Robert L. Brawley

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“I hope to be among the first to acknowledge the significant advances Gowler makes. Although Jack Sanders and I attempted to integrate literary and historical approaches, our methodology was naive in comparison with Gowler's socio-narratology. The significance of Gowler's socio-narratological approach can hardly be exaggerated. It will be indispensable for future studies of characters and characterization in the Gospels and Acts.”

Paul and the Politics of Difference

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Unequivocally constructive, this exposition centers on Paul's resolution of Jewish-Gentile difference. Lee shapes an interpretive worldview creatively but critically from feminism, postmodernism, postcolonialism, minjung theology, and ancient meal practices. Her innovative reading of Galatians and Romans through this perspective produces a compelling challenge for equality with difference--a challenge to ponder to the utmost. This is a must for collateral reading for Paul and Jewish-Gentile difference, and for human life together.”

The Arrogance of Nations, paperback edition

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Elliott demonstrates skillfully and boldly how indispensable the Roman Empire is for interpreting Romans. He synthesizes an impressive array of historical data with wide-ranging political and ideological theory, challenges deceptions on the part of imperial propaganda (ancient and modern) that suppresses the truth, and makes eye-opening correlations with contemporary realities of empire. Even interpreters with different perspectives need to dialogue seriously with this book.”

The Irony of Galatians

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Like a judge hearing a case of domestic conflict and ferreting out the issues, Mark Nanos gives a rigorous, fair-minded assessment of a Jewish context for Galatians and of Paul's engagement as a Jew with both Jews and Gentiles in that context. In the service of his historical construal, he adeptly employs rhetoric, genre criticism, literary theory, the social sciences, philology, and comparative history of religions. The result is a sensitive reading of how Paul, the Galatians, and the influencers variously seek understandings of identity in terms of who is included in the people of God, which is also a question of how marginalized people find a place of belonging in a dominant in-group. Even the most venturesome aspects of his thesis will demand serious attention from other scholars.”