Romans

Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament

by John D. Harvey, Andreas J. Köstenberger (Editor), Robert W. Yarbrough (Editor)

The Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (EGGNT) closes the gap between the Greek text and the available lexical and grammatical tools, providing all the necessary information for greater understanding of the text. The series makes interpreting any given New Testament book easier, especially for those who are hard pressed for time but want to preach or teach with accuracy and authority. Each volume begins with a brief introduction to the particular New Testament book, a basic outline, and a list of recommended commentaries. The body is devoted to paragraph-by-paragraph exegesis of the Greek text and includes homiletical helps and suggestions for further study. A comprehensive exegetical outline of the New Testament book completes each EGGNT volume.

Genres: Biblical Studies

429 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Dr. John D. Harvey is Dean and Professor of New Testament at Columbia International University Seminary & School of Ministry in Columbia, SC. He earned his Doctor of Theology degree from Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto. His previous books include Listening to the Text: Oral Patterning in Paul’s Letters, Greek is Good Grief: Laying the Foundation for Exegesis and Exposition, and Anointed with the Spirit and Power: A biblical theology of Holy Spirit Empowerment. He is an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and is actively involved in pulpit supply. He has served cross-culturally in Europe and Africa.

Reviews

[Michael Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent series covering the Greek exegesis of NT books. Harvey is exceptional as he interacts with the various historical interpretations (most often Jewett), and often indicates his own position. The author also arrives at his theological conclusions based on the text, not church tradition. This is a must have for any serious student or preacher of Romans who has a knowledge of New Testament Greek.

[John Kight · Rating 5 out of 5]

John D. Harvey is dean and professor of New Testament at Columbia Biblical Seminary of Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina. Harvey received his PhD from Wycliffe College and is the author of several peer reviewed articles and books, such as Listening to the Text: Oral Patterning in Paul’s Letters (Baker, 1998), Anointed with the Spirit and Power: The Holy Spirit’s Empowering Presence (P&R, 2008), and Interpreting the Pauline Letters: An Exegetical Handbook (Kregel, 2012). Most recently, Harvey has contributed to the growing and increasingly useful Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (EGGNT) series.

This volume on Romans, much like the existing EGGNT volumes, is structured to optimize the reader’s understanding of the Greek text and facilitate a deeper recognition of the grammatical nuances therein. Harvey begins with a very brief introduction, only about 2 pages of content not including the outline. This was a bit disappointing. It’s sizably smaller than the other volumes and contains less introductory material than some of the worst Study Bibles on the market today. That said, and it goes without saying, but those interested in a fuller treatment of the various introductory issues will need to look elsewhere.

The organization of the volume is arranged around a phrase-by-phrase analysis of the Greek text. Harvey provides extensive discussion about grammar, syntax, word usage, textual variants, and anything else exegetically significant to the text. The content does require a working knowledge of New Testament Greek, but Harvey is clear and careful when articulating technical concepts. A useful feature of this volume is discovered in the Greek sentence diagraming that is offered at the opening of each major section. This is helpful for quickly visualizing how the text comes together to establish Paul’s main point. Like the other volumes in the series, each major unit of text concludes with a “For Further Study” section that takes various themes unearthed in the section and provides the reader with a bibliography for additional investigation. Lastly, Harvey offers recommended preaching outlines that allow the reader to work from the text to the sermon.

There is so much to be praised about this volume. First, and probably foremost, Harvey appears well-acquainted with Romans and his sensitivity to the broader academic conversation regarding textual issues and grammatical debate is noticeable. This is to be expected after spending five years working on this volume (p. xix). Second, I found Harvey to be extremely thoughtful in his explanation of difficult concepts. Harvey tends to steer away from theological speculation and remains focused on the task of the volume. He knows his primary audience and knows that a variegated knowledge of the Greek language is found therein. This is beneficial for the pastors or students who are less frequently working out of the Greek text but have some formal training or exposure. Lastly, the scope of this volume’s content is impressive given its small size (only 429 pages). Harvey has packed a lot of relevant and useful information into a small package. If you pair this volume with any of the recommended commentaries (especially Moo), you will be well-equipped to preach or teach through Romans with excellence.

Romans: Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament by John D. Harvey is a welcomed and worthy addition to an already tremendous series. Harvey’s contribution fits extremely well aside the quality and caliber that the EGGNT series has already produced, and I think that any serious student of the Bible would be ill-equipped without it. If you have been looking for a resource that will guide you through the depths of the Greek text of Paul’s letter to the Romans, then look no further, because this will continually be your first stop on that journey.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a student of Biblical Greek, of which this mastery did not come easy, I am always on the lookout for new aids in the study of biblical original languages.  Most of these works are in the form of reference materials, such as grammar books.  The Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament series is a lexical aid and exegetical Biblical Greek commentary.  One of the more phenomenal works in this fantastic series is Romans by John D. Harvey, and edited by series editor Andres J. Köstenberger and Robert W. Yarborough and exceeds all of my preconceptions.

Needless to say , one must have a through knowledge of Biblical Greek to use this work.  Yet if you do have a thorough knowledge of Biblical Greek then this exegetical guide is an invaluable resource for those who want to dig deeper into the text and shine light into difficult to translate passages.   Digging into the work itself, it begins with the traditional introductory matters.  This might be the only weakness of this aid, and the reason is that it is only two pages long, which could be expanded upon.  Yet with these matters not being of primary importance in a lexical aid with some added commentary, two pages is all that is needed.

One of the greatest strengths is also found in the introduction section. Harvey has a small section that details what he perceives are the greatest and most helpful commentaries on the epistle to the Romans.  After seeing the scholarly work which Harvey put into this exegetical guide these recommendations are worth the cost of the guide itself.

This aid to Romans is truly unique in its approach; each verse is broken down with each Greek word being expertly dissected with a small argument about syntax and commentary.  I look forward to the new installments in this recently begun series.  In the end I fully recommend this work to any pastors who know their Biblical Greek and want to use it in their sermons.

This book was provided to me free of charge from B & H Academic Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very handy reading companion to keep on hand while working through Romans in Greek.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful for preaching.