New on my shelf: Hengel on Peter, Matera on Paul

From Eerdmans, Thomas Trapp has done the English-speaking world a favor by translating Martin Hengel’s book Der unterschaetzte Petrus: zwei Studien (Mohr Siebeck) with Saint Peter: The Underestimated Apostle. No doubt, this book is timely, as NT scholars are taking more interest in early reception history of the New Testament and therefore there is a re-evaluating of some long-standing viewpoints, such as the supposed antagonism between Paulinism and Peterism. Markus Bockmuehl, I believe, is also working in this area. Anyway, I am happy to read this slim volume by Hengel, no doubt one of the finest historians of early Christianity of all time.

From Baker, I just picked up Frank Matera’s Romans commentary – a contribution to the new Paideia series. I have done some work with Talbert’s volume on Colossians – a fine textbook. I am eager to see what Matera has to say. I have appreciated his interest in Christology and ethics, and I think Romans is a good place to further work out some of that!

From a rather quick glance (with more to come!), I can see that a lot of work went into this commentary, especially working out charts and figures that clarify the rhetorical flow of the letter. The reader is no doubt regularly reminded of Paul’s intentionality and focused vision in this most magisterial letter.