This book is part of the Interpretation Bible Studies series and is intended to provide a study guide suitable for use by groups or individuals. Although it is written with reference to the Interpretation commentary series, and Richard Hays’ volume on First Corinthians in particular, it is designed to be used independently.

The book is well presented. The sections of text are suitably short, well written and divided by eye-catching headings. There are a number of black and white photographs and illustrations and there are frequent text boxes, usually containing a brief quotation either from Hays’ commentary or one of a good range of other volumes. Other boxes indicate specific references for further investigation, sometimes suggesting evangelical resources but more often pointing to mainstream scholarship. Each unit concludes with several ‘questions for reflection’ which generally go well beyond requesting the obvious and might prompt very thoughtful discussion. The bibliography at the end of the book is reasonably short, generally accessible and remarkably diverse: Henry Bettenson, Gordon Fee, Kenneth Grahame, Luke Johnson, C.S. Lewis, Sophocles, J.R.R. Tolkein and N.T. Wright all line up together! Finally a brief but imaginative leaders’ guide provides useful help to those who bear that responsibility.

As this is a study guide and not a commentary, it obviously cannot be exhaustive, but it is nonetheless somewhat surprising that only selected portions of the letter are dealt with in the guide. It was a bit disconcerting to look for the treatment of Paul glorious passage on resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, only to find that the guide stops at the end of chapter 14!

This guide could well be used with profit in a group Bible study. It is not as conservative in its historical and theological judgement as many such guides, but discerning readers will be prompted to engage with the biblical text.

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