Paul Foster is Professor in New Testament at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He is author of Community, Law and Mission in Matthew's Gospel, 2004, and editor of The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers (T&T Clark, 2007), and author of The Gospel of Peter: Introduction, Critical Edition and Commentary (2010) - which is now the standard treatment of the text of that non-canonical gospel.

The commentary ... offers a clear and lucid discussion of the text, with careful consideration of textual variants in the Greek manuscript tradition.

• TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION1. The Text of Colossians2. Colossae the City3. The Religious Environment of First Century Colossae4. Believers in Jesus in the Lycus Valley and Phrygia5. The Theology of Colossians 6. The Missing Old Testament in Colossians7. Authorship, Date, and Place of Writing8. Relationship to Earlier Pauline Epistles9. Earliest Reception in Christian Tradition10. Prosopography11. The Situation Behind the Letter12. The Structure of the LetterTRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY1. Letter Opening 2. Christological Teaching and Correctives 3. Ethical Instruction for Renewed Existence 4. Letter Conclusion 5. TitleBIBLIOGRAPHY1. Reference Works2. Commentaries on Colossians3. Other Secondary LiteratureINDICES1. Ancient Sources2. Modern Authors3. Subjects

Paul Foster is Professor in New Testament at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He is author of Community, Law and Mission in Matthew's Gospel, 2004, and editor of The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers (T&T Clark, 2007), and author of The Gospel of Peter: Introduction, Critical Edition and Commentary (2010) - which is now the standard treatment of the text of that non-canonical gospel.

The commentary ... offers a clear and lucid discussion of the text, with careful consideration of textual variants in the Greek manuscript tradition.

• TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION1. The Text of Colossians2. Colossae the City3. The Religious Environment of First Century Colossae4. Believers in Jesus in the Lycus Valley and Phrygia5. The Theology of Colossians 6. The Missing Old Testament in Colossians7. Authorship, Date, and Place of Writing8. Relationship to Earlier Pauline Epistles9. Earliest Reception in Christian Tradition10. Prosopography11. The Situation Behind the Letter12. The Structure of the LetterTRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY1. Letter Opening 2. Christological Teaching and Correctives 3. Ethical Instruction for Renewed Existence 4. Letter Conclusion 5. TitleBIBLIOGRAPHY1. Reference Works2. Commentaries on Colossians3. Other Secondary LiteratureINDICES1. Ancient Sources2. Modern Authors3. Subjects

Paul Foster is Professor in New Testament at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He is author of Community, Law and Mission in Matthew's Gospel, 2004, and editor of The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers (T&T Clark, 2007), and author of The Gospel of Peter: Introduction, Critical Edition and Commentary (2010) - which is now the standard treatment of the text of that non-canonical gospel.

The commentary ... offers a clear and lucid discussion of the text, with careful consideration of textual variants in the Greek manuscript tradition.

• TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION1. The Text of Colossians2. Colossae the City3. The Religious Environment of First Century Colossae4. Believers in Jesus in the Lycus Valley and Phrygia5. The Theology of Colossians 6. The Missing Old Testament in Colossians7. Authorship, Date, and Place of Writing8. Relationship to Earlier Pauline Epistles9. Earliest Reception in Christian Tradition10. Prosopography11. The Situation Behind the Letter12. The Structure of the LetterTRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY1. Letter Opening 2. Christological Teaching and Correctives 3. Ethical Instruction for Renewed Existence 4. Letter Conclusion 5. TitleBIBLIOGRAPHY1. Reference Works2. Commentaries on Colossians3. Other Secondary LiteratureINDICES1. Ancient Sources2. Modern Authors3. Subjects