Paul's Letter to the Romans: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary

[Full Review]

What sets this work apart from all other previous commentaries on Romans? Pauls Letter to the Romans: A Socio-rhetorical Commentary provides us with a full-scale sociorhetorical commentary on Romans that has not been attempted until now. First, a rhetorical analysis of Romans is particularly necessary in light of the fact that this letter was written under different circumstances than Pauls previous ones: it was written to those with whom Paul was not personally acquainted, to those who were not Pauls converts and were not inherently under his authority, and he was not writing to correct problems or misunderstandings that came with personal involvement in a community. As a result, he had to pick and choose his words carefully and employ a unique method of persuasion, knowing that first impressions were important. Second, new research on the society of the first-century Mediterranean world has put a new perspective on various details found in Pauls letters. His corresponde nce to the Romans indicates that Roman Christianity had a varied social stratum. Romans 16 seems to suggest that Paul knew of at least five house churches in Rome sponsored by various individuals. This implies that there had to be some early Christians in Rome of significant social status to have more than just a room in an insula. There were most likely patron-like Christians who acted as benefactors and protectors of other believers and who hosted church meetings in their homes. [Full Review]

The question that immediately crosses my mind as I pick up this book is, Why have we another commentary on Pauls letter to the Romans? There are so many commentaries on this letter available today, including recent ones from such distinguished scholars as Philip Esler and N. T. Wright. Ben Witherington III, however, seems to have an impressive ability for producing very thorough, if not necessarily very original, commentaries on Pauls letters. His commentar ies on Galatians and the Corinthian letters are particularly well thought of by many Pauline scholars, and this present volume on Romans appears to be a step in the same direction. My initial impression, though, is that this commentary succeeds where some of the previous ones have failed. There seem to be proportionally more original readings and scholarship on his own part. This, as one might expect, comes alongside the excellent summaries of, and references to, the work of others, often including rather obscure journal articles and monographs overlooked by most scholars. His introduction is very thorough, as I expected it would be. One concern regarding the introduction, though, is his seeming dismissal of the New Perspective on Paul, whether in the form proposed by Stendahl, Sanders, Dunn, or other more recent proponents. [Full Review]