Since its appearance nearly 35 years ago, Black's New Testament Commentary Series has been hailed by both scholars and pastors for its insightful interpretations and reliable commentary. Each book in the series includes: an insightful introduction to the important historical, literary, and theological issues; key terms and phrases from the translation highlighted in the commentary where they are discussed; explanations of special Greek or foreign terms; references to important primary and secondary literature; and a Scripture index.

The 1974 estimate by "Interpretation" that Ernest Best's volume on 1 & 2 Thessalonians "is probably the best exegetical study of I and II Thessalonians available . . . a superb commentary" continues to ring true nearly 20 years later. This is indeed one of the finest commentaries on 1 & 2 Thessalonians available" in any language. The "Journal of Theological Studies" called it "exhaustive" and concluded by saying that the commentary is "reliable, judicious, and nearly always lucid. He [Best] . . . takes us as far as we can reasonably go in understanding the mind of Paul as it expressed itself in these writings."