John Through the Centuries

This commentary by Mark Edwards on the Fourth Gospel is in the new Blackwell Bible Commentaries Series, which focuses on the reception history of the biblical text. Edwards, known for his previous work on Origen and Platonism, has assembled a wide range of interpretations from a variety of media (e.g., sermons, commentaries, hymns, art, poetry, music, drama, and film) to illustrate the ways in which Fourth Gospel has been interpreted in various contexts through the centuries. Edwards begins the commentary with an introduction that sketches out major moments in the Fourth Gospels history of interpretati on, calling attention to the major interpreters and the issues with which they were occupied. Moving into the commentary proper, Edwards treats the Fourth Gospel in discrete sections and structures his treatment of each section in the same way. First there is a prologue, which sets up each section by calling attention to major theological points and critical issues that have been a concern to interpreters of the following material. For each verse or cluster of verses, Edwards assembles a variety of exegetical perspectives from different moments in the Fourth Gospels reception history. In a manner somewh at like a medieval catena, the statements and perspectives of exegetes and artistic interpreters of the Fourth Gospel from these different moments are arranged side by side in the comment on a particular verse. [Full Review]