A Basic New Testament Bibliography
Andrew T. Dolan, Ph.D. Cand.
June 1999
Recommended Translations
New American Bible
New Revised Standard Version
Oxford Study Bible [REB w/ Apocrypha; good for its articles]
Recommended Commentaries
Anchor Bible (AB) Commentary Series
Black’s NT Commentary Series
Collegeville Bible Commentary (one volume)
New Jerome Biblical Commentary (NJBC; one volume)
The Pelican NT Commentaries
Sacra Pagina Series, gen. ed., Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.
Principle English nt Journals
Bible Review (BR; somewhat popular)
Bible Today (BT; popular, pastoral)
Catholic Biblical Quarterly (CBQ; high-quality scholarship)
Interpretation (Int; short, popular, often pastoral biblical articles)
Journal for the Study of the New Testament (JSNT; high-quality scholarship)
Journal of Biblical Literature (JBL; high-quality scholarship)
Journal of Theological Studies (JTS; high-quality scholarship, some NT, some
English)
New Testament Abstracts (NTA; categorized summaries of all nt articles and
books)
New Testament Studies (NTS; high-quality scholarship)
Novum Testamentum (NovT; high-quality scholarship)
Theological Studies (TS; sometimes with nt articles)
Gospel of Mark
Achtemeier, Paul J. Mark. Proclamation Commentaries. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975.
Aune, David E. "The Problem of the Messianic Secret." NovT 11 (1969): 1-31.
Best, Ernest. Disciples and Discipleship: Studies in the Gospel According to Mark. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1986.
____. Following Jesus: Discipleship in Gospel of Mark. JSNTSup 4. Sheffield, U.K.: JSOT Press, 1981.
——. "The Role of the Disciples in Mark." NTS 23 (1977): 377-401.
Cranfield, C. E. B. The Gospel According to Saint Mark: An Introduction and Commentary. Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1963.
Hooker, Morna. The Gospel According to Saint Mark. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991.
Juel, Donald H. Mark. Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1990.
Kelber, Werner H. Mark’s Story of Jesus. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979
——, ed. The Passion in Mark. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1976.
Kingsbury, Jack Dean. The Christology of Mark’s Gospel. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983.
——. "The Significance of the Cross Within Mark’s Story," Interpretation 47 (1993): 370-379.
Mann, C. S. Mark: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. AB 27. Garden City: Doubleday, 1986.
Nineham, D. E. Saint Mark. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1963 [reprinted with minor revisions, 1969].
Powell, Mark Allen. "Toward a Narrative-Critical Understanding of Mark," Interpretation 47 (1993): 341-346.
Tuckett, Christopher. The Messianic Secret. Issues in Religion and Theology 1. Philadelphia: Fortress; London: SPCK, 1983.
Gospel of Matthew
Albright, William F. and C. S. Mann. Matthew: Introduction, Translation, and Notes. AB 26. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971.
Beare, F. W. The Gospel According to Matthew: Translation, Introduction, and Commentary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1982..
Bauer, D. R. The Structure of Matthew’s Gospel. A Study in Literary Design. Sheffield, U.K.: Almond, 1988.
Davies, W. D. The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount. New York-London: Cambridge University Press, 1964.
_____ and Dale C. Allison. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Vol. 1, Introduction and Commentary on Matthew 1-VII. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1988.
_____. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Vol. 2, Commentary on Matthew VIII-XVIII. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1991.
_____. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Vol. 3, Commentary on Matthew XIX-XXVIII. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1997.
Garland, David E. Reading Matthew: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the First Commentary. New York: Crossroad, 1993.
Gundry, R. H. Matthew: A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church under Persecution. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994.
_____. Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985.
Hare, Douglas R. A. Matthew. Louisville: Knox, 1993.
Harrington, Daniel J., S.J. Matthew. Sacra Pagina 1. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991.
Hill, David. The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981.
Kingsbury, Jack Dean. Matthew. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986.
——. Matthew: Structure, Christology, Kingdom. rev. ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1989.
——. Matthew As Story. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988.
Luz, Ulrich. Matthew 1-7. A Commentary. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1989.
Meier, John P. The Gospel According to Matthew. New York: Sadlier, 1983.
____. Law and History in Matthew’s Gospel. A Redactional Study of Mt. 5:17-48. Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1976.
——. Matthew. Wilmington: Glazier, 1980.
——. The Vision of Matthew: Christ, Church and Morality in the First Gospel. New York: Paulist, 1979.
Overman, J. Andrew. Church and Community in Crisis. The Gospel According to Matthew. Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1996.
____. Matthew’s Gospel and Formative Judaism: The Social World of the Matthean Community. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1990.
Patte, Daniel. The Gospel According to Matthew. A Structural Commentary on Matthew's Faith. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987.
Saldarini, Anthony J. Matthew's Christian-Jewish Community. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Matthew. Atlanta: Knox, 1975.
Senior, Donald. What Are They Saying about Matthew? New York-Ramsey, N.J.: Paulist, 1983.
Gospel of Luke
Conzelmann, Hans. The Theology of St. Luke. New York: Harper & Bros., 1960.
Danker, Frederick W. Jesus and the New Age: A Commentary on Saint Luke's Gospel. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988.
Ellis, E. E. The Gospel of Luke. New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981.
Evans, Craig A. Luke. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1990.
——. Saint Luke. Trinity Press International nt Commentaries. London: SCM; Philadelphia: Trinity, 1990.
Fitzmyer, Joseph A. The Gospel According to Luke. 2 vols. Anchor Bible 28, 28a. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981, 1985.
Johnson, Luke Timothy. The Gospel of Luke. Sacra Pagina 3. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991.
Marshall, I. Howard. The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.
Ringe, Sharon H. Luke. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1995.
Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Luke. Atlanta: Knox, 1984.
Talbert, C. H. Reading Luke: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Third Gospel. New York: Crossroad, 1982.
Tannehill, Robert C. Luke. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996.
Tiede, David L. Luke. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1988.
Gospel of John
Barrett, C. K. The Gospel According to St. John: An Introduction with Commentary and Notes on the Greek Text. 2d ed. Philadelphia: Westminster; London: SPCK, 1978.
Borgen, Peder. "God’s Agent in the Fourth Gospel." In The Interpretation of John, ed., John Ashton, 67-78. Issues in Religion and Theology 9. SPCK: London; Fortress Press: Philadelphia, 1986. (Originally in Jacob Neusner, ed., Religions in Antiquity [Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1968], 137-48).
Bratcher, R. J. "‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John." The Bible Translator 26 (1975): 401-9.
Brown, Raymond E. The Community of the Beloved Disciple. New York: Paulist, 1979.
——. The Gospel According to John. 2 vols. Anchor Bible 29, 29a. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966, 1977.
Bultmann, Rudolf. The Gospel of John: A Commentary. Eng. trans. G. R. Beasley Murray, et al. Philadelphia: Westminster; Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1971.
Carson, D. A. "Understanding Misunderstandings in the Fourth Gospel." Tyndale Bulletin 33 (1982): 59-61.
Culpepper, R. Alan. Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel: A Study in Literary Design. nt Foundations and Facets. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983.
de Jonge, Marinus. "The Beloved Disciple and the Date of the Gospel of John." In Text and Interpretation: Studies in the nt presented to Matthew Black, ed. Ernest Best and R. McL. Wilson, 99-114. Cambridge: University Press, 1979.
——. Jesus: Stranger from Heaven and Son of God: Jesus Christ and the Christians in Johannine Perspective. SBLSBS 11. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1977.
Dodd, C. H. Historical Tradition in the Gospel of John. New York and Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1963.
——. The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1953.
Haenchen, Ernst. The Gospel According to John. 2 vols. Hermeneia Commentary. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984.
Kysar, Robert. John, The Maverick Gospel. Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1976.
——. John’s Story of Jesus. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress, 1984.
——. The Fourth Evangelist and His Gospel: An Examination of Contemporary Scholarship. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1975.
Martyn, J. Louis. History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel. New York: Harper & Row, 1968; rev. ed., Nashville: Abingdon, 1979.
Meeks, Wayne A. "The Man from Heaven in Johannine Sectarianism," JBL 91 (1972) 44-72.
Schnackenburg, Rudolf. The Gospel According to John. 3 vols. New York: Herder and Herder.
Smith, D. Moody. John. Proclamation Commentaries. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1976.
——. "John and the Synoptics: Some Dimensions of the Problem." NTS 27 (1980): 425-44.
——. Johannine Christianity: Essays on its Setting, Sources, and Theology. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 1984.
Talbert, Charles H. "The Myth of the Descending-Ascending Redeemer in Mediterranean Antiquity." NTS 22 (1976): 418-40.
Acts of the Apostles
Haenchen, Ernst. The Acts of the Apostles. A Commentary. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1971. (1965 Ger. orig.) The most thorough English commentary on Acts.
Johnson, Luke Timothy. The Acts of the Apostles. Sacra Pagina 5. Collegeville, Minn. : Liturgical Press, 1992.
Paul
Pauline Theology
Gaston, Lloyd. Paul and the Torah. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1987. [Explains Paul on nomos (law, Torah), Jews, and Gentiles.]
Hays, Richard B. "Pistis and Pauline Christology: What Is at Stake?" Society of Biblical Literature 1991 Seminar Papers. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1991.
See also Stowers (below)
Romans
Dunn, James D. G. Romans. 2 vols. 1988.
Fitzmyer, Joseph. Romans. AB 33A. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1993.
Stowers, Stanley K. A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1994. +
Galatians
Dunn, James D. G. The Epistle to the Galatians. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1993.
Martyn, J. Louis. Galatians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. AB33a. New York: Doubleday, 1997.
Matera, Frank J. Galatians. Sacra Pagina. Collegeville, MN: Glazier, 1992. +
Revelation
Aune, David E. Revelation 1-5. Word Biblical Commentary 52A. Dallas: Word, 1997.
-----. Revelation 6-16. Word Biblical Commentary 52B. Nashville: Nelson, 1998.
Beale, G. K. The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999. [Working knowledge of Greek helpful but not necessary. Together with Aune’s commentary, Beale’s NIGTC is a long awaited successor to Charles.]
Charles, Robert Henry. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John. International Critical Commentary. 2 vols. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1920. [Exegetical detail, the best.]
Giblin, C. H. The Book of Revelation: The Open Book of Prophecy. GNS 34. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press/Michael Glazier, 1991.
Schüssler Fiorenza, Elizabeth. The Book of Revelation: Justice and Judgment. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress, 1985.
Thompson, Leonard. The Book of Revelation: Apocalypse and Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. [challenges consensus on Domitianic persecution; see Beale for a brief, but helpful and on target, response to some of Thompson’s arguments]
Yarbro Collins, Adela. "The Apocalypse (Revelation)." In The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, 996-1016. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990.
——. The Combat Myth in the Book of Revelation. HDR 9. Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1976.
Women in the nt and earliest Christianity *
Kraemer, Ross. Her Share of the Blessings. Women’s Religions among Pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Greco-Roman World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Kraemer, Ross, ed. Maenads, Martyrs, Matrons, and Monastics. A Sourcebook on Women’s Religions in the Greco-Roman World. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988.
Schüssler Fiorenza, Elizabeth. In Memory of Her. A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins. New York: Crossroad, 1983.
——, ed. Searching the Scriptures. A Feminist Commentary. New York: Crossroad, 1994
Historical Jesus*
Original Quest
Schweitzer, Albert. The Quest of the Historical Jesus. A Critical Study of Its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede. New York: Macmillan, 1964. [German, 1906].
Weiss, J. Jesus’ Proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Philadelphia, 1971 [German original, 1892].
Wrede, Wilhelm. Das Mesiasgeheimnis in den Evangelien (The Messianic Secret [Greenwood, SC, 1971]).
New Quest
Bornkamm, Gunter. Jesus of Nazareth. New York, 1960.
Käsemann, Ernst. "The Problem of the Historical Jesus." In Essays on New Testament Themes, 15-47. SBT 41. London, 1964.
Perrin, Norman. Rediscovering the Teaching of Jesus. London, 1967.
——. Jesus and the Language of the Kingdom. Philadelphia, 1976.
Robinson, J. M. A New Quest of the Historical Jesus. SBT 25. London, 1959.
Post New Quest +
Meier, John P. "Jesus." In The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, 1316-1328. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990.
——. A Marginal Jew. Rethinking the Historical Jesus. Vol. 1, The Roots of the Problem and the Person. New York: Doubleday, 1991.
——. A Marginal Jew. Rethinking the Historical Jesus. Vol. 2, Mentor, Message, and Miracles. New York: Doubleday, 1994.
Meyer, Ben F. The Aims of Jesus. London: SCM, 1979.
Sanders, E. P. Jesus and Judaism. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985.
The Empty Tomb, Appearance Narratives, and Resurrection
Brown, Raymond E. The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus. New York: Paulist, 1973.
Collins, Adela Yarbro. "The Empty Tomb in the Gospel According to Mark." In Hermes and Athena. Biblical Exegesis and Philosophical Theology, ed. E. Stump and T. P. Flint, 107-140. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1993.
Craig, William C. "The Historicity of the Empty Tomb of Jesus" NTS 31.1 (January 1985): 53.
Davis, Stephen T. "Was Jesus Raised Bodily?" Christian Scholar’s Review 14.2 (1985): 140-152.
Fuller, Reginald. The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1970.
Lindar, Barnabas. "Jesus Risen: Bodily Resurrection But No Empty Tomb." Theology 89.728 (March 1986): 90-91.
Perkins, Pheme. Resurrection: New Testament Witness and Contemporary Reflection. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1984.
Infancy Narratives
Brown, Raymond E. The Birth of the Messiah. A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke. Rev. ed. New York: Doubleday, 1994.
Christology *
Brown, Raymond E. Introduction to New Testament Christology. Paulist Press, 1993/4.
Dunn, James D. G. Christology in the Making: A New Testament Inquiry into the Origins of the Doctrine of the Incarnation. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1980.
nt Figures
Brown, Raymond E., Karl P. Donfried, and John Reumann, eds. Peter in the New Testament. New York: Paulist; Philadelphia: Fortress; London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1979.
Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Karl P. Donfried, and John Reumann, eds. Mary in the New Testament. New York: Paulist; Philadelphia: Fortress; London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1979.*
Christian Pacifism *
Cahill, Lisa Sowle. Love Your Enemies: Discipleship, Pacifism, and Just War Theory. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994.
Horsley, Richard A. "Ethics and Exegesis: ‘Love Your Enemies’ and the Doctrine of Non-Violence." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 54.1 (1991): 3-31.
* In addition, see supplementary area bibliographies (available upon request)
+ Highly recommended
Also see my hyperlinks pages for New Testament, Early Judaism and Christianity, Classics and Ancient Studies, Online Biblical Studies Journals and General Biblical Studies and Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Hyperlinks will be added to this bibliography over the next few months.