James and Jude - Paperback

by John Painter (Author), David A. Desilva (Author), Mikeal Parsons (Editor)

In this addition to the well-received Paideia series, two respected New Testament scholars offer a practical commentary on James and Jude that is conversant with contemporary scholarship, draws on ancient backgrounds, and attends to the theological nature of the texts.

This commentary, like each in the projected eighteen-volume series, proceeds by sense units rather than word-by-word or verse-by-verse. Paideia commentaries explore how New Testament texts form Christian readers by

- attending to the ancient narrative and rhetorical strategies the text employs
- showing how the text shapes theological convictions and moral habits
- commenting on the final, canonical form of each New Testament book
- focusing on the cultural, literary, and theological settings of the text
- making judicious use of maps, photos, and sidebars in a reader-friendly format

Students, pastors, and other readers will appreciate the historical, literary, and theological insight that John Painter and David deSilva offer in interpreting James and Jude.

Back Jacket

Paideia: Critically Acclaimed Commentaries from Today's Top Scholars

"James and Jude makes an excellent contribution to the impressive Paideia commentary series. John Painter's commentary on James exhibits all the traits of a master interpreter. The introductory material is rich without being dense or convoluted. The commentary itself is concise and loaded with insight. David deSilva's commentary on Jude is a gem. Who knew that so much of interest could be extracted from such a brief epistle? Students will benefit greatly from this well-written volume. Veteran scholars are also encouraged to add it to their library."
--Craig A. Evans, Acadia Divinity College, Nova Scotia, Canada

"I can think of no one more qualified than John Painter and David deSilva to write on James and Jude respectively. They have produced an admirable work, both in its scholarly integrity and in its literary clarity. They have adhered to the goal of the Paideia series in not writing a detailed exegetical commentary but rather 'attending to the cultural, literary, and theological settings of the final form of the text' and bringing out the rhetorical strategies employed. This increases rather than limits the value of the work, allowing for a focus and clarity that might not otherwise be possible. I recommend this work; no future work on these two letters will be complete without using it."
--Peter Davids, Houston Baptist University

"Painter and deSilva are to be congratulated for taking their readers and the biblical text seriously. They do not dumb down their discussions, but neither do they make brute historical, linguistic, and sociological facts the centerpiece of what they say. In these pages, thoughtful and practical reflection ('Theological Issues') always follows a close analysis of the Greek text ('Tracing the Train of Thought'). The authors teach that understanding is not an end in itself; they insist that a robust faith is alien in any culture and that it is lived."
--James Riley Strange, Samford University; author of The Moral World of James: Setting the Epistle in Its Greco-Roman and Judaic Environments

Author Biography

John Painter (PhD, Durham University) is biblical research scholar and professor of theology at the Charles Sturt University School of Theology in Canberra, Australia. He is the author of Just James: The Brother of Jesus in History and Tradition and several other books. David A. deSilva (PhD, Emory University) is Trustees' Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. His numerous books include Introducing the Apocrypha and An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation.