Philippians: (A Paragraph-by-Paragraph Exegetical Evangelical Bible Commentary - BECNT)

Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

by Moisés Silva

With its user-friendly design, this commentary by Moisés Silva provides a substantive yet accessible discussion of Philippians to help pastors, students, and teachers understand and explain this letter.

Each passage is presented in three Silva's own translation of the Greek text; exegesis and exposition of each unit of thought; and additional notes on textual matters. Throughout the commentary, Silva asks what is distinctive about this letter and shows how each passage contributes to Paul's overall argument.

The second edition has been updated to interact with important recent scholarship on Philippians and to incorporate the well-regarded BECNT layout.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Biblical Studies, Reference, New Testament, Christianity

272 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1988

About the author

Moisés Silva (PhD, University of Manchester) has taught biblical studies at Westmont College, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He lives in Litchfield, Michigan.

Reviews

[Brent Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly good commentary, super technical

[Kofi Opoku · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fantastic. I was impressed with the author’s ability to deal with the text technically while keeping it accessible. I also appreciated that he included several references and footnotes dealing with the broader discussions surrounding each verse.

[Ricky Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great commentary! I used it as a resource to preach through the book of Philippians. It was very helpful!

[Shane Williamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

2022 reads: 22

Rating: 3.5 stars.

Silva offers a concise perspective, making ground quickly. I would have appreciated longer discussions and explanations in some sections. However, if you're wanting a commentary that covers the text swiftly with exegetical insights this is a good resource.

(Read for my Greek Exegesis of Philippians class with Dr. B. Vickers at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)

[Lindsay John Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my full review here:
http://mydigitalseminary.wordpress.co...

This commentary was nice and succinct. It was more techical than Fee overall, and sometimes I was got lost because ideas are dealt with in so few words. Silva comes from more of a Reformed background and it shows in some of his presuppositions. Where Silva and Fee disagreed I tended to lean more towards Fee, but Silva covered some areas that Fee seemed to overlook, particularly the sovereignty of God/responsibility of man and doctrines like justification, sanctification, union with Christ, found throughought Philippians.

[Nathan Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this commentary to be very helpful. The author assumes some basic knowledge of Greek, but also provides helpful translations of the texts. Despite being more of an academic work, I found it to be quite practical. This would be a highly suggested commentary for the book of Philippians.

[Seth Mcdevitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good commentary, but the Fee NICNT and the Hawthorn/Martin WBC were plenty. If you are pressed for time, this would be my first choice.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silva's commentary on Philippians is solid. It is best as a resource which follows Paul's argument (syntactically) well, and introduces one to some of the hotly debated parts of the letter. Highlights of the commentary for me, were Silva's discussions concerning Paul's opponents (even here though he is less than clear at times), and Silva's handling of 3:1–11. The commentary is not, however, very pastoral or useful for exploring what is not in the text (associations of meanings that form the background of certain word/phrase usages). For this reason, it had limited value to me.

Finally, it's worth noting the importance of reading the introduction to this commentary. This was actually one of the highlights of the commentary for me, particularly the section, "Textual History," where Silva gives some incredibly helpful principles for Textual Criticism of which I was previously unaware.

[Eric Yap · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the preeminent biblical linguists and translators of the New Testament in the current generation (he also studied under F. F. Bruce and James Barr), Dr Silva's strength is really seen in his detailed analysis of structure and syntax in the original Greek. However, I find that in his commentary the forest is often lost for the trees, as the overall motif and movement of the passage are not always clearly elucidated or explained. Sometimes, Dr Silva focuses on the harder-to-explain verses and competing interpretations of syntax and meaning but misses out on what is sometimes deemed as easily comprehended by a surface reading. Still a helpful commentary nevertheless but would not be the most comprehensive in breadth in t terms of explaining and providing insight into the entirety of Paul's epistle to Philippians.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great commentary on the book of Philippians. The author was not afraid to dig deep into the Greek text and explain it so it can be easily understood. I found his commentary helpful and engaging. I was able to understand Philippians better because I read this commentary.

Silva does a great job of helping them understand the interpretive possibilities of the book. He makes the structure very clear and gives you all the possibilities while also telling you his interpretive view of the text. I highly recommend this volume and all the Baker Exegetical Commentaries on the New Testament

[Simon O'Mahony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conciseness is this book's greatest strength, and greatest weakness.

At times he captures complex ideas in pithy ways, without unnecessarily rambling on. At other times one is left wanting him to elaborate more on certain points.

[Oliver Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid little commentary on Philippians. First time preaching through Philippians and it was a helpful resource that balanced getting into the greek text as well as larger systematic and biblical theological concerns with some nice sparks of application here and there.

[Luke Schmeltzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a bit more concise than some of the other commentaries I used without sacrificing exegetical and contextual clarity. Silva had a lot of good things to say, and the series in general is well-worth consulting.

[Peter Stonecipher · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, this is the gold standard for commentaries on Philippians. Silva is able to address every major issue, provide theological reflection on the text, and suggest venues for application in a very compact commentary.

[Nick Roark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay

[David Bruyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silva sometimes feel ponderous and absorbed in odd details, rather than straightforward dealing with the text.

[Kyle Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic commentary on Philippians. For someone preaching/teaching through Paul's epistle, a near-perfect blend of exegetical insights and homiletical application.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful and rather technical commentary on Philippians. Definitely worth using for studying this letter.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a technical commentary, I'd give it 5 starts. At times his pericope divisions seem odd, but his underlying arguments are well reasoned and there is an abundance of grammatical analysis.

[Van Robarts]

Good work. Especially good on the Greek text.

[Jonathan Ginn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps the most disappointing of the commentaries I used while preaching through Philippians. It's surprisingly short, and tends to focus more on discussing big concepts and ideas, rather than unpacking the details of the text. Helpful at times, but would definitely not be in my go-to five. Initially considered giving this work a 2.5/5.

[Peter Krol · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent expositional commentary. He assumes some knowledge of Greek, but otherwise quite readable.

I went to high school with his son (and we were in jazz band together), so I had to read this one when I studied Philippians this semester. :)

[Peter Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this commentary on Philippians. Silva kept to the issues and addressed major textual problems in the footnotes and endnotes. His translations were especially helpful in letting me know if my translations were on track.

[Raully · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very technical treatment of the text for this-layman. On the plus side, it helped this layman greatly in leading a small group discussion of Philippians. On the minus side, it was often so technical a treatment of the text that I wouldn't recommend it for many other fellow laymen.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read again in 2024 for a new series on Philippians.

Wonderful. Technical, exegetical, practical and presents all the pertinent views.