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The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries
The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI
This volume concludes Raymond E. Brown's commentary on the Gospel of John. Continuing his study begun in Anchor Bible Volume 29, the author translates the original Greek text into today's English. which allows all readers to make sense of the Gospel.
663 pages, Hardcover
First published January 27, 1970
About the author
Raymond E. Brown
138 books102 followersRoman Catholic priest, member of Society of Saint-Sulpice and a prominent biblical scholar, esteemed by not only his colleagues of the same confession. One of the first Roman Catholic scholars to apply historical-critical analysis to the Bible.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 1, 2017
A very extensive 2 vol work on the Gospel of John. Each section begins with a language and syntax analysis. Brown goes into great length concerning interpretation issues. If there is any negatives it is that there is so much to cover you may have to skim a bit to leave time for perspectives from other commentators.
January 2, 2019
Despite the hints of Roman Catholicism, higher criticism, and allegorical interpretation, this is by far the best commentary on John's gospel that I've ever encountered. Brown's work makes this gospel come alive in a way that few are able to match in our day. This commentary paired with DA Carson's and/or perhaps CK Barrett, Leon Morris, and Ridderbos is all that's needed for this gospel.
April 29, 2015
Raymond E. Brown's second volume in Anchor Bible series
The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI
(also known as Volume 29a of the series) continues his masterful translation and analysis of the Beloved Disciple's witness to the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. In Volume 29, Brown calls the first twelve chapters the Book of Signs. It looks at Jesus's public ministry that from the wedding in Cana to Jerusalem on that fateful Passover.
In this volume, which Brown calls the Book of Glory, John writes about the events that lead to Christ's glorification: Jesus's final discourses with his disciples at the Last Supper, the Passion, the Resurrection as well as the supplemental ending found in the 21st chapter. In many ways, this half of The Gospel According to John is very different from the first twelve chapters. In the Book of Signs, John seems to be writing to Jewish Christians who are reluctant to risk being expelled from the synagogue. In the Book of Glory, Brown thinks John and his final redactor are writing to Christians at the of the first century who are witnessing the end of the apostolic generation. So along with the Christ's glorification, the evangelist writes about the Paraclete which is Jesus's gift to the Eleven remaining disciples and to all Christians that come after them. John is unique among the Gospel writers because he doesn't write about the Ascension because for him Christ remains with disciples through the Paraclete.
Many people mistake the Paraclete for the Holy Ghost, but for John and his community the Paraclete is the Spirit of the Truth that comes with discipleship faith in Christ. The Paraclete helped the Eleven understand what was happening. In fact, it could be said, that John's witness is a product of the Paraclete. Whereas Mark and Mathew proclaim the Good News and Luke writes about the evangelization of the Good News, John (and the Paraclete) bear witness to the Truth. As Brown writes "The Johannine notion of the true witness goes beyond an eyewitness report of exactly what happened; it includes the adaptation of what happened so that its truth can be seen by and be significant for subsequent generations. In other words, John was not only writing to Christians at the end of the first century, he was writing to future readers and believers as well.
The evangelist and his redactor(s) realized the end of the apostolic generation was at hand. Indeed, Chapter 21 is a supplement to the gospel that addresses the issue that the Beloved Disciple may have been near death or already dead. John is preparing his readers for a world without him and the other apostles. This makes Jesus's last beatitude which was said to Thomas in Chapter 20 especially poignant. "Happy are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
The two volumes together-which includes an Introduction, the Translation, Notes, Comments, six Appendices and Bibliography-thoroughly examines every pericope of John's Gospel. Together the two volumes are over 1300 pages in length. It's an awesome work written intelligently for a general reader. This was a major goal of the Anchor Bible series. Is it worth reading! Absolutely! Every word! I also look forward to reading Brown's third volume in this series that concerns John's letters as well as his other book outside the series. Enjoy.
In this volume, which Brown calls the Book of Glory, John writes about the events that lead to Christ's glorification: Jesus's final discourses with his disciples at the Last Supper, the Passion, the Resurrection as well as the supplemental ending found in the 21st chapter. In many ways, this half of The Gospel According to John is very different from the first twelve chapters. In the Book of Signs, John seems to be writing to Jewish Christians who are reluctant to risk being expelled from the synagogue. In the Book of Glory, Brown thinks John and his final redactor are writing to Christians at the of the first century who are witnessing the end of the apostolic generation. So along with the Christ's glorification, the evangelist writes about the Paraclete which is Jesus's gift to the Eleven remaining disciples and to all Christians that come after them. John is unique among the Gospel writers because he doesn't write about the Ascension because for him Christ remains with disciples through the Paraclete.
Many people mistake the Paraclete for the Holy Ghost, but for John and his community the Paraclete is the Spirit of the Truth that comes with discipleship faith in Christ. The Paraclete helped the Eleven understand what was happening. In fact, it could be said, that John's witness is a product of the Paraclete. Whereas Mark and Mathew proclaim the Good News and Luke writes about the evangelization of the Good News, John (and the Paraclete) bear witness to the Truth. As Brown writes "The Johannine notion of the true witness goes beyond an eyewitness report of exactly what happened; it includes the adaptation of what happened so that its truth can be seen by and be significant for subsequent generations. In other words, John was not only writing to Christians at the end of the first century, he was writing to future readers and believers as well.
The evangelist and his redactor(s) realized the end of the apostolic generation was at hand. Indeed, Chapter 21 is a supplement to the gospel that addresses the issue that the Beloved Disciple may have been near death or already dead. John is preparing his readers for a world without him and the other apostles. This makes Jesus's last beatitude which was said to Thomas in Chapter 20 especially poignant. "Happy are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
The two volumes together-which includes an Introduction, the Translation, Notes, Comments, six Appendices and Bibliography-thoroughly examines every pericope of John's Gospel. Together the two volumes are over 1300 pages in length. It's an awesome work written intelligently for a general reader. This was a major goal of the Anchor Bible series. Is it worth reading! Absolutely! Every word! I also look forward to reading Brown's third volume in this series that concerns John's letters as well as his other book outside the series. Enjoy.
July 24, 2011
Detailed. Thorough. Encyclopedic. Brown displays thorough knowledge of the literature, is careful in his critical use of sources and manuscripts, and provides his own excellent translation. There are more recent commentaries on John that move beyond his insights, but they stand on Brown's shoulders.
August 29, 2023
*The* commentary on John.
Fair warning, it helps if you have some prior knowledge of John, Scripture, and Biblical Studies in general.
Fair warning, it helps if you have some prior knowledge of John, Scripture, and Biblical Studies in general.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews