Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 42, Ephesians (lincoln), 592pp

Rating:
Summary: An excellent commentary - but read critically
Review: Lincoln's thought is clear, lucid and intelligible, which helps him explain what can be one of the more convoluted and enigmatic books in the NT. Now, clarity should not be confused with brevity. This is one of the longer commentaries in the Word series on one of the epistles. Lincoln's arguments are finely nuanced and require much of a reader. But in the end, it is worthwhile.

Lincoln rarely engages in sustained polemic against those who hold to positions with which he disagrees, but rather deals with them and offers whatever explanation he favors expeditiously. His knowledge of koine Greek and textual criticism are encyclopedic.

My disagreements with Lincoln are at the presuppositional level, namely that the letter must be deutero-Pauline because of certain linguistic and stylistic features. It seems at times that he wants to ascribe to "the writer" access to Paul's mind, almost as a doppelganger, but thoroughly and consistently rejects Pauline authorship. Lincoln would do well to consider more seriously the role of the amaneuensis in 1st century letter writing, as well as the amount of traditional material the writer employs before rejecting Pauline authorship.

Second, in his discussion of the passage on marriage (5:21-33) Lincoln falls into the hermeneutical sinkhole of postmodern relativism.

On the whole, though, Lincoln is a brilliant scholar whose work on Ephesians deserves every serious NT student's full attention.

Rating:
Summary: Very Thorough
Review: This is a very in-depth and thorough treatment of Ephesians. Lincoln devotes a lot of space to: rhetorical analysis, describing the syntactical and discourse structure, the use of the OT, and dependence on Colossians.

By far, the most satisfying aspect of the commentary is the constant reference to what has gone before in the letter. This helps the reader maintain a clear picture of the overall argument and flow of the letter. It does create a little bit of overlap, though, between the various sections of the commentary (Form/Comment/Explanation). That is more the fault of the WBC layout, however.

Lincoln is very mainstream in his exegesis and cautious in his interpretive judgments. He shows no signs of having a theological axe to grind or a system to impose on the text. A good example would be his interpretation of the household code. He doesn't try to "reform" the text by making it more palatable to our egalitarian age. He lets the author speak for himself.

One disappointing feature of the book is Lincoln's insistence that Ephesians is deutero-Pauline. For those of us who believe that Paul was more stylistically flexible than modern scholars give him credit for being, Lincoln's arguments will not have much force. At times, too, he falls prey to the "contradiction behind every bush" mentality which is overzealous in its attempts to portray Ephesians in opposition to the "genuine" Paul.