Whether the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians is a single document or a compilation of two or more, and the question of Paul's relations with the Corinthian church between the despatch of the First and the composition of the Second letter (or letters), have been matters of debate since the eighteenth century.Margaret Thrall's commentary engages with these and all the other issues associated with 2 Corinthians. There follows a detailed verse-by-verse exegesis of chapters 1-7, which attempts to understand the viewpoint of the original readers of the text as well as Paul's own.This volume covers many of Paul's writings which have evoked considerable scholarly interest in recent years. This is an exemplary addition to the ICC series.

Leading biblical scholar Thomas Schreiner provides an easy-to-navigate resource for studying and understanding the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Letters. This accessibly written volume summarizes the content of each major section of the biblical text to help readers quickly grasp the sense of particular passages. This is the first volume in the Handbooks on the New Testament series, which is modeled after Baker Academic's successful Old Testament handbook series. Series volumes are neither introductions nor commentaries, as they focus primarily on the content of the biblical books without getting bogged down in historical-critical questions or detailed verse-by-verse exegesis. The series will contain three volumes that span the entirety of the New Testament, with future volumes covering the Gospels and Hebrews through Revelation. Written with classroom utility and pastoral application in mind, these books will appeal to students, pastors, and laypeople alike.

The Understanding the Bible Commentary Series helps readers navigate the strange and sometimes intimidating literary terrain of the Bible. These accessible volumes break down the barriers between the ancient and modern worlds so that the power and meaning of the biblical texts become transparent to contemporary readers. The contributors tackle the task of interpretation using the full range of critical methodologies and practices, yet they do so as people of faith who hold the text in the highest regard. Pastors, teachers, and lay people alike will cherish the truth found in this commentary series.

Euichang Kim focuses upon the phrase “the fear of God”, drawn from 2 Corinthians' exhortation to reconcile with God. As opposed to these words appearing from no particular source, Kim points to the wider contexts of Old Testament passages quoted by Paul, and demonstrates that God's eschatological promises – in particular his coming judgment, his promise to redeem his people, and the prospect of a new covenant – are intertwined with this motif of “fear”. Beginning with an analysis of the meaning of fear in both the Old Testament and the New, Kim proceeds to the context of fear within 2 Corinthians, Scripture, the writings of Second Temple Judaism and the very eschatology of Paul, suggesting that it stems from an awareness of God's judgment to come and serves to motivate righteous behavior. Kim finally argues that, in the context of 2 Corinthians, the “fear of God” functions as the proper response to God's saving acts in Christ, and provides motivation for believers to pursue a holy life in anticipation of the eschatological judgment to come.

Christians usually focus on what Jesus has done (his life, death and resurrection) and what he will do (his second coming and reign). However, Christ is the one who not only lived, died, rose, and will come again: he is also currently seated at God's right hand. In this NSBT volume, Peter Orr explores the New Testament witness to Jesus as he is now, the exalted Christ, through the lenses of his identity, his location, and his activity.

Is there a future after death and what does this future look like? What kind of life can we expect, and in what kind of world? Is there another, hopefully better world than the one we live in? The articles collected in this volume, all written by leading experts in the field, deal with the question how ancient Jewish and Christian authors describe “otherworldly places and situations”. They investigate why various forms of texts were created to address the questions above, how these texts functioned, and how they have to be understood. It is shown how ancient descriptions of the “otherworld” are taking over and reworking existing motifs, forms and genres, but also that they mirror concrete problems, ideas, experiences, and questions of their authors and the first readers.

The extent of Christ’s atoning work on the cross is one of the most divisive issues in evangelical Christianity. In The Extent of the Atonement: A Historical and Critical Review, David L. Allen makes a biblical, historical, theological, and practical case for a universal atonement. Through a comprehensive historical survey, Allen contends that universal atonement has always been the majority view of Christians, and that even among Calvinist theologians there is a considerable range of views. Marshalling evidence from Scripture and history, and critiquing arguments for a limited atonement, Allen affirms that an unlimited atonement is the best understanding of Christ’s saving work. He concludes by showing that an unlimited atonement provides the best foundation for evangelism, missions, and preaching.

This book engages in a careful study of Pauls letters to determine if the apostle expected the communities to which he wrote to engage in missionary activity. It helpfully summarizes the discussion on this debated issue, judiciously handling contested texts and provides a way forward in addressing this critical question. While admitting that Paul rarely explicitly commands the communities he founded to evangelize, Plummer amasses significant incidental data to provide a convincing case that Paul did indeed expect his churches to engage in mission activity. Throughout the study, Plummer progressively builds a theological basis for the churchs mission that is both distinctively Pauline and compelling.

Paul addresses his readers as God's Temple in his Letters to the Corinthians, which are among the earliest documents of Christianity. This volume provides a synthesis of the historical and exegetical dimensions to Paul's cultic imagery. Previous theories (spiritualisation, substitution, comparative religions approach) cannot stand in view of the analysis of the broader historical context as well as reconsideration of Paul's theological perspective. This historical interpretation integrates relevant Qumran texts published since the 1990's, insights about the early Jesus-movement's Jewish origins, and canonical as well as extra-canonical Gospels in the discussion about cultic imagery. Paul and God's Temple sheds new light on Paul's relation to contemporary Judaism and temple-theological traditions, while putting Paul's cultic imagery in a rhetorical-critical and reader-oriented perspective.

How did New Testament authors use Israel’s Scriptures? Use, misuse, appropriation, citation, allusion, inspiration—how do we characterize the manifold images, paraphrases, and quotations of the Jewish Scriptures that pervade the New Testament? Over the past few decades, scholars have tackled the question with a variety of methodologies. New Testament authors were part of a broader landscape of Jewish readers interpreting Scripture. Recent studies have sought to understand the various compositional techniques of the early Christians who composed the New Testament in this context and on the authors’ own terms. In this landmark collection of essays, Matthias Henze and David Lincicum marshal an international group of renowned scholars to analyze the New Testament, text-by-text, aiming to better understand what roles Israel’s Scriptures play therein. In addition to explicating each book, the essayists also cut across texts to chart the most important central concepts, such as the messiah, covenants, and the end times. Carefully constructed reception history of both testaments rounds out the volume. Comprehensive and foundational, Israel’s Scriptures in Early Christian Writings will serve as an essential resource for biblical scholars for years to come. Contributors: Garrick V. Allen, Michael Avioz, Martin Bauspiess, Richard J. Bautch, Ian K. Boxall, Marc Zvi Brettler, Jaime Clark-Soles, Michael B. Cover, A. Andrew Das, Susan Docherty, Paul Foster, Jörg Frey, Alexandria Frisch, Edmon L. Gallagher, Gabriella Gelardini, Jennie Grillo, Gerd Häfner, Matthias Henze, J. Thomas Hewitt, Robin M. Jensen, Martin Karrer, Matthias Konradt, Katja Kujanpää, John R. Levison, David Lincicum, Grant Macaskill, Tobias Nicklas, Valérie Nicolet, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, George Parsenios, Benjamin E. Reynolds, Dieter T. Roth, Dietrich Rusam, Jens Schröter, Claudia Setzer, Elizabeth Evans Shively, Michael Karl-Heinz Sommer, Angela Standhartinger, Gert J. Steyn, Todd D. Still, Rodney A. Werline, Benjamin Wold, Archie T. Wright