1–2 Thessalonians

Beale’s commentary devotes special attention to the Thessalonian letters’ Old Testament background. Beale also carefully traces the apostle’s argument, and he includes thoughtful applications for contemporary readers. This commentary serves as an excellent complement to his fuller exegetical commentary on the Greek. [Full Review]

G.K. Beale is excellent. His exposition through the lens of "already not yet" eschatology is so well done.

Beale's treatment of the Thessalonian epistles is very neat, showing off the cohesiveness of the epistles themselves and together, leaving nothing ataktoi, or disorderly (163-164). Commentary(not including intro) runs at about 240 pages, one of the larger in the series for two of the smaller epistles.

Obviously this won't cover everything there is to cover (for that, consult Bruce's WBC), but this is solid value for money and page count. Pastors, lay readers, and students can get lots from this one without spending more money and going with a more in depth commentary. Beale covers the difficult eschatalogical content well.

GREAT! I agree with Sam Storms that it is even better than Gene Green's commentary in the Pillar series.

After penning a powerful commentary on Revelation, it probably makes sense that Beale would turn as well to Thessalonians. Keith Mathison says, “Beale has written what many consider to be a definitive commentary on the book of Revelation, and now we have the results of his research into the Thessalonian epistles. Whether one agrees or disagrees with all of his conclusions, Beale always has interesting food for thought.” That is a little cryptic, but I take it as a recommendation! [Full Review]

This commentary is in the IVP New Testament Commentary series and is intended for pastors and teachers. The body of the commentary is based on the English, with occasional key Greek words appearing in transliteration. All citations are in-text; he interacts with a range of scholarship although it is weighted towards evangelical commentators. Beale treats more technical details in a footnote-like section at the bottom of the page. With respect to eschatology, Beale has a chart summarizing his belief that Paul is commenting on the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24) in his eschatological section (p. 137). [Full Review]

Just excellent. Made me want to check out more volumes in this series. Beale was constantly focused on the author's main point. Good observation, interpretation, and application. Simply a rare gem as far as commentaries go. My only beef was that the font and typesetting were not the easiest to read.

Beale has written what many consider to be a definitive commentary on the book of Revelation, and now we have the results of his research into the Thessalonian epistles. Whether one agrees or disagrees with all of his conclusions, Beale always has interesting food for thought. [Full Review]

[Full Review]