INTERPRETING

the

Pauline

Epistles

SECOND EDITION

THOMAS R. SCHREINER

Baker Academic

a division of Baker Publishing Group

Grand Rapids, Michigan

© 1990, 2011 by Thomas R. Schreiner

Published by Baker Academic

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516–6287

www.bakeracademic.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Schreiner, Thomas R.

Interpreting the Pauline Epistles / Thomas R. Schreiner.—2nd ed.

p. cm.

Originally published: Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, ©1990, in series: Guides to New Testament exegesis; 5.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8010-3812-9 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. Bible. N.T. Epistles of Paul—Hermeneutics. I. Title.

BS2650.52.S36 2011

227′.0601—dc22

2010041662

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Translations in the diagrams and charts are by the author.

To my wife, Diane, my fellow heir in the greatest cause

Contents

Preface to the Second Edition

Preface to the First Edition

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Understanding the Nature of Letters

2. Doing Textual Criticism

3. Translating and Analyzing the Letter

4. Investigating Historical and Introductory Issues

5. Diagramming and Conducting a Grammatical Analysis

6. Tracing the Argument

7. Doing Lexical Studies

8. Probing the Theological Context

9. Delineating the Significance of Paul’s Letters

Conclusion

Select Commentaries on the Pauline Epistles

Preface to the Second Edition

I am grateful to Jim Kinney from Baker Academic for inviting me to prepare a revised edition of this book, and thanks also to Wells Turner for his excellent job in editing the current edition. It is tempting to enlarge the book significantly, but I believe the book has continued to be read because of its brevity. Hence, the purpose of the revision is to update the book where necessary, especially in terms of bibliography. The book has not changed dramatically, for I am still convinced that the substance of what I wrote some twenty years ago is correct. Nevertheless, the entire book has been revised, and there are some significant additions. The original edition presented the diagrams in Greek but not in English, and thus English has been added to enable readers to understand diagramming conventions. I am particularly thankful for the help of my research assistant, Greg Van Court, who helped with the bibliography, the Greek and English diagrams, and other details so that this revised edition would see the light of day. When this book was first written, ...