First and Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon
First and Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon
Non-technical
Roman Catholic

First and Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon

in New Collegeville Bible Commentary

by Terence J. Keegan

5 Rank Score: 5.12 from 1 reviews, 0 featured collections, and 1 user libraries
Publisher Liturgical Press
Published 4/1/2006
ISBN-13 9780814628683

First and Second Timothy and Titus are designated Pastoral Letters because they deal with leadership and organizational issues of the early Christian community. Probably written after the death of Paul, they nevertheless express what Paul himself would have and could have written to community leaders. Second Timothy gives the greatest amount of biographical material we have about Paul. The Letter to Philemon, a miniature but authentic Pauline jewel, is a masterpiece of persuasion regarding a slave’s freedom.

Terence J. Keegan’s perceptive commentaries on these precious remnants of first century Christianity provide information and insight regarding the gradual growth of the church. There are pertinent lessons here for today’s shepherds and their flocks.

Terence J. Keegan, OP, serves as the executive vice president and treasurer at Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island.

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Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2005. Pp. 80. Paper. $6.95. ISBN 0814628680. I. Howard Marshall Kings College Aberdeen, United Kingdom This attractively produced paperback is volume 9 in the New Collegeville Bible Commentary, a Roman Catholic publication that aims to provide “scholarly based commentary that is written at a pastoral level” and is presumably meant for lay people. The commentary is based on the text of the New American Bible, which is included above the running commentary printed beneath it. There are brief introductions to each of the four books discussed, together with three pages of “review aids and discussion topics” that aim to apply the text to the lives of Christian believers today, and there are also cross-references to citations of the text in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The actual amount of space devoted to explanation of the text is thus quite limited. It follows that the commentary provided is very basic. Although it reflects a knowledge of contemporary scholarship, there is no space for discussion of critical and controversial issues; no other works on the letters are cited, and no suggestions offered as to where a reader might turn for a fuller treatment. The author is concerned to present the letters as “part of the inspired scriptural conversation between God and God’s people” (a phrase that echoes a description of the Pastoral Epistles by C. K. Barrett), so the commentary is essentially theological rather than historical. [Full Review]