Up to Date (2 Corinthians)
Catching Up on the Latest Biblical Commentaries (2019-2024)
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 I’m proud of my “little orange book,” but a resource like this gets outdated.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 2 Corinthians Commentaries
**Click images to purchase or learn more
David Garland (CSC, formerly NAC)
For this 2021 released volume, Garland updated his old NAC commentary. This is one of my go-to resources on 2 Corinthians, very level-headed, theologically and pastorally rich, and solid exegesis.
Judith Diehl (SGBC)
This is a good contribution to the Story of God series, very readable, very pastoral and devotional. Great for a church group.
James W. Thompson (Proclamation: Preaching the NT)
This is not a commentary; it is a guide to preaching the text (short volumes; this one is ~120 pp.). Thompson is a first-rate scholar and I would definitely utilize this if I were teaching through or preaching on 2 Corinthians (I bet it would pair well with Garland).
Ben Witherington (Word and Spirit, Oct 2024)
Okay, Witherington has already published a commentary on 1-2 Corinthians (Eerdmans) a while back, it is pretty good; this is a new commentary for a new Pentecostal series (looks like BW3 “fits” as a Wesleyan). It’s an interesting idea to offer a Spirit-focused series; my only hesitation is that BW3’s volume appears to be about 175 pages, which is not a lot of depth. Sam Storms has written the Romans volume (Oct 29, 2024) and his will be ~300 pages, while is a better length for substance.
COMING SOON
Here are some things that are coming in the future. No clear timeline or release dates for these.
Paula Gooder (NIGTC)
Jeanette Hagen Pifer (ZECNT)
Margaret Mitchell (Hermeneia)
Rodney Reeves (Bible in God’s World)
Up next: stay tuned for new commentaries on Galatians next week!
Hey Nijay,
Thanks for these recommendations. Judy Diehl and I were at Den Sem the same time and had a class or two together. Glad to see her make your list. On the future offerings, I take it these are forthcoming on 2 Corinthians?
Thanks for drawing attention to these. It’s very helpful to hear Margaret Mitchell is working on the Hermenia volume. I’ve been wondering for years who was slated for that project. Would you add Chris Tilling’s forthcoming NICNT volume to the not-yet-published section? Perhaps you mention that one in the little orange book.