Synopses & Reviews
Paul's Letter to the Galatians has played a major role in the history of theology, especially in the Church's teaching on grace, faith, and justification. This commentary argues that Paul's doctrine of justification by faith is essentially social in nature and has important ecumenical implications for the Church today. In its original setting, Galatians established a foundation for the unity of Jewish and Gentile Christians: al are justified by the faith of Jesus Christ.
In addition to illuminating the historical situation that led Paul to write his Letter to the Galatians, this commentary pays careful attention to the rhetorical structure of this letter and its theological message. The author provides a fresh translation of Galatians, critical notes on each verse of the text, and a careful commentary of the letter in light of Paul's theology.
Theories abound on the question of Galatians, why it was written, what it says, and what the implications of that message are. Yet few scholars have devoted themselves at length to this letter. What sets this work apart is the extent and detail of its scholarship. Includes an updated bibliography as an appendix.
Frank J. Matera is the Andrews-Kelly-Ryan Professor of Biblical Studies at the Catholic University of America. A past president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America, he is the author of Strategies for PreachingPaul (Liturgical Press); New Testament Ethics: The Legacies of Jesus andPaul; New Testament Christology; and a commentary on Second Corinthians in the New Testament Library Series.
Review
It would make a worthy addition to anyones personal library.The Australian Biblical Review
Review
Materas commentary on Galatians was the first to appear in the Sacra Pagina series. His introduction addresses the classical background issues that relate to Galatians, foremost being the identity of those against whom Paul writes. . . . The commentary sections are balanced and offer careful exegesis from a historio-critical perspective.The Expository Times
Review
Matera has written a clear, straightforward, and convincing commentary. Internationale Zeitschriftenschau für Bibelwissenschaft und Grenzgebiete
Review
Uniquely explained and scholarly presented, this presentation of the meaning of the Letter to Galatians, as one of the most influential of the New Testament, should be powerfully relevant to contemporary peoples. Emmanuel
Review
For my money, clearly the most helpful of the recent lot [of commentaries on Galatians] to this point is the contribution to Sacra Pagina by Frank J. Matera. . . . Matera's commentary deserves a wide reading not only by New Testament specialists but also by seminarians and ministers. Interpretation
Synopsis
Presented by an international team of Catholic biblical scholars, Sacra Pagina is a fresh series of translations and expositions of the books of the New Testament. The volumes provide basic information as well as sound, critical analysis in a highly readable manner -- yet remain sensitive to religious meaning. Each author has adopted a specific methodology while focusing on the issues raised by the New Testament compositions themselves. The expression Sacra Pagina (Sacred Page) refers to the text of Scripture. In the Middle Ages it also described the study of Scripture to which the interpreter brought the tools of grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, and philosophy. Thus, Sacra Pagina encompasses both the text and the act of interpretation.
The very soul of sacred theology (Dei Verbum 24). That's how the Second Vatican Council described the study of the sacred page. These volumes open up the riches of the New Testament and invite all Christians to study seriously the sacred page.
Paul's Letter to the Galatians has played a major role in the history of theology, especially in the Church's teaching on grace, faith, and justification. This commentary argues that Paul's doctrine of justification by faith is essentially social in nature and has important ecumenical implications for the Church today.
Synopsis
Theories abound on the question of Galatians, why it was written. What sets this work apart is the extent and detail of its scholarship. Includes an updated bibliography as an appendix.
About the Author
Frank J. Matera was for many years the Andrews-Kelly-Ryan Professor of Biblical Studies at the Catholic University of America. A former president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America, he is presently the pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Simsbury, Connecticut. He has published commentaries on Romans, Second Corinthians, and Galatians and written books on New Testament theology, New Testament Christology, New Testament ethics, and Pauline theology. Matera’s previous works published by Liturgical Press include Galatians in the Sacra Pagina series, Strategies for Preaching Paul, Preaching Romans: Proclaiming God’s Saving Grace, and most recently The Sermon on the Mount: The Perfect Measure of the Christian Life.