With shelves already crammed full, anyone who writes yet another commentary must provide some compelling justification: can there really be anything (usefully) new in commentary writing? Craig S. Keener, in his Bible Background Commentary on the NT, answers that question with a resounding ‘yes’.

Most commentaries seek to answer lexical, textual or theological questions—or some combination thereof. Others employ a new(er) methodology, like sociological or narrative criticism, to provide a fresh reading of the biblical text. Still others read like running scholarly marginalia on the history of academic exegesis (rather than casting light on the ancient Scriptures). Keener’s effort is unique: he takes historical and cultural material, information normally found collected in standard NT introductions or investigations of Hellenistic Judaism, and allows it to inform the biblical text directly. It would not be unfair to say that what Strack and Billerbeck did for Rabbinic Judaism and the NT, Keener has done for historical-cultural information and the NT. This commentary does not purport to analyse the words, structure or even theology of a given NT book; in fact, according to Keener, discussions of these sort have been intentionally kept to a minimum.

Keener defends his commentary by arguing that much cultural information was available to first-century hearers and readers—information which was by and large taken for granted—which is simply not available to us today. If we are to understand the cultural significance of anything said or done within the NT, then we need a commentary focused directly upon elucidating the cultural context of a given word or deed.

Keener thus devotes the bulk of his 841 pages to a verse-by-verse (or two verses at most) discussion of the relevant ‘background’ on each of the NT’s 27 books. Keener prefaces this commentary with a list of abbreviations, a discussion on how to use the commentary and a brief defence for a commentary of this sort (pp. 1–37). He helpfully appends a glossary and a selection of maps and charts (pp. 822–842). Within the commentary Keener begins the sections on the four Gospels and the NT letters with a few pages of general comments (pp. 38–42 and 407–410 respectively). Each book of the NT also receives its own introduction. Keener breaks the biblical text of each NT book into paragraph/pericope units (roughly equivalent to the divisions of the United Bible Societies or Nestle-Aland Greek text) to which he has added his own (somewhat idiosyncratic) headings. Specifically, Keener anticipates what historical-cultural questions a given reader may have about a particular verse and then tries to answer them.

For example, the comments on the call of Philip at John 1:43 helpfully inform the reader that in Graeco-Roman philosophical tradition it was rare that teachers called their own followers and that normally students or parents selected their teachers. Or, on the phrase ‘very eyes’ at Galatians 3:1, Keener places Paul’s comments squarely within Graeco-Roman rhetoric: ‘Good public speakers were known for their dramatic gestures and vivid accounts, enacting before their audience the very events they narrated’ (p. 524). Clearly the commentary is at its best when the verse in question turns on some background issue.

It is nearly impossible to imagine that one person could have compiled all the information contained within this volume. But Keener has not simply compiled material; he has mastered it. From beginning to end, the reader will read, and read with confidence. Keener has relentlessly applied his criterion of finding something culturally relevant to the verse(s) in question. The reader, never suspecting that something lurking in the background of the text would be so important, is pleasurably surprised by the information Keener provides. Thus, one of the book’s many virtues is the measured way Keener moves through the NT—every verse receives some coverage.

As a deeply committed and practising Christian, Keener intends the commentary to be practical for those who preach, teach and try to live the NT. At every turn of the page, those who treasure the Bible will find something new and valuable. Although Keener hopes the book will be a devotional resource, I suspect that the volume will more likely be consulted as a reference tool for teaching and preaching.

The book does have its weaknesses. Sometimes Keener can’t resist providing his own interpretation of a passage, and, at these points, this commentary looks and behaves just like other commentaries. Sometimes it is not at all evident that there is anything in the background which would aid the interpreter in his or her pursuit of the text. Although Keener did not use any footnotes (no doubt a device for keeping an 800-page book to 800 pages!), I wonder if there isn’t some limited use of notations which would guide the reader to the primary sources. (I oftentimes wondered to which primary sources Keener was referring or from what secondary sources he gleaned his historical information.) Further, due to space, Keener could only tantalize (and thus ultimately frustrate) the reader with but a cultural morsel.

Despite his admission that context, rather than culture, is the more important hermeneutical key for reading the NT, Keener’s commentary convinces that the project of consciously relating the NT to the cultural practices common among people in the Graeco-Roman period was worthwhile. It is to Keener’s credit that he has not only provided the serious Bible student a valuable, one-volume, academic resource for preaching and teaching, but he has done so in such a fashion that the power of the text to foster spirituality has not been stifled. Keener has helped both the scholar and the church with his commentary.