Relatively brief and seemingly unassuming, Philippians is frequently underestimated by its readers and users. This guide shows that what lies within this letter is much more complicated and dynamic than many expect.

After surveying the major historical problems and the methods scholars use to arrive at competing solutions, Marchal focuses on the letter's famous hymn of Christ-a rare glimpse into a tradition created by the community in Philippi, even earlier than Paul's letter. Given its impact and potential, the hymn deserves sustained attention, including its connections to slavery...

Recent decades have seen significant shifts in biblical scholarship opening up a range of ways of engaging the biblical narrative - both methodologically (the tools and techniques for engaging the text) and hermeneutically (the perspectives that inform an interpreter's approach to the text and to the interpretative task). It is these shifts that give shape to this introduction and study guide, so that students encounter not only the text of Matthew itself but also its rich lode of recent interpretation.

Among aspects of 1st-century life brought to the fore by current...

This guide explores and summarizes scholarship on Philemon, acquainting beginning students with what has been said about Philemon, and equipping them to understand the larger debates and conversations that surround it. It explores how different initial scholarly assumptions result in different interpretations and "meanings;" these meanings always have ethical implications. Reading Philemon challenges us to rethink the process of commentary and the communities interpretation creates.

Though only one chapter long, Paul's Letter to Philemon has generated a remarkable amount of...