Getting into Paul’s head

ROMANS:
Tyndale New Testament Commentary
By David E. Garland
IVP Academic. 490 pages. £19.99
ISBN 978 1 789 743 128 (paperback)

I love reading Bible commentaries; this one was no exception. It is the replacement for F.F. Bruce’s slim but worthy volume in the Tyndale series.

This commentary is almost three times the length of that written by Bruce. It follows the current Tyndale pattern of dealing with the text under three headings: Context, Comment and Theology. The extra space is well used to provide a fresh reading of Paul’s magisterial letter that, while conservative in theology, is not afraid to land his interpretation in places that will not always find universal agreement among readers of Paul.