MIQRA Institute of Biblical Stud

Introduction to 1 Corinthians - Journey Through The One-Year Bible (My Bridge Radio)
Sepharim 'al ha-miqra’: Books about the Scriptures (1 Corinthians)

Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. NICNT. Eerdmans, 1987 (880 pp.). Readers may appreciate F’s knack for navigating the sticky issues in his lengthy treatment of Paul’s letter. For example, he understands (similar to Hays, below) that “The pattern for all behavior is Christ himself . . . as his life is mediated through the life of the apostle. Thus the gospel is not turned into law, but neither is it divested of its true response. All is of grace, but grace brings the Spirit who enables the imitation of Christ” (18). At another point, F explains that Paul’s call for unity should not be confused with a desire for uniformity—where the Corinthians were apparently getting stuck. And F's understanding of Paul’s theology of the Church as not merely “spiritual,” but political—i.e. publicly involved as a visibly distinct witness in the world—enlivens the commentary’s explanations. This is particularly important since so much of the letter is taken up with Paul’s theology of the Church. Somewhat more technical grammatical discussion, but worth the stretch as a valuable resource.

Hays, Richard B. First Corinthians. Interpretation. John Knox, 1997 (299 pp.). It’s been said, “Theologians cite their friends” (implying, most often or most favorably). People have their favorites, and the favorites get the highest marks in the reviews of the people who favor them, compromising, perhaps, the credibility of the review. We hope our preference here for H—as one of the biggest names in Pauline study at the moment (keeping company with N. T. Wright)—is not only because he seems to have everything well-sorted interpretively in his publications, nor because he seems to overflow with refreshing perspectives on various theological or ethical or political points (cf. his recent book, The Moral Vision of the New Testament), but because he has penetrated to the heart of the NT’s presentation of Paul’s writings, which of course pays big dividends in this excellent commentary. For example, H explains with great clarity that while the letter appreciates the significance of the cross’s atonement, the real juice of the matter is that in it God has established a new age and a new world order which has massive implications for our social and political life as the body of Christ. As an excellent communicator and learned thinker, H is particularly adept at drawing out the implications of such a worldview running throughout the letter. A far-reaching (but not over-long) commentary written by a scholar worthy of great trust when it comes to interpretive loggerheads.

Thiselton, Anthony C. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. NIGTC. Eerdmans, 2000 (1446 pp.). This is easily the most exhaustive reading of 1 Corinthians reviewed here by perhaps the world’s foremost (living) scholar of interpretive method. This is not to say that any commentary is ever self-sufficient or complete (or that being thorough necessarily makes one commentary better than another), but the strength of T’s contribution is that it seems to explore as many options as possible for each passage before offering his own conclusion, so the going is slow, but (endearingly) careful. Whether T’s theological depth keeps up with his vast knowledge of interpretive theory is debatable. But at the very least, he does not rush to conclusions, and one gets the sense that the thinking is being done within a community of other thinkers, themselves helping to sharpen T’s own thoughts. The commentary itself is well laid-out; T even makes use of various fonts, as well as boldface and italics, all helping to clarify the organization of the material. It is therefore an invaluable—indeed encyclopedic—resource for reading and teaching the book, even if it is tedious here and there. A weakness can also be a strength. [See also Anthony Thiselton, 1 Corinthians: A Shorter Exegetical and Pastorial Commentary (Eerdmans, 2006).