Having recently seen my dissertation come to print with Walter de Gruyter, it is a huge relief to have that monkey off my back. While some scholars study one area the rest of their life, I would go bonkers. I am pretty much done with Paul and his cultic metaphors, though it was a good avenue for learning how to do research.
So, what’s next? I humbly accepted a gracious offer from Smyth & Helwys to write the Colossians volume for the S & H commentary series. A while back, I endorsed the commentary on 1 Corinthians. S & H have designed a really attractive series, with numerous pictures and sidebars, an expectation of cutting edge scholarship, and a view towards the theological relevance of the text. I have been thoroughly impressed with the volumes I have come in contact with, such as Ben Witherington’s work on Matthew.
I will be working on this for about two years, though I have some other projects on my plate. There are, of course, a number of truly excellent Colossians commentaries already out there (e.g., O’Brien, Barth, Dunn) and I am privileged to be counted among them.
If any of you have written articles on Colossians and would be willing to share them with me, I would be delighted. Please email them to me at my SPU address: “guptan[at]” and then “spu.edu”. Thanks!
Nijay–
Congrats. Although I do not own a volume in this series, I have always been impressed with what I have seen. Your contribution will be a good edition to the series and to Colossians commentaries as well.
Thanks, Matt!
Neej,
Congrats, man! This is awesome news! If you’d like an endorsement from a complete unknown, I’d be happy to oblige. I could at least put a “pastoral” stamp on the back cover…
Hope to hear more about this!
Congratulations, Nijay. I’m just catching up on my blog reading! The series is very good–creative opportunities abound.
Fabulous! That’s great, Nijay. I have only really given detailed attention to Brueggemann’s volume on Kings in the series. It is a tremendous opportunity to do something different with a commentary. It is the sort of creativity that I hope we see more of in commentary series. I look forward to your volume
Let me know if I can help in any way.