Paul's Letter to Philemon: For Further Reading

[00:00:01] Paul's Letter to Philemon, for further reading by Bart D. Ehrman, Read by John Paul Middlesworth. Here is a list of readings on Philemon, all of which are relevant to all the undisputed Pauline epistles, with a couple of commentaries specifically on this significant short letter. One benefit of serious commentaries is that they always begin by discussing major critical issues in understanding a book authorship date, historical context, major themes, disputed issues, and so on. [00:00:33] David Ohne, the New Testament in its literary environment, Westminster, 1987. Includes a superb discussion of the practices of letter writing in Greco Roman antiquity as the social context for Paul's epistles. [00:00:47] J. Christian Becker, Paul the Apostle the Triumph of God in Life and thought, Fortress, 1980. A sophisticated and astute discussion of the apocalyptic character of Paul's theology and its various forms of expression in different situations that the apostle confronted. For advanced students. [00:01:06] F.F. bruce, Apostle of the Heart Set Free. [00:01:12] A full study of Paul's life and teachings by a major evangelical Christian scholar. [00:01:18] James D. Dunn, the Theology of Paul The Apostle. Erdman's, 1998. A clear and full overview of the major theological views of Paul by a leading British New Testament scholar. [00:01:31] Neil Elliott and Mark Reasoner, Documents and Images for the Study of Paul. [00:01:36] Fortress Press, 2011. [00:01:38] An extremely useful collection of ancient Greek, Roman, and Jewish sources and photographs of material remains, eg. Archaeological discoveries that illuminate the teachings of Paul. [00:01:50] Albert Harrell, Paul the Apostle, His Life and Legacy in Their Roman Context. [00:01:56] Cambridge University Press, 2012. [00:01:59] One of the most informed studies of Paul in recent times, this highly informative biography situates the apostle carefully in his own social world. [00:02:09] Gerald Hawthorne and Ralph Martin. Dictionary of Paul and his letters, Intervarsity, 1993. [00:02:17] A Bible dictionary that contains over 200 articles on various topics relating to the life and writings of Paul. Written by prominent evangelical scholars whom on several major issues take a different perspective from the one presented here. [00:02:31] For example, on the authorship of the Deutero, Pauline, and Pastoral epistles. [00:02:36] Morna Dorothy Hooker, Paul A short introduction, OneWorld, 2003. [00:02:43] A very useful introduction to the life and letters of Paul. A good place for students to begin. [00:02:48] Hans Joseph Clauck, Ancient Letters and the New Testament. Baylor University Press, 2006. [00:02:56] An authoritative account of how letters were composed in the Greco Roman world in general, with numerous examples, and in the New Testament in particular. [00:03:06] Wayne Meeks, the First Urban the Social World of The Apostle Paul, 2nd Edition, Yale University Press, 2003. [00:03:16] An impressive and highly influential study that explores the Pauline epistles from a socio historical rather than theological perspective. For more advanced students Wayne Meeks and John Fitzgerald, The Writings of St. Paul Annotated Texts, Reform, Reception, and Criticism, 2nd edition. Norton, 2007. [00:03:37] An edition of Paul's writings with useful notes and a collection of important and classical essays written by a range of scholars and intellectuals, from philosophers to playwrights to historians, on the historical and religious significance of Paul Calvin, the Letters of conversations in context, 6th edition. Westminster, John Knox, 2015. [00:04:03] Perhaps the best introductory discussion of each of the Pauline Epistles. [00:04:07] N.T. wright, Paul in Fresh Perspective. [00:04:11] Fortress Press, 2005. [00:04:13] An Accessible Introduction to Paul from a historical and especially theological perspective by a leading British scholar of the New Testament Commentaries. [00:04:25] Joseph A. Fitzmeyer, The Letter to Philemon. A New Translation with Introduction and commentary. Anchor Bible Doubleday, 2000. [00:04:34] A concise yet insightful technical commentary that explores the linguistic, historical, and theological dimensions of this short Pauline letter. [00:04:44] Edward Lozi, Colossians and Philemon A Commentary on the Epistles to the Colossians and to philemon. [00:04:52] Fortress Press, 1971. [00:04:54] A critical and scholarly examination rooted in historical and textual analysis, with particular attention to early Christian thought and Greco Roman background. [00:05:05] Charles B. Cusar, Philippians and Philemon A Commentary. Westminster, John Knox Press, 2009. [00:05:14] A solid commentary on Philippians and Philemon which assumes that the former letter is a literary unity and and finds other ways of negotiating its apparent seams. [00:05:25] Online Resources Hugo Mendez, Exploring the New Testament. A 27 lecture course on the New Testament, including multiple lectures on Paul and his letters. [00:05:36] The link is on the online blog.