"It is hard to represent the wealth of material contained in eachof these two volumes. Both for the seasoned scholar and thepreacher looking for fresh inspiration there is much to challengeand enliven the understanding of the biblical texts. These are twosuperb volumes." (The Expository Times, 2011)
"This is a fine addition to the Blackwell Bible Commentaryseries . . . Twomey has given us an excellent commentary, lucid andelegantly written, further enriched by inclusion of interpretersfrom his own field of English literature: Chaucer, CharlotteBronte, Thomas Hardy and Jeanette Winterson. " (Journal for theStudy of the New Testament, 2011)
"Overall this is an excellent guide to the very significant andvaried reception
history of the Pastoral Epistles. The volumetestifies to the role the Pastorals have had in shaping the churchand at times wider culture too, and makes accessible in one volumethe evidence for this highly significant role." (JTS, 9 April2011)
"The Blackwell Bible Commentaries are a rare and valuabletreasury of information, and Jay Twomey's volume on the PastoralEpistles is a fine addition to this series. From Augustine,Aquinas, Calvin, and the Wesleys to Mary Astell, Amiri Baraka,Friedrich Nietzsche, and Jeanette Winterson (among a great manyothers), these biblical writings have been developed, transformed,and opposed in many ways and for many purposes. Twomey's surveyfurther delineates the enduring power of the biblical canon to bothstimulate and control "a steadily continuing history of complex andcontradictory readings." George Aichele, Adrian College(retired)
"Jay Twomey straddles the fields of biblical studies andliterary studies with enviable ease. He is familiar with thehistory of biblical interpretation, both critical and pre-critical,but that is only the beginning. In addition to the more usualecclesiastical and theological suspects, he is able to adduce awonderfully diverse range of literary authors, over severalcenturies, who cite the Pastoral Epistles or allude to them, whichimparts a rare richness to his reception history." StephenD. Moore, Drew University
"A rich feast to suit every palate. Commentators from deep inthe past stand side by side with those who trouble the texts in thepresent, especially feminist, queer and cultural counter-readings.In Twomey's hands the Pastoral Epistles emerge as sites of tensionand struggle; in other words, they come to life and engage. A realbonus is Twomey's ability to write well. It is a lucid, finelywritten text that draws the reader in." Roland Boer,Monash University
