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The New International Commentary on the New Testament
The Letters to Timothy and Titus (New International Commentary on the New Testament
The most accessible, most broadly pitched full-length commentary on Timothy and Titus, this NICNT volume explores Paul's three letters to Timothy and Titus within their historical, religious, and cultural settings.
In his introduction, Towner sets out the rationale for his historical approach, questions certain assumptions of recent critical scholarship, and establishes the uniqueness and individuality of each letter. Significantly, Towner's work displays unprecedented interaction with four recent major commentaries on these Pauline letters. Centered on an outstanding translation of the Greek text and including thorough footnotes, bibliographical citations, and indexes, Towner's commentary on Timothy and Titus is sure to become a standard reference for busy pastors, students, and scholars.
In his introduction, Towner sets out the rationale for his historical approach, questions certain assumptions of recent critical scholarship, and establishes the uniqueness and individuality of each letter. Significantly, Towner's work displays unprecedented interaction with four recent major commentaries on these Pauline letters. Centered on an outstanding translation of the Greek text and including thorough footnotes, bibliographical citations, and indexes, Towner's commentary on Timothy and Titus is sure to become a standard reference for busy pastors, students, and scholars.
934 pages, Hardcover
First published July 12, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 10, 2008
This commentary is huge, so I didn't get to read the whole thing yet. However, I did really enjoy the 86 page intro, and the commentary on 2 Timothy.
Towner was very clear in his writing, focused on the text, sensitive to context, and using historical context in a helpful (and not annoying) way. He also occasionally moved his discussion beyond interpretation into a bit of application. Not often, but enough to help the text come alive. All in all, one of the most enjoyable commentaries I've read in a while.
Towner was very clear in his writing, focused on the text, sensitive to context, and using historical context in a helpful (and not annoying) way. He also occasionally moved his discussion beyond interpretation into a bit of application. Not often, but enough to help the text come alive. All in all, one of the most enjoyable commentaries I've read in a while.
March 13, 2018
Three of the hardest books to preach through are the letters to Timothy and Titus. The Letters to Timothy and Titus are an New Testament commentary, written by Phillip H. Towner and published by Eerdmands. Commentaries on the these epistles can be either highly critical or devotional in nature. I therefore was pleasantly surprised when I read Towner’s work and found it to be more or less on the conservative side while still engaging with high criticism scholarship. It has been a long time since a scholarly mostly conservative work has been published on the Letters to Timothy and Titus and Towner did not disappoint, weighing in at just under 1000 pages.
This commentary is a newer edition of the famous New International Commentary on the New Testament Series, a series which is synonymous with excellent exegesis and superior application, this volume not only continues this legacy, but truly propels it to new heights. This volume is one of the most articulate and practical commentaries on the one of the books of history which is usually bogged down by from criticism and or long discussions on genocide. Yet while Towner does answer these critical issues, something he does flawlessly by the way, he interacts with critical scholarship in a way most conservative commentators don’t. From this it is easy to see why Towner is a highly regarded scholar and superior exegete.
The Letters to Timothy and Titus has two main sections the typical general introduction, and then followed by a insightful exegetical commentaries on the letters to Timothy and Titus. With regard to the general introduction it is the typical study into the introductory matters of the book and how they relate to the Bible as a whole. This is a serious scholarly work which dives into contextual as well as the as the different methodical approaches to study of this book Towner takes great care in carefully showing the original context of passage while applying it directly to the modern day reader. He does not use his own translation of the Greek text, yet this is not common in the NICNT series as a whole. I do wish though that there was more application to some of the more difficult passages.
While I disagree with Towner on a few minor issues with regard to New Testament date of writing, the arguments he makes are sound I just adhere to a earlier date of composition. One are I did greatly enjoy is Towner discussion of the offices of the church.
Towner is innovate in his interpretation and application while staying stalwart in his commitment to orthodoxy. In the vein of recommending, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, to others I would recommend this commentary to pastors and scholars, yet I would highly recommend pastors, such as myself, to pair this scholarly commentary with one that is one that has more of a pastoral tone. There are many commentaries about the letters to Timothy and Titus available at this moment but The Letters to Timothy and Titus of the New International Commentary on the New Testament series is a very scholarly works worthy of your time.
This book was provided to me free of charge from Eerdmans in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
This commentary is a newer edition of the famous New International Commentary on the New Testament Series, a series which is synonymous with excellent exegesis and superior application, this volume not only continues this legacy, but truly propels it to new heights. This volume is one of the most articulate and practical commentaries on the one of the books of history which is usually bogged down by from criticism and or long discussions on genocide. Yet while Towner does answer these critical issues, something he does flawlessly by the way, he interacts with critical scholarship in a way most conservative commentators don’t. From this it is easy to see why Towner is a highly regarded scholar and superior exegete.
The Letters to Timothy and Titus has two main sections the typical general introduction, and then followed by a insightful exegetical commentaries on the letters to Timothy and Titus. With regard to the general introduction it is the typical study into the introductory matters of the book and how they relate to the Bible as a whole. This is a serious scholarly work which dives into contextual as well as the as the different methodical approaches to study of this book Towner takes great care in carefully showing the original context of passage while applying it directly to the modern day reader. He does not use his own translation of the Greek text, yet this is not common in the NICNT series as a whole. I do wish though that there was more application to some of the more difficult passages.
While I disagree with Towner on a few minor issues with regard to New Testament date of writing, the arguments he makes are sound I just adhere to a earlier date of composition. One are I did greatly enjoy is Towner discussion of the offices of the church.
Towner is innovate in his interpretation and application while staying stalwart in his commitment to orthodoxy. In the vein of recommending, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, to others I would recommend this commentary to pastors and scholars, yet I would highly recommend pastors, such as myself, to pair this scholarly commentary with one that is one that has more of a pastoral tone. There are many commentaries about the letters to Timothy and Titus available at this moment but The Letters to Timothy and Titus of the New International Commentary on the New Testament series is a very scholarly works worthy of your time.
This book was provided to me free of charge from Eerdmans in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
July 17, 2017
This book by Philip Towner is an impressive entry in the venerated New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT) series. Towner had already published on the Pastorals before this major work, and was known for assisting Howard Marshall on his earlier ICC work. It’s clearly a top-5 work on the Pastorals today and is the favorite of many. Even though, I couldn’t agree with his egalitarian viewpoint, I can’t deny the quality of his scholarship and the skill of writing in this work.
He provides a huge Introduction running through page 90 with a substantial bibliography preceding it. Though he’s not too keen on the label “Pastoral Epistles”, he sees value in addressing the three letters together and takes that approach in this Introduction. After addressing a few preliminary issues, he jumps into the major division in scholarly discussion on these letters–did Paul write them, or did even the same author write them ?–and he lays out the battle lines clearly. I’m more confident of the traditional viewpoints than he is, but I enjoyed his evenhanded explanations. Authorship issues bleed into historical setting and he upholds his quality discussion throughout. He covers theology, structure, and other introductory matters with great depth as well.
As you would expect in a NICNT volume, the commentary is on the English text with deeper exegetical comments in the footnotes. What you end up with is an usable volume with access to more specialized exegetical matters. The commentary itself is top-notch and enlightening for the reader. Towner used the NICNT format to good advantage and provides us with a volume well worth checking out. I recommend it!
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
He provides a huge Introduction running through page 90 with a substantial bibliography preceding it. Though he’s not too keen on the label “Pastoral Epistles”, he sees value in addressing the three letters together and takes that approach in this Introduction. After addressing a few preliminary issues, he jumps into the major division in scholarly discussion on these letters–did Paul write them, or did even the same author write them ?–and he lays out the battle lines clearly. I’m more confident of the traditional viewpoints than he is, but I enjoyed his evenhanded explanations. Authorship issues bleed into historical setting and he upholds his quality discussion throughout. He covers theology, structure, and other introductory matters with great depth as well.
As you would expect in a NICNT volume, the commentary is on the English text with deeper exegetical comments in the footnotes. What you end up with is an usable volume with access to more specialized exegetical matters. The commentary itself is top-notch and enlightening for the reader. Towner used the NICNT format to good advantage and provides us with a volume well worth checking out. I recommend it!
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
May 5, 2022
Being a bit of a word and grammar nerd, I enjoy the New International Commentary series, despite their length. And, I enjoyed this one as well, though found it a bit more ponderous than the typical offering of the series. It took the author almost 900 pages to comment on the three “pastoral” (he thinks we should dump that moniker) books that, altogether take up about a dozen pages of print in the Bible.
On the positive side, the commentary is exceptionally thorough at the level of word usage and grammar, with multiple excuses to track a particular word usage in these letters and the larger New Testament. In a long introduction, he also underlays his comment with a rich history of the people and culture to whom Timothy and Titus were commissioned.
The drawbacks are its extreme length as if the author couldn’t decide what was most important to his audience, so just put everything in there, bound it up and let it fly.
Most disappointing was his treatment of the difficult (in our culture) passage of I Timothy 2:8-15. Though he did a fair job of laying out the various ways of interpreting this controversial passage, at 49 pages to wrestle with 7 verses, it seemed to me an over-long effort to convince the reader that the words don’t really mean what they say.
On the positive side, the commentary is exceptionally thorough at the level of word usage and grammar, with multiple excuses to track a particular word usage in these letters and the larger New Testament. In a long introduction, he also underlays his comment with a rich history of the people and culture to whom Timothy and Titus were commissioned.
The drawbacks are its extreme length as if the author couldn’t decide what was most important to his audience, so just put everything in there, bound it up and let it fly.
Most disappointing was his treatment of the difficult (in our culture) passage of I Timothy 2:8-15. Though he did a fair job of laying out the various ways of interpreting this controversial passage, at 49 pages to wrestle with 7 verses, it seemed to me an over-long effort to convince the reader that the words don’t really mean what they say.
July 11, 2025
Good Commentary
I used this as a primary commentary for a study on Timothy and Titus and while I liked it better than other commentaries I used to supplement it, it was only good not great. Overall, I liked Towner's approach to many of the themes like that of living alongside non-believers. I also thought he did a good job explaining some of the more difficult passages of the books. I think he could have put in a few more references in the notes and I wish he would have given more explanation of some passages from the perspective of those who do not think Paul wrote the letter. But overall it was a solid commentary and my first choice for now.
I used this as a primary commentary for a study on Timothy and Titus and while I liked it better than other commentaries I used to supplement it, it was only good not great. Overall, I liked Towner's approach to many of the themes like that of living alongside non-believers. I also thought he did a good job explaining some of the more difficult passages of the books. I think he could have put in a few more references in the notes and I wish he would have given more explanation of some passages from the perspective of those who do not think Paul wrote the letter. But overall it was a solid commentary and my first choice for now.
December 18, 2020
Read the General Introduction and Titus section (dipping into the 1 & 2 Timothy section as helpful for interpreting Titus). Solid, thorough exegesis. Particularly helpful with Old Testament allusions and the cultural context of Crete.
February 5, 2017
Generally the NICNT series is excellent. I found this volume very good but not as good as several others. The author does not use his own translation but rather favors the TNIV which is interesting for a commentary of this degree of complexity.
Positively I have a much better appreciation of the pastoral epistles and their message.
Positively I have a much better appreciation of the pastoral epistles and their message.
October 10, 2013
Excellent work that covers all necessary exegetical issues without getting bogged down in silly minutiae that is always tempting commentators. Buy it and use it.
Read
April 6, 2016A solid volume and a must-read for the Pastorals. Excellent scholarship!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews