Romans

Beverly Roberts Gaventa is Helen H. P. Manson Professor Emerita of New Testament Literature and Exegesis at Princeton Theological Seminary. Following her retirement at Princeton, she served as Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Baylor University. In 2016, Gaventa was president of the Society of Biblical Literature. The British Academy awarded her the Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies in 2020 for her long and distinguished contributions to New Testament scholarship. Her publications range from commentaries on the Acts of the Apostles and the Thessalonian correspondence to studies of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and explorations of maternal imagery in the letters of Paul.

"In this superb commentary, Beverly Gaventa skillfully cuts her own path through the thicket of scholarly debates about Romans, offering many fresh readings of the letter in a clear and uncluttered style. Her deep resonance with Paul and her many theological insights provide a compelling interpretation of Romans, presented in an accessible form that will be highly welcome to scholars, students, and church leaders alike."—John M.G. Barclay, Lightfoot Professor of Divinity, Durham University"This commentary offers significant understandings of the literary, historical, and theological dimensions of Paul's letter to the Romans. Romans is an occasional letter, but what does it look like to read Romans in light of the ultimate occasion of the correspondence—God’s decisive liberating action in the Christ event? In this volume, Beverly Gaventa demonstrates well what such an interpretive posture looks like. An impressive tour de force, this commentary is an invaluable contribution to Pauline studies."—Lisa M. Bowens, Associate Professor of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary"After decades of carefully viewing Paul’s Letter to the Romans through a jeweler's loupe, the celebrated New Testament scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa now holds this great document up for all to see. She turns it like a diamond in the light, allowing the literary structure, the rhetorical force, the theological depth, the social import, and other facets of Romans to flash in all their brilliance. Readers of this superb commentary will be engaged by the scholarly discussion of this letter over the centuries and they will also feel the beauty and power of Romans itself, both for its own day and in ours. In Gaventa's hands, the text of Romans is luminescent, by its own light but also through the brighter light of the gospel that shines through it."—Thomas G. Long, Bandy Professor Emeritus of Preaching, Candler School of Theology, Emory University"The fruit of a life shaped by conversation with Paul and his interpreters, Beverly Gaventa's magisterial commentary on Romans constantly surprises the reader with new insights into a letter that never gets old. With her characteristic clarity and close attention to the text, Gaventa ushers her readers into a thoroughgoing apocalyptic reading of Romans marked by theological passion and pastoral acumen. This is a must-read for every serious student of Paul and Paul's gospel."—Susan Eastman, Associate Research Professor Emerita of New Testament, Duke Divinity School"This is a landmark of contemporary biblical exegesis. Written with great economy and even greater understanding, Gaventa's commentary sparkles with insight, argument, and instruction. Here serious scholarship serves a singular purpose, namely, that we might hear again what Paul’s Roman auditors heard in his words and so confront afresh the truly urgent occasion of the apostle's letter: the advent of the redeeming power of God in the gospel of Christ Jesus. Gaventa's achievement as an interpreter of Paul places her firmly among those 'sisters of Phoebe' to whom the book is dedicated."—Philip G. Ziegler, Professor of Christian Dogmatics, University of Aberdeen"Beverly Gaventa's new commentary on Romans exemplifies what we have come to know, expect, and respect about Professor Gaventa's scholarship: careful and thorough analysis of details of the biblical text, in this case arguably the magnum opus of the Apostle Paul’s writings. Moreover, such details are consistently followed by accurate summaries of the passages and major sections of this complex letter, including regularly noting Paul’s singular focus on God’s Gospel as revealed in Christ. Gaventa provides a fresh translation of the Greek text, and invokes the historic, recent, and copious scholarship on the letter, with important and creative new approaches on key issues. A unique perspective throughout the analysis includes asking what would the original 'auditors' have heard, including as they heard the letter read to them from Paul's envoy, Phoebe of Cenchreae, to whom Professor Gaventa dedicates the volume. Gaventa on Romans is a must read for all students and scholars alike of Paul, Romans, and the New Testament."—Efrain Agosto, Bennett Boskey Distinguished Visiting Professor in Latina/o Studies, Williams College"Beverly Roberts Gaventa offers an enduring gift to those of us who cherish Paul's epistle to the Romans. By revealing the 'Christ event' as Paul's bedrock for Romans, she unearths a theological framework with myriad implications. This illuminating book is a vital resource for all who seek to teach or preach on Paul's conceptions of the Holy Spirit, the cosmos, time, the human family, and much more."—Donyelle C. McCray, Associate Professor of Homiletics, Yale Divinity School"Beverly Gaventa's commentary on Romans is a special event. It evidences, as it carefully works through Paul's text, her trademark accuracy and lucidity. And it engages the secondary literature with a masterful touch; only the most influential and helpful insights are noted and engaged. The result is a commentary that combines to an unusual degree clarity, economy, and profundity. These features of her commentary alone warrant our gratitude. What marks her reading as special for me, however, is the role played by powerful theological claims. Following in the footsteps of her mentor, Lou Martyn, the result is—although here, and finally here, for Romans—a gripping challenge from a divine word that reveals itself within history. And so the word that first challenged the Roman Christians as they listened to Paul's letter being presented by Phoebe—and also had some of its more difficult paragraphs explained—reaches out again through Gaventa's presentation to challenge its readers today, who listen to Paul by way of this signally-important, modern letter-bearer and her explanations."—Douglas A. Campbell, Professor of New Testament, Duke Divinity School"This commentary on Romans is more than a resource; it is a reading born of a sustained relationship. Beverly Gaventa's lifetime of engagement with Paul's letter results in something other than a record of possible interpretations. This is an encounter: an encounter with Romans, and also, by way of Gaventa's patient and deep historical and theological interpretation, an encounter with what Paul calls 'the power of God' that, through Romans, encounters us in the gospel of Jesus Christ."—Jonathan Linebaugh, Professor of New Testament, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University