An important collection of essays by Professor Ernest Best, author of the new commentary on Ephesians for the International Critical Commentary series.His subjects include, for example, the use of traditional material, the view of the ministry as expressed in Ephesians, Paul's apostolic authority.These essays represent a valuable companion and supplement to the commentary.>

This commentary, a part of the Interpretation series, explores the book of Second Corinthians.

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.

The range of scholarly work in progress on the New Testament continues to grow, and this is undoubtedly due in great measure to the stimulus and encouragement provided by leading editors and scholars such as Matthew Black, in whose honour this volume is published. The contributors have come together from many countries and Christian churches to provide a series of original essays in new Testament textual criticism and exegesis. In aiming to produce a cohesive volume the editors, unfortunately, had to omit representation of various fields of study in which Matthew Black has made a distinctive contribution to scholarship. The volume includes a bibliography of Matthew Black's most recent published writings.

The aim of this book is to illuminate the manner in which Mark understood Jesus' death. That death forms the climax of the Gospel, and is all-important for the evangelist. Since it is central to every form of Christianity, much has already been written on the significance Jesus' death had for Mark. Most previous studies, like the first edition of this book, used redaction criticism to interpret Mark's viewpoint from the alterations he made to the form of the Passion narrative as he had received it from tradition. More recently the Gospels have been examined as continuous stories, and the author adopts this approach in the additional material of his new edition. By examining the general sweep of the narrative, and in particular of its last chapters, Professor Best attempts to show how Mark saw Jesus' death as both an atonement for sin and as creative of the new community of the Church.

This series of commentaries on the New English Bible is designed for use in schools and colleges, and for the minister and the layman. Each volume comments on one book, or part, of the Bible. In each the text is given in full. Sections of text and commentary alternate, so that the reader does not have to keep two books open, or turn from one part of the book to the other, or refer to a commentary in small type at the foot of the page. Great care has been taken to see that the commentary is suitable for the student and the layman: there is no Greek or Hebrew, and no strings of biblical references. The general editors all have experience of teaching or examining in school and working with adults. Commentaries on all the books of the Old Testament, New Testament and Apocrypha have been published, together with introductory volumes and books of illustrations to accompany each Testament.

This commentary, a part of the Interpretation series, explores the book of Second Corinthians. 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.

The 1974 estimate by Interpretation that Ernest Best's volume on 1 & 2 Thessalonians "is probably the best exegetical study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians available ... a superb commentary" continues to ring true forty years later. This is indeed one of the finest commentaries on 1 & 2 Thessalonians available-in any language. The Journal of Theological Studies called it "exhaustive" and concluded that the commentary is "reliable, judicious, and nearly always lucid. He [Best] ... takes us as far as we can reasonably go in understanding the mind of Paul as it expressed itself in these writings."

An abbreviated edition, in paperback, of the commentary in the ICC series. For those who lack the linguistic and historical grounding, or the time, to deal with the ICC volume, this Shorter Commentary retains all the important elements of the introduction and commentary, but excludes foreign-language material, technical notes and excursuses.

This brief study is intended primarily for theological students, and perhaps also for ministers who wish to update their scholarship. It seeks to show the issues facing those who seek to study Ephesians or interpret it. The first part examines in detail the normal questions of authorship and destination. The second offers a brief survey of the content of the letter drawing out its main points. The third part concentrates attention on its theology, treating in detail its teaching about the church and behaviour. In this it is claimed that these two areas of life together in the Christian community and conduct within it reflect on one another and influence each other; in that sense the letter is a unity of thought. While an attempt is made to solve the problems which present themselves, for example whether, the author was not Paul but a disciple, there is no suggestion that the writer's own solutions are the only possible ones.>

Best identifies the most common problems facing anyone who seeks to interpret the New Testament. He then shows how the preacher, teacher or ordinary reader can faithfully draw out the meaning of the New Testament.

For over one hundred years, the International Critical Commentary series has held a special place among works on the Bible. It has sought to bring together all the relevant aids to exegesis -- linguistic and textual no less than archaeological, historical, literary and theological--with a level of comprehension and quality of scholarship unmatched by any other series.
No attempt has been made to secure a uniform theological or critical approach to the biblical text: contributors have been invited for their scholarly distinction, not for their adherence to any one school of thought. The first paperback editions to be published cover the heart of the New Testament, providing a wealth of information and research in accessible and attractive format.