This volume faithfully extends the respect afforded the prestigious Pillar New Testament Commentary series published by Eerdmans and edited by D. A. Carson. It has several features to commend itself to pastors, perhaps even more than for scholars, though it is without question a scholarly volume.

He has an unusually short Introduction. It is clear and penetrating, but much shorter than we are used to. That is not, however, a liability as he just works the discussion into the commentary. He also just ignores the more ridiculous and unfounded discussions that clutter many commentaries. I find that refreshing as some of those discussions do not merit one drop of ink.

Some have criticized Seifrid for not interacting enough with other scholars. His focus was clearly more on expounding the text than esoteric scholarly rabbit trails. Again, that is a plus too! It seems to me that he was only sticking to the design of the series he was contributing to. I have heard others criticize him for some Lutheran theology. I am not a Lutheran, but hearing viewpoints that dont exactly match every other commentary is not a bad thing either.

Taking the commentary here on its own, you will find well written and helpful exegesis to help get at the meaning of the text. I predict pastors will actually prefer it, as I do, over some of the other volumes out there. He gives us more insight into Paul and to what is going on in this second letter. I appreciate his taking this letter as a unified whole as well.

The positives here are many and I highly recommend this volume for teaching and preaching Second Corinthians.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Second Letter to the Corinthians,written by Mark A. Seifrid and published by Eerdmans, is one of the well written modern commentaries on this book of the Bible. The Second Letter to the Corinthiansis the most recent volume of the Pillar New Testament, edited by D.A. Carson, a series which is synonymous with superior scholarship and excellent exegesis, and this volume continues this legacy. Seifrid is no stranger to studious commentaries series on scripture yet this is his first foray into the Pillar New Testament Commentary series.

The Second Letter to the Corinthians begins with the typical study into the introductory matters of this book of the Bible, yet while introductions are common; this introduction is atypical of most commentaries. It is not that this work doesnt dive into history and recent scholarship, which The Second Letter to the Corinthiansdoes a phenomenal job of; rather, it is the thoroughness that Seifrid takes with these introductory matters which makes this commentary atypical. In a day where these matters are either glossed over to get to the exegesis of the text or are so cumbersome that they become useless, Seifrid has found a good balance in being thorough, communicating depth and attention to recent scholarship, all without losing the forest in the trees.

In reference to the commentary on the text of this Gospel, Seifrid takes great care in carefully showing the original context of passage while sprinkling practical application to the reader throughout the textual commentary. With regard of recommending The Second Letter to the Corinthians, to others I would wholeheartedly recommend this commentary to students of scripture, with one caveat. By this I mean I recommend this work to Pastors, Scholars, Bible Teachers, Bible College Students, and Seminary Students, there is enough scholarly weight to this text to understand a particularly issue in the text while giving aid to pastors in preaching the text. The caveat is to the lay person who is looking for a commentary to read as a devotional, while a basic knowledge of Greek is not needed for understanding The Second Letter to the Corinthians, it is helpful and would not be suitable for devotional reading. There are many commentaries about the 2nd Corinthians available at this moment but Pillars New Testament commentaryTThe Second Letter to the Corinthians, is a step above the herd.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Eerdmans Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

The Second Letter to the Corinthians: Pillar New Testament Commentary

2014 by Mark A. Seifrid

Publisher: Eerdmans

Page Count: 569 Pages

ISBN: 978-0802837394