Commentaries on the Gospel of John
Books worth reading. I admit that I am still looking for the modern, uber-commentary to replace the (now sadly) dated Brown Commentaries on John are usually cataloged at BS2615 |
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Commentaries on the Gospel of John
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C. H. Dodd An lenghty introduction (focusing on influences from various Hellenistic and Jewish sources) followed by a section of thematic essays. So, does not do a verse by verse commentary. Was a pivotal book in scholarship.
A bit dated now and from the form-critical era, but a classic. I don't buy into his five stages of development, but that is easy to pass by.
Looks interesting, but I admit I have not studied it extensively.
Full disclosure: I (slightly) know the author and respect him both personally and professionally. This is a detailed study of John 6.
History of interpretation focusing on images of the author of the gospel. Significant coverage of the patristic period as well as a chapter on "the apostle in art and literature." In contrast to the Blackwell approach, this series by Fortress focuses on the person of the apostle rather than views about the gospel text.
This work is, as the title indicates, intended to help those translating the Bible into other languages. Thus, it focuses on issues of precise translation: how do you translate "sheep" if the society doesn't have sheep, or, equally serious, regards them or shepherding very differently than the culture of the Bible. So, it isn't a 'commentary' in the sense of dealing with theological issues, but it is an often helpful (and intriguing!) specialty study.
Reading this or any volume is a fascinating study in the slipperiness of language and a good antidote to people thumping away on the King James Version.
Summary of current research trends. Useful primarily if you've got some familiarity with major arguments about the gospel or are looking for a guide to significant publications. Has a valuable chapter on 'landmark commentaries.'
This series prints excerpts of patristic authors, sorted by Biblical verse or passage. So you can turn to a given passage of the Bible and gain some insight to how early commentators viewed. This is enormously valuable for recovering the history of interpretation. This particular volume also has a brief survey of early commentaries on John.
Other writers whose work on John is often mentioned favorably include:
John Ashton, Understanding the Fourth Gospel, 1995
C. K. Barrett, The Gospel according to St. John : an introduction with commentary and notes on the Greek text, revised ed. 1988
Craig Keener, The Gospel of John, 2004
Craig Koester, Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel, 1995
Andreas Kostenberger
Barnabas Lindars, The Gospel of John, 1981
Francis Moloney,
Herman Ridderbos
| Last updated 5/7/2008; Posted 4/10/07; Original material © 2008, 2007 John P. Nordin |
John (Blackwell)
Oxford, 2003
Focuses on the history of interpretation. I have only skimmed this particular volume but the series is essential reading to recapture the wisdom of the first 19 centuries and is generally done to a high standard.