DESCRIPTION
Series: The Eerdmans Critical Commentary (ECC)This radically new, three-volume commentary by Urban von Wahlde on the Gospel and Letters of John is the most detailed study of the composition of the Johannine literature ever put forth by an American scholar.
Some of the most serious problems involved with interpreting John are due to the complex history of the Gospel's composition. While many scholars overlook the various inconsistencies and conflicting "voices" present in this Gospel, von Wahlde painstakingly examines them, exposing the distinct stages -- and literary strata -- in the Johannine tradition and showing how each represents a further theological development. His thorough and precise exegesis will lead readers to a fuller understanding of both the Gospel and the Letters in all their richness.
In this first volume, von Wahlde analyzes each stage and stratum in the Gospel's composition, lays the theoretical groundwork for his verse-by-verse commentary in the other two volumes, and puts forward the first-ever history of the development of Johannine theology.
REVIEWS
Johannes Beutler, SJ
— Hochschule St. Georgen, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
"After decades of rhetorical criticism of the Gospel of John, here is a serious study of the origins of the Johannine writings, including the three Letters. The author, a recognized Johannine scholar, presents a hypothesis of three literary layers in the Gospel of John which he attributes to three successive authors. Von Wahlde's contribution differs from earlier literary analyses of the Johannine writings by refining the criteria for the distinction of layers. His work can be recommended to all readers interested in the history of Johannine Christianity."
Francis J. Moloney, SDB
— Australian Catholic University
"No one has analysed the composition history of the Gospel and Letters of John with such consistency and thoroughness as von Wahlde. The clarity of his exposition, as he lays bare the criteria that must be used to identify the traditions, his respectful use of other scholarship, and his lucid commentary on each of the strata make this work a milestone in Johannine scholarship."
R. Alan Culpepper
— McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University
"Von Wahlde has painstakingly reconstructed the composition of the Gospel of John, building on widely held views and offering methodological advances regarding the correlation of vocabulary, style, theology, and the history of the Johannine tradition in this quest. The result is very persuasive. Our understanding of the composition of the Gospel and the history of the Johannine community is coming into focus with greater and greater clarity. The various strands of evidence can be understood in relation to one another, and individual sections of the Gospel take on new meaning when read in light of von Wahlde's commentary. This magnificent achievement will shape the discussion of the Gospel of John, its theology, and its relationship to 1 John for the next generation. "