Thirty years ago, Hans Dieter Betz first published his Hermeneia commentary on Galatians. The Hermeneia series was still relatively young in the late 1970s, and all of its volumes were translations of earlier German commentaries. Not only did Betz’s commentary take the series to a new level by being the first original contribution, but his work had the added bonus of being particularly novel and stimulating as well.

Betz observed that the “formal and compositional structure” of the letter went largely ignored, despite the fact that most commentaries and introductions performed analyses of the outline and argument of Galatians. The problem with these other studies was that they generally lacked the criteria on which to base such outlines. “This is astonishing,” Betz writes, “because the letter is composed in accordance with the conventions of Greco-Roman rhetoric and epistolography” (xiv). He contends that we should expect Paul to write as a figure who was situated in the Greco-Roman world would write. In 1975, Betz wrote an important article in NTS, which explored the literary structure and function of Galatians. Not only does he incorporate this study into his commentary, but it becomes a large focus of the work. He argues that Galatians is an “apologetic letter” (14) and that we should read it as judicial (or forensic) rhetoric (see Kennedy 144f. for a critic of this). Betz’s analysis of Galatians leads to the following outline comprised of seven major sections:

1. The Epistolary Prescript [1.1-5]
2. The Introduction (Exordium) [1.6-11]
3. The Statement of Facts (Narratio) [1.12—2.14]
4. The Proposition (Propositio) [2.15-21]
5. The Proofs (Probatio) [3.1—4.31]
6. The Exhortation (Exhortatio) [5.1—6.10]
7. The Epistolary Postscript (Conclusio) [6.11-18]

One of the great accomplishments of Betz’s work on Galatians was that it initiated a large interest in rhetorical criticism by New Testament scholars. Though he was not the first to look at classical rhetoric, his studies on Paul and rhetoric were highly influential. Major works have arisen since by scholars such as George Kennedy, Carl Joachim Classen, Margaret Mitchell (Betz’s student), Vernon Robbins, and many others. Just read the bibliography compiled by Duane Watson and you’ll get an idea of how expansive this field has been in the past three decades.

The commentary itself remains very useful and it is always the first book I consult on Galatians, which just goes to show that despite the ever-increasing number of commentaries, the good ones are hard to replace. Personally, I think Fortress Press should reissue the commentary in a deluxe, gold-plated edition to commemorate the occasion, but I doubt that would ever happen.

References:

• Hans Dieter Betz, “The Literary Composition and Function of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians,” New Testament Studies 21 (1975): 353-79.
• George A. Kennedy, New Testament Interpretation through Rhetorical Criticism (Studies in Religion; Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina, 1984).
• Duane F. Watson, The Rhetoric of the New Testament: A Bibliographic Survey (Tools for Biblical Study; Blandford Forum, UK: Deo, 2006).

[Click to view a large image of the commentary]

Albert Schweitzer, Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung (9th ed.; UTB S 1302; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1992). Paperback. 651 pages. ISBN 978-3-8252-1302-2. € 19.90. [Mohr Siebeck; Amazon.de]

This volume, included in the UTB series, is the most recent German edition and is still fairly easy to acquire since it remains in print. Some may opt for an older hardback if they are particular about having a long-lasting copy of the the book. Since Schweitzer never substantially changed Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung after 1913, any German edition printed on or since that date should be fine. NB: The original 1906 edition of Von Reimarus zu Wrede: Eine Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung has been put online at Google books.

The 1910 translation of Schweitzer’s book is available by at least two current publishers.

Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus (trans. by W. Montgomery; New York: Dover, 2005). Paperback. 416 pages. ISBN: 978-0486440279. $18.95. [Amazon.com]

Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Critical Study of Its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede (trans. by W. Montgomery; Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1998). Paperback. 432 pages. ISBN: 978-0801859342. $25.00. [Amazon.com]

Both of these are reprints of the English edition of Schweitzer’s work before its revision. For that reason, it is not advisable to purchase these as one’s only edition of Schweitzer. So much has been changed between 1906 and 1913 that readers of Schweitzer are better off with an updated version. That said, there are some interesting and useful aspects about the older English editions, such as the famous “wheel of the world” passage that is omitted in the updated version. These editions include the preface by F. C. Burkitt. Also, because the English translation by Montgomery is now in the public domain, you can find the text online thanks to Peter Kirby.

Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus: First Complete Edition (ed. by John Bowden; trans. by W. Montgomery, J. R. Coates, S. Cupitt, and J. Bowden; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001). Paperback. 612 pages. ISBN: 978-0800632885. $38.00. [Amazon.com]

The Complete Edition, published by Fortress, is hands down the front runner of English editions of Schweitzer’s The Quest of the Historical Jesus. Not only does it include an updated translation that better represents the style of Schweitzer, but it also contains an appreciation of Albert Schweitzer by Marcus J. Borg, a twenty-page foreword by Dennis Nineham, and translations of Schweitzer’s prefaces from the first (1906), second (1913) and sixth (1950) editions. Of course, the most important aspect of this edition is that it’s based on the ninth German edition. However, I think it was a bad decision on the part of the editor to change the footnotes from earlier English editions into endnotes for this edition. Because it is a scholarly monograph, I see no reason to hide the notes at the end of the volume.