large volume, this one in the NICNT, is contributed by Leon Morris, replacing an unsatisfactory title in the same series by Merrill C. Tenney. To a lesser extent R. H. Strachan, John Marsh (Pelican), R. V. G. Tasker (Tyndale), and Joseph N. Sanders (Harper-Black) have their place, and occasionally offer insights. Among older works, that of F. Godet (three volumes) has a rich vein of spiritual worth, with practical applications. B. F. Westcott's two titles (one based on the Greek and one on the English text) can be relied on for sober and scholarly, if not overly stimulating, research.
For genuine excitement in Johannine studies we need to turn to individual contributions that are not commentaries in the proper sense, except that the first named in our roster does offer a commentary-like approach throughout his book. I refer to C. H. Dodd's later work Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel. This book admirably supplements-as it completes-his earlier and pioneering study The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel. Both books by Dodd are milestone works, and they cannot be neglected.
Modern individual monographs are virtually legion, and we mention only some representative samples. J. Louis Martyn's History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel broke new ground when it first appeared, and it has now been revised. Robert T. Fortna's literary criticism has some positive things to offer the exegete; it is titled The Gospel of Signs. The more recent studies of R. Alan Culpepper, The Johannine School (on the Johannine community of faith), and John Painter, John:Witness and Theologian (on the teaching of John concerning the Christian life), are both important. There is a lot of valuable discussion of past and recent research in Johannine studies in Stephen S. Smalley's John: Evangelist and Interpreter. A. M. Hunter's According to John is a popular survey of recent trends, useful for catching up on what the scholars are saying, though Robert A. Kysar's book The Fourth Evangelist and His Gospel is more comprehensive, if less readable.
RECOMMENDATION: The choice turns firmly on whether the Greek text presents a problem. If it does, Brown is preferable; but if not, Barrett stands out, especially in its second edition.

5. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
For users of the Greek New Testament-or for those who wish to brush up on their Greek-F. F. Bruce's first commentary (in chronological order) on Acts may be recommended as a good exercise in linguistic study. His second volume (in NICNT) virtually made the contents of his first book available to a wider public, but still lacked-on his own admission-much of a theological dimension.
For that we turn to Ernst Haenchen's massive work, translated from his MeyerK contribution, and surprisingly for so technical a work of scholarship, it is rich in preaching suggestions that alert readers will not be slow to appropriate. For a succinct overview of theological issues in the study of Acts, note Robert J. Karris, What Are They Saying About Luke and Acts? A Theology of the Faithful God.
On the historical side, there is nothing to supersede the five volumes of The Beginnings of Christianity, edited by F. J. Foakes-Jackson and Kirsopp Lake, happily available in a Baker reprint at a bargain price. Volume 4 is commentary, and with some excellent exegetical notes it is still valuable. All later commentators pay tribute to Kirsopp Lake, Henry J. Cadbury (whose contributions to the five-volume work are of first importance), and F. J. Foakes-Jackson as a trio whose work has stimulated their labors. A. N. Sherwin-White, Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament, brings the story up to date on the side of the early church's setting in the Roman world.
What subsequent commentators have done with the mass of scholarly data is, of course, an individual matter. Richard P. C. Hanson (New Clarendon) and William Neil (NCB) represent the best in sober, dependable, British scholarship, but with little flair. C. S. C. Williams (Harper-Black) has a more attractive presentation, and this may be classed as the preacher's best standby. The older book of R. B. Rackham (Westminster) is written from the "high" Episcopalian viewpoint but will greatly help the preacher, as will Everett F. Harrison's volume and that of I. Howard Marshall (Tyndale), who exegetes Acts within an evangelical context, but with a sharp eye for theological motifs.
I have been helped by a lesser-known title, the commentary by J. Alexander Findlay. Now dated in many respects (it appeared in 1934; second edition 1936), it still gets to the heart of the story of the early church, and in pericope after pericope the writer's ability to expound the meaning of the text in a set of broad strokes makes this work remarkably fresh and relevant today. In fact, hard-pressed preachers needing exegetical help fast are recommended to seek out this title (available only in libraries and possibly in used book stores) and use it alongside Gerhard Krodel's equally attractive and up-to-date contribution to the Proclamation Commentaries series, valuable for its literary analysis of Acts.
Not much good is done by Johannes Munck's Anchor Bible volume, sad to say. There is some compensation, however, in what is offered by a fellow Scandinavian, Jacob Jervell, in Luke and the People of God: A New Look at Luke-Acts, even if this book promotes a thesis (Luke's purpose is governed by Jewish connections and his desire to keep the church and the synagogue together) that lacks cogency. Robert Maddox's The Purpose of Luke-Acts, mentioned earlier, should be consulted to get one's bearings on current options for interpreting the purpose of Acts. And no understanding of where scholars are today is really possible without a knowledge of where they have come from. For that reason W. Ward Gasque's A History of the Criticism of the Acts of the Apostles fills an important gap.
Studies on special themes in Acts are legion; and we may content ourselves with mentioning only a few, selected by the criterion that they are related to pastoral problems: Schuyler Brown, Apostasy and Perseverance in the Theology of Luke; James D. G. Dunn, Baptism in the Holy Spirit (first-class for an exegetical treatment of problem passages such as Acts 8 and 19); Martin Hengel, Acts and the History of Earliest Christianity (a robust essay in apologetics defending Luke's role as an ancient historian); John C. O'Neill, The Theology of Acts in Its Historical Setting (on Luke as an evangelist par excellence); and Stephen G. Wilson, The Gentiles and the Gentile Mission in Luke-Acts (valuable for some thoughts on the church's mission in every age).
RECOMMENDATION: As a commentary to set one thinking, Haenchen is unrivalled; a different historical perspective will be found in Williams.

(vijon)

New Testament Books for Pastors and Teachers - IV

________________________________________

by Ralph Martin
published: 2001-04-18
© 2001 Theologybooks.com, Wipf and Stock.
________________________________________
2. MARK
In my volume on Mark in the Knox Preaching Guides series, edited by John H. Hayes, there is a list of commentaries I found most serviceable in preparing that booklet. High on the list are Hugh Anderson's work in NCB and William L. Lane in NICNT. Both are clear, level-headed, and up-to-date expositions of Mark's message as gospel with emphasis on the historical and theological interest. For more detailed study based on the Greek text, Charles E. B. Cranfield and Vincent Taylor may be recommended, with the former more adapted to easy reference. Both books are becoming dated, however, since both were written before the gains of redaction criticism could be utilized. For the ground-breaking redactional study, Willi Marxsen's Mark the Evangelist should be consulted.
In commentary series proper, Sherman E. Johnson (Harper-Black), A. E. J. Rawlinson (Westminster), and Dennis E. Nineham (Pelican) contain nothing that cannot be found in the books mentioned above, but of these three, Nineham has the acutest theological sense, and he writes in a limpid prose style-a trait not all commentators share! Eduard Schweizer's work translated from Das Neue Testament Deutsch (NTD) is full of insights and application, and it should be within the preacher's reach. I personally found Josef Schmid's volume from the Catholic Regensburg New Testament series, translated and published in Cork, Ireland, a most helpful treatment, and full of good things. It is the only volume in this German Catholic series available in English, and it would be a pity if we were denied more of the excellence of this sample.
Of slender dimension but useful for quick reference is Paul J. Achtemeier's volume in the Proclamation Commentaries series. Etienne Trocmé's The Formation of the Gospel According to Mark is written with Gallic verve and offers a novel view of the Gospel. For example, his treatment of Mark's purpose in a missionary context is bound to spark several sermons.
For a series of sermons on Mark as passion story there is the collection of essays The Passion in Mark, edited by Werner H. Kelber. However, preachers will probably get more immediate value from Arland J. Hultgren's Jesus and His Adversaries. Mark 13 poses its own problems, and George R. Beasley-Murray's A Commentary on Mark Thirteen has not yet been superseded, though there have been later erudite volumes on that chapter, mainly in German. Finally, there is my own Mark: Evangelist and Theologian, an attempt to survey recent study of Mark. The ongoing sequel of Markan research from 1972 to 1979 may be read in Sean P. Kealy's valuable and unusual book Mark's Gospel: A History of Its Interpretation, which offers synopses of leading writers in the field and their works, arranged chronologically from the patristic period to our own day. See too James M. Robinson's updated The Problem of History in Mark.
RECOMMENDATION: Anderson stands first for its overall usefulness, but Lane is a close rival.

3. LUKE
There has been a flurry of scholarly activity centered on the Lukan writings since the 1950s, when W. C. van Unnik labeled Luke-Acts a "storm center of New Testament criticism." While much of this research and publication has been highly technical-and we may instance the debate focused on Hans Conzelmann's seminal The Theology of St. Luke (its original title, in German, was "The Middle of Time")-it should be recorded that the practical gains have been considerable and preaching resources have been enriched thereby. A good example is seen in Eduard Schweizer's popular lectures Luke: A Challenge to Present Theology, written as a parergon to his commentary on Luke in NTD, which is shortly to appear in the John Knox series of Schweizer's translated commentaries and will service the preacher's needs in the English-speaking world as NTD does on the European scene.
More erudite, yet eminently worth reading as sermon preparation, are Joseph A. Fitzmyer's Anchor Bible commentary (at present covering Luke 1-9), and I. Howard Marshall in NIGTC. The former is less demanding on the Greekless reader, and less taxing on the eyesight, than Marshall's closely packed pages, which in format are slightly self-defeating. A more thoughtful editorial pen would have helped in the earlier stages of this work, but there is no denying the mass of excellent material now available to aid the preacher and teacher who tries to understand Luke's Gospel.
Students of Greek will still need to refer to J. M. Creed (Macmillan) as to Alfred Plummer (ICC), both of which are dated in a double sense. They show their age as books written several decades ago, and they inevitably predate Conzelmann and the concerns raised specifically over Luke's work as an editor with a theological bent to his purpose. For orientation here we commend I. Howard Marshall's Luke: Historian and Theologian, as well as the essays in Interpreting the Gospels, edited by James Luther Mays, a most useful book for getting abreast of current study on all four Gospels, and one written with preachers and teachers in mind.
Serviceable commentaries, with much to offer in the field of exegesis, are those by A. Robert C. Leaney (Harper-Black) and E. Earle Ellis (NCB). In shorter compass are George B. Caird (Pelican) and Leon Morris (Tyndale). William Manson (Moffatt) is a slight disappointment to those who were helped by his insightful Jesus the Messiah; and J. Norval Geldenhuys (NICNT) could safely be passed over, except that his warm, devotional spirit exudes on every page, and this book will warm the heart if it fails to excite the imagination or stimulate the mind.
Mind-stretching can be left to the European interpreters of Luke; witness the collected essays in Studies in Luke-Acts, edited by Leander E. Keck and J. Louis Martyn, and more recently the survey of Robert Maddox, The Purpose of Luke-Acts, written at Munich and giving a richly comprehensive overview of all possible options currently expressed by German, French, British, and American scholars.
For detailed analytical treatment there is nothing to rival Heinz Schürmann's edition (as far as ch. 9) in the first volume in the Herder series. Smaller in size, but with theological sensitivity, is Walter Grundmann's work in the series aptly named Theologischer Handkommentar.
I personally found Bo Reicke's little book The Gospel of Luke rewarding. Though not a commentary in the strict sense, it held out several insights as sermon starters. And the same verdict holds for Helmut Flender, St. Luke: Theologian of Redemptive History, which, though not easy to read, is also rewarding. This brings us to a consideration of special studies on Luke's Gospel.
Raymond E. Brown's The Birth of the Messiah is virtually required reading in the pastor's study at the Advent season. Both Matthew's Nativity stories and Luke's early chapters are examined in close detail. J. Gresham Machen's The Virgin Birth of Christ is a useful polemical treatise in defense of the dogma, but exegetically not very profitable. John McHugh, in The Mother of Jesus in the New Testament, has a lot of suggestive-some might say speculative-material on Luke's infancy narratives, but I discovered a lot of preaching material here, to my pleasant surprise.
Three titles ought to be read for our overall education on current Lukan studies, since all of these books are written in such a polished and attractive way that they do no disservice to "the most beautiful book there is" (as Renan called Luke's Gospel). They are: John Drury, Tradition and Design in Luke's Gospel; Eric Franklin, Christ the Lord: A Study in the Purpose and Theology of Luke-Acts; and C. K. Barrett, Luke the Historian in Recent Study. We owe it to our pulpit ministry to make the acquaintance of these authors who are, each in his own way, able to write con amore about Luke and his works.
Luke's Gospel seems to me to stand high on many a preacher's list of favorite New Testament books as offering a rich and fertile seedplot for sermons. Time spent wrestling with Luke's purpose and his role as pastor-evangelist, in addition to his role as the author of a second volume in the New Testament library, is a wise investment (see also the section on the Acts of the Apostles).
RECOMMENDATION: Marshall (NIGTC) has the most to offer as a resource book, but it will be overtaken by the more readable Fitzmyer when the latter's addition to AB is complete.
(Vijon)

New Testament Books for Pastors and Teachers - III

________________________________________

by Ralph Martin
published: 2001-04-18
© 2001 Theologybooks.com, Wipf and Stock.
________________________________________

Individual Commentaries
This will obviously be the lengthiest chapter as we survey what are, in one person's judgment, the best titles to look for in the field of commentary writing on a book-by-book basis. There are two overriding considerations, namely (a) what are the books of a former generation that have had an enduring influence and are accessible in larger library collections or purchasable, from time to time, in used book shops; and (b) what books are available in the current marketplace and worth acquiring. The interests of pastors, preachers, and teachers have been kept uppermost, with an occasional glance in the direction of the scholar and the research student.
Students at the beginning of their academic and ministerial career often ask that someone provide them with a clear-cut recommendation of a single title as the "best buy," similar to the way reviewers of gramophone records mark a special recording as "outstanding." I have responded to this desire at the end of each section. Sometimes two or more commentaries are tied for first place, and I have so indicated.

1. MATTHEW
After several decades of dearth when it was difficult to recommend a good full-scale commentary on Matthew's Gospel (in English, at least), we are faced with a number of choices. Robert H. Gundry's Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art, incorporating the techniques of midrashic comparison and redaction criticism, vies with Francis W. Beare's more traditionally conceived commentary. Beare's volume carries the lighter touch and is easier to use as a tool, but some of his historical judgments will provoke disagreement. Gundry's book also has raised a debate and will be valued more for its interest in Matthew's purpose than as an aid to preachers. David Hill's slightly older and more compact study (NCB) is a commentary in the traditional sense and full of exegetical insight; it stands out as serviceable and less expensive. If Hill's book is used alongside some monographs on Matthew's role as theologian and church teacher (a term made familiar by Krister Stendahl's The School of St. Matthew, 1954), the combination will be all the preacher needs.
Among monographs on Matthew's role as theologian and church teacher I would place Tradition and Interpretation in Matthew, by Gunther Bornkamm, Gerhard Barth, and Heinz J. Held; this volume is a basic tool to show the gains of redaction criticism for the preacher. Another useful volume is The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount, by W. D. Davies, which needs to be complemented now by Robert A. Guelich's excellent recent study The Sermon on the Mount, on Matthew 5-7. And see also The Theme of Jewish Persecution of Christians in the Gospel According to St. Matthew, by Douglas R. A. Hare. Last (but not least by any means) is a most helpful exposition of recent work on Matthew's Christology by Jack D. Kingsbury titled Matthew: Structure, Christology, Kingdom. This brings up to date the information in Edward P. Blair's fine Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, which unfortunately never found a British publisher.
An older work (on the Greek text) by A. H. McNeile still has value but is severely dated. For a penetrating study of Matthew's Gospel pericope by pericope, there is still nothing to rival Pierre Bonnard in the French CNT series, which ought to have been translated into English. William F. Albright and C. S. Mann (AB) join to produce a serviceable, if not too exciting, effort, with a good introduction to the Gospel. There are helpful exegetical aids in Floyd V. Filson (Harper-Black), J. C. Fenton (Pelican), and J. P. Meier. Eduard Schweizer's succinct commentary is a translation of his contribution to Das Neue Testament Deutsch (NTD), and when used in conjunction with Hill will be found to complement that volume nicely. Both books fulfill the promise of the series of which they form a part: they are basically exegetical tools, which every preacher will need to keep within arm's length in the study.
Preachers who turn to Matthew's Gospel for a text will be less concerned with studies about Matthew's literary usage (seen in M. D. Goulder's pioneering work and now in Gundry's book, mentioned above) than with the evangelist's role as church leader and teacher. Here redaction criticism can be of real assistance, as noted above, but T. W. Manson's The Sayings of Jesus should not be ignored, since it provides a virtual commentary on Jesus' teaching in this Gospel as understood in the pre-Bornkamm era.
RECOMMENDATION: Either Hill or Schweizer.

(Vijon)

New Testament Books for Pastors and Teachers - II

________________________________________

by Ralph Martin
published: 2001-04-18
© 2001 Theologybooks.com, Wipf and Stock.
________________________________________
Greek grammars come in all shapes and sizes. There are the elementary textbooks, of which J. Gresham Machen is perhaps the best known in the United States, and H. P. V. Nunn, as revised by John Wenham, the most popular in Great Britain. The more advanced include the work of A. T. Robertson, reprinted by Broadman Press, and the indispensable Blass-Debrunner-Funk, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. The four volumes of A Grammar of New Testament Greek, by J. H. Moulton, W. F. Howard, and Nigel Turner, are excellent as reference works and will illuminate many a preacher's texts. A grammar to read from cover to cover is Charles F. D. Moule's An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek in its latest edition. This is not so daunting a task as may at first appear; but if the thought is enough to scare away those whose Greek has grown rusty, why not make a start with Nigel Turner's Grammatical Insights Into the New Testament, or the same author's marvelously suggestive Christian Words? I guarantee your interest will be amply rewarded as sermon suggestions leap from the page. Even simpler is Ronald A. Ward's Hidden Meaning in the New Testament: New Light from the Old Greek, also written with an eye on the preacher's need.
Lexical data are always an essential part of adequate sermon preparation as well as a good control on our exegetical flights of fancy. All we can desire is supplied by Bauer-GingrichDanker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Danker's name is a sign of the second edition (1979), replacing Arndt's in the 1957 edition. The later edition is the one to possess. In default of the large Bauer volume, I have found much profit in G. Abbott-Smith's A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, a book on my shelves with its spine broken from constant use. That usually says something about a book's practical worth! Liddell-Scott-Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1940), is the standard work for classical studies, but pastors will be able to make do with the abbreviated edition, usually obtained secondhand, though it is apparently still in print.
Before we leave the subject of resources to assist our Greek knowledge, let me mention a few other books of great value. First, as an aid to serious Gospel study we all need a synopsis of the Gospels, and the prime choice is Kurt Aland's Synopsis Quattuor Evangeliorum. (Despite its Latin title, the book is accessible to all who can use New Testament Greek. A Greek-English edition, entitled Synopsis of the Four Gospels, is published by the United Bible Societies.) There are various counterparts to this aid, which print the English text, notably B. H. Throckmorton, Gospel Parallels, and F. L. Cross's translation of the Huck-Lietzmann Synopsis, but these are really second best. An exception is the Huck-Greeven Synopsis, a first-class resource, published in 1981 and now available in the United States. Reuben J. Swanson's The Horizontal Line Synopsis of the Gospels offers a conspectus of the English texts in vertical columns, with agreements underlined. A start has been made toward producing an equivalent in Greek with textual variants, and so far Matthew has appeared.
Concordances in Greek are mainly for the academician, with the standard Moulton and Geden now superseded by H. Bachmann and H. Slaby (eds.), Computer-Konkordanz zum Novum Testamentum Graece and the less complete but very useful Statistik des neutestamentlichen Wortschatzes, by Robert Morgenthaler. More immediately serviceable is Clinton Morrison's An Analytical Concordance to the Revised Standard Version of the New Testament, which provides excellent and comprehensive coverage, enough to satisfy most needs. Of the older works there is the ancient Cruden's Concordance, which has done yeoman service, though it is incomplete in parts and is based on the King James Version. Robert Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible, or James Strong's The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, or both, should therefore be sought out and kept at one's elbow.
(vijon)

New Testament Books for Pastors and Teachers - I

Me këtë postim do të filloj një seri postimesh në të cilat mund të gjeni literaturën e domosdoshme të sugjeruar nga një ndër komentuesit më të njohur ungjillor të DhR. Ishte një dëshirë e imja që ta bëja vetë dicka të tillë pwr drejtuesit shqiptar, por duke patur një material të tillë të gatshëm, dhe nga një ekspert, sugjerimi im do të ishte i pavend.
Por më parë është e nevojshme të mbahen parasysh tri gjëra:
1) Literatura, ashtu si edhe vetë materiali, janë në anglisht. Unë edhe mund ta përktheja në shqip, por nëse librat që nevojiten janë në anglisht, ata që janë të interesuar sigurisht që do të kuptojnë edhe materialin!
2) Materiali është publikuar shumë kohë më parë (2001). Kjo do të thotë se për shumë nga librat këtu, janë bërë ribotime të mëvonshme. Prandaj, për ata që janë të interesuar për t'i blerë, më përpara bëjnë mirë të kërkojnë në internet për ribotimin e fundit.
3) Disa nga materialet e sugjeruara kërkojnë një njohje të greqishtes. Kjo nuk duhet të përbëjë shkurajim, por motivim për të kërkuar më shumë nga vetvetja.
Lexim të mbarë!
_________________
by Ralph Martin
published: 2001-04-18
© 2001 Theologybooks.com, Wipf and Stock.
________________________________________
Basic Exegetical Tools
Frederick W. Danker's Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study heads the list of bibliographical guides, as it does in Brevard Childs's Old Testament Books for Pastor and Teacher. The single complaint I have is an inevitable one. Even Danker's third edition of 1970 is quickly becoming dated, and several of his chapters need enriching and updating, excellent as they were when first published. The areas where strengthening is required are noted below.
Help is at hand in two publications of the Inter-Varsity Press. The first of these, A Bibliographical Guide to New Testament Research, edited by Richard T. France, has now appeared in a third edition (1979), published by the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, at the University of Sheffield, England. Earlier editions (1968 and 1974) were released under the auspices of the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical Research in Cambridge, England. The latest edition contains the fullest bibliographical listing of exegetical helps currently in print. It is oriented to the British scene, but without too much difficulty one can match American editions to their British counterparts. This guidebook ranges over the widest areas possible, from library aids and standard periodical titles to the more exotic fields of investigation such as papyrology, Qumran and the inter-Testamental period, and early Christian and Gnostic literature. It even gives tips about learning a modern language such as German or French as a means of access to so much that is being written by leading theologians in our day. Inevitably there are blind spots, and American readers would have appreciated more on the Nag Hammadi texts and the Jewish noncanonical literature that Scholars Press is making available in edited translations. See George W. E. Nickelsburg, Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah, for details as to existing and forthcoming editions in this field.
The second publication is more replete with important data, conveniently brought together in a manageable booklet. Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels, edited by David E. Aune, is the first in a series of Theological Students' Fellowship-institute for Biblical Research study guides. Its excellent, encyclopedic coverage of titles that can be sought in the limited area of Jesus and the first three Gospels is only part of the book's usefulness. Methods of criticism and reviews of research are judiciously examined. Linguistic studies on the Gospels are scrutinized. Then the contemporary world of Judaism is treated before the various phases of Jesus' earthly life and ministry are referred to, each section covering what Aune believes to be the best guides available, both books and periodical essays. Students will find these resources invaluable, but alert pastors cannot fail to profit if they will take Aune's little book along on their next excursion to a seminary or public library.
In briefer compass there is Joseph A. Fitzmyer's An Introductory Bibliography for the Study of Scripture (rev. ed., 1981). In a few pages this handbook tells us all we need to know about current journals, lexicons, grammars, concordances, and Bible dictionaries, as well as summarizing in a few judicious sentences what to expect from New Testament theologies and commentary series. A most useful book to have on hand.
All would-be expositors of the sacred text will need an upto-date Greek New Testament, which should lie open on their study desk or table. The larger the Greek font used the better, for ease of reference. The "best" is Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece, in its 26th edition (1979). There is a pocket-size edition, but I recommend the larger, wide-margin edition to students and newly ordained ministers. It will be the investment of a lifetime. I have used the British and Foreign Bible Society edition in a wide-margin text for two decades now, and I wish I had been advised to get a similar edition years before. Most seminary students seem to incline to The Greek New Testament, ed. by Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren, in the United Bible Societies' third edition of 1975, which has an up-to-date text and is easier to read than Nestle. The critical apparatus gives fewer variant readings, but with fuller references. A companion volume, edited by Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, is most useful in giving the principles on which choices were made in producing the United Bible Societies' text.
On the difficult subject of textual criticism, all the minister will need is found in Bruce M. Metzger's The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (second edition), though J. Neville Birdsall in The Cambridge History of the Bible, ed. by Peter R. Ackroyd and Christopher F. Evans, Vol. 1, Ch. 11, is an excellent supplement; and Gordon D. Fee's chapter in Biblical Criticism: Historical, Literary, and Textual, by R. K. Harrison et al., redeems a book of otherwise doubtful worth.
Second only to the indispensable Greek New Testament is the need to have on hand a copy of the Old Testament in Greek, the Septuagint, often referred to by the symbol LXX. Childs's recommendation is for the older edition of Henry B. Swete, which is available only as a used copy and is fairly rare. The standard text is the Wurttembergische Bibelanstalt edition, edited by Alfred Rahlfs and published in Stuttgart, which is reasonably priced and will meet most pastors' needs. See the Bibliography for details of publication.
(Vijon)