Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, written by Paul from prison in the middle of the first century, were addressed to specific Christian communities facing concrete challenges. What did these letters mean at the time, and what do they mean for us today? In this addition to the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, seasoned New Testament scholar Dennis Hamm explores the significance of these letters and their enduring relevance to the life and mission of the church. Based on solid scholarship yet readily accessible, the book is enriched with pastoral reflections and applications and includes sidebars on the living tradition and biblical background.

This trusted commentary by Jac J. Müller provides careful expositions of Philippians and Philemon that are characterized by a desire to balance the requirements of exacting scholarship and the need to relate Scripture to personal faith. In treating insightfully and comprehensively these Pauline epistles, Müller first provides essential historical and critical background to each text, including its date and place of origin, its occasion and purpose, and its style, structure, and general themes. The commentaries themselves then proceed through the texts section-by-section, making clear Paul's message both to his original audiences and to readers today. Long included in the widely acclaimed New International Commentary on the New Testament series and now available as an independent work, this volume continues to hold extraordinary value for scholars, pastors, students, and general readers alike. "This is a painstaking and helpful commentary." - The British Weekly Jac J. Müller was professor of New Testament at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. His other books explored themes in New Testament studies and church ministry.

The letters Paul wrote to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, have one feature in common that distinguishes them from the other letters he wrote: in them, Paul calls himself a prisoner. This thought-provoking study examines closely the metaphorical and literal meaning of Paul's "bonds and chains". Through analysis of the letters themselves, Caird considers whether Paul was actually behind bars when he wrote them (and if so, in which prison or prisons), whether he may have been referring to himself figuratively as a "prisoner of Jesus Christ," and whether he was the actual author of all four letters. In assessing these issues, Caird outlines each letter's intended audience, vocabulary, style, historical setting, literary references, and theology.

Modern translations have made it clearer than ever that many of Paul's assumptions and ideas are utterly foreign to us. This commentary guides the reader into a new understanding of Paul's letters and a new appreciation of his theology and ethics as having meaning for us in today's world. Paul is important at two levels. At the level of events, it was he who brought the Church out of its Jewish cocoon. At the level of doctrine, it was Paul who first provided a way of formulating the significance of Jesus which made it possible to universalize his mission. Paul also brought simplicity and directness into the relationship of the individual with God. Finally, Paul, the Hellenistic Jew, was able to go far in expressing the Christian gospel in terms congenial to Greeks to launch the Church's teaching safely on non-semitic waters. - Jacket flap.

F.F. Bruce's study of the Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians constitute a single volume in The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Prepared by some of the world's leading scholars, the series provides an exposition of the New Testament books that is thorough and scholarly while faithful to the infallible Word of God.