Earlier this year I reviewed Karen Jobes’ John through Old Testament Eyes, the second in a new series from Kregel Academic. Thanks to the kindness of Kregel, I have an extra copy of this book to give away to readers of this blog.
Near the end of John through Old Testament Eyes, Jobes observes “the Scripture of Israel are woven throughout the Gospel of John, though with a technique different from the other Gospels” (p. 319). Citing Richard Hays’s Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels, John “simply and steadily presupposes the law of Moses and the words of Israel’s Scripture as the essential hermeneutical matrix for recognizing and understanding Jesus’s testimony” (p. 320). Jobes describes this as John’s “verbal artistry” (p. 24). She offers as an example Jesus changing the water to wine (John 2:1-11). As he tells this story, John has in mind the “symbolic value of wine in the Old Testament as a symbol of the messianic age and of blood” (p. 27). For example, the six stone jars are an odd detail for most modern readers, but Jobes suggests an allusion to messianic imagery in 2 Baruch.
As series editor Andrew Le Peau observes in his series preface, although the commentary represents solid scholarship, Jobes does not write for an academic audience. There is no extended discussion of method or technical exegetical comments connecting some aspect of John’s gospel to a particular Old Testament passage. Nevertheless, the book provides a way for modern readers to hear John from the perspective of Second Temple Judaism. Go read the review for the rest of my comments.
If you want a free copy of this book, leave a comment with your favorite Gospel of John commentary and your name and email (if it is not in your profile already) so I can contact you if you win. I will put all the names in a spreadsheet, randomize them, then use a random number generator to select a winner on December 14, 2021 (one week from today).
If you don’t win this book, check back for my last book giveaway of the year starting December 14.
Keener’s two-volume commentary may not be my favorite, but sometimes it provides helpful historical (cultural or lexical) background. Thanks for the giveaway!
Dwight Gingrich
A monograph but not a commentary, I am a fan of R. Alan Culpepper’s “Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel.”
It is a tie between MacArthur and BECNT
My favorite commentary on John is D.A. Carson’s in the Pillar Commentary series.
So, that’s a tough one, since that’s where my doctoral studies were. I do like Keener’s 2-volume work as Dwight has said above, for reference. But just for understanding the Gospel, it would probably be the small commentary, Excavating John’s Gospel: A Commentary for Today, by Cornelis Bennema. My email is Eric_Lowdermilk@pba.edu. Thanks for the giveaway!
I have found D.A. Carson’s commentary on John to be on the top of my list.
I usually reach for Morris first followed by Ridderbos.
Please enter me in the drawing. Thank you. How about Ridderbos, and then Beasley-Murray. Merry Christmas!
Leon Morris’ commentary on John is a gold mine of insight and illustrative material.
I think Ramsey Michaels’ two commentaries are hard to beat. There’s a small one in UBNT and abig one in NICNT. Michaels reads with fresh eyes and comments on the text rather than on the commentators.
BECNT
Leon Morris, Wm. Hendrickson, Merrill Tenney are all solid works! Thanks for your generosity.
Commentary by John Marsh: Pelican New Testament series.
D. A. Carson’s Pillar commentary.
Spoiledmilks@gmail.com.
Thank you!
I forgot about Thompson’s NTL commentary! That’s ones great.
I realized I’m late to the giveaway, but thought I’d post my recent favorite, Lesslie Newbigin’s The Light Has Come: An Exposition of the Fourth Gospel
Thanks, I appreciate it. The book went out last week, but there’s still another giveaway that will end tomorrow