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Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
Ephesians: A Paragraph-by-Paragraph Exegetical Evangelical Bible Commentary - BECNT
Noted New Testament scholar Frank Thielman offers pastors, students, and teachers a substantive yet accessible commentary on Ephesians in this addition to the award-winning BECNT series. With extensive research and thoughtful chapter-by-chapter exegesis, Thielman leads readers through all aspects of the book of Ephesians--sociological, historical, and theological--to help them better understand its meaning and relevance.
As with all BECNT volumes, this commentary features the author's detailed interaction with the Greek text and an acclaimed, user-friendly design. It admirably achieves the dual aims of the series--academic sophistication with pastoral sensitivity and accessibility.
As with all BECNT volumes, this commentary features the author's detailed interaction with the Greek text and an acclaimed, user-friendly design. It admirably achieves the dual aims of the series--academic sophistication with pastoral sensitivity and accessibility.
544 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2010
37 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 2, 2025
Excellent commentary! This is the standard solid commentary on Ephesians. Every passage is handled with care, the theological reflection is great, the social background is handled well, the passages on marriage, slavery, and children are top tier! Can’t say enough good stuff on this one!
There are a few sections on union with Christ in chapter 1 and then moral reflection in 4 that Campbell does a better job with, which why I would still use the Pillar from Campbell in addition to Thielman, but this commentary holds up really well; and I can imagine it being the standard for a long time!
The gospel shines really beautifully in this commentary, and he asks really wonderful questions about the radical implications of Christ’s death and resurrection for our theological and moral reflection on the gospel and what it means to be the Church!
There are a few sections on union with Christ in chapter 1 and then moral reflection in 4 that Campbell does a better job with, which why I would still use the Pillar from Campbell in addition to Thielman, but this commentary holds up really well; and I can imagine it being the standard for a long time!
The gospel shines really beautifully in this commentary, and he asks really wonderful questions about the radical implications of Christ’s death and resurrection for our theological and moral reflection on the gospel and what it means to be the Church!
May 4, 2015
My full review here: spoiledmilks.wordpress.com/2015/04/30...
Each section in the BECNT volumes can be divided up into four ways:
1. An short summary introduction.
2. Exegesis and Exposition, where a translation of the text is given along with its meaning.
3. A concluding summary.
4. Additional Notes; usually given and often deals with textual criticism and linguistics.
Thielman is careful in his exegesis, looking beyond the most recent of commentators to those of the nineteeneth and twentieth centuries, even down to the early church. Thielman remains up-to-date on ancient primary sources and secondary literature from Greco-Roman history on culture, and he consistently looks back to find the meaning of particularly difficult words. He doesn’t rely so heavily on them that he misses the influence of the OT.
I was surprised at how easy this volume was to read. The BECNT series is academic (which I appreciate and expect). Academia gives good information, but it isn’t always easy on the eyes. yet here there is plenty of depth here to be explored. In-text citations are much fewer in number. The majority of in-text references are from the Scriptures! This volume is quite easy to read, especially since the author is not focusing on redactional criticism, or the thoughts of all of commentators.
Sometimes Thielman follows the traditional view, and other times he leaves it for what seems to be the better conclusions exegetically. While Thielman keeps his eyes on the OT, sometimes Thielman doesn’t put enough weight on the OT background.
For instance, Thielman believes that Paul’s discussion of the armour of God has to do more with the defense of the church, while some OT texts (e.g., Isaiah 59) deal with YHWH putting on offensive armour. Does the difference have to be so? Couldn’t YHWH now be fighting through his church? Now, the Ephesian believers have put on Christ, the new man, and they are to expose the works of darkness (5.11) that the unbeliever may be saved. There are a few other examples like this. Regardless, these examples are minor. They are not a significant hindrance to this volume.
Thielman is careful in his exegesis and gives a solid, evangelical commentary which is important for such a difficult and grammatically-ambiguous book as Ephesians. It would be in good company with O’Brien, Arnold, and Hoehner.
[Special thanks to Mark at SPCK and Trinity at Baker Academic for allowing me to review this book! I was not obligated to provide a positive review in exchange for this book.]
Each section in the BECNT volumes can be divided up into four ways:
1. An short summary introduction.
2. Exegesis and Exposition, where a translation of the text is given along with its meaning.
3. A concluding summary.
4. Additional Notes; usually given and often deals with textual criticism and linguistics.
Thielman is careful in his exegesis, looking beyond the most recent of commentators to those of the nineteeneth and twentieth centuries, even down to the early church. Thielman remains up-to-date on ancient primary sources and secondary literature from Greco-Roman history on culture, and he consistently looks back to find the meaning of particularly difficult words. He doesn’t rely so heavily on them that he misses the influence of the OT.
I was surprised at how easy this volume was to read. The BECNT series is academic (which I appreciate and expect). Academia gives good information, but it isn’t always easy on the eyes. yet here there is plenty of depth here to be explored. In-text citations are much fewer in number. The majority of in-text references are from the Scriptures! This volume is quite easy to read, especially since the author is not focusing on redactional criticism, or the thoughts of all of commentators.
Sometimes Thielman follows the traditional view, and other times he leaves it for what seems to be the better conclusions exegetically. While Thielman keeps his eyes on the OT, sometimes Thielman doesn’t put enough weight on the OT background.
For instance, Thielman believes that Paul’s discussion of the armour of God has to do more with the defense of the church, while some OT texts (e.g., Isaiah 59) deal with YHWH putting on offensive armour. Does the difference have to be so? Couldn’t YHWH now be fighting through his church? Now, the Ephesian believers have put on Christ, the new man, and they are to expose the works of darkness (5.11) that the unbeliever may be saved. There are a few other examples like this. Regardless, these examples are minor. They are not a significant hindrance to this volume.
Thielman is careful in his exegesis and gives a solid, evangelical commentary which is important for such a difficult and grammatically-ambiguous book as Ephesians. It would be in good company with O’Brien, Arnold, and Hoehner.
[Special thanks to Mark at SPCK and Trinity at Baker Academic for allowing me to review this book! I was not obligated to provide a positive review in exchange for this book.]
July 7, 2015
Erg bruikbaar commentaar op Efeze. Heldere uitleg.
January 3, 2019
A good commentary that informs both the textual issues and the practical pastoral issues.
March 3, 2020
Great resource especially if your interest is in Pauline authorship.
November 24, 2014
Thielman's commentary is very good. He provides very helpful grammatical, syntactical, and background information in a concise way. His commentary is very readable and accessible, especially to those who have an understanding of Greek, but it's still helpful it you don't. Thielman understands 1st-century culture well which enables him to exegete well.
The one area Thielman's application is weak is in contemporary application. He explains how its first-century recipients would have applied the text. However, when bridging to contemporary contexts, some situations which are foreign to Westerners now (particularly slavery), he doesn't show how the passage is relevant. Also, in his discussion of the household code (5:21–5:33), doesn't talk much about our current societies reception of that passage in his application.
This is a helpful resource because it is not laborious in detail, but still has a high level of theological and exegetical reflection helpful for pastors, teachers, and students.
The one area Thielman's application is weak is in contemporary application. He explains how its first-century recipients would have applied the text. However, when bridging to contemporary contexts, some situations which are foreign to Westerners now (particularly slavery), he doesn't show how the passage is relevant. Also, in his discussion of the household code (5:21–5:33), doesn't talk much about our current societies reception of that passage in his application.
This is a helpful resource because it is not laborious in detail, but still has a high level of theological and exegetical reflection helpful for pastors, teachers, and students.
November 21, 2012
Not as impressive as other academic commentaries available (O'Brien & Hoehner) - still great. I found his prose fresher than most. I also appreciated his overview and summary of each section.
March 12, 2015
Very good, thorough study of exegetical issues. Author explores options and gives solid reasoning for his choices. Well worth having as a resource fo those who will preach or teach on Ephesians.
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October 1, 2018Next one to borrow?
First impression: pure exegesis, no p no d.
First impression: pure exegesis, no p no d.
November 2, 2022
2022 reads: 20
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Thorough, fair, and balanced commentary. Heavy on contemporary sources. Could have done with more exegetical focus and brevity.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Thorough, fair, and balanced commentary. Heavy on contemporary sources. Could have done with more exegetical focus and brevity.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews