Grace in Galatia: A Commentary on Paul's Letter to the Galatians

by Ben Witherington III

Grace in Galatia is an innovative socio-rhetorical study of Paul's most polemical letter. Ben Witherington breaks new ground by analyzing the whole of Galatians as a deliberative discourse meant to forestall the Galatians from submitting to circumcision and the Jewish law. The commentary features the latest discussion of major problems in Pauline studies, including Paul's view of the law and the relationship between the historical data in Galatians and in Acts. Yet the narrative character of Witherington's work allows it to remain exceedingly accessible. The volume also includes sections following the major divisions of the commentary that point to the relevance of the text for believers today, making Grace in Galatia of special value to pastors and general readers as well as students and scholars.

Genres: Biblical Studies, Theology, Christian, Religion, School, New Testament

495 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and is on the doctoral faculty at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He is the author or coauthor of more than thirty books, including The Jesus Quest, The Paul Quest, and The New York Times bestseller The Brother of Jesus. He has appeared on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN.

Reviews

[Porter Sprigg]

It is compelling and understandable. It gave me a deeper passion for the book of Galatians.

[Matt DeVore]

Solid commentary which includes a lot of references to Greek and how certain words were used in other writings. The distinctive feature of this commentary is that it views Paul's arguments through the lens of classical rhetoric.

I read this as a digital Logos edition and it included quite a few typographical errors that should have been corrected before publication.

[Радостин Марчев]

Най-добрият коментар на Галатяни, който съм чел досега. Не е нужно човек да е съгласен с всички тези на Уитърингтън, за да оцени многото чудесен материал в книгата му.

[Stuart Murden]

This book has a very good introduction. He asks good questions.

[Susie]

This author analyzes the Biblical book of Galatians as a piece of deliberative rhetoric--a work with the goal of persuading the recipients toward a course of action. It is quite a detailed study. Very interesting, though there may be points where it is a bit technical for the average reader.

[Robert]

A good intermediate to advanced commentary on Galatians. I think anyone could benefit from it, if they just skip over the parts that they don't understand. You don't have to be proficient in Greek to appreciate this commentary.

[David]

This is as superb commentary. The author does a great job explaining the socio-historial issues of both Jewish and Greco-Roman culture. The author also delves into the Greek language to bring fourth the contextual meaning of important words and controversies.