Schnabel’s new commentary on 1 Corinthians

I know I keep harping on about great books on this blog, and if I'm not careful no one will believe me anymore. But it's worth the risk this time; the new Historisch Theologische Auslegung commentary on First Corinthians, written by Eckhard J. Schnabel, is quite simply brilliant. If you have anything at all to do with 1 Corinthians, and can read German, this is a must buy.

His commentary is a delightful blend of concise yet detailed exegesis, and the 'practical application' sections appear to me, at least what I've read of them thus far, to be wise and helpful. As with all commentaries I find myself in mild disagreement at some points (such as the lack of appreciation of the covenantal backdrop to 16:22, that a 'hope' motif has been imputed into to 5:5, etc.), but this does not detract at all from this masterwork, written by a master scholar.

Click here to buy Der erste Brief des Paulus an die Korinther.

UPDATE: Another thought crosses my mind about this commentary which I should mention. I'm glad to say that Schnabel engages thoroughly with English speaking scholarship. I say this as many works printed by German publishing houses at the moment simply don't bother and are content to keep discussion within the German speaking scene (apart from some engagement with perhaps Dunn or Sanders). At the risk of turning this into a rant, I find such tendencies simply ludicrous. But Schnabel not only engages very thoroughly with English speaking material, he also plunders the rich German exegetical tradition at its best. For example, he makes good use of one of my favourite monographs on Paul to be published in recent years, namely Matthias Konradt’s Gericht und Gemeinde: Eine Studie zur Bedeutung und Funktion von Gerichtsaussagen im Rahmen der Paulinischen Ekklesiologie und Ethik im 1 Thess und 1 Kor (mentioned previously here).