A Commentary on the Gospel of John

by Johannes Beutler, Francis J. Moloney (Foreword by)

Overview

New Testament scholar Johannes Beutler brings together a lifetime of study and reflection in this acclaimed commentary, first published in German in 2013 and now available to English-speaking audiences for the first time. Moving through the Gospel of John with a careful and critical eye, Beutler engages the relevant primary and secondary sources; summarizes the existing discussion; and presents syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic analyses of the text.

As he meticulously examines the Fourth Gospel, Beutler pays special attention to the influence of Old Testament and Early Jewish traditions, to the overall structure of the Gospel of John, and to evidence suggesting a later stratum of contextualized "re-readings" in the composition of the Gospel. Bold, literary, and theological, this volume represents a landmark work of German biblical scholarship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467448215
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	09/25/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	639
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Johannes Beutler, SJ, is professor emeritus of New Testament exegesis at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology, Frankfurt am Main, and the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome.

Table of Contents

Foreword Francis J. Moloney ix

Preface xiii

Abbreviations xv

Introduction 1

1 Character 1

2 Structure 4

3 Aim 9

4 Unity and Sources 13

5 History of Religions Background 17

6 Author, Time, Place 21

7 Text 24

8 Canonicity 25

9 Contemporary Significance 26

10 The Present Exegesis 29

The Divine Word Enters the World (1:1-4:54) 30

1 Prologue (1:1-18) 31

2 The Testimony of the Baptist (1:19-34) 52

3 The Call of the First Disciples (1:35-51) 62

4 The First Sign of Jesus in Cana (2:1-12) 74

5 The First Passover: Cleansing of the Temple (2:13-25) 83

6 The Dialogue with Nicodemus in Jerusalem (3:1-21) 89

7 Jesus in Judaea: Further Testimony of the Baptist (3:22-36) 100

8 Jesus in Samaria (4:1-42) 109

9 Jesus in Galilee (4:43-45) 128

10 Jesus's Second Sign in Cana of Galilee (4:46-54) 132

Jesus Reveals Himself to His People (5:1-10:42) 139

1 Jesus at the Feast of Weeks (5:1-47) 140

2 The Passover in Galilee (6:1-71) 164

3 Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles (7:1-10:21) 198

4 Jesus at the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple. His Withdrawal over the Jordan (10:22-39, 40-42) 280

Jesus on the Way To His Passion (11:1-12:50) 289

1 The Raising of Lazarus (11:1-46) 290

2 The Decision to Kill Jesus (11:47-54) 309

3 The Last Passover (11:55-57) 315

4 The Anointing of Jesus in Bethany (12:1-11) 316

5 Jesus's Entry into Jerusalem (12:12-19) 323

6 The Coming of the Greeks (12:20-36) 328

7 Look Back on the Activity of Jesus and Final Summons to Faith (12:37-50) 339

Jesus Bids Farewell (13:1-17:26) 347

1 The Footwashing (13:1-20) 349

2 The Identification of Judas and His Exit (13:21-30) 358

3 Transition to the Farewell Discourses (13:31-38) 362

4 The First Farewell Discourse (14:1-31) 368

5 The Second Farewell Discourse (15:1-16:4d) 392

6 The Third Farewell Discourse (16:4e-33) 412

7 The Prayer of the Departing Jesus (17:1-26) 424

Jesus's "Hour": Passion, Death, and Resurrection (18:1-20:31) 441

1 The Arrest of Jesus and the Jewish Trial (18:1-27) 449

2 The Roman Trial of Jesus (18:28-19:16b) 464

3 Crucifixion, Death, and Burial of Jesus (19:16c-42) 479

4 The Easter Narrative: Jesus's Appearances to the Disciples (20:1-31) 496

Epilogue: Jesus, Peter, and The Beloved Disciple (21:1-25) 520

Bibliography 547

Index of Names 589

Index of Primary Sources 596

Editorial Reviews

Paul N. Anderson
— George Fox University
“Displaying notably solid judgment and lucid insight, the lifetime Johannine study of one of Europe’s leading New Testament scholars is now available to the English-speaking world in this clear and accessible form. By interpreting the Fourth Gospel’s synchronicity of tradition within a diachronicity of situation, Johannes Beutler not only illumines our understandings of John’s message for its original audiences; he also unveils its meanings helpfully for readers today. A must-read for John’s interpreters!”

Reimund Bieringer
— University of Leuven
“An important characteristic of Johannes Beutler’s commentary on John is its coherent focus on the biblical roots of Johannine theology, explicitly and implicitly opposing (potentially) anti-Jewish interpretations of John. . . . This commentary will prove to be an important companion of many who desire to enter into dialogue with the Gospel of John in research, teaching, catechesis, proclamation, and particularly preaching. We are greatly indebted to Beutler for sharing with us the ripe fruit of his more than forty years of Johannine research.”

Francis J. Moloney (from the foreword)
— “Everyone interested in the Gospel of John—from the student to the pastor to the professional biblical scholar and theologian—has been rendered a great service by the publication of this translation. Uncomplicated, excellently documented, and written with a lightness of touch, Johannes Beutler’s commentary on the Gospel of John will provide a wonderful window for all English-only readers. They can now gaze through it into the exciting world of the best of European Johannine scholarship.

From the Publisher