610 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 74,2012

of Paul as the writer of Luke-Acts but recognizes arguments to the contrary. He finds more
certain the view that, whatever his name, the writer was an Israelite, a sometime companion
.of Paul, and an eyewitness to certain aspects of Pauls work. Even more important for K
is Lukes status in the first-century Roman world, and the bulk of the book is devoted to
this issue. In chap. 1, K. carefully follows recent study of ancient literacy, giving particular
-attention to the identification of various levels of language mastery. Important to his argu
ment is that advanced levels of literacy were restricted to the social elite, for whom such
.advanced levels might serve as currency for achieving honor and elevated social status
Following up on these findings, in chap. 2 K. sifts evidence from Luke-Acts in order to
show how Lukes literary artistry located him among the social elite of his day. In chap. 3,
K. provides an overview of the social and economic structure of the Roman world, which
he uses as the backdrop for his argument against the long- and widely held view that, for
Luke, the church posed no threat to Rome. Lukes message of social and economic reversal
surely must have been a challenge to those who occupied the higher rungs of the ladder of
power and privilege. Moreover, what God has done in Jesus seriously counters all other
claims to mastery over humanity, including those of Caesar. With this, K. reaches the end
of his argument and has only to pull together the evidence into a profile of the writer of
,Luke-Acts. In a short conclusion, he sketches a portrait of a well-educated, accomplished
intelligent, hellenized Israelite who broke from his family and life as an elitenot to turn
against his own people but to call them to a new vision of relatedness to God and one
another, one based not on social location or patronage, or ones proximity to Caesar or the
Palestinian aristocracy, but one at home in the new kingdom Jesus had begun to fashion
around them (p. 105(.
-I found this an interesting and generally compelling exercise in synthesizing literary
historical data and theoretical models in pursuit of what can be known of the author of
Luke-Acts. Undoubtedly, one might quibble with aspects of K.s evidence, models, and
conclusions. Was Luke an Israelite? Is the social world of Rome best modeled as a social
pyramid? What do we know of the psychology of disaffection in antiquity? More basic are
the questions that might be raised about the utility of this exercise, not only because of its
necessarily conjectural nature but also because it is not clear whether or how it enhances
our reading of Luke-Acts. Even so, it is good to have this reminder that these ancestors in
.the faith were flesh-and-blood persons nested in and shaped by their own social networks

Joel B. Green, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA 91182

bru cew. Lo n g e n e c k e r , Remember the Poor: Paul, Poverty, and the Greco-Roman World
Grand Rapids/Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2010). Pp. xii( 4 Paper .280 $25.

The thesis of Longeneckers book is that care for the poor was integral to Pauls gospel
even though that gospel cannot be reduced to care for the poor. The argument contains three
-main subjects: charitable initiatives in Greco-Roman and Jewish cultures; charitable initia
.tives in Pauls mission; and economic stratification in Pauls assemblies
Charitable initiatives is L.s term for efforts that offset the needs of those living at
-subsistence level or below. L. supports the consensus that there were relatively few chari
table projects in the Greco-Roman world, since euergetism, hospitality, grain doles, and the
 BOOK REVIEWS 611

like had other goals and often served those well above subsistence. Early Judaism was the
notable exception, wherein the practice of caring for the poor was a fundamental concern.
This Jewish concern for the poor was also central to the message of Jesus, and it carried
over into the early Jesus groups.
Concerning charity as a central part of Pauls mission, L.s description of Pauls char-
itable initiatives is a corrective to Pauline studies. The challenge is twofold: to describe
Pauls practice, and to locate it in his theology. The description of Pauls practice surveys
his letters, post-Pauline literature, and Pauls response to an economic problem in Corinth
(1 Cor 11:17-34). L. concludes that the Pauline assemblies consistently practiced care for
the poor in their midst. Such care was small-scale and surfaced in letters primarily when
problems arose.
Longenecker locates care of the poor in Pauls theology by reevaluating the phrase
remember the poor (Gal 2:10). He successfully questions the consensus that connects this
phrase to Jerusalem believers. The poor included anyone in need. L. then highlights the
importance of the phrase in the rhetoric of Galatians. Galatians 2:10 concludes the account
of the Jerusalem negotiations about gentile believers by valuing charity above circumcision.
The verse also begins an arc connecting the biography of the readers in 4:12-15 (who helped
Paul in his need) with Pauline ethics in 6:9-10 (exhortation to continue helping those in
need). Thus, care for the poor is at the heart ofbut does not exhaustPauls gospel of
cruciform living.
The third subject is economic stratification in the Pauline churches. Here L. recon-
ceptualizes my Poverty Scale as an Economy Scale. The revision results in a recon-
struction similar to that of Wayne A. Meeks {The First Urban Christians: The Social World
o f the Apostle Paul [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983]), where house churches
include several social levels and are led by the small number of individuals with middling
economic resources. L. improves on Meekss construct by using more precise categories
for economic resources. He also maintains Meekss tradition of focusing on individual social
status (rather than performance, hybridity, identity, etc.), explaining the appeal of Pauls
churches to middling leaders as an arena to gain status that eluded them in civic life. What
is new in L.s reconstruction is a recognition that many of the church participants lived near
subsistence and a proposal that the economic profile of Pauline churches was lower than
the overall urban profile. The discussion includes a helpful hypothetical model for the com-
position of a typical fifty-member house church.
Longenecker offers many contributions: he supplements material explanations with
their related values and theology; he emphasizes the Jewish character of the Jesus move-
ments economic thinking; he questions the exegetical restriction of Gal 2:10 to Jerusalem;
he foregrounds the rhetorical context of Pauls economic comments; he is cautious about
prosopographic reconstruction; he introduces new specificity into discussions of church
stratification; his conceptual models are transparent; and he supports his conclusions with
clear arguments.
I have doubts about other aspects of the study. The gentile practice of charity seems
underappreciated, and the effort to make remember the poor central to Galatians seems
strained. Moreover, Pauls references to charitable initiatives are frustratingly vague and
therefore raise questions about their centrality. Regarding stratification, L. displays an opti-
mistic tendency seen in relatively high percentages for the well-to-do and in benign assump-
tions about the quality of life for the poorest members of households.
 612 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 74,2012

Two other issues trouble me. First is L.s focus on charity to the exclusion of structural
change. He recognizes and defends this focus, but I think it hinders us from analyzing social
experimentation in the Jesus groups. Second, I wonder what we actually learn about the
poor. We have at least acknowledged their presence, the harsh conditions of their lives, and
Pauls concern for them. But we learn little about their participation in the Jesus groups. L.
suggests that they may have come because their household did or, if unattached to a house-
hold, for the financial aid, food, and drink. L. has advanced the discussions, but we still
need to move beyond our preoccupation with first-century leaders to develop a robust under-
standing of all the participants in the early Jesus movement.

Steven J. Friesen, The University o f Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78702

f r a n k j . m a t e r a , Romans (Paideia: Commentaries on the New Testament; Grand Rapids:

Baker Academic, 2010). Pp. xviii + 382. Paper $29.99.

Frank Materas exposition of Romans is an admirable addition to the Paideia series,

one of whose aims (according to the editors foreword [p. xi]) is to provide students with a
basic understanding of the NT writings. The author is an experienced teacher and respected
scholar, well equipped by virtue of his previous publications on Paul and NT theology to
take on the challenging task with which any interpreter of Romans is confronted.
In guiding readers through this dense and complicated letter, M. proves himself a mas-
terful pedagogue: his exposition of the text is careful, comprehensive, systematic, and lucid.
He has a gift for offering understandable explanations of complex matters without resorting
to oversimplification. His original translation is felicitous, consistently well crafted, and
informed by a good knowledge of textual evidence, the most significant of which he dis-
cusses to good effect. He is always fair in representing the varied positions that scholars
propose concerning disputed issues, and he is unfailingly modest in stating his own con-
elusions, neither forcing the evidence nor claiming more than it will allow.
Perhaps the most prominent feature of this commentary is the close attention that M.
gives to Pauls train of thought, and most particularly to his theological argumentation. M.
is, in fact, relentless in combing the text for the syntactical, lexical, and rhetorical markers
that will allow him to dissect the apostles argument enough to get the kinks out and that
will help readers discern and follow the logic. Although M.s analysis and exposition of the
argument are generally convincing, it must also be said that he sometimes seems too eager
to help Paul be utterly logical and theologically consistent. Along with this goes the fact
that M. is so devoted to explaining Pauls thought that he too infrequently pauses to wrestle
with it. Moreover, when he does so pause, the wrestling is most likely to take the form of
citing the views and counterviews of other interpreters, ancient and modem (e.g., in the
case of predestination: Origen, Aquinas, Calvin, James D. G. Dunn, Douglas Moo, Mark
Reasoner, Karl Barth [pp. 231-34]).
Although M. takes account of the sociopolitical setting of Roman Christianity and
Pauls own situation and missionary aims as he writes, these topics receive less attention
than in many commentaries. Even in dealing with the call to be subject to governing
authorities (13:1-7), M. steers clear of the question, currently debated, of whether Romans
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