142 - Reading Corinthians: A Literary and Theological Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians

Reading Corinthians: A Literary and Theological Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians

By Charles H. Talbert
New York, Crossroad, 1987. 188 pp. $17.95.

The major contribution of this new volume from Charles Talbert, professor of religion at Wake Forest University, consists not in the novelty of its insights into the Corinthian correspondence, but in its presentation of Paul's relationship with Christians at Corinth. Neither a technical synthesis of contemporary research nor a popularized introduction, Reading Corinthians combines a close reading of the text with many references to Jewish and to Greco-Roman literature. The book will be especially appropriate for students to use as a supplement to standard commentaries.

Talbert intends this book to be used by lay people and pastors, but such readers will find the references to noncanonical literature bewildering, especially since neither a methodological statement nor a table of abbreviations explains what these references are or why they are relevant. The absence of an explanation is especially serious in the case of rabbinic literature, which Talbert cites as if it were contemporary with the New Testament. While these are shortcomings that need to be addressed, the venture itself is to be commended.

Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Columbia Seminary, Decatur, Ga.