David W. Pao

As the inaugural volume of the Brill Exegetical Commentary Series, this commentary provides a fresh reading of the Pastoral Epistles while interacting with recent developments in biblical studies and the auxiliary disciplines. A fresh translation of the Greek text is followed by text-critical, grammatical, historical, and theological analyses of the text. Instead of a commentary on the commentaries, this work grounds the reading of the Pastoral Epistles within their proper linguistic and socio-cultural contexts, thus allowing their distinct theological voices to emerge.

In comparison with other aspects of Jesus' life and ministry, his ascent into heaven has often been overlooked within the history of the church. However, considering its placement at the end of the Gospel and the beginning of Acts - the only narrative depictions of the event in the New Testament-the importance of Jesus' ascent into heaven is undeniable for Luke's two-volume work. While select studies have focused on particular aspects of these accounts for Luke's story, the importance of the ascension calls for renewed attention to the narratological and theological significance of these accounts within their historical and literary contexts. In this volume, leading scholars discuss the ascension narratives within the ancient contexts of biblical, Second Temple Jewish, and Greco-Roman literature; the literary contours of Luke-Acts; and questions of historical and theological significance in the wider milieu of New Testament theology and early Christian historiography. The volume sets out new positions and directions for the next generations of interpreters regarding one of the most important and unique elements of the Lukan writings.

Concentrate on the biblical author's message as it unfolds.Designed to assist the pastor and Bible teacher in conveying the significance of God's Word, the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series treats the literary context and structure of every passage of the New Testament book in the original Greek.With a unique layout designed to help you comprehend the form and flow of each passage, the ZECNT unpacks:The key message.The author's original translation.An exegetical outline.Verse-by-verse commentary.Theology in application.While primarily designed for those with a basic knowledge of biblical Greek, all who strive to understand and teach the New Testament will benefit from the depth, format, and scholarship of these volumes.

In this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, David Pao offers a comprehensive and accessible study focusing on the theme of thanksgiving in the letters of the apostle Paul.

The use of Isaiah in the Lukan writings has long been recognized. David W. Pao examines the wider relationship between Isaiah and the theological program of Acts and thus proposes a new reading of them. As the Isaianic program draws from the foundation story of ancient Israel, the New Exodus program of Isaiah provides the hermeneutical paradigm in which the narrative in Acts can be understood.David W. Pao deals with the interpretation of the entire second volume of the Lukan narrative as well as of the individual episodes. The wider framework provided by Isaiah supplies the organizing principle for the inclusion of various individual stories; and the recognition of the Isaianic context also provides the clue to the identification of the function of the Lukan narrative.In the study of the individual Isaianic quotations and allusions that frame the Lukan narrative, one can appreciate the dramatic reversal of the Isaianic judgment-salvation scheme only when examined against the wider context of Isaiah. In the delineation of the theme of restoration, the coherence of the first half of Acts becomes apparent. And in tracing the conquest journey of the hypostatized Word of God and its relationship to its community, one is forced to reevaluate the traditional understanding of the main characters of the narrative; and this focus on the Word also provides striking parallel to the journey of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. The study of the opponent of the Word in Acts can then reveal the importance of the underlying anti-idol polemic. Finally, the examination of the role of the nations in Isaiah will also highlight the ways in which the Lukan project moves beyond the Isaianic vision.