Galatians

The 2020 Christian Standard Commentary edition is a worthwhile but selective revision of Timothy George’s 1994 New American Commentary rather than a substantially new commentary. George retains the original volume’s structure, major exegetical conclusions, theological exposition, Reformation emphasis, pastoral applications, and nearly all of its verse-by-verse content; indeed, once the new front matter, bibliography, repeated section outlines, and excursuses are excluded, the commentary proper is almost exactly the same length. The principal changes are nevertheless valuable. The old NAC series preface has been replaced by the CSC’s fuller “ancient-modern” vision, combining historical and grammatical exegesis with literary, Trinitarian, Christ-centred, whole-Bible and spiritually transformative interpretation—an approach that largely formalises what George was already doing. The revision also engages important scholarship published since 1994, including Dunn, Martyn, Witherington, Hays, Schreiner, Moo, Barclay and Keener, giving greater attention to apocalyptic themes, Gentile inclusion, covenant and the corporate consequences of justification while preserving the Reformation doctrine of justification by faith. Two substantial new excursuses are particularly useful: “Luther, Paul, and the New Perspective,” which defends Luther against the claim that he imposed an introspective conscience on Paul while acknowledging the New Perspective’s salvation-historical insights, and “Beyond Boundary Markers,” which accepts the importance of circumcision, food laws and sacred days but argues that “works of the law” cannot be reduced to ethnic identity badges. The older excursuses are retained, although “Was Paul a Feminist?” is considerably shortened and more closely focused on Galatians 3:28. Smaller additions address the corporate curse of Israel in Galatians 3:10, Jewish as well as Roman backgrounds to adoption in 4:5, and the relationship between personal justification and the formation of a united Jewish-Gentile people. The CSC is therefore the preferable edition for new purchasers, but owners of the NAC should understand that they are receiving an updated, better organised and more scholarly current edition of essentially the same excellent commentary, not an entirely rewritten work.

George’s revised commentary is a helpful work, targeted for the mid-level range. He writes clearly and identifies key historical factors to situate readers within the interpretive discussion. George considers recent scholarship but focuses on exegetical and theological concerns. He offers sound interpretive decisions with practical application [Full Review]