(Part 1)

JBTM Book Reviews
112
Those who want to hone their Greek skills will find this book useful; a year of Greek,
however, is a prerequisite for utilizing this book. Because Forbes supposes that his readers
are familiar with Greek syntax, this book will prove challenging and require patience and a
willingness to look up many terms in a syntax-level grammar.
For a second-year Greek student, this book offers a great example of how to take the
material from a grammar like Daniel Wallace’s Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics and apply
it to the reading of a particular New Testament text. Forbes does this throughout the book
as he shows the possible translations that others have offered and explains how they are
different and what they mean. He then demonstrates how to sift through such possibilities
to determine the best way to understand and translate the text.
Those who have had a course in Greek syntax and who are familiar with the terminology
introduced in those classes will have an easier time reading and understanding this book
than those who have completed only first-year Greek. The more general understanding that
readers bring to the text, the more they will appreciate its insights.
Pastors and teachers who have the background to read and understand this text will find
Forbes’s work most helpful. His wide survey of the various possibilities of how a text could be
read will often be eye-opening. Pastors will also find his homiletical suggestions useful. Most
of his outlines follow the details of the text, but others bring together a topic that is scattered
throughout the text of 1 Peter. For example, he suggests an outline for “The Victory of Christ”
that includes material from chapters 2 and 3 (133).
Ideally, readers will work their way through the whole text of 1 Peter. The design of the
book, however, will also allow readers to examine any passage they choose. For instance, Forbes
includes short studies at the beginning of the book on two frequently used constructions
in 1 Peter: “The Use of the Imperative in 1 Peter” and “Imperatival Participles in 1 Peter.”
Whenever these forms appear, Forbes reminds his readers about these discussions.
Because Forbes’s work is well documented throughout, those wanting to do additional
research on 1 Peter will find his work to be a good starting point. In his text, he cites modern
translations, grammars, lexical works, commentaries, and articles. The end of each chapter
also includes a bibliography of works focused on the various topics discussed in the passage.
For example, in the section on 1 Peter 3:8–22, Forbes has two bibliographic sections, one
on “Christ’s Proclamation to the Spirits in Prison (3:18–22)” and one on “The Doctrine of
Christ’s Descent into Hell” (131–32). He then marks what he considers the most significant
entry with an asterisk. In total, Forbes’s work contains 42 of these short bibliographies
throughout the book.
Unlike the first volume of this series, written by Murray J. Harris (Colossians and Philemon),
Forbes does not include a glossary. Many students who are just beginning their study of