Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary

by Harold W. Hoehner

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2002

Overview

For the past 30 years, Harold Hoehner has trained thousands of seminarians in the art of New Testament exegesis. He now brings his skill and experience to this commentary on Ephesians—a commentary that no serious student can afford to ignore.

Hoehner begins with a helpful introduction to the letter of Ephesians in which he addresses issues of authorship, structure and genre, historical setting, purpose, and theology. At the end of the introduction, the author includes a detailed bibliography for further reading. Hoehner then delves into the text of Ephesians, verse-by-verse, offering the Greek text, English translation, and detailed commentary. He interacts extensively with the latest scholarship and provides a fair and thorough discussion of every disputed point in the book.

Pastors, students, and scholars looking for a comprehensive treatment on Ephesians will be interested in this commentary. Hoehner’s interaction with the latest scholarship combined with his detailed exegesis will make this new commentary the only resource they will need to consult.

Key Features

• Contains ample commentary in conjunction with in-depth word analysis
• Provides an extensive bibliography
• Examines the authorship, structure, genre, historical setting, purpose, and theology of Ephesians

Contents

• Commentary on Ephesians
  • The Calling of the Church
    • Praise for God’s Planned Spiritual Blessings
    • Prayer for Wisdom and Revelation
    • New Position Individually
    • New Position Corporately
    • Parenthetical Expansion of the Mystery
    • Prayer for Strengthened Love
  • The Conduct of the Church
    • Walk in Unity
    • Walk in Holiness
    • Walk in Love
    • Walk in Light
    • Walk in Wisdom
    • Stand in Warfare
    • Conclusion
• Excursuses
  • Textual Problem in Ephesians
  • Views and Structures of Ephesians
  • In Christ
  • Election
  • A Study of πληʹρωμα
  • Mystery
  • Household Code
  • Slavery in Paul’s Time

Top Highlights

“Hence, the translation ‘of any kind’ captures this idea. Because the term ‘sexual immorality’ immediately precedes it, some may hold that ‘impurity’ has reference strictly to sexual impurity but it is preferable to consider it as all sorts of impurity as in 4:19.” (Page 652)

“Ephesians has the earliest attestation of any NT book” (Page 2)

“Certainly one theme on which most commentators agree is unity.” (Page 102)

“It is probably best to see it as a metaphorical expression of redemption with the imagery of the bridal bath practiced in the first century.” (Page 753)

“best to accept both of these imperatives as commands” (Page 620)

Endorsements

This book tops the list of important new works on the crucial Epistle to the Ephesians. . . . None can challenge the erudition and sheer quantity of research that Hoehner demonstrates in this commentary. . . . It presents a model of careful exegesis from which any serious reader can profit.

—Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

Hoehner has placed all students of Ephesians in his debt with this meticulous, exhaustive, and seasoned commentary on one of Paul’s richest letters. Hoehner’s interaction with the secondary literature on Ephesians is encyclopedic, yet he keeps his exegetical discussion focused and clear. The result is a commentary that no pastor or scholar can afford to be without.

—Frank Thielman, Presbyterian professor of divinity New Testament, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

This thorough, thoughtful, and comprehensive commentary, the product of a lifetime of research and teaching, is marked by clarity, insight, and interaction with a broad array of scholarship. It is a ‘best buy’ that will fully repay the attention of all students of the New Testament.

—E. Earle Ellis, emeritus research professor of theology, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Hoehner’s Ephesians not only cites the best advice and information in standard works on this letter but also carefully sifts the evidence and offers judicious conclusions. All other commentaries can be put in storage for retrieval as needed.

—Frederick William Danker, emeritus professor, Lutheran School of Theology

I have anxiously anticipated this commentary since the early 1980s, and it is no disappointment. Hoehner has now produced the most detailed and comprehensive treatment of Ephesians ever written. The volume is well organized, clearly written, and very useful for in-depth study of the letter. It is now the indispensable standard for courses on Ephesians.

—Clinton E. Arnold, professor of New Testament language and literature, Talbot School of Theology

This is quite simply the most massive and meticulously detailed commentary on Ephesians to date—with the strongest defense of the case that the author was truly Paul and that the letter was indeed written to Ephesus. Virtually every textual, lexical, grammatical-semantic, and historical issue has been scrutinized and is informed by a comprehensive coverage of the vast relevant primary and secondary literature.

—Max Turner, emeritus professor of New Testament, London School of Theology

Product Details

• Title: Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary
• Author: Harold W. Hoehner
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2002
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Pages: 960
• Era: era:modern
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. N.T. Ephesians › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9781441255723, 9780801026140, 1441255729, 0801026148
• Resource ID: LLS:PHSNSNXGTCLCMM
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:13:19Z

About Harold W. Hoehner

Harold W. Hoehner (1935–2009) was an American biblical scholar and served as the distinguished professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, where he taught for more than 30 years. He was well known for his work on biblical chronology, outlined in Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, and was also influential in his approach to biblical exegesis. Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary is considered by many to be his greatest book and one of the most comprehensive works on Ephesians to date. Dr. Hoehner also wrote for many scholarly journals and served on several Bible translation teams.