Discovering John

Content, Interpretation, Reception

Ruth B. Edwards

• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9780802872401
• eBook ISBN: 9781467443869
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

Student-friendly introduction to the Gospel of John
This up-to-date introduction to John's Gospel is the first volume in the Discovering Biblical Texts series, which encourages students to engage deeply with the biblical writings by alerting them to key issues and questions raised by the text.
In Discovering John Ruth Edwards covers the structure, content, theological concerns, key interpretive debates, and historical reception of the Gospel of John. Does John still have meaning for the church and contemporary society? Does it need to be reinterpreted for today's world? Is it anti-Semitic? Edwards expertly guides readers through these questions and others, helping those interested in this provocative, sometimes enigmatic Gospel to discover the answers for themselves.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface to the Second Edition
• Preface to the First Edition
• List of Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Interpreting John: Strategies for Reading
• 3 The Question of Authorship
• 4 Traditions, Sources and Relation to the ‘Historical Jesus’
• 5 Purpose, Audience, Place and Date of Composition
• 6 Jesus’ Miracles as Narrative Theology
• 7 Christological Confessions and Titles for Jesus
• 8 Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection
• 9 Jesus: Word Incarnate and Father’s Son
• 10 Characters in John’s Story
• 11 ‘Anti-Semitism’/‘Anti-Judaism’ in John’s Gospel?
• 12 ‘Replacement Theology’ and Jewish Monotheism
• 13 Conclusions: The Value of John’s Gospel Today
• Table 1 The Structure of John’s Gospel
• Table 2 Jesus’ Burial and Resurrection in the Gospels
• Excursus 1 The Text of John
• Excursus 2 The Problem of ‘Eyewitness’ Testimony
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index of Biblical References
• Index of Ancient Authors and Texts
• Index of Names and Subjects