Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

pt. 1. Important matters largely uncontested today. Author, amanuensis, and involvement of others -- Integrity -- Occasion and date -- pt. 2. Two pivotal issues. Addressees -- Purpose -- pt. 3. Conventions, procedures, and themes. Greco-Roman oral, rhetorical, and epistolary conventions -- Jewish and Jewish-Christian procedures and themes -- pt. 4. Textual and interpretive concerns. Establishing the text -- Major interpretive approaches prominent today -- pt. 5. Focus, structure, and argument of Romans. Focus or central thrust of the letter -- Structure and argument of the letter.

"Introducing Romans, a kind of introduction-ahead-of-time to Richard Longenecker's forthcoming commentary on Romans, is a major achievement in its own right, the fruit of at least fifty years of scholarship on the apostle Paul and on Romans in particular. It can stand alone as an indispensable handbook for anyone venturing to write a commentary of one's own or for anyone who wants to teach or understand that classic letter. Above all, Longenecker succeeds admirably in putting the many issues surrounding Romans in the broadest possible historical context, encompassing not just recent fashions but the legacy of centuries. Seasoned scholars and beginning students alike have every reason to be grateful. J. Ramsey Michaels - Missouri State University."