Author’s Preface

I am very grateful to Baker Publishing Group and to the editors of this series to have been given the opportunity to write a commentary on Galatians. Studying the Greek text of a NT book, making my own decisions about its meaning (in conversation with many other scholars), and then putting those decisions into English prose that will (it is hoped!) communicate successfully with an audience—all this is one of the chief delights of my life. I have learned a lot during the years of my work on Galatians; and I trust that my thinking and therefore my living are more closely aligned with Christ and his purposes as a result of this study.

Many people have helped me produce this commentary. Colleagues and students at Wheaton College and in the wider academic community have had an immense impact on my understanding of the letter. Providing special assistance in this process were four PhD students, each of whom wrote dissertations with me that focused on aspects of Galatians: Matt Harmon, Chee-Chiew Lee, Chris Bruno, and Dane Ortlund. Also very helpful were three other students who assisted with bibliography collection, proofreading, and formatting: Keith Williams, Mike Kibbe, and Paul Cable. I am privileged to teach at an institution that enables students to work with faculty on scholarly projects.

The careful editorial work by Baker personnel and by the series editor, friend and former colleague Robert Yarbrough, has immeasurably improved the commentary. I am also thankful for the patience of publisher and editor as they waited long past the initial deadline for my work to reach its conclusion (a delay largely due to my extensive, unexpected, but delightful work on the updated NIV, released in 2011).

As always, I am especially grateful for the support in many, many ways of my children, their spouses, and especially my wife, Jenny. She has not only been a wonderful, understanding wife, but she is a true “fellow worker,” having read the entire manuscript, noted the far too many typos and grammatical errors, and offered insightful suggestions for improvement. It is to her that I dedicate this volume.

November 2011
Doug Moo