This is a series called “Up to Date,” where I do a sweeping survey of the latest and greatest biblical commentaries. In 2020, I published a little book called The New Testament Commentary Guide: A Brief Handbook for Students and Pastors (Lexham Press, 2020). I’m proud of my “little orange book,” but a resource like this gets outdated. If you are looking for commentary classics and “best picks” I suggest picking up my book. In this Substack series though, I will be looking at what has been published in the last five years (2019-2024).
Important Recent Colossians Commentaries
**Click images to purchase or learn more
G.K. Beale (BECNT)
Beale is a widely-respected scholar who is most well-known for his work on Revelation, but he is well-suited to write on Colossians due to his expertise in apocalyptic literature, biblical cosmology, and the use of the OT in the NT. Note: this volume also includes Philemon.
Alan J. Thompson (Tyndale)
I love the little Tyndale New Testament Commentary series. These volumes overall are great resources for a church Bible study or basic college course (or high school). Exegetically accurate/reflective, pastorally wise; Thompson rightly focuses on Christology and the devoted life of the Church. (288pp). This volume also includes Philemon.
Douglas J. Moo (Pillar) Second Edition
Moo is a premier evangelical commentary writer, and his knowledge of Romans and Galatians clearly contribute well to his study of Colossians. At 550 pp, this is a great detailed commentary. This is a revised and updated commentary (originally 2008). This volume also includes Philemon.
Jonathan Watt (Brill Exegetical Commentary)
I want to flag up a new commentary series: Brill Exegetically Commentary Series (edited by Stanley Porter and David Mathewson). The focus of the series is on exegesis, but with a special interest linguistics (like discourse analysis). I don’t expect anyone to actually buy books in this series, since Brill did the very “Brill” thing of charging $150 for 230pp commentary. Amazon doesn’t even sell it! David Pao has a Brill Exegetical Commentary on 1-2 Timothy and Titus (Nov 2023) that is a whopping $300 (800pp). This is sad, because Pao is a great scholar and I would enjoyed reading his commentary. We can only hope Brill will adjust their model and bring the prices down.
Coming Soon
Here are some commentaries on Colossians that are coming in the future. No clear timeline or release dates for these.
Clint Arnold (Word Biblical Commentary)
Joey Dodson (Christian Standard Commentary)
Seth Ehorn (Evangelical Exegetical Commentary)
Hans-Josef Klauck (Hermeneia)
Esau McCaulley (Story of God)
Pheme Perkins (Illuminations)
Shane Wood (Bible in God’s World)
Up next: stay tuned for new commentaries on 1-2 Thess next week!