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Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
2 Corinthians
New Testament scholar George Guthrie offers a substantive yet highly accessible commentary in this addition to the acclaimed BECNT series. He explores all aspects of 2 Corinthians--sociological, historical, and theological--to help readers better understand its meaning and relevance.
In 2 Corinthians, Paul is at his most vulnerable and most deeply reflective on the nature of authentic Christian ministry. Guthrie introduces this Pauline letter with a narrative approach that draws readers into mid-first-century Corinth. He probes the text, at points offering fresh insights into critical passages. Guthrie leads readers through the intricacies of literary structure, word meanings, cultural backdrop, and theological proclamation, providing insights applicable to modern ministry contexts.
As with all BECNT volumes, this commentary features the author's detailed interaction with the Greek text, extensive research, thoughtful chapter-by-chapter exegesis, and an acclaimed, user-friendly design. It admirably achieves the dual aims of the series--academic sophistication with pastoral sensitivity and accessibility--making it a useful tool for pastors, church leaders, students, and teachers.
"George Guthrie brings his significant skills to the task of interpreting this complex Pauline letter and proves to be a competent and helpful guide. Guthrie strikes the right balance in choosing how much information to impart without overloading the reader. His judgments on the interpretive issues are always fair and insightful, and I especially appreciate the clarity of his writing. Pastors and teachers will find this a very useful volume in preparing messages on 2 Corinthians."
--Clinton E. Arnold, dean and professor of New Testament, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
Praise for the BECNT series
"In this age of unprecedented proliferation of biblical commentary series, it is an outstanding accomplishment for the Baker Exegetical series consistently to have produced what with only rare exceptions have become the best available commentaries on the Greek text of the New Testament book or books treated."
--Craig Blomberg, Denver Journal
In 2 Corinthians, Paul is at his most vulnerable and most deeply reflective on the nature of authentic Christian ministry. Guthrie introduces this Pauline letter with a narrative approach that draws readers into mid-first-century Corinth. He probes the text, at points offering fresh insights into critical passages. Guthrie leads readers through the intricacies of literary structure, word meanings, cultural backdrop, and theological proclamation, providing insights applicable to modern ministry contexts.
As with all BECNT volumes, this commentary features the author's detailed interaction with the Greek text, extensive research, thoughtful chapter-by-chapter exegesis, and an acclaimed, user-friendly design. It admirably achieves the dual aims of the series--academic sophistication with pastoral sensitivity and accessibility--making it a useful tool for pastors, church leaders, students, and teachers.
"George Guthrie brings his significant skills to the task of interpreting this complex Pauline letter and proves to be a competent and helpful guide. Guthrie strikes the right balance in choosing how much information to impart without overloading the reader. His judgments on the interpretive issues are always fair and insightful, and I especially appreciate the clarity of his writing. Pastors and teachers will find this a very useful volume in preparing messages on 2 Corinthians."
--Clinton E. Arnold, dean and professor of New Testament, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
Praise for the BECNT series
"In this age of unprecedented proliferation of biblical commentary series, it is an outstanding accomplishment for the Baker Exegetical series consistently to have produced what with only rare exceptions have become the best available commentaries on the Greek text of the New Testament book or books treated."
--Craig Blomberg, Denver Journal
734 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 14, 2015
About the author
George H. Guthrie
52 books25 followersDr. George Guthrie serves as the Benjamin W. Perry Professor of Bible at Union University in Jackson, TN. As a student of the New Testament and Koine Greek, he is the author of numerous articles and seven books, including, The Structure of Hebrews: A Textlinguistic Analysis (Supplements to Novum Testamentum, 73. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994; republished by Baker Books in 1998), Biblical Greek Exegesis (Co-authored with J. Scott Duvall, Zondervan), the NIV Application Commentary: Hebrews, and Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Hebrews. Dr. Guthrie has participated in translation projects, such as the revision of The New Living Translation, and has served as a consultant on the Holman Christian Standard Bible, the New Century Version, and the English Standard Version. He has also served for five years as a co-chair of the Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics Section of SBL, has served on the Executive Committee of the Institute for Biblical Research, and has served on the editorial board for Sheffield's JSNTS monograph series. At Union University he has led in the establishment of, and serves as Senior Fellow in, the Ryan Center for Biblical Studies, which is committed to promoting sound Bible reading, study, and interpretation at the grassroots level of the church. Dr. Guthrie holds both the Ph.D. and the M.Div. degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Th.M. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 14, 2015
One of the most difficult new testament text in greek has to be 2nd Corinthians. This is why I’m thankfully that I’m given an opportunity to review this commentary. I have to say, I really only have elementary knowledge of greek, but reading this commentary gives me the confidence that the author deals rigorously with the greek text directly.
George H. Guthrie starts the commentary by giving the readers a picture of the scene in the Corinthian world, explaining what the world then was like. Next, he moves naturally to the author of 2nd Corinthians. He gives a brief but comprehensive introduction of Paul. Next Guthrie highlights some issues within the Corinthian church that ought to be noted (such as their understanding of leadership). Having raised awareness about these issues, the readers will then easily realised by and how Paul answered to the Corinthians regarding his “style of leadership”.
Next, Guthrie introduces the readers to the history of the church in Corinth. He shows how Paul started the church in his missionary journeys and the link between first and second corinthians. Next he talks about whether 2 Corinthians is one or two letters. Guthrie argues and shows the readers why he think that 2nd Corinthians is a united letter. After which Guthrie moves to talk about the use of the different “voices” within the letter of 2nd Corinthians. This section definitely requires some knowledge of greek, and will be of great interest to those who have a knowledge of greek.
In the main text of the commentary, Guthrie then show forth the exegesis of passage. He gives his own translation of the passage, then shows the readers what he thinks the passage is talking about. This commentary deals primarily with the greek text, and thus expects readers to have a functional understanding of greek. Those who do not have such knowledge, will still benefit from Guthrie, but they may not be fully utilising the commentary. Those familiar with greek will find this commentary extremely useful. I have found this commentary to be rigorous and deals with the small details within the text. Preachers may find this book slightly heavy, but if you have more time to do your exegetical work, do consider getting it ahead of your preaching series on 2 Corinthians.
Rating: 4 / 5
Disclaimer: I was given this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
George H. Guthrie starts the commentary by giving the readers a picture of the scene in the Corinthian world, explaining what the world then was like. Next, he moves naturally to the author of 2nd Corinthians. He gives a brief but comprehensive introduction of Paul. Next Guthrie highlights some issues within the Corinthian church that ought to be noted (such as their understanding of leadership). Having raised awareness about these issues, the readers will then easily realised by and how Paul answered to the Corinthians regarding his “style of leadership”.
Next, Guthrie introduces the readers to the history of the church in Corinth. He shows how Paul started the church in his missionary journeys and the link between first and second corinthians. Next he talks about whether 2 Corinthians is one or two letters. Guthrie argues and shows the readers why he think that 2nd Corinthians is a united letter. After which Guthrie moves to talk about the use of the different “voices” within the letter of 2nd Corinthians. This section definitely requires some knowledge of greek, and will be of great interest to those who have a knowledge of greek.
In the main text of the commentary, Guthrie then show forth the exegesis of passage. He gives his own translation of the passage, then shows the readers what he thinks the passage is talking about. This commentary deals primarily with the greek text, and thus expects readers to have a functional understanding of greek. Those who do not have such knowledge, will still benefit from Guthrie, but they may not be fully utilising the commentary. Those familiar with greek will find this commentary extremely useful. I have found this commentary to be rigorous and deals with the small details within the text. Preachers may find this book slightly heavy, but if you have more time to do your exegetical work, do consider getting it ahead of your preaching series on 2 Corinthians.
Rating: 4 / 5
Disclaimer: I was given this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
March 24, 2024
This was a huge guiding help in studies through 2 Corinthians. Detailed but not overwhelming and accessible for the student of the Bible.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews