Romans

This two-volume set offers a “New Perspective” interpretation of Romans, but Dunn’s verse-by-verse study of the Greek text showcases his exegetical and theological brilliance far beyond the singular NPP/OPP debate. [Full Review]

I'm a little surprised this isn't higher up in the rankings, given the influence of Dunn's work on Romans. Sure, the WBC formatting isn't great, we all know that. But Dunn's work is so influential in Pauline studies, it's hard to believe he wouldn't be further up than this. I'd argue Dunn is essential for the study of Paul in general and Romans specifically. So much so that even if you disagree with the NPP, you can't really deny the quality of Dunn's work here.

 

Controversial, stimulating commentary by a neo-evangelical theologian who supports the unconventional view (known as the New Perspective on Paul) of Paul’s critique of first-century Judaism. [Full Review]

One would think that Dunn’s commentary on Romans would be the flagship of the new perspective on Paul, and it a large extent it is just that. Dunn says in his introduction that he intentionally writes his commentary to read Paul in the context of first century Judaism, specifically as described by Sanders. His commitment to this is seen from the very first line of the introduction, “Paul was a Jew. He was born a Jew and brought up a Jew. He never ceased being a Jew.” In fact, the Jewish literature of the Second Temple Period appears more often in this commentary than any other surveyed here. In the exegetical section of the commentary Dunn deals with the details of the Greek text, but in his explanations he begins to create a Theology of Paul (his Pauline Theology is the fruit of his labor in the text of Romans). [Full Review]

Fantastic commentary. The Word layout is horrible but I have to be honest and say any serious student/pastor who does not refer to this commentary is making a big mistake. Dunn has been the 'sane' voice within the NPP and his work seems on the money most of the time. It is just unfortunate that others who moved to such a position are not as level headed as he is! This commentary is almost deserving of a 5 if it were not for Moo's contribution.

Second, I stay in Durham and go to Jimmy Dunn's 2 volumes in the Word series [Full Review]

[Full Review]