Philippians

New International Biblical Commentary

by F.F. Bruce

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.

Genres: Biblical Studies, New Testament, Reference, Religion, Christian

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Frederick Fyvie Bruce FBA was a Biblical scholar who supported the historical reliability of the New Testament. His first book, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (1943), was voted by the American evangelical periodical Christianity Today in 2006 as one of the top 50 books "which had shaped evangelicals".

Reviews

[BJ Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid commentary by a theologian I am familiar with. I have previously read/used his Acts and Hebrews commentaries and so I knew pretty much just what I was getting with this. He didn't surprise but he didn't disappoint. In Bruce's commentary on Philippians, he will break down a few verses and give a detailed yet readable explanation of them. He will then give a few short exegetical comments on the Greek in a clearly delineated section. This way, those who are not studying Greek or interested in the book for this purpose can easily skip this section without losing anything. I downloaded four Philippians commentaries for my Greek class and of the four, I would rate this one #2. It is definitely worth having in your library if you are doing any type of preaching or teaching ministry.

[Ryan Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fall I taught through Philippians in a Sunday school class at my church. During preparation I read through four short commentaries on the letter. The commentaries were (in date-written order) John Calvin’s, JB Lightfoot’s, this one, and Ralph P. Martin’s.

Bruce sometimes gives commentary that is basic, but then at times he surprises you with really helpful points. Martin’s overall was a better commentary, but I’m glad this supplemented his.

[Lyndon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of the 'Readers Digest' commentary series - nice for a short, quick review of the biblical text. And of course FF Bruce is top notch. Probably worth reading his fuller volume on Philippians.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

No wait. This is the wrong rating. I actually like this book. We used it for our adult bible study and I found it well researched and readable.

[Ryan Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This commentary provided many useful insights into the epistle to the Philippians. Two areas stand out to me regarding this commentary: content, and format.

Regarding content, its quality was readily apparent as would be expected from F.F. Bruce. Because of this quality, I was left wanting more quantity in many sections of the book. The treatment of 2:5-11 and 3:2-11 I found to be the only areas that felt mostly complete in their discussion and treatment of the text, although still brief. I think this to be a fault of the commentary rather than the author, where brevity was perhaps overly prized against completeness. In an effort to minimize technical material and be more accessible to us average readers, which I think is a worthy cause, I think this minimalist effort actually harmed the accessibility and value of the commentary rather than enhanced it.

Regarding format, on any given section the commentary was split into the main comments and additional notes on each verse. The main section was less technical in nature, and the additional notes (something like footnotes, but not really) were more complex, addressing problems of language, exegesis, and hermeneutics. As with the main body, I felt much of what was said here was helpful and of good quality, but significantly lacking in quantity, affecting the overall usefulness and value of the commentary on the whole. Had the author been given more space to develop some of his helpful insights, I think the reader would have been enlightened rather than inhibited by this added length. As it is, it seems the brevity of the commentary hindered my access to this author and his knowledge of scripture.

On the whole, I found this commentary helpful overall. The author's insights were penetrating throughout. However, due to its overly trimmed length the quality of the commentary was hurt, both its main discussion of the text as well as the more technical discussion appended to the end. Consequently, I would look elsewhere if considering a commentary to purchase, although I did find this commentary profitable.

[Micah Till · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (which is excellent) this commentary on Philippians is, quite frankly, somewhat disappointing. The discussion of historic interpretations and Greek lexicon is interesting, but this commentary lacks the punch of insight and application I've grown used to from Bruce. Many sections feel like a college student trying to pad out an essay to the required word length and leave me asking "So what? What does this argument really add that the text doesn't already clearly say?" There are some gems, but they're easy to miss in the mix.