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The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, 2nd ed. (The Pillar New Testament Commentary
An erudite and evangelical guide to Paul’s letters to the Colossians and to Philemon
With brilliant exegesis and sound practical insight, noted commentator Douglas J. Moo explicates the Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, with an eye toward their application for readers today. Moo bases his commentary on the Greek text of the letters, while accessibly explaining the English text to his contemporary audience.
Freshly revised and updated, this second edition remains methodologically sound, authentically evangelical, and pastoral in approach. This invaluable volume of the Pillar New Testament Commentary series offers biblical insights to a wide range of readers, from teachers and students to pastors and parishioners.
With brilliant exegesis and sound practical insight, noted commentator Douglas J. Moo explicates the Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, with an eye toward their application for readers today. Moo bases his commentary on the Greek text of the letters, while accessibly explaining the English text to his contemporary audience.
Freshly revised and updated, this second edition remains methodologically sound, authentically evangelical, and pastoral in approach. This invaluable volume of the Pillar New Testament Commentary series offers biblical insights to a wide range of readers, from teachers and students to pastors and parishioners.
528 pages, Hardcover
Published November 12, 2024
About the author
Douglas J. Moo
106 books93 followersDouglas J. Moo (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is Kenneth T. Wessner Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College Graduate School in Wheaton, Illinois. He is the author of commentaries on Romans, James, 2 Peter and Jude, and Colossians and Philemon and coauthor of An Introduction to the New Testament. He also headed the committee on Bible translation for the NIV revision.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 18, 2024
This is the kind of commentary that demands a second edition. Had the editors replaced it as is often the case in these major ongoing series they would have had a lot of explaining to do. This commentary went straight to the upper echelon sixteen years ago when it came out and Mr. Moo is still in his prime in commentary writing. Cliché yes, but nonetheless accurate, it was a “no-brainer” that this new edition arrived. It will not lose its lease in that upper echelon for at least a couple decades from now for sure either.
It’s specifically a blessing as well that he writes on Colossians. Many scholars today like to mug Paul and take Colossians away from him. In this work they were caught in the act and hauled to jail. Since Moo handles those critics with gentleness perhaps its surprising I’d use such a violent analogy; but then again his respectful tone does not make him any less lethal, so maybe it’s not surprising after all. Read the Introduction and you will see. When he ends the authorship section with “But Paul must be seen as the real author”, he’s in no way being condescending. His masterful analysis leaves him with nothing else possible to say.
Describing the false teaching addressed in Colossians is equally adept. His eleven points are balanced, biblical, and fog clearing. Scholars must have something against Colossians because they went quite rogue in this area as well. His theological overview was just right too. Perhaps only structure comes up short (as is usual with him) as it gets not one sentence beyond the outline.
Philemon is probably less a battleground than Colossians and ironically Moo is less certain about the big picture of the letter, though he slightly favors the traditional viewpoint. Still, he writes skillfully and mixes all the ingredients perfectly so you can make your own cake. To me, his work on Philemon is of immense value as well.
Moo needs no recommendation from me as an exegete. He has already attained something of legendary status. I can say, though, that that reputation is fully on display in this commentary. If you are studying Colossians and Philemon, avoid this commentary at your own peril.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
It’s specifically a blessing as well that he writes on Colossians. Many scholars today like to mug Paul and take Colossians away from him. In this work they were caught in the act and hauled to jail. Since Moo handles those critics with gentleness perhaps its surprising I’d use such a violent analogy; but then again his respectful tone does not make him any less lethal, so maybe it’s not surprising after all. Read the Introduction and you will see. When he ends the authorship section with “But Paul must be seen as the real author”, he’s in no way being condescending. His masterful analysis leaves him with nothing else possible to say.
Describing the false teaching addressed in Colossians is equally adept. His eleven points are balanced, biblical, and fog clearing. Scholars must have something against Colossians because they went quite rogue in this area as well. His theological overview was just right too. Perhaps only structure comes up short (as is usual with him) as it gets not one sentence beyond the outline.
Philemon is probably less a battleground than Colossians and ironically Moo is less certain about the big picture of the letter, though he slightly favors the traditional viewpoint. Still, he writes skillfully and mixes all the ingredients perfectly so you can make your own cake. To me, his work on Philemon is of immense value as well.
Moo needs no recommendation from me as an exegete. He has already attained something of legendary status. I can say, though, that that reputation is fully on display in this commentary. If you are studying Colossians and Philemon, avoid this commentary at your own peril.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
September 24, 2026
Simply phenomenal. Moo has quickly become the standard for me in terms of what the ideal commentary for pastors looks like. I'd interacted with his NICNT on Romans for Rom. 4, 6, & 7, but this was the first time actually sitting down and working through an entire work of his. If you are a pastor preaching expositionally through the book, this is what you're looking for. Moo simply works through the text, makes various syntactical observations, points to differing options, presents the best arguments for them, comes to his own reasoned conclusion, and offers theological insights all along the way. I essentially stopped consulting Dunn's NIGTC commentary because Moo would say what his conclusions were when relevant. If you could only have one commentary on Colossians (or Philemon), this would be my pick. As I mentioned previously, Arnold's new WBC work on Colossians is a VERY close second. If you can grab both, I think you're very well set to work through Colossians. Moo gets the nod for: 1) the format & layout of the WBC is awful, 2) I enjoy Moo's concise writing style more (he typically says more in saying less), and 3) You also get a great commentary on Philemon.
June 10, 2026
Great resource on Colossians. It addresses textual issues well, and provides great insight into the Pauline text. Great for pastors preparing for a sermon, but even for the layman just wanting to dig a little deeper than normal. For the steep cost that this volume is it’s a lot to say that it is worth every penny, but this truly is. Evangelical scholarship is so needed and works like these help forward the cause.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews