Review of A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (UBS6)

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H. A. G. Houghton, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament: A Companion to the Sixth Edition of the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2025)

The main goal of Houghton’s work is to provide a “new guide on current scholarship” related to the textual variations of the sixth edition of the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (UBS6) to specialists and non-specialists alike. He accomplishes this goal by focusing on three things. First, Houghton describes the differing readings in the UBS6. Second, he weighs the evidence for each reading. And third, Houghton “explains why the form in the editorial text [the text that the UBS6 committee chose] has been chosen” (VII). To accommodate non-specialists, he provides an English translation of the editorial text and every Greek variant.  

Houghton has divided his commentary into three main parts. In the first, he provides a preface (“Preface,” VII–VIII), where he states the abovementioned goal and processes by which he intends to achieve it, and lists of abbreviations (“Abbreviations,” IX–X), symbols (“Apparatus Symbols,” XI–XII), Greek manuscripts (“Principal Greek Manuscripts,” XIII–XVI) used and cited in the work. 

The second part consists of an excellent, clear, and careful introduction (“Introduction,” 1–36) that discusses the diversity of New Testament textual witnesses, the reason for a scholarly edition of the Greek New Testament, the evidence for the text of the New Testament, the categories of New Testament textual witnesses, the principles of textual criticism, how the New Testament documents were produced, the grouping of manuscripts, the story of the UBS6 and Houghton’s commentary, and finally how to use the latter. Some highlights of this introduction are the balanced treatments of the reliability of the Greek New Testament, textual criticism and its limitations, textual families, and the story of the UBS6, Houghton’s commentary, and how to use it. 

Concerning the former, Houghton acknowledges that provided the surviving manuscripts are representative of what was in antiquity, “there are no grounds for serious doubt as to the consistency of the New Testament tradition” (1). What is more, he concludes that contrary to the conclusions of some scholars there is “little evidence” that “scribes freely adjusted the text to match their preferences” and “theological presuppositions” (23). As it relates to textual criticism, Houghton notes in contrast to the confidence of some textual critics, textual criticism is an “art” of weighing probabilities (18). In his discussion of textual families, he observes that the grouping of texts by families such as the Western, Alexandrian, and Caesarean text types are outdated and should be abandoned because the only evidence for what one might call a textual family is the Byzantine text type (29). 

The last highlight that I wish to underscore in this introduction is the story of the UBS6 and Houghton’s commentary and how to use the latter. The UBS6 is part of a “thorough revision” of the Greek New Testament in light of all available manuscripts, ancient translations of the New Testament, and patristic quotations of it in a project called Editio Critica Maior. To date, a team of international scholars has finished preparing the Greek texts of St. Mark’s Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, the Catholic Epistles, and Revelation and the UBS6 adopts these revised texts. What is more, the UBS6 and Houghton’s Commentary (as well as the UBS6 Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition, for my review of it click here) have adopted the arrangement of the New Testament books in the complete Greek biblical manuscripts such as Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus, which means that the Catholic Epistles (less Hebrews) follow Acts of the Apostles and Hebrews has been placed after 2 Thessalonians (31).

The UBS6 contains a total of 1,008 variation units and the committee has altered its confidence rating of these to the following:

“{A} The Committee is confident in this reconstruction of the text.

  {B} The Committee is fairly confident in this reconstruction of the text.

  {C} The Committee is doubtful about this reconstruction of the text. 

  {D} The Committee is extremely doubtful about this reconstruction of the text. 

  [Black titled square] A decision on the reconstruction of the text was left open” (32).

Houghton’s volume is a completely new work that comments on these 1,008 variation units as well as 224 entries that have square brackets in the UBS6 but no apparatus, offering “a more detailed explanation of all text-critical indications” (33). Houghton has structured his volume in the following manner. At the beginning of each book or collection of them, he provides an overview of that book or collection, focusing on the most important textual witnesses and variation units.

On the first line of the commentary on each variation unit, he lists the New Testament reference, the text in the variation unit, the NSRVue or his own translation for those who cannot read Koine Greek or read it well, and finally the committee’s confidence rating of the variation unit. Note that no confidence rating appears in the 224 instances where there are square brackets in the UBS6 text. Below this first line, Houghton provides the different readings in the UBS6 apparatus, their English translations, and then arguments for and against these variants with an eye “to how secondary readings might have arisen” (34). These entries, however, are not based on any committee discussions or opinions, but Houghton’s own in his attempt to present rationales for decisions made about the UBS6 text. 

The third main part of this commentary consists of the actual comments on the variation units in the Greek New Testament (1–562, yes the numbers restart at 1), a glossary of terms used (563–68), and a bibliography (569–90).   

To provide an example of Houghton’s work, in his discussion of the variation ἐν Ἐφέσῳ “in Ephesus” in Ephesians 1:1, Houghton notes that the words are missing in some old and important manuscripts such as P46 (see above for Houghton’s comments).

Ephesians 1:1 in P46 from http://earlybible.com/images/p46eph1.jpg

To this point, some have suggested that the letter was a circular one. However, he points out that the manuscripts in which ἐν Ἐφέσῳ are missing still have the title of the letter as ΠΡΟΣ ΕΦΕΣΙΟΥΣ “To the Ephesians” and “the presence of οὖσιν (‘who are’) [in the text] suggests that a destination is likely to have been present, as the participle is otherwise superfluous” (465).

Title of St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians in P46 from http://earlybible.com/images/p46eph1.jpg

Finally, one of the things I appreciate the most about this volume and Houghton in particular is his academic humility, which is showcased in that he acknowledges that corrections and updates for this commentary will be needed. Therefore, he has set up a website where one can contact him with such corrections and updates as well as to make suggestions for future editions. For that website, click here.

In sum, this commentary, especially Houghton’s introduction, is clear, concise, and a wealth of information about the variation units in the forthcoming UBS6. I want to say thank you to Houghton for his labor on this work! This textual commentary is a necessary tool for study for any serious student of the New Testament. Therefore, I recommend you purchase it forthwith from Hendrickson or Amazon! 

I am grateful to Hendrickson for this gratis advanced copy, which in no way influenced by review of it. 

Review of The Revised Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition (2025)

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The Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition, rev. ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2025)

I am thrilled to have an advanced copy of the revised Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition and, to cut to the chase at the beginning of this review, it is a must have for students of the Greek New Testament, especially those who have yet to master its vocabulary. To this end, like the previous edition of the reader, every Greek word that appears 30 times or less, except proper nouns, are glossed at the bottom of the page. Moreover, the editors of the revised reader “often” provide the morphological parsing of Greek verbs “even if these words occur more than 30 times” (VIII).

The definitions of the glosses are taken from the Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the Greek New Testament that Barclay M. Newman compiled. They are contextually appropriate and thus nuanced for the passage one is reading. When a word whose contextual definition differs markedly from other New Testament occurrences, the editors provide the broader meaning as well and, when there is uncertainty about the exact definition of a word, they give alternate definitions in the gloss. When a word or combination of them form an idiomatic expression, the editors provide the definition of that expression in the gloss, too. For words that appear 30 times or more in the Greek New Testament, the editors have placed their definitions in an appendix.

These features allow beginning and even advanced students of the New Testament to read the Greek text more easily (especially the complicated vocabulary of Hebrews, Acts of the Apostles, and 1 Peter), which is noble, laudable, and a great service to the Church and to the academy: bravo!

What is more, there are four major changes and thus improvements to the new edition of the reader. First and foremost, it is printed with a different font that is much easier to read than the font of the previous edition (see the pictures above and below).

Second, its text is the sixth edition of the UBS Greek New Testament and the twenty-ninth of the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, both of which are still in preparation as I write this review. One major change to these editions, which is reflected in the revised reader, is that they follow the Greek text as reconstructed by an international team of textual critics working on a project called Editio Critica Maior, the goal of which is to produce an entirely new edition of the Greek New Testament that considers and evaluates all available manuscripts, ancient translations of the New Testament, and patristic quotations. To date, this team of scholars has finished preparing the Greek texts of St. Mark’s Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, the Catholic Epistles, and Revelation. Therefore, the text of the revised reader reflects textual changes and updates to these New Testament books. 

Third, which is also the biggest change from the first edition of the reader, the editors have altered the sequence of the twenty-seven books. The new reader deviates from today’s common order to the order in the ancient Greek manuscript tradition as evidenced by Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus. Thus, the New Testament books are ordered as follows: the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the Catholic Epistles (less Hebrews), the Pauline Corpus (with Hebrews after 2 Thessalonians), and Revelation.

The last change to the revised reader is that instead of italicizing Old Testament quotations, the editors have placed them in a bold font, which, in my opinion makes them easier to read.

In short, the revised Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition is a wonderful tool for the study of the New Testament, and whether you are a beginning or advanced student, you should purchase your copy today!

I am grateful to Hendrickson Publishing for the advanced, gratis copy of this work, which in no way influenced my review of it.

Review of David deSilva’s Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul: A Visual Guide

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David A. deSilva, Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul: A Visual Guide (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2025)

“The ruins of Rome are a constant reminder not only of Rome’s greatness but of the fact that no empire forged by human beings endures . . . The archaeological remains remind us—as Paul would remind his audiences—to look to the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ if we are ever to fine a truly stable homeland” (281–82).

The goal of this volume is to introduce students of St. Paul to pertinent archaeological discoveries in the Greek and Roman cities associated with him for the purpose of better understanding the apostle’s letters through contextualizing the situations that preempted him to compose them and his responses to these situations in the epistles in question (xii). To accomplish this goal, deSilva divides his work into four parts: (1) a short introduction, (2) chapters devoted to cities connected to St. Paul’s early life and ministry, (3) chapters focusing on the cities in which the apostle established Christian congregations on his missionary journeys, and (4) chapters examining the cities he visited on his final trip to Jerusalem and journey to Rome.  

In the “Introduction” (xi–xiv), deSilva lays out the above-mentioned goal, notes the temporal limitations of his work, for whom he has composed it, and summarizes the volume’s contents. Because deSilva desires to contextualize the letters of the Pauline corpus that were composed to congregations in which St. Paul planted churches, he mostly focuses on archaeological materials that the apostle would have seen and encountered, although sometimes he draws on materials that postdate St. Paul’s lifetime. To this end, the work is not a comprehensive introduction to the cities associated with the apostle, but only a snapshot of what they looked like in the mid-first century AD (xii). 

DeSilva’s intended audience are those who have yet or who are unable to visit the sites covered in the book or those who can and wish to learn more about these cities and their relation to the apostle before their trip (xii). He divides Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul into three unequal parts related to St. Paul’s life and ministry that generally follows his chronology and movements from Acts of the Apostles.

The first part focuses on sites associated with the beginnings of the apostle’s life and ministry, which covers his early life in “Tarsus” (3–6), his time in “Damascus and Arabia” (7–14) and “Antioch-On-The-Orontes” (15–20), and his trip to “Paphos” (21–26) with St. Barnabas. 

The second part, which is the longest, examines the cities in which St. Paul and his apostolic colleagues established congregations in various cities in modern-day Türkiye and Greece: “Perge and Pisidian Antioch” (29–50), “Roman Philippi” (51–77), “Thessalonica” (78–99), “Beroea” (100–7), “Athens” (108–25), “Roman Corinth” (126–56), “Roman Ephesus” (157–88), and “Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis” (189–205).

In the third and final part, deSilva treats the cities connected to the last years of the apostle’s life as recorded in Acts, his final trip to Jerusalem, his imprisonment, and his journey to Rome: “Miletus” (209–18), “Rhodes” (219–24), “Jerusalem” (225–30), “Caesarea Maritima” (231–42), “Malta” (243–48), “Puteoli” (249–53), and “Rome” (254–82).  

For the most part, deSilva begins each chapter by noting the connections of the city in question to St. Paul’s ministry. Then, he devotes the bulk of each chapter to discussing the archaeological and literary evidence of the site and how it illuminates the apostle’s letter(s) to the church in that city.

Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul is a welcomed addition to Pauline studies for three reasons. First, it is a thoroughly comprehensive treatment of the cities that St. Paul visited and missionized during his life and ministry bringing them together in a single volume. To this end, pastors and parish priests will find this work helpful as they prepare their homilies and Bible studies for their parishioners.

Second, deSilva mostly bases his work on up-to-date scholarship on the various sites from archaeologists and specialists who are working on them and students of the apostle can mine his bibliography to dig deeper, if they wish. This means that many incorrect assumptions that plague earlier studies about various archaeological data and St. Paul are not present in this volume. For example, deSilva has a balanced treatment of the Erastus Inscription from Corinth (147–48) (which is not the Erastus mentioned in Romans 16:23, if the latest archaeological findings are correct, see my podcast on the topic by clicking here) and of the Tiberius Inscription from Caesarea Maritima (242).

Third and finally, Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul fulfills its title as A Visual Guide, incorporating over 250 beautiful color pictures of the sites that St. Paul visited and their artifacts, which appear to be from deSilva’s own travels. To this end, not only does deSilva deserve praise but also Baker Academic for the layout of the book, the type of paper on which it was printed, and the high quality of its photographs: Bravo!  

In sum, I highly recommend Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul: A Visual Guide and you can purchase your copy directly from Baker Academic or from Amazon! 

Review of The State of Pauline Studies

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Nijay K. Gupta, Erin M. Heim, and Scot McKnight, eds., The State of Pauline Studies: A Survey of Recent Research (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2024)

The purpose of this work is to provide readers with a “snapshot” of recent scholarship on St. Paul’s letters and some aspects of his theology. To accomplish this goal, the editors, Gupta, Heim, and McKnight, have divided this volume into two parts. The first consists of chapters 1–7 and explores various topics related to recent Pauline Studies and the second part, which encompasses chapters 8–17, examines current trends in scholarship on every letter of the Pauline corpus. 

In chapter 1, “Paul and the Messiah” (7–22), Joshua W. Jipp examines recent scholarship related to Jesus’s Royal Messiahship. Chapter 2, “Paul and Judaism” (23–41) by Kent L. Yinger, explores the state of the place of Judaism, Israel, and Torah and their connections to St. Paul’s congregations in the apostle’s thinking. In chapter 3, “Paul and Salvation” (42–60), Ben C. Blackwell lays out various approaches of salvation in St. Paul’s theology—the Reformational Perspective, the New Perspective, the Paul within Judaism Perspective, the Apocalyptic Perspective, and the Participationist Perspective—and “how these perspectives articulate forms of coherence in his theology” (42). 

Chapter 4, “Paul and the Spirit” (61–75) by Kris Song, examines key debates in Pauline studies as they relate to the Holy Spirit and then reviews recent studies in Pauline pneumatology. In chapter 5, “Paul and Gender” (76–102), Cynthia Long Westfall explores mostly evangelical Pauline studies “involved in the ongoing debate about the theology and practice of men and women in the home, the church, and society” (76). Chapter 6, “Paul and Empire” (103–19) by Peter Oakes, investigates recent scholarship on the place of empire in the apostle’s letters and theology. And in the last chapter of Part 1, chapter 7, “Feminist, Postcolonial, and Womanist Approaches to Paul” (120–35) by Angela N. Parker, lays out these current approaches to Paul and how they are “interested in evaluating uneven and complex power relations” in the ancient and modern world as it relates to racism, sexism, colonialism, and imperialism (120).

Chapters 8–17 examine recent interpretative trends in each letter of the Pauline corpus with Jennifer Strawbridge exploring Romans (“Romans,” 139–62), John K. Goodrich 1 Corinthians (“1 Corinthians,” 163–83), B. J. Oropeza 2 Corinthians (“2 Corinthians,” 184–202), Erin M. Heim Galatians (“Galatians,” 203–32), Timothy G. Gombis Ephesians (“Ephesians,” 233–48), Nijay K. Gupta Philippians (“Philippians,” 249–63), Scot McKnight Colossians (“Colossians,” 264–79), Sydney Tooth 1–2 Thessalonians (“1–2 Thessalonians,” 280–97), T. Christopher Hoklotubbe the Pastoral Epistles (“1–2 Timothy and Titus,” 298–316), Dennis R. Edwards reviewing the current state of scholarship on Philemon (“Philemon,” 317–30). 

This work is too large and diverse to discuss every contribution so I will limit myself to interacting with four observations that Gupta, Heim, and McKnight highlight about recent Pauline scholarship in the work’s introduction. First, the current state of scholarship on the apostle has moved away from its traditional roots in the Western Church to the point that the historical-critical method is “no longer . . . the default approach to studying Paul” (1) and the study of St. Paul has become a more global and diverse field (2). I am thrilled at the field’s recent diversification, a diversification that reminds me of the early Church, which witnessed the gathering together of peoples of all colors, nations, and languages in and outside the Roman Empire for God’s glory! I think that this variety of perspectives on the apostle will only increase if the Church continues her slow decay in the West and expansion in the Global South. 

Second, recent Pauline scholarship is trending away from the modern, and in my opinion false, categories of Pauline letters as authentic and pseudonymous (2). More and more scholars understand that our modern conception of an author was not operative in the first century AD and that most individuals in the Roman Empire, St. Paul included, employed the services of a scribe to compose most of their correspondences. This rightly calls for the need to reevaluate the supposed scholarly consensus that the so-called Disputed Letters—Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians—and the Pastoral Epistles—1–2 Timothy and Titus—are not Pauline and the premises on which the arguments supporting this so-called consensus are built, which is an enterprise that I am currently pursuing (when I have the time). 

Third, current Pauline scholarship realizes the complexity of St. Paul’s world. The editors note that based on our current knowledge “it is irresponsible to talk about Paul versus Judaism or Paul against empire” (3). I wholeheartedly agree. This is an area that my own research, the use of inscriptions and material culture to build contextual profiles of St. Paul’s letters and the theology within them, has underscored. Moreover, the more I study archaeological materials, inscriptions, and then read ancient literary sources in light of the former two datasets, the more I am convinced that St. Paul’s world was even more complex than we could ever hope to imagine. 

Finally, recent trends among scholars focusing on St. Paul has moved beyond the Reformation Protestant-Catholic debates and into more fruitful territories with the New Perspective on Paul, the Apocalyptic Paul, Paul within Judaism Perspective, modern Jewish interpretations of the apostle, and John Barclay’s “Gift” reading of St. Paul. These so-called schools have informed my own reading of the apostle to the point that I espouse an Apocalyptic “Gift” filled Paul with influences from the Old and New Perspectives and some nuances gleaned from the Paul within Judaism Perspective. However, I continue to see little to no evidence in St. Paul’s letters or in Acts of the Apostles supporting two of the major tenets of the Paul within Judaism Perspective: that the apostle conceived of two tracks of salvation, one for Jews, the Torah, and one for Gentiles, Jesus the Messiah, and that his letters are written exclusively to Gentiles. 

In sum, this work is an indispensable resource for any student of St. Paul who wants to familiarize himself or herself with the current state of Pauline scholarship on any letter in the corpus or on the seven areas of Pauline theology on which Part 1 of The State of Pauline Studies focuses. Therefore, I recommend purchasing your a copy! 

I am grateful to Baker Academic for providing me with a review copy of this book, which is no way influenced by review of it! 

Review of Greek Inscriptions by Peter Liddel

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Peter Liddel, Greek Inscriptions, Ancient Scripts (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2025)

In this excellent, short, approachable, and image filled introduction to Greek Inscriptions, epigrapher Peter Liddel aims to introduce Greek inscriptions to non-specialists and to demonstrate how one can use them to understand “ancient Greek history, society and culture” (1). To accomplish this goal, he divides his work into six chapters. The first, “Cultures of Writing” (18–35), explores the shapes of inscriptions, their language, where ancient Greeks placed them, and how epigraphers edit and date them. In the second chapter, “Human Expressions” (36–51), Liddel examines how inscriptions contain the ancient experiences of Greeks from life to death. The third chapter, “Communities and Their Inscriptions” (52–65), delves into how inscriptions reveal the organization of ancient Greek city-states, how they were expressions of authority, and how they displayed honor of certain Greeks. In chapter four, “The Supernatural” (66–79), Liddel probes how inscriptions evidence ancient cultic practices, ancient sacred accounting and bookkeeping, and the connection between writing on an object and the divine. Chapter five, “Beyond Hellenism” (80–91), looks at Greek inscriptions in Egypt and the role of inscriptions in the coming of Rome as the dominant superpower in the Mediterranean World and then the empire’s conversion to Christianity. In the final chapter, “Legacies” (92–103), Liddel discusses the reuse of inscriptions from their original context, the beginnings of the science of epigraphy, and why inscriptions still matter today. Finally, Liddel provides a helpful guide to further reading for those who wish to learn more. This work is a great resource for any novice looking to understand more about ancient Greek inscriptions!