The Gospel and Letters of John, volume 1: Introduction, Analysis, and Reference (Eerdmans Critical Commentary | ECC)

by Urban C. von Wahlde

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2010

Overview

Nearly all of the problems confronted by those who study John have to do with the literary strata of the Gospel of John and their relation to the composition of the Letters of John. With an archaeologist’s precision, and engaging a whole range of scholarly contributions in this area, von Wahlde digs down to the foundations and exposes three distinct literary strata in the development of the Johannine tradition. Volume 1 gives detailed evidence identifying and listing the criteria for each stratum.

Key Features

• Written in an academic yet readable style
• Perfect for students, professors, and the general reader

Contents

Top Highlights

“There are three editions of the Gospel, each by a different person.” (Page 6)

“And it is the only Gospel in which the ‘signs’ lead to belief rather than presume it.” (Page 400)

“There exist, in various places in the Gospel, instances in which a question is asked and a response is given that does not deal directly with the question. Such responses either take the question in a different sense or do not answer it at all but simply introduce another topic.” (Page 196)

“titles ‘Messiah’ and ‘Son of God’ retain an ambiguity throughout the Gospel” (Page 399)

“Because believers are transformed by the gift of the Spirit, they can be said to be ‘born again’ of the Spirit, and since they live now with the life of God, they can be truly said to be ‘children’ of God. It is evident that the status of believers is seen as so exalted that it begins to blur with that of Jesus, who was also born of human parents, given the Spirit, and embodied in himself all of the prerogatives of the Spirit (#9 Anthropology).⁷ This can challenge any sense of a unique role for Jesus from the perspective of anthropology just as forgiveness of sin through the Spirit challenged a role for Jesus in soteriology.” (Page 142)

Product Details

• Title: Eerdmans Critical Commentary: The Gospel and Letters of John, volume 1: Introduction, Analysis, and Reference
• Author: Urban C. von Wahlde
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Publication Date: 2010
• Pages: 768

About Urban C. von Wahlde

Urban C. von Wahlde is professor of theology at Loyola University in Chicago and the editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly. His many previous publications on John’s gospel and letters include The Johannine Commandments and The Earliest Version of John’s Gospel.