1 and 2 Thessalonians

Leon Morris is great, he fits a lot into the concise format of TNTC.

My theme though out the New Testament Tyndale commentaries has been that they are consistently solid. A few writers like France, Bruce and Wright are brilliant, but most are fine Christian academics whose works are worth reading if owned but not seeking out. This volume continues this theme with helpful if brief introductions to both books and commentary that helps the reader understand the text. The Greek words are explained in simple enough to terms to be understood and the main theme of the text is maintained. In short a solid read for an interested layman but nothing memorable.

Like F.F. Bruce, Leon Morris has contributed commentaries for many books of the Bible and to many commentary sets. His volume on 1 & 2 Thessalonians is the TNTC series which means it is relatively short and has been written for a general audience. If you are not preaching or teaching the book, and would simply like to learn more about it, this will be a good choice. [Full Review]

I suppose this should count as cheating on my own rule of “only Five Commentaries,” but all three of these books are from Morris are worth reading. The Tyndale commentary is a revision of Morris’s 1956 commentary in the Tyndale series. Morris covers both books in a mere 152 pages, but does a good job highlighting what is important for reading and understanding the text of these letters. The commentary is based on the English text with Greek appearing in transliteration. The NICNT is also a revision of an earlier volume from the early 1960s. This is definitely the “first off the shelf” commentary. The newer commentary updates the bibliography and interacts with Ernest Best’s work on Thessalonians. The main body of the commentary is based on the English text, Greek and other details are in the notes. It is also worth seeking out Morris’s contribution to the Word Biblical Themes series written in 1989. This is little book is a biblical theology, drawing out several key themes of importance in the letters. I find his comments on the eschatology of 1-2 Thessalonians refreshing, and judging from the underlining in my copy of the book, I have stolen learned a great deal from Morris. [Full Review]