RBL review of Claire S. Smith, Pauline Communities As ‘Scholastic Communities’: A Study of the Vocabulary of ‘Teaching’ in 1 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus

Smith Pauline CommunitiesAt the Review of Biblical Literature, Steve Walton has reviewed Claire Smith’s hefty and detailed tome on the vocabulary of “teaching” in 1 Corinthians and the Pastoral Epistles. The review is quite positive, and concludes:

That said, Smith has given us a rich, lucid, and interesting study to which I shall return in reflecting on my own teaching activities, both as a professor and as an Anglican priest (her very brief section suggesting implications for church life today is pregnant with stimulating ideas, 392–93). Smith has put us in her debt: this study will be of value to those interested in the Pauline communities, early Christian meetings and practice, learning and teaching, early Christian ethics and community life, and much more. We look forward to more from her pen.

I previously pointed my readers to a similarly positive review of Claire’s book at Themelios. Themelios, where the earlier review appeared, is run by the Gospel Coalition, an unashamedly evangelical organisation. RBL, where this latest review has appeared, is run by the Society of Biblical Literature, a leading nonconfessional international society of academic biblical scholars. It’s good to see that Claire’s work is (deservedly!) receiving such wide recognition.

Claire’s earlier scholarly work on the semantic domains of “teaching” vocabulary contributed significantly to her 3 substantial essays in the recent book Women, Sermons and the Bible. As I mentioned in another post, I think that recent criticisms of her essays are unfounded. I wish yet again to commend Claire’s writing and to say that it is an honour to have contributed alongside her to Women, Sermons and the Bible. Her contributions in this and other areas are well worth the time to read in full.


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