This latest addition to the "Fortress Social-Science Commentaries on New Testament Writings" illuminates the values, perceptions, and social codes of the Mediterranean culture that shaped Paul and his interactions - both harmonious and conflicted - with others. Malina and Pilch add new dimensions to our understanding of the apostle as a social change agent, his coworkers as innovators, and his Gospel as an assertion of the honor of the God of Israel.
Table of Contents:
Abbreviations
Preface
Introduction
1 THESSALONIANS
I. 1 Thess 1:1 Letter Opening (Superscription)
II. 1 Thess 1:2-3:13 About the Relationship between the Change Agents and the Jesus Group They Formed
III. 1 Thess 4:1-5:24 Directives and Exhortations
IV. 1 Thess 5:25-28 Letter Closing: Salutation and Blessing
1 CORINTHIANS
I. 1 Cor 1: 1-8 Letter Opening (Superscription)
II. 1 Cor 1:9-6:20 Reaction to a Report from Chloe's People
III. 1 Cor 7:1-15:58 Response to Corinthian Questions
IV. 1 Cor 16:5-24 Letter Closing: Salutations and Blessings
2 CORINTHIANS
I. 2 Cor 2:14-6:13 Letter 1: Written before the Dispute
II. 2 Corinthians 10-13 Letter 2: Written during the Dispute
III. 2 Cor 1:1-2:13 [7:5-16] Letter 3: Written after the Dispute
IV. 2 Cor 8:1-24 Insert: Part of a Letter of Recommendation for Titus about the Collection for Jerusalem
V. 2 Cor 9:1-15 Insert: Part of a Letter about the Collection for Jerusalem
GALATIANS
I. Gal 1:1-5 Letter Opening (Superscription)
II. Gal 1:6-9 Introduction
III. Gal 1:10-2:21 Paul Defends His Honor (Form: Encomium)
IV. Gal 3:1-6:10 Paul Defends His Gospel (Form: Public Argument)
V. Gal 6:11-18 Conclusion
ROMANS
I. Rom 1:1-7 Letter Opening (Superscription)
II. Rom 1:8-10 Letter Thanksgiving
III. Rom 1:11-17 Introduction and Travel Plans
IV. Rom 1:18-32 They and the Ten Commandments
V. Rom 2:1-16 You Judeans and Judging Hellenists
VI. Rom 2:17-3:20 Israelites
VII. Rom 3:21-8:39 The Present Time: Now
VIII. Rom 9:1-11:36 Recalcitrant Israel
IX. Rom 12:1-13:14 You: Jesus-Group Values
X. Rom 14:1-15:13 They (the Weak) and the Torah Commandments
XI. Rom 15:15-32 Conclusion and Travel Plans
XII. Rom 15:33 Letter Ending
XIII. Rom 16:1-29 Appendix: Letter of Recommendation for Phoebe and Doxology
PHILIPPIANS
I. Phil 1:1-11 Superscription
II. Phil 1:12-2:15 Body A: Paul's Prison Circumstances and Its Significance for the Philippians
III. Phil 2:16-3:21 Body B: Ingroup and Outgroup Relations
IV. Phil 4:1-23 Concluding Remarks
PHILEMON
I. Phlm 1-3 Superscription
II. Phlm 4-7 Thanksgiving: The Exordium
III. Phlm 8-16 Body of the Letter Part A: Perobatio
IV. Phlm 17-22 Body of the Letter Part B: Peroratio
V. Phlm 23-25 Conclusion
Reading Scenarios for the (Authentic) Letters of Paul
Bibliography
List of Reading Scenarios
About the Author :
Bruce J Malina is Professor of New Testament at Creighton University, Omaha, USA and author, coauthor or editor of many influential volumes in the New Testament including Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Revelation. John J Pilch is Professor of Biblical Studies at Georgetown University, Washington, USA. He is the author of a number of key titles including Healing in the New Testament.
Review :
"If you are tired of reading the same 'new' book on Paul over and over, this commentary on the letters of Paul is the place to go next. In addition to traditional material on rhetoric and background, this social-scientific commentary brings to the fore necessary, significant and enlightening ways of understanding the social role of Paul and his social dynamics with the churches he founded. In this it is unique; it is the only comprehensive social-science reading of Paul. The reading scenarios at the end are themselves worth the price of this book." -- Jerome Neyrey, University of Notre Dame "This is not the typical introspective, individualistic Paul of Western theology. Rather Malina and Pilch reveal Paul as a thoroughgoing Mediterranean person, functioning as a change agent among Israelites living in minority communities around the Greco-Roman world. Pauline theology will never look the same again." -- Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Lewis and Clark College
