Reading Ephesians and Colossians: A Literary and Theological Commentary

In Reading Ephesians & Colossians, David Starling offers a close reading of both books, attending to both the theological ideas of the two letters and the literary and rhetorical forms in which they are communicated.

This commentary is intended to be useful for students of Ephesians and Colossians, within the academy and the church, who desire to listen closely to the text, discerning the original communicative intentions of the author and the significance of the text for Christian readers today.

David L. Starling teaches New Testament at Morling College in Sydney, Australia, where he also serves as Chief Academic Officer. He was formerly a Baptist pastor in inner-suburban Sydney and is a member of the Baptist World Alliance's Commission on Doctrine and Christian Unity. His published books include Hermeneutics as Apprenticeship: How the Bible Shapes our Interpretive Habits and Practices, UnCorinthian Leadership: Thematic Reflections on 1 Corinthians and Not My People: Gentiles as Exiles in Pauline Hermeneutics.

Edited by Todd D. Still, Charles J. and Elanor McLerran DeLancey Dean & William M. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, the Reading the New Testament commentary series presents cutting-edge biblical research in accessible language.

Praise for Reading Ephesians and Colossians:

"David Starling has produced a concise, sure-footed commentary on Ephesians and Colossians that is marked by careful research, balanced judgments, and clear prose. He helpfully illumines both the Greco-Roman context in which Paul produced these letters and their deep indebtedness to the Jewish Scriptures. Serious students of the Bible will find in this commentary a competent guide to Paul's argument in Ephesians and Colossians and an invitation into their rich theological truths." -Frank Thielman, Presbyterian Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School