The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians

I lead a bible study, so I use a number of reference books. I find William Barclay's study on the book of Paul's Letter to the Philippians to be most informative. It is the study book that I turn to most often when defining a point or finding the real meaning of the scripture in what Paul is trying to convey to his readers.

The Barclay commentaries are solid information biblically, and in a small book package which is far easier to handle than most Bible commentaries.

Dr. William Barclay (1907-78), an ordained minister in the Church of Scotland and Glasgow University Professor, is largely remembered today for his seventeen-volume Daily Study Bible. This book is part of the revised edition, which came out in 1975, and uses the Revised Standard Edition of the Bible, rather than the Authorized (King James) Version. In this book, each of the three sections begins with a wonderful, in-depth introduction, which gives a wealth of background information on the city and church involved, along with an explanation of the issues involved in the letter. After that, the author launches into a verse-by-verse examination of the letter.This is a great commentary on Philippians, Colossians and the two Thessalonian letters! His analyses are both exhaustive, and yet easily grasped by the lay reader. I bought this book to assist me in a Sunday school class that I was teaching, and it was one of the best purchases that I have ever made. I highly recommend this book.

Barclay's book on The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians is an excellent analysis of these books of the Bible. Barclay provides an introduction to each book before proceeding to a line-by-line, verse-by-verse discussion of the text and its meaning. The author has a very good understanding of the history and backround of these books and shows detailed knowledge of the language used by Paul. His commentary sheds light on the reasons for Paul's letters and clearly explains the specific guidance Paul was offering to these followers.Finally, I liked the quotes and short stories Barclay tossed in with his analysis. It's a good book for Bible study. It's easy to read a little bit each day. It's also easy to spend a great deal of time reflecting on the most meaningful passages.