The Epistle to the Philippians

As I was writing a paper on Philippians 3 I came across several commentaries that cited this book, so I was compelled to buy it. It turned out to be a very useful reference and I'm glad that it is part of my library now.

I was assigned this book for an undergraduate class I took for a theology degree. We were also assigned Warren Wiersbe's book, Be Joyful. As it turned out, Wiersbe's book was the sort of "junior varsity" book where he wrote in simple language and made points that were relevant to modern culture. This made his little book quite valuable in that regard, and I made that book assigned reading for my girlfriend! But The Epistle to the Philippians is a much more in-depth literary work. I give Marcus Bockmuehl's book a 5-star rating because the book hits every point any scholar would want touched upon. Bockmuehl provides a sort of verse-by-verse commentary - his style is to break the epistle into sections, write up the sections, and then comment on them in paragraph form. He points out the keywords of the passages, as well as the opinions of other scholars (even in regards to the Greek [and sometimes Hebrew] translations). This thorough exegesis is remarkable in and of itself, but Bockmuehl also provides excellent background. I learned so much regarding the church's, the Roman Empire's, and Paul's histories, which really enabled a true learning experience, even when coupled with theological study. Bockmuehl's commentaries are great because he provides almost all sides of debates surrounding the epistle, including the interpretations of meaning. He also has a subtle way of letting the reader know when one of his peers is a little off. Such a professional... I would recommend this book to only two types of people: (1) the theological and/or the Bible student (this is in the general sense of the word to include those with scholarly ambitions);, and (2) for the person who wants to really bolster their knowledge of Scripture so as to know more about the apostle Paul and his style, about the great work of the Holy Spirit at a deeper level, and about the Christian faith. The Epistle to the Philippians (the Biblical text) is such a popularly quoted epistle, even by those who haven't even read it yet! But coupling your reading of Philippians with Bockmuehl's book will open your eyes to a greater understanding of your faith, your religious heritage, and even what it means to be a Christian. I would not recommend Bockmuehl's book to those who won't read Philippians along with Bockmuehl, or to those who have a hard time with technical reading. Bockmuehl is a professional at this sort of stuff, as a lot of us aren't, so you'll find a thesaurus helpful at times. Also, the book is not made for entertainment (like Wiersbe's, as aforementioned) - it is intended for an in-depth study of the epistle to the Philippians! If you do decide that you want to get to know more about Paul, the epistle to Philippians, and the Christian faith, I recommend that you read Bockmuehl's book alongside the Bible without reading other parts of the Bible at the same time, unless it is referenced in Bockmuehl's text. I recommend this only so that you can draw a greater foc