Sacra Pagina Colossians and Ephesians Paperback

As the authors of Colossians and Ephesians well knew, making the invisible visible and the hidden known is itself a daunting task. Margaret MacDonald has deftly met the challenges these letters present to their interpreters, by offering a convincing explanation of their literary relationship and an interesting description of the social world out of which they emerged. All students of Colossians and Ephesians will appreciate her valuable contribution to our knowledge of the growth and development of post-Pauline Christianity and will be grateful for her clear, readable style.

. . . a superb addition to the corpus of commentaries on Colossians and Ephesians. . . . This excellent commentary will be accessible and useful to a broad range of readers, including scholars, clergy, students and any others interested in these letters. The social scientific-approach, readable style and appropriate attention to the afterlife and impact of these letters make the community concerns and struggles reflected in Colossians and Ephesians come alive in a manner rarely found in the commentary genre.

Margaret MacDonald provides a superb, fresh close reading of Colossians and Ephesians. Her commentary is particularly outstanding for the way it brings to bear her expertise in social-scientific approaches and in feminist interpretation. She is an excellent communicator with a gift for integrating such expertise into her own reading without resorting to excessive theorizing or jargon and without neglecting other major themes and issues. Both scholarly and accessible, the commentary is richly rewarding in its detailed notes and in its broader exposition. Again and again readers will find sparkling insights into what these letters reveal about the life of Pauline communities and how their authors' perspectives may still be fruitfully engaged.

While the struggle between good and evil is a messy affair, Harrington's thesis that Revelation provides a positive perspective for Christians is convincing in detail and substance.

. . . offers solid, nuanced interpretations of both letters. Its pressing of social-scientific questions should help readers rethink the relation of theology and ethics to historical context.

This is a fine commentary which presents the fruits of scholarly research in a very clear and accessible way. The detailed notes offer a wealth of insight into the meaning of the text, while the interpretation sections offer a broader discussion of its content and significance. In particular, drawing judiciously on social-scientific resources, Margaret MacDonald offers a rich understanding of the social context of these two letters and of their contribution to the development of Christian community and identity. It is good news indeed that a new paperback edition will make this work even more accessible to a wide range of readers.

In this extremely helpful commentary, Margaret MacDonald gives a fresh reading of Colossians and Ephesians that places these two letters in the context of nascent Christianity in such a way as to illuminate both the letters and the shape of the early Church.

A highly recommended reference source for scholars and pastors.

This excellent and engaging commentary sheds new light on the complex issues surrounding the interpretation of Colossians and Ephesians. MacDonald's use of social-scientific studies of the ancient world opens new vistas for interpreting both the letters and the late first-century church. Her extraordinary knowledge of the social structures of the Greco-Roman world adds significant layers of context to our reading and enriches our grasp of the message of these letters. MacDonald also provides judicious and insightful treatments of the powerful theological themes that have made these letters so important in the development of the church's theology. The format of this series makes the scholarship found here accessible to a wide range of readers.

This entire series, and MacDonald's volume is no exception, ought to be essential reading for the preacher, the teacher, the college or high school student, and anyone who wants to read the new Testament texts with deeper insight and understanding.

Mitchell presents relevant Jewish background material, surveys secondary literature, and discusses the range of textual variants in a very clear manner. Her treatment of both epistles makes this one of the `stand-out' volumes in the series.

This lively, engaging and accessible commentary will be a useful tool to reflect further on these undervalued letters. MacDonald's approach too, will open up fresh avenues of exploration which illuminate the texts in ways that are sure to provoke debate and helpful discussion.

This commentary is well worth reading on many levels. For pastors, graduate students, and specialists in Paul who may be unfamiliar with or wary of a social-scientific approach, this is a good introduction to the method. For those not familiar in detail with scholarly work on Ephesians and Colossians, it provides a basis for further investigation.