Commentaries are useful, often necessary, when one wants to engage with the biblical text at a deeper level and understand the richness of its message. The New Testament, for example, was originally written in the Greek language, about 2000 years ago, in cultures very different to our own. A commentary aims to bridge these gaps and explain the fullness of God’s original message for today’s world. Unfortunately there is no Indian commentary series available in India—most commentary series come from the West. Although many Western commentaries are undoubtedly invaluable, they are written for a Western audience and often expensive. This realization gave birth to the idea of a distinct commentary series for India.
We thus gladly introduce the unique India Commentary on the New Testament (ICNT). The ICNT series aims to give a well-informed exposition of the meaning of the text and relevant reflections in everyday language for today’s Indian context. The intended audience is the theological seminary or bible college, both students and faculty. However, the commentaries are also suitable for pastors and lay people with an interest in theology. The commentaries are culturally-rooted and the various applications relating to culture, society and religious life will help those involved in cross-cultural evangelism and mission work. There is no direct equivalent of the ICNT and hence this will be the first Indian commentary series serving India, and hopefully the entire subcontinent—India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The ICNT series has seven distinctive features:
- Indian: the commentaries are written by Indians or those who live in India, and reflect Indian thought and practice;
- Exegetical: they explain the text section-by-section (rather than verse-by-verse) in its original first-century socio-historical context (‘meaning then’), and interact with Indian sources;
- Contextual: they will contextualize and apply the text for today’s Indian context (‘meaning now’);
- Scholarly: they are written by excellent Ph.D. New Testament scholars;
- Accessible: they are written in everyday language;
- Evangelical: the theological perspective is evangelical with scope for various persuasions;
- Affordable: they are published in India to keep them affordable.
The ICNT aims at a high level of ‘Indianness’ in two ways. First, in the exegetical part, the author will attempt to identify the Indian sources available, so that the commentaries as a whole will provide a comprehensive bibliography of Indian (biblical) sources. Second, in the contextual part (called ‘Reflections’), the author must address exclusively today’s Indian context. The end result is an evangelical, affordable commentary series written by academics in everyday language, providing a well-informed meaning of the text and practical reflections for modern India.
The Series Editors,
Babu Immanuel Venkataraman (Associate Professor of New Testament, TCA College, Singapore)
Brian Wintle (Academic Advising Coordinator at Shiats, Allahabad)
Dexter Maben (Associate Professor of New Testament, United Theological College, Bangalore)
Scholarship is a collective enterprise, and the scholarship of this work would not have been possible, were it not for the constant support and encouragement of several people, to whom I owe all my gratitude.
Dr. Cornelis Bennema, my friend and colleague in the field of New Testament Studies, who is a Consultant Editor (and a former General Editor) of the India Commentary on the New Testament series, deserves the first mention. The series was his brainchild. I am grateful to him for inviting me to be part of the venture; it is an honour. I am grateful to the other General Editors, Drs. Brian C. Wintle, and Dexter Maben, for their time and valuable input. I am also very grateful to Drs. Paul Joshua and John Arunkumar, the Contextual Editors, who helped greatly in editing the contextual and application sections. I am grateful to Primalogue, the publishers, and to George Korah, who, with his long experience in the publishing field, produced the book with compelling quality.
I am grateful to Dr. Christopher Roberts, a dear friend and a former lecturer at the Villinova University, who is training to become a permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic church. Notwithstanding his engagements, he magnanimously made time to proofread and edit my work. If mistakes have crept into this work, I am solely responsible for them.
I am immensely grateful to the Langham Partnership for the privilege and the honour of being a Langham scholar. Were it not for their investment and the significant role that Dr. David Samuel, Director of The Association For Theological Education by Extension (TAFTEE), played in making it possible, I would not have been able at all to take the small and faltering steps that I have, in the literary field. I forever owe them all my gratitude.
I am grateful for my wife, Usha, and my daughter, Aparajitha, for being my fellow-sojourners and conversation partners. Together with me, they have weathered the terrain and borne my joys and sorrows.
Above all, I am grateful to God, who always went an extra mile by waiting for me – infinitely.
| AB | Anchor Bible |
| ABD | Anchor Bible Dictionary |
| ACNT | Augsburg Commentaries on the New Testament |
| A.D. | anno Domini |
| AsTJ | Asbury Theological Journal |
| Ant. | Josephus, Jewish Antiquities |
| ATC | Asian Trading Corporation |
| BBR | Bulletin for Biblical Research |
| B.C. | before Christ |
| B.C.E. | before the Common Era |
| Bib | Biblica |
| BibInt | Biblical Interpretation |
| BSac | Bibliotheca Sacra |
| BST | The Bible Speaks Today Series |
| BTB | Biblical Theology Bulletin |
| CBQ | Catholic Biblical Quarterly |
| CISRS | Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society |
| CLS | Christian Literature Society |
| CMS | Centre for Mission Studies |
| CUP | Cambridge University Press |
| EBC | The Expositor’s Bible Commentary |
| EC | Evangelical Commentary |
| EvQ | Evangelical Quarterly |
| ExpTim | Expository Times |
| FMPB | Friends Missionary Prayer Band |
| GTJ | Grace Theological Journal |
| HTR | Harvard Theological Review |
| HTS | Harvard Theological Studies |
| HUP | Harvard University Press |
| ICC | International Critical Commentary |
| ICNT | India Commentary on the New Testament |
| IEM | Indian Evangelical Mission |
| IJT | Indian Journal of Theology |
| IMS | Indian Missionary Society |
| Int | Interpretation |
| ISPCK | Indian Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge |
| IVP | InterVarsity Press |
| JAAS | Journal of Asian and African Studies |
| JAOS | Journal of the American Oriental Society |
| JBL | Journal of Biblical Literature |
| JEH | Journal of Ecclesiastical History |
| JETS | Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society |
| JHS | Journal of Hellenistic Studies |
| JMAT | Journal of Ministry and Theology |
| JSNT | Journal for the Study of the New Testament |
| JSNTSup | Journal for the Study of New Testament Supplement Series |
| JSOTSup | Journal for the Study of Old Testament Supplement Series |
| JTS | Journal of Theological Studies |
| J.W. | Josephus, Jewish War |
| LCL | Loeb Classical Library |
| ILI LR | The Indian Law Institute Law Review |
| LNTS | Library of New Testament Studies |
| LXX | The Septuagint |
| NAC | New American Commentary |
| NBC | New Bible Commentary |
| NCBC | New Century Bible Commentary |
| Neot | Neotestamentica |
| NIBC | New International Bible Commentary |
| NICNT | New International Commentary on the New Testament |
| NIGTC | New International Greek Testament Commentary |
| NMM | National Missionary Movement |
| NMS | National Missionary Society |
| NovT | Novum Testamentum |
| NTS | New Testament Studies |
| OT | Old Testament |
| OTE | Old Testament Essays |
| OUP | Oxford University Press |
| PRSt | Perspectives in Religious Studies |
| PUP | Princeton University Press |
| RelSRev | Religious Studies Review |
| RevExp | Review and Expositor |
| SAP | Sheffield Academic Press |
| SBL | Society of Biblical Literature |
| SBLAB | Society of Biblical Literature Academia Biblica |
| SBLDS | Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series |
| SBLMS | Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series |
| SBLSP | Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers |
| SBLSemeiaSt | Society of Biblical Literature Semeia Studies |
| SCM | Student Christian Movement |
| SE | Studia Evangelica |
| SNT | Studien zum Neuen Testament |
| SNTSMS | Society of New Testament Studies Monograph Series |
| SPCK | Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge |
| ST | Studia Theologica |
| StudBib | Studia Biblica |
| TDNT | Theological Dict... |
