Book Notice: A Theology of James, Peter, and Jude

Peter H. Davids

A Theology of James, Peter, and Jude
BTNT; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014.
Available at Amazon.com

Peter Davids is one of those brave and rare individuals who has decided to specialize in the study of the Catholic Epistles. His various commentaries on James, 1-2 Peter, and Jude are among the best in the NT studies guild. This volume in Zondervan’s Biclal Theology of the New Testament series edited by Andreas Kostenberger is a great resource for those wanting a brief and yet comprehensive overview of the theological and historical issues relating to these books.  Davids maps the similarities between these letters like their Greco-Roman background, shared view of the source of sin, eschatology, and christology. Thereafter comes distinctive summaries of each letter including a mini-commentary on their content, critical issues like authorship and addressees, and discussion of key theological themes. The sections on the canonical contribution of each book were particularly informative and valuable. Not everyone will like what Davids does with authorship in these volumes. He does not think James, Peter, or Jude directly wrote any of them (2 Peter and Jude being specifically pseudonymous), yet that should not distract conservative readers from the genuine erudition and quality of the book as providing a window into the theologies of these books. All in all, probably one of the best contemporary surveys and summaries of these four letters from the Catholic Epistles.