Philippians (New International Biblical Commentary, Vol. 11)

by F.F. Bruce

Book Overview

F. F. Bruce shares the riches of a lifetime of Pauline studies in this commentary on Paul's letter to his beloved church at Philippi. Bruce's practical and theological exposition, helpfully based on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0853646651
• ISBN13: 9780853646655
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Henrickson
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.7" x 5.4" x 0.6"

Customer Reviews

Short, easy to read & technically accurate

This exegetical gem summarizes the key points in plain english for almost any pastor or teacher/student to use. Yet he carefully deals with the exegetical issues so that one gains insight from nuances of the Greek text. For example, in Philippians 3 Bruce gives footnotes for the term translated as refuse or dung in most versions. There are several key points like this for every paragraph throughout the book....but they are always footnoted at the end of each section so it is easy to read the regular comments...actually a joy in comparison to many commentaries which have a lot of technical information on almost every line. It reminds me of Moo's massive work on Romans (NICNT) except much shorter and stripped down to just the meat. He explains the Greek word and demonstrates it's significance in the footnotes for the paragraph. The regular comments are basically free of Greek terminology, so anyone can catch what he's saying. Yet as a pastor who exegetes the Greek NT for sermons on a regular basis I found his comments are as insightful as any other commentary I've read on Philippians. So if one is short of time and unable to read the longer commentaries like Fee or Silva, then this concise volume will help you identify and assess and interpret the key issues for every paragraph. So the way I use this volume is for the exegetical portion of sermon development when I do not have a lot of time. If one is behind in their sermon development he can help you catch up with a minimum of reading (ever been there?). For application, he has many kernals that are good, but his phraseology doesn't preach as well as some other commentators like Thielman or Motyer who seem to provide 'preachable' terminology more frequently in my experience. For more indepth exegetical treatment this volume is a bit scant, so I turn to O'Brien's NIGTC and Fee's NICNT for that...which are both quite a bit more indepth than Bruce. But can one afford to ignore Bruce on a topic? I think not. The right place to use this book is for the exegesis portion of sermon/teaching development only when one is short on time and cannot read the more indepth exegetical works. He handles things objectively and insightfully....and when the other scholars vary from his view, I've learned to think carefully about why because they may not be correct when at odds with this brilliant scholar. For the pastor who doesn't read Greek, this commentary is exceptionally helpful and should be one of the most referred to volumes while working through Philippians. It is a well done and to the point book that I recommend if you are studying Philippians or Paul's life and ministry.