Beverly Roberts Gaventa

To read a passage repeatedly, to examine its ambiguities, to probe its place in a larger text, to reflect on its relationship to other texts by the same author and its place within the canon of Scripture—all of these are acts of committed relationship. As in all committed relationships, the desire to understand is rightly characterized as love. And that desire involves more than a few moments of bewilderment along with insight. When it comes to the Epistle to the Romans, John Chrysostom's plaintive question, "What are you saying, Paul?" is an apt expression of the hermeneutical task, itself a labor of love. Readings in Romans brings together representative studies from Beverly Roberts Gaventa's years of committed relationship with Romans. From the programmatic to specifically exegetical, from those wrestling with the consequences of exegesis—questions of divine power, human freedom, and the identity of Israel vis-á-vis the church—to self-conscious engagement with theologians and writers in conversation with Romans such as Karl Barth and Simone Weil, these essays highlight the contours of Gaventa's extensive and thoughtful work on the apostle and especially his most influential letter. In this way they serve as an encapsulation of her scholarly contributions on Romans and, at the same time, a testimony of devotion to the radical understanding of God to which Paul himself witnesses. An essential companion to Gaventa's definitive commentary on Romans, this volume will assist scholars and students of the New Testament and Christian theology by gathering into one place writings scattered across myriad publications, including journals, conference proceedings, and edited works. More than that, Readings in Romans invites all students of Paul to explore the deep coherence, rich texture, and enduring challenge of one of Christianity's most defining documents.

***NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK***In this new contribution to the New Testament Library, renowned New Testament scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa offers a fresh account of Paul's Letter to the Romans as an event, both in the sense that it reflects a particular historical moment in Paul's labors and in the sense that it reflects the event God brings about in the gospel Paul represents. Attention to that dual sense of event means that Gaventa attends to the literary, historical, and theological features of the letter. Throughout the commentary, Gaventa keeps in view central questions of what Paul hoped the letter might accomplish among its listeners in Rome and how his auditors might have heard it when read by Phoebe. In posing potential answers to these questions, Gaventa touches on vital themes such as the intrusion of the gospel of Jesus Christ that prompts Paul to write in the first place, what that event reveals about the situation of all creation, how it relates to both Israel and the Gentiles, and what its implications are for life in faith. The New Testament Library series offers authoritative commentary on every book and major aspect of the New Testament, providing fresh translations based on the best available ancient manuscripts, critical portrayals of the historical world in which the books were created, careful attention to their literary design, and a theologically perceptive exposition of the biblical text. The contributors are scholars of international standing. The editorial board consists of C. Clifton Black, Princeton Theological Seminary; John T. Carroll, Union Presbyterian Seminary; and Susan E. Hylen, Candler School of Theology, Emory University.

In this new contribution to the New Testament Library, renowned New Testament scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa offers a fresh account of Paul's Letter to the Romans as an event, both in the sense that it reflects a particular historical moment in Paul's labors and in the sense that it reflects the event God brings about in the gospel Paul represents. Attention to that dual sense of event means that Gaventa attends to the literary, historical, and theological features of the letter. Throughout the commentary, Gaventa keeps in view central questions of what Paul hoped the letter might accomplish among its listeners in Rome and how his auditors might have heard it when read by Phoebe. In posing potential answers to these questions, Gaventa touches on vital themes such as the intrusion of the gospel of Jesus Christ that prompts Paul to write in the first place, what that event reveals about the situation of all creation, how it relates to both Israel and the Gentiles, and what its implications are for life in faith. The New Testament Library series offers authoritative commentary on every book and major aspect of the New Testament, providing fresh translations based on the best available ancient manuscripts, critical portrayals of the historical world in which the books were created, careful attention to their literary design, and a theologically perceptive exposition of the biblical text. The contributors are scholars of international standing. The editorial board consists of C. Clifton Black, Princeton Theological Seminary; John T. Carroll, Union Presbyterian Seminary; and Susan E. Hylen, Candler School of Theology, Emory University.

2020 Burkitt Medal for Biblical StudiesWhen reading the book of Romans, we often focus on the quotable passages, making brief stopovers and not staying long enough to grasp some of the big ideas it contains. Instead of raiding Paul's most famous letter for a passage here or a theme there, leading New Testament scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa invites us to linger in Romans. She asks that we stay with the letter long enough to see how Romans reframes our tidy categories and dramatically enlarges our sense of the gospel.Containing profound insights written in accessible prose and illuminating references to contemporary culture, this engaging book explores the cosmic dimensions of the gospel that we read about in Paul's letter. Gaventa focuses on four key issues in Romans--salvation, identity, ethics, and community--that are crucial both for the first century and for our own. As she helps us navigate the book of Romans, she shows that the gospel is far larger, wilder, and more unsettling than we generally imagine it to be.

In this brilliant commentary, Beverly Roberts Gaventa discusses the issues central to the books of Thessalonians, identifying what makes each book important for the life of the church today, as well as for preachers and teachers.

In his epistles, Paul at various points uses maternal imagery to talk about his apostolic labors, sometimes actually referring to himself as a mother. For example, Paul writes that he must behave "like a nurse caring for her own children." Later, he writes, he "is in labor again" and must continue to nurse his fellow Christians with milk. These images, though known among earlier generations of Christians, today remain largely both unacknowledged and unexplored in thinking about Paul and his work. In Our Mother Saint Paul, Beverly Gaventa retrieves these images, explores their significance for understanding apostolic ministry, and demonstrates how they point beyond their original contexts and offer unique perspectives for understanding Paul's thought as well as the larger, cosmic understanding of the gospel.

In this brilliant commentary, Beverly Roberts Gaventa discusses the issues central to the books of Thessalonians, identifying what makes each book important for the life of the church today, as well as for preachers and teachers.Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.