Peter S. Williamson - Ephesians

Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture

S ERIES E DITORS

Peter S. Williamson

Mary Healy

A SSOCIATE E DITOR

Kevin Perrotta

C ONSULTING E DITORS

Scott Hahn , Franciscan University of Steubenville

Daniel J. Harrington, SJ , Weston Jesuit School of Theology

William S. Kurz, SJ , Marquette University

Francis Martin , Dominican House of Studies

Frank J. Matera , Catholic University of America

George Montague, SM , St. Marys University

Terrence Prendergast, SJ , Archbishop of Ottawa

2009 by Peter S. Williamson

Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com

Ebook edition created 2011

Ebook corrections 12.03.2021

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-0671-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Nihil Obstat: Msgr. Robert Lunsford Censor Librorum

Imprimatur: Most Rev. Earl Boyea Bishop of Lansing

March 11, 2009

The nihil obstat and imprimatur are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. There is no implication that those who have granted the nihil obstat or the imprimatur agree with the content, opinions, or statements expressed therein.

Scripture is taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Baker Publishing Group publications use paper produced from sustainable forestry practices and post-consumer waste whenever possible.

This series promises to be spiritually and doctrinally informative, based on careful, solid biblical exegesis. The method and content of this work will be helpful to teachers of the faith at different levels and will provide a reliable guide to people seeking to deepen their knowledge and thereby nourish their faith. I strongly recommend the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture.

Cormac Cardinal Murphy-OConnor, Archbishop of Westminster

This series richly provides what has for so long been lacking among contemporary scriptural commentaries. Its goal is to assist Catholic preachers and teachers, lay and ordained, in their ministry of the word. Moreover, it offers ordinary Catholics a scriptural resource that will enhance their understanding of Gods word and thereby deepen their faith. Thus these commentaries, nourished on the faith of the Church and guided by scholarly wisdom, are both exegetically sound and spiritually nourishing.

Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM Cap, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

This new Bible commentary series is based on solid scholarship and enriched by the churchs long tradition of study and reflection. Enhanced by an attractive format, it provides an excellent resource for all who are serving in pastoral ministry and for the individual reader who searches the Scriptures for guidance in the Christian life.

Emil A. Wcela, Auxiliary Bishop (retired), Diocese of Rockville Centre; past president, Catholic Biblical Association

The CCSS is a long-awaited addition to Catholic books on the Bible. It is clearly written, sticks to the facts, treats the Bible as true history, and does not get lost in idle speculation and guesswork about the sources of the Gospels and the other books. Homilists will find here the pearl of great price and the treasure hidden in a field. Laypersons who are looking for a truly Catholic interpretation of the Bible will find it here. Those who want to know more about Gods holy word in the Bible will want to purchase the whole set.

Kenneth Baker, SJ, editor, Homiletics and Pastoral Review

This new commentary series appears to me to be a gift of the Holy Spirit to Catholic clergy, religious, and laity at this historic moment. Pope Benedict has effectively announced the rebirth of Catholic biblical theology, bringing together Scripture, tradition, and the teachings of the Church. This commentary reflects not only biblical criticism but also the unity of the Word of God as it applies to our lives. This is a marvelous and timely introduction.

Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR, author and preacher

This new commentary series should meet a need that has long been pointed out: a guide to Scripture that will be both historically responsible and shaped by the mind of the Churchs tradition. It promises to be a milestone in the recovery of a distinctively Catholic approach to exegesis.

Aidan Nichols, OP, University of Oxford; Fellow of Greyfriars, Oxford

The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture employs the Churchs methodology of studying Sacred Scripture in a faithful, dynamic, and fruitful way. It is now the go-to resource that I can enthusiastically recommend to all my students.

Jeff Cavins, founder, The Great Adventure Catholic Bible Study System

Mary Healy and Peter S. Williamson, with Kevin Perrotta, have launched an exciting and most promising Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. I plan to read and use it as a basis for preaching and am already profiting from the advanced segments.

Michael Scanlan, TOR, Franciscan University of Steubenville

The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture fills a great void by giving us a serious, scholarly, and orthodox commentary series. These volumes are deep and profound yet lucid, easy to read, and rich with detail. This set will fill a great void for Scripture students of all ages, levels of education, and experience.

Steve Ray, lecturer; author of the Bible Study Guides for Genesis and Acts; and writer, producer, and host of the ten-part documentary series Footprints of God: The Story of Salvation from Abraham to Augustine

The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture affords its readers a helpful guide for encountering the books of the Bible in a way that respects both the whole of Scripture and the givens of Catholic faith. Many will discover in the volumes of this collection wellsprings of spiritual refreshment.

Romanus Cessario, OP, St Johns Seminary

Contents

Illustrations

Editors Preface

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord.... All the preaching of the Church should be nourished and governed by Sacred Scripture. For in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the power and goodness in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons and daughters, the food of the soul, a pure and perennial fountain of spiritual life.

Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum 21

Were not our hearts burning while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?

Luke 24:32

The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture aims to serve the ministry of the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church. Since Vatican Council II, there has been an increasing hunger among Catholics to study Scripture in depth and in a way that reveals its relationship to liturgy, evangelization, catechesis, theology, and personal and communal life. This series responds to that desire by providing accessible yet substantive commentary on each book of the New Testament, drawn from the best of contemporary biblical scholarship as well as the rich treasury of the Churchs tradition. These volumes seek to offer scholarship illumined by faith, in the conviction that the ultimate aim of biblical interpretation is to discover what God has revealed and is still speaking through the sacred text. Central to our approach are the principles taught by Vatican II: first, the use of historical and literary methods to discern what the biblical authors intended to express; second, prayerful theological reflection to understand the sacred text in accord with the same Spirit by whom it was writtenthat is, in light of the content and unity of the whole Scripture, the living tradition of the Church, and the analogy of faith (Dei Verbum 12).