COMMENTARIES ON EPHESIANS

In an earlier post titled “Bible Commentaries and Dictionaries” I discussed in a rather general way these aids to reading the Bible intelligently. Now I would like to zero in one particular book of the Bible to show how the different approaches to commenting on Scripture play out in practice.

Amount of detail

It is rather obvious that an entry on Ephesians in a standard Bible dictionary cannot go into nearly as much detail regarding that epistle as can a full-length commentary on that book alone. Thus concerning Ephesians, we run the gamut from a 3-1/2 page entry by Marcus Barth in The Oxford Companion to the Bible to the same author's two-volume, 1,200+ page Anchor Bible commentary on the same subject. It all depends on how much depth one wishes to go into as to which extreme (or something in between) better fits your particular needs.

As a general rule, I have found that many modern commentary series tend to have begun as simple introductions for the general reader, but soon morphed into longer and longer, as well as more and more detailed, tomes seemingly better suited for pastors and other professional Bible scholars. It certainly is the case for both the Anchor Bible and New International Commentaries on the Old and New Testaments. For example, the NICNT commentary on Ephesians began in 1957 with the publication of a 300-page book covering both Ephesians and Colossians. But it was supplanted within the series in 2020 by a commentary on Ephesians alone by Cohick which weighed in at well over 500 pages.

Whereas a stand-alone commentary on Ephesians can afford to cover almost every important subject related to that epistle in detail, one- or two-volume commentaries on the Bible contain much more limited space. Nevertheless, most competent authors will use that restricted space wisely and manage to cover, if only briefly, basic introductory matter such as authorship, historical context, main themes, and organization before beginning their verse-by-verse analysis and explanation.

 Emphasis

It also turns out that each individual commentator tends to have his own pet area of interest, which is bound to be reflected in the relative amount of space spent discussing that particular aspect of any biblical book. Again, taking Ephesians as an example, consider Harold Hoehner's massive, 900-page commentary on this book. In discussing the sixteen verses of Ephesians 4 alone, as just one example, he expends 80 pages of text. These include over 300 quite detailed footnotes listing additional resources, both ancient and modern, one might want to consult for other information on the verses in question. Other professional Bible scholars today would probably greatly appreciate such references to these often obscure sources, but it is highly doubtful that a general reader would really go to all the trouble of trying to locate the writings of St. Cyril or Chrysostom just in order to find out what they have to say on a given subject.

But what about Marcus Barth's detailed commentary? It also contains some quite long footnotes, but in contrast to Hoehner's these do not merely list a compendium of additional resources. Instead, they go into detail concerning exactly what these sources actually say so that one does not have to take the time to dig up the original writings.

In addition, Barth includes a series of essays on particular subjects brought up by the Scriptural text in question. Concerning Ephesians 4, after his verse-by-verse comments on this chapter he appends fifty pages of essays on eight specific subjects ranging from “The Indictment of the Gentiles” to “Truth in Jesus” to “The Sin Against the Spirit.” Personally, I find these much more enlightening than a mere bibliographic listing.

Theology

As I have probably mentioned before, most general readers are generally somewhat suspicious regarding the denominational background of the author of a commentary, and this is understandable. But in practice it turns out that, with some notable exceptions, serious Bible scholars of quite diverse theological backgrounds tend to a large extent to agree with one other more than one would think. Instead, the biggest differences seem to be between the liberal and conservative wings of Christianity than, for example, the differences between Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics.

Consider the comments in Father R.E. Brown's Introduction to the New Testament. His not very surprising opinion is that Ephesians exemplifies “the initial stages of high ecclesiology, sacramentalism, hierarchy, ordination, and dogma – in short the beginning of the distinctive features of Catholic Christianity.” But not so expected by many readers is the fact that Brown also agrees with most liberal scholars in denying that Paul was the author of this work.

Moving to the more conservative compilation The New Bible Dictionary, F.F. Bruce, the noted evangelical author of the article on Ephesians, readily admits that there are objections raised against Pauline authorship and even goes to the length of fairly presenting the main five problem areas that have been raised. But in spite of that, he remains fully confident that Paul is indeed the author and refers the reader to other resources which refute these objections. And if one were to consult the even more conservative commentaries designed for a popular audience, you should not be surprised at all if the subject of Pauline authorship is not even discussed or questioned at all. In addition, these sorts of popular writings generally tend to avoid any controversial subjects whatsoever, but only what they feel might bolster the readers up in the faith and not cause them any distress they might feel in encountering unfamiliar ideas.

Moritz, writing in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, contains a 4-page summary of the major theological thought in Ephesians, divided into categories such as “Celebrating divine grace,” “The Spirit as the seal of salvation,” “Grace, election and salvation,” and “Walking in Christ.” In the section discussing “Heaven as an expression of divine kingship,” for example, he cites Ephesians 1:3,10,20; 2:6; 3:10,14-15; and 6:12 and discusses what each of these passages has to say regarding that subject.

Early Translations and Commentaries

If you go on the Internet looking for free access to commentaries available there, you will most likely find several to choose between, all written a century or more ago. There are several problems you will encounter in trying to utilize them as your main sources of information regarding a book like Ephesians. In the first place, they will all be based on the King James translation, which has been shown to be much less accurate in rendering the meaning of the original Greek text than most modern translations in a number of places.

Secondly, KJV is written in the English language of 1611, and therefore its original meaning can be easily misunderstood. That same factor also works against the older commentators in the often stilted (to our ears) language with which they express their comments.

As one random example taken from Matthew Henry's 1710 commentary on Ephesians, here is his introduction to Ephesians 1:3-14: “He begins with thanksgivings and praise, and enlarges with a great deal of fluency and copiousness of affection upon the exceedingly great and precious benefits which we enjoy by Jesus Christ. For the great privileges of our religion are very aptly recounted and enlarged upon in our praises to God.” Not every Bible student could readily understand these words at first reading.

Specialized Dictionaries and Commentaries

These resources are often ignored by those wishing to know more about a portion of Scripture they are reading. What one might lose in terms of a comprehensive understanding, is often gained in terms of how they enlighten the reader concerning one particular aspect of the text. Below are a few examples:

Word Studies These come in all sizes, from a one-volume book by W.E. Vine to multi-volume sets. Thus, Vine lists seven types of occasions in which the Greek word eirene (“peace”) is used in the New Testament. One of these types refers to “the harmonized relationships between God and man, accomplished through the gospel, Acts 10:36; Eph. 2:17.” With such information, one can (a) compare those two passages for content or (b) contrast Ephesians 2:17 with the other types of 'peace' illustrated in the New Testament.

At the other extreme is the 3-volume Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Its 7-page entry on eirene begins with a listing of all the Greek words derived from it, what it meant in classical Greek as well as in the Greek translations of the OT and early Jewish literature before moving onto a listing of six different nuances to the word along with most of the NT passages containing it.

The author places Ephesians 4:23, along with Acts 7:26 and Galatians 5:22, into the category relating to harmony among men. “Hence the word can describe both the content and the goal of all Christian preaching, the message itself being called 'the gospel of peace' (Eph. 6:15; cf. Acts 10:36; Eph. 2:17). In other words, the biblical concept of peace (from salom) is primarily that of wholeness.”

But in addition, Ephesians 1:2 and 6:23 can be included under the category in which eirene is “opposed to akatastasia, disorder; peace is an order established by God as the God of peace.”

Finally, relating to a third category, “Peace, in the sense of wholeness both for men and the world (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15), brings a newness to human relationships...God in Christ has come preaching peace” as in Ephesians 2:17.

Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics contains an index which contains roughly 200 different listings to passages within Ephesians. These include everything from overviews of the whole book to detailed discussions of specific ethical issues about which Ephesians has something to say. I picked one of these listings at random and it turned out to be a general introduction to the book by Sumney which states, “Ephesians addresses a more general audience and a less specific situation than any of the undisputed Pauline Letters. By its time, arguments about the place of gentiles in the church had cooled, so the letters emphasis on unity is less polemical than what we find in Galatians. The arguments in Ephesians remain so general that many see it as kind of circular letter. Its emphasis on unity makes Ephesians a letter than focuses on innerecclesial relations. This ecclesial focus dominates the ethical outlook of Ephesians.”

Hard Sayings of the Bible, as its title implies, concentrates only on those individual statements which its authors feel are most likely to be misunderstood or confusing to the reader. So, regarding the Epistle to the Ephesians specifically, there are short essays attempting to explain what 4:9-10 meant by talking about Christ ascending and descending; the submission of wives in 5:22; and whether Paul approved of slavery (6:5-8). As you can see, it is a commentary which is quite restricted in scope, but one which may be very useful to those puzzled by what Ephesians may say at a given point. This is in contrast to those commentaries which seem to purposefully steer away from a discussion on any controversial issue.

Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy would appear on the surface to be a poor source of information regarding a book like Ephesians. However, its author, J. Barton Payne, manages to identify seven different verses in this epistle referring to prophecies, whether fulfilled in the past or in events yet to come. To each of these, he assigns a number corresponding to one of the specific chronological ages he lists, ranging from the Primeval-Patriarchal Era (#1) to the inauguration of the New Jerusalem (#17). Thus, we have Ephesians 2:12 referring to Period #13 (Life of Christ); 1:13 assigned to Period # 14 (Establishment of the Church); 1:14, 4:30, 5:14 and 5:27 to #15 (Christ's Second Coming); and 1:18 and 1:21 to #16 (The Millennium). Of course, if one were to ask a amillennialist or a dispensationsalist to go though the same exercise, a quite different set of assignments would probably result.

Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is another rich source of information regarding the various hyperbolas, similes, metaphors, etc. present in the Bible. Through the indices at the back of the book, one can search by either Scripture verse or subject. There are actually over 250 specific references to the various images in the book of Ephesians which can be found here.

Picking up on just one such image, that of exclusion, in Ephesians 2:11-13, the anonymous author of one article says, “The Gentile audience was formerly scorned as 'uncircumcision' (akrobystia) by those who proudly called themselves 'the circumcision' (peritome, Eph 2:11). They were 'without Christ; that is, they were outside of the chosen people in whom the Messiah, the true king and deliverer of Israel , was rooted. They were 'separated from the commonwealth of Israel,' like impoverished outsiders who gazed longingly across the border at the privileged people in their fair land. They were 'aliens to the covenants of promise;' having no access to the series of historic divine transactions that promised the blessings of a true humanity...They were 'without hope and without God (atheioi) in the world.' a people separated from the Creator and covenant God, listless vagabonds upon the earth with no future worth living for. Viewed from the ramparts of Zion, they were 'far off' (Eph 2:13), over the horizon. These images form a picture of irrevocable exclusion, of particularized privilege, of clearly marked insiders and outsiders.”

Other less obvious sources of information regarding Ephesians are discussed in Part 2 of this post.