Book Review: The Epistle to the Romans
The Epistle to the Romans by Douglas J. Moo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book Review: Reading Romans in Context: Paul and Second Temple Judaism
Reading Romans in Context: Paul and Second Temple Judaism by Ben C. Blackwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Overall it was a good read. The book is insightful at times and also conjecturing and speculative at others. I don’t agree with the views of some that we have to read Paul through this particular lens in order to rightly understand him. However, this setting was a part of his milieu and does inform our understanding of the socio-historical setting of the New Testament.
Book Review: Reading Romans after Supersessionism: The Continuation of Jewish Covenantal Identity
Reading Romans after Supersessionism: The Continuation of Jewish Covenantal Identity by J Brian Tucker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Tucker focuses on Romans 9-11 and interacts with both the text and scholarship on different sides of this discussion. By the end of the book, he did a good job of bringing out the plural nature of the promises to the fathers, so fulfillment necessarily includes aspects of descendants of Abraham (Israel), land, and Gentiles inclusion.
I’m not entirely convinced by his arguments in Romans 14. He is influenced by the “spheres of influence” view of the continuing relevance of Torah. I personally need to do more work in this area, but it seems that view falls short in its assessment of the old covenant relationship to the new covenant and the extent of old covenant fulfillment. Further, it seems to divide the old covenant law into divisions nowhere made in scripture and doesn’t account for the all-or-nothing view in epistles such as Galatians or James, not to mention the book of Hebrews and the covenants discussion there. However, the continuing relevance of Torah is not entirely germane to his argument for non-supersessionist readings.
I appreciate the book and recommend it for study.
Book Review: The Psalms: Structure, Content, and Message
The Psalms: Structure, Content, and Message by Claus Westermann
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Book Review: Romans
Posted by Jeff Short on March 22, 2021 · Leave a Comment
Romans by Douglas J. Moo
I thought going in this was just an abridged version of Moo’s longer commentary, but was pleasantly surprised that was not the case. There are certainly times where the text commentary reads similarly, but it is usually in a shorter, summary form that can actually be helpful. The Bridging Contexts and Contemporary Significance sections add excellent practical applications that go beyond the longer commentary. If you were to only have one, I would suggest the longer commentary though it is more technical. However, it is worth having both as this volume is an excellent complement to the longer commentary.My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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