Dr. Stanley Porter's new commentary on the Pastoral Epistles: A brief description and some positive thoughts

Dr. Stanley E. Porter, of McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, is well-known for his contributions to the study of New Testament Greek and biblical hermeneutics (among other topics). Although I don't always agree with him on Greek grammar and linguistics (though I have become somewhat more sympathetic to his views on Verbal Aspect Theory now than I was 15 years ago), I respect his immense contributions to our study of Scripture. Also, his commentary on Romans (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2015), is quite good, and I would consider it among my "top 5" recommendations for a well-rounded, English-speaking/reading, evangelical pastor's library (along with Moo, Longenecker, Barth, and Cranfield).

Since I co-teach the Pastoral Epistles in our small college with my father (who was for 30+ years a missionary to Japan), I was excited to hear of Porter's new commentary and made sure our library acquired it: The Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2023). The price is normally a bit hefty (at $70), but students and impulse-buyers should note that it is only $26.44 on Amazon right now [3:15pm on Wednesday, 11/27]; hurry before the sale ends!!!!!! 

Anyways, the reader should know that this rigorous, 800+ page commentary (not counting the bibliography) is focused specifically on the Greek text. You will find less of background matters here (e.g., Ephesus and Crete), but you will find intense discussions  of virtually every nuance of the Greek words and syntax. Indeed, the commentary's raison d'etre is summed up here by Porter:

"My major criticism against conventional commentary writing is that most of them offer little that is new in interpretation, to a large extent because they have departed from the major purpose of a commentary on an ancient text: to help in understanding the language of the text and thereby its situational context" (p. 1).

As noted above, this commentary is not the sort of commentary you turn to for extensive background information, nor is it the sort of commentary that rigorously discusses the various viewpoints on a particular topic (the very long and rigorous section on "saved through childbearing" was a bit disappointing in that regard). It is, however, the sort of commentary you turn to for an intense analysis of the actual Greek text of the Pastorals, and as such it will prove to be an extremely valuable addition to any library. 

I offer the following as a positive example of this (from page 219, discussing 1 Timothy 2:6, to which he devotes 10 paragraphs):

"The prefixed form ἀντίλυτρον in Paul must be considered with the preposition that is used int he adjunctive prepositional phrase. The Markan context [Mark 10:45] uses the simplex form along with ἀντί (in place of), the clear preposition of substitution; Paul uses the prefixed form indicating ransom in place of along with the preposition ὑπέρ (on behalf of). The first construction is clearly substitutionary, but the second may indicate nothing more than benefit. However, the latter preposition was often used in a substitutionary way in Greek texts contemporary with the NT, as evidenced in numerous documentary papyri (e.g., P.Tebt. 104.39–40; P.Hamb. 4.14–15), where a scribe would write 'on behalf of' (ὑπέρ) one who did not know how to write (S. Porter 1994: 176–77; cf. Radermacher 1925: 139; Robertson 1934: 630–32). There was benefit, to be sure, but there was also substitution of a literate person for someone illiterate. Thus, the general overall sense of both constructions is the same; both indicate substitution, although the Pauline text lacks the elegance of the Markan one" (p. 219).

The above paragraph shows Porter's thoroughness but also warns the reader to be prepared for some very technical terminology. Elsewhere, in what may have set some kind of record, Porter devotes 9 and a half pages to discussing 1 Timothy 2:12 (just that one verse!).

Two other points of appreciation. (1.) The introduction section of the commentary, spanning 88 pages, has one of the most rigorous defenses of Pauline authorship of the PE that you will ever see, including a brilliant discussion on the logical problems of assuming pseudonymity for the PE (specifically, pages 33–35). (2.) Pages 88–93 contain a very detailed overview (complete with comparisons of the Greek text) of "Early Church Attestation" of the PE.

Porter's commentary is not for the faint of heart, and he makes it very clear early on that he holds to both monosemy and verbal aspect theory, which will affect his interpretation to some degree (how much of a difference that makes in contrast to other commentaries remains to be seen). For those looking for a fresh perspective grounded solidly in the original language of the New Testament, however, the commentary has much to commend it.

Robert Yarbrough's new Pillar commentary on the pastoral epistles: a mini-review

My father and I have the privilege of co-teaching "Pastoral Epistles" to our preacher boys here at BCM. My father has 30+ years experience of pastoring and church-planting, while I took the PE as a doctoral course under NT scholar Benjamin Merkle and have since contributed two articles on the pastorals (published in Filologia Neotestamentaria and The Bible Translator). We have a lot of fun building off of each other and goofing around (believe me, it's a great privilege and pleasure to co-teach a class with one's father!). The class has been excellent so far, with a lot of discussion.

Now, a new commentary has just come out, the first major evangelical commentary on the pastorals in a long time: Robert W. Yarbrough, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018). I'd like to offer a mini-review on this work. Bottom line: a very useful conservative evangelical commentary with some key, unique contributions that nonetheless will probably not replace the "big four" (Knight, Mounce, Marshall, and Towner) in usefulness. In other words, it definitely belongs in your library (individual or institutional) but will probably not be a textbook at either the college level or seminary level.

I am going to offer a brief analysis in four key areas that I feel are key to judging a commentary: 1. contribution, 2. general content and writing, 3. research, and 4. treatment of controversial issues. The first area is "mostly good," the second one is "very good", while #s 3 and 4 I feel are "good, but with some disappointments."

1. Contribution. Robert Yarbrough is a tier-1 New Testament scholar who teaches at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis (he has also taught at Trinity and Wheaton). His list of contributions to scholarship is massive, including especially the Baker Exegetical commentary on 1-3 John. Although he is not a specialist in the Pastoral Epistles, he has contributed broadly to New Testament scholarship and has some interesting things to say on the Pastorals. His section on "Paul as Working Pastor: Exposing an Open Ethical Secret," is excellent (though adapted from previous material). The strength here, then, is that Yarbrough is without a doubt a Pauline scholar, and this strength carries throughout the book. Thus the book is especially valuable when dealing with aspects of the PE that intersect especially with Pauline theology (e.g., his treatment of 1Tim 1:15 is excellent and very informed by the rest of Pauline theology). This is, of course, linked to Yarbrough's conservative treatment of the authorship of the PE, which I can appreciate (though, dear reader, do not go to this commentary for a robust defense of Pauline authorship; go to Robert Mounce's Word Biblical Commentary instead). However, since Yarbrough is not a PE specialist (to my knowledge none of his other books focused on the PE, and he seems to only have one journal article that deals specifically with something in the PE), his contribution to PE scholarship in the PNTC series is not as robust as it might have been, perhaps. 

[Note added 8/22/20. To be fair, however: my friend Chuck, in the comments section, notes where Dr. Yarbrough has contributed a significant number of professional papers on the PE. He's perhaps more of a specialist than my initial comments may lead one to believe]

As far as the introduction section of the book, this is lacking in some areas that other commentaries spend more time on (e.g., as noted above, see authorship). On the other hand, Yarbrough has some excellent material in the introduction that you won't see in other commentaries, such as his expansion on Thomas Oden's "eight thesis" on the PE. 

2. General Content and Writing. Overall, this book is a solid commentary to have an your shelf (whether pastoral or academic) and should definitely be in every seminary library. This is a consistent, solid, scholarly treatment of the pastoral epistles by an author who is broadly read and fairly well-versed in PE scholarship (though not as well as he could have been; see below for some mild critique).

The book is well-written. While both my father and I felt it was a bit too technical for a college class (so we're sticking with Donald Guthrie's Tyndale commentary for now), we are still requiring our students to read some small portions from his book. Once again, Yarbrough is an excellent writer, and for somebody at the seminary level this is a good read. Also, as appropriate for a commentary within the Pillar series, Yarbrough interacts very well with the Greek, though not in an overly-technical way (à la the WBC series).

3. Research. On the plus side, Yarbrough has a fairly good grasp of PE scholarship, and I felt his level of interaction with primary/ancient sources was excellent. On the downside, there are some lacuna. He never actually cites Ceslas Spicq (though he mentions him in passing, but he never cites him), which is a pity because Spicq is one of the essential scholars on the PE. Also, at times it appears Yarbrough is not quite as caught up on the most recent journal articles. For example, Southeastern Theological Review devoted an entire issue to the PE (Winter 2016, which should have been enough time to be noticed by Yarbrough) with articles by Swinson, Couser, Bumgardner, and Stiekes, plus an extremely helpful "literature review" by Charles J. Bumgardner. In addition, his commentary is not as "discourse sensitive" as I would have hoped, especially in this modern era. For example, the significant work by Ray Van Neste on "Cohesion and Structure in the Pastoral Epistles" is not cited, so far as I could tell. To that I would add that any exegetical commentary in this day and era should probably be citing Steven Runge's Discourse Grammar of the New Testament (a book I require for all my "Intro to NT Exegesis students") or similar works, but that's just my opinion.

I counted approximately 335 sources (including primary) in the bibliography. This is ok, but not really spectacular, in my opinion. As noted below, when it comes to the discussion of "saved through childbearing," Yarbrough's bibliography is not near as good as it should have been.

In a nutshell, Yarbrough's engagement with primary sources is better than his engagement with secondary sources in this commentary (based on what I was expecting).

4. Treatment of controversial issues. In many areas, I feel Yarbrough does an excellent job. For example, although he definitely trends towards the complementarian side in issues of women in ministry (as do I), he covers a lot of ground very effectively and I feel he is generally fair to egalitarian evangelicals, even while disagreeing with them (e.g., page 185; to be fair, egalitarian evangelicals might disagree). At the very least, he is very clear on what the positions and issues are.

Having said that, in some areas he glosses over complicated issues way to quickly. I have no wish to be overly negative, but his treatment of "saved through childbearing" is woefully inadequate (see especially page 187). First, he does not evidence knowledge of some important recent articles that grapple with this issue (e.g., Moyer Hubbard in JETS vol. 55.4 and Andrew Spurgeon in JETS vol. 56.3--both of these articles of are significant: Hubbard for his background study on maternal mortality in childbirth, and Spurgeon for his discussion of the theology of Genesis 2-3 in 1Tim 2; also worth noting, Sandra L. Glahn in BibSac vol. 172.687-688, dealing with the background of Artemis; Yarbrough does not cite any of these scholars). He does not deal at all with George W. Knight's (NIGTC) objections to the traditional reformed soteriological view, and dismisses with two sentences the idea that tēs teknogonias might refer to the Messiah. He mentions nobody that specifically holds that view (George Knight is one of its ablest defenders) and simply refers the reader to an essay by Thomas Schreiner to refute it. This falls far short of what I would have expected (indeed, what I was hoping for) from a scholar of Dr. Yarbrough's caliber. In addition, sometimes Yarbrough offers more of a survey of scholarship rather than a dialogue (e.g., page 262-3 left me wanting a bit more discussing), but some of that might be just the constraints of the commentary series.

In conclusion: this is a great commentary by a great scholar. Its strengths are: 1. Overall solid conservative treatment on the Pastorals (i.e., pastors, this is a commentary you want in your library), 2. Some excellent unique theological thoughts, and 3. Solid writing. Its weaknesses are: 1. Some surprising lacuna among secondary sources, some of them quite important; and 2. Inadequate treatment of some topics, especially "saved through child-bearing" (seriously, with all due respect to Dr. Yarbrough, I'm kind of miffed about this one since I make a point of lecturing on it in both Hermeneutics [time permitting] and Pastoral Epistles; it's arguably the most difficult passage in the New Testament, and deserves a more thorough and fair treatment).

Once again, however, my criticisms should not detract from the value of this book. While it would not be my primary textbook even at a graduate level, it has valuable material in it that students should be aware of.

Looking for a Pastor? Hire a Doctrinally-Sound Teacher! The Potential Practical Implications of my Recent Article in The Bible Translator

I am looking forward to blogging about my awesome ministry trip to Kenya soon (with pictures!). I think I'm just about over jet-lag. However, for now I'd like to focus briefly on the qualifications of a prospective pastor (since I've never been a pastor, of course I have all the answers [note to impressionable readers: that was self-deprecating sarcasm])

I was blessed recently to have an article of mine published in the prestigious journal The Bible Translator entitled "Rethinking the Translation of Didaktikos in 1 Timothy 3.2 and 2 Timothy 2.24" (vol. 68.2, 2017). Although somewhat technical, the article tries to make a strong practical suggestion for ecclesiology and the calling of pastors. 

In a nutshell, my proposal is that "apt to teach/skilled in teaching" (which is what most translations have--that or a similar equivalent) might be missing the point. If the word should be translated "experienced in teaching" or "a teacher" (as I try to argue) then this has the potential to impact how churches evaluate prospective pastors.

Granted, you don't want to hire a boring preacher or teacher for your pastoral staff! However, my point is that I don't think Paul is telling us that we should look at a preacher's skill in teaching, but rather the fact that he has been teaching. Consequently, since the prospective pastoral candidate has a track-record of teaching, it becomes much easier to analyze just what he has been teaching. This then does away with the oddity of didaktikos being the only word in those lists that would not, technically, be a moral qualification.

What would this mean practically? Students in ministry, if you wish to pastor, then start teaching first! Gain experience in teaching and establish a track-record of solid doctrine. Gain a reputation as a solid expositor of God's Word (this will take time, obviously, but why not begin with primary or teen Sunday School?). As for churches: don't be dazzled by raw pedagogical skill! The flashy preacher and teacher you're considering may be hiding a lack of doctrinal soundness or, even worse, heresy.

I should note, however, that there is an alternative interpretation of didaktikos favored by my doctoral advisor David Alan Black, namely that the word means "teachable," i.e., "humble" (although I am not yet fully swayed, I did find support for this view in the writings of Cyprian of Carthage). This view would also solve the conundrum of why didaktikos would seemingly be the only word in the lists that isn't a moral qualification. The practical takeaway here would be that churches should only call potential pastors that have a track-record of humility. There is no place in the ministry for a prima donna!

The latest, greatest, survey of scholarship on the Pastoral Epistles (C. Bumgardner, in the fine tradition of I. Howard Marshall)

For years, British NT scholar I. Howard Marshall was "the Man" when it came to surveys of scholarship on 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus (while contributing a substantial amount himself). Sadly, Dr. Marshall passed away recently, but it seems the baton has been passed on [unofficially] to my good friend Charles J. ("Chuck") Bumgardner, who is studying the Pastorals under Dr. Andreas J. Köstenberger at Southeastern Seminary (and had corresponded with Dr. Marshall before he passed away).

So, the latest issue of the Southeastern Theological Review, vol. 7.2 (Winter 2016), has soon-to-be-doctor Bumgardner's "Paul's Letters to Timothy and Titus: A Literature Review (2009-2015)." Bumgardner covers commentaries (including major foreign-language commentaries), articles, and essays.  This is not just a list: Bumgardner includes plenty of comments that will give the reader excellent insight into the current debates and scholarly trends of the PE.

Bumgardner spends a significant amount of space discussing Robert Wall's new commentary (Two Horizons; written with Richard Steele), Andreas J. Köstenberger's soon-to-be-released volume in the Biblical theology for Christian Proclamation series, Michel Gourgues' French commentary, the Cornerstone commentaries by Linda Belleville and Jon Laansma, and Aída Besançon Spencer's New Covenant commentary.

In addition, my takeaways from this literature review are that the following books are very significant: 1. Rick Brannan's Second Timothy: Notes on Grammar, Syntax, and Structure, which according to Bumgardner "frequently engages Runge's discourse grammar" (which is a very important work that all Greek profs should own); 2. Dillon Thornton's Hostility in the House of God: An Investigation of the Opponents in 1 and 2 Timothy; 3. Gary Hoag's Wealth in Ancient Ephesus and the First Letter to Timothy, and 4. the collection of essays in Entrusted with the Gospel: Paul's Theology in the Pastoral Epistles (eds. Andreas J. Köstenberger and Terry Wilder), a book which I personally own and have benefitted from.

(pardon the finger)
Actually, this entire issue of Southeastern Theological Review (edited by Dr. Benjamin Merkle, under whom I also had the privilege of taking Pastoral Epistles at the doctoral level) is dedicated to the Pastoral Epistles, with another article by Bumgardner on "Kinship, Christian Kinship, and the Letters to Timothy and Titus" and those others that you can see on the photo (the one article that you can't see in the photo is by Gregory J. Stiekes, "Paul's Family of God: What Familial Language in the Pastorals Can and Cannot Tell Us about the Church").

So anyways, this is a must-have issue of Southeastern Theological Review for anybody studying or teaching the Pastoral Epistles. Keep up the good work, Chuck!

Some Resources for Studying and Teaching the Pastoral Epistles (and Some Odds and Ends)

How many professors can claim that they co-taught a class with their father? Yet this is exactly what I had the privilege of doing in December. In our 4th block (a two-week block), my father, retired missionary John Rice Himes, and I taught an upper-level college class on the Pastoral Epistles. Below are some excellent resources for studying this trio of books.

But first, some odds and ends! These past few weeks I have been working through two very unique and fascinating books. First of all, Markus Barth and Verne H. Fletcher, a long time ago and in a different era, wrote an under-recognized and sadly neglected monograph called Acquittal by Resurrection: Freedom, Law, and Justice in the Light of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1964). The book focuses on, among other things, the primacy of Christ's resurrection within the doctrine of justification (both Christ's and ours). The authors try to make their thesis apply to modern ethics, as well (though the discussion of capital punishment is, I believe, more convincing when applied directly to believers rather than society as a whole). Furthermore, the first chapter or so interacts with various modernistic views of the resurrection and does an excellent job of dismantling them (with plenty of quotable material).

Secondly, in two weeks I will begin to teach Hermeneutics, a class about which I am wildly excited (like a kid in a chocolate factory, I've been telling folks!) My textbooks are Grasping God's Word by Duvall and Hays, together with Scripture Twisting by James Sire. However, in preparation for this class, I've been reading and been greatly challenged by Peter Leithart's Deep Exegesis: The Mystery of Reading Scripture (Waco, Tex.: Baylor University Press, 2009). A couple comments. First of all, Leithart is a very good writer. Not many writers can make reading theological and biblical studies a pleasure, but Leithart does that. Secondly, Deep Exegesis is provocative: it's making me think outside my comfort zone! His treatment of Matthew's "Out of Egypt I have called my Son" citation has really made me stop and ponder. Finally, I really think Leithart takes a few good points and then overextends them. In particular, I think he needs to better nuance "meaning vs. significance" (though it is in the discussion of post-event significance that this book really gets interesting), as well as offer at least some-safe guards regarding personal interpretation. Having said that, I am very, very grateful that I got this book before I started teaching, since it's turning out to be extremely interesting and thought-provoking.

Anyways, on to the Pastorals! My own contribution to Pastorals scholarship is just one article on the imperatives in the Pastorals (Filologia Neotestamentaria vol. 23, 2010). However, I did have the privilege of taking the class at the doctoral level with Dr. Benjamin Merkle, who has published quite a bit on the topic (I especially recommend his article in Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. 121, "Are the Qualifications for Elders or Overseers Negotiable?") By the way, check out my friend Chuck Bumgardner's blog at this link Chuck is currently doing doctoral work on the pastorals under the mentorship of Dr. Andreas Köstenberger, and he quite often posts helpful material on the PE).

First off, our textbook for these college students was the very accessible Tyndale New Testament commentary by Donald Guthrie. It's a bit dated, but is still an excellent blend of accessible scholarship and theological discussiion, thus suited for Bible college students. I would recommend it to any Christians who do not have a theological degree yet are interested in studying these three books.

In addition, I highly recommended the following three commentaries to my students (these are, in my opinion, the "big three" of evangelical commentaries): William Mounce's Word Biblical Commentary (WBC); George W. Knight III's New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC); and Philip H. Towner's New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT). A close fourth (though possibly more influential) is I. Howard Marshall's International Critical Commentary (ICC). I would also mention Dr. Andreas Köstenberger's commentary in the revised Expositor's Bible Commentary.

As far as articles and monographs, in addition to Dr. Merkle's article mentioned above, I would first and foremost recommend the excellent article by John K. Goodrich, "Overseers as Stewards and the Qualifications for Leadership in the Pastoral Epistles." Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 104 (2013): 77-97. Basically Dr. Goodrich reads the lists of pastoral virtues in light of the role of the overseer in ancient Greco-Roman society. I really think he's onto something here, and I required all of the students to read and discuss it. In addition, I would draw your attention to Andrew B. Spurgeon, "1 Timothy 2:13-15: Paul's Retelling of Genesis 2:4-4:1" in JETS 56 (2013). I know, I know, "not another article on saved-through-childbearing?! When will it ever end!" Nevertheless, this one almost has me convinced. Spurgeon draws heavily from the interrelation of Adam, Eve, and God in Genesis 2 to conclude that "saved through childbearing" actually refers to the reconciliation of Adam and Eve through God's graciousness (i.e., it answers the question--why would a woman ever want to have children after the curse?) I can't do it justice in a short blog post, but it's worth reading (for me, 1 Timothy 2:15 remains "the toughest verse ever," which is why I intend to include it on next semester's Hermeneutics final exam, bwahahahahah!!).

A couple books worth mentioning, very quickly. Entrusted with the Gospel: Paul's Theology in the Pastoral Epistles, eds. by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Terry L. Wilder has a host of helpful articles by various authors. In addition, Ray Van Neste, Cohesion and Structure in the Pastoral Epistles (JSNTSup 280; London: T&T Clark, 2004) has become very influential among evangelical scholars. Finally, I would also mention George W. Knight's The Faithful Sayings in the Pastoral Epistles (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker 1979), an older but very significant monograph.