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John: Volume 2A
Brimming with lavish, full-color photos and graphics, the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary walks you verse by verse through all the books of the New Testament. It's like slipping on a set of glasses that lets you read the Bible through the eyes of a first-century reader! Discoveries await you that will snap the world of the New Testament into gripping immediacy. Things that seem mystifying, puzzling, or obscure will take on tremendous meaning when you view them in their ancient context. You'll deepen your understanding of the teachings of Jesus. You'll discover the close, sometimes startling interplay between God's kingdom and the practical affairs of the church. Best of all, you'll gain a deepened awareness of the Bible's relevance for your life. Written in a clear, engaging style, this beautiful set provides a new and accessible approach that more technical expository and exegetical commentaries don't offer.
Features include:
Commentary based on relevant papyri, inscriptions, archaeological discoveries, and studies of Judaism, Roman culture, Hellenism, and other features of the world of the New Testament
Hundreds of full-color photographs, color illustrations, and line drawings
Copious maps, charts, and timelines
Sidebar articles and insights
"Reflections" on the Bible's relevance for 21st-century living
Features include:
Commentary based on relevant papyri, inscriptions, archaeological discoveries, and studies of Judaism, Roman culture, Hellenism, and other features of the world of the New Testament
Hundreds of full-color photographs, color illustrations, and line drawings
Copious maps, charts, and timelines
Sidebar articles and insights
"Reflections" on the Bible's relevance for 21st-century living
272 pages, Hardcover
Published May 21, 2019
13 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Craig S. Keener
144 books245 followersCraig S. Keener (PhD, Duke University) is professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of many books, including Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, the bestseller The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, Gift and Giver, and commentaries on Matthew, John, Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, and Revelation.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 16, 2019
Before I even cracked open this book, I figured it might be the most important in the Reformation Commentary on Scripture (RCS) simply because it covers Romans 1-8. I further imagined that its editor would likely find what to leave out more difficult than what to put in with such a wealth of Reformation writings on these chapters available. When I finally perused this volume, I found that editor Gwenfair Walters Adams had done as well as job as could be done though arbitrary choices had to be made.
I enjoyed Adam’s introduction to the commentary on Romans 1-8. She fully described the challenges you would anticipate with this volume and yet gave a wonderful overview in around 25 large pages. She explained which groups wrote widely on Romans and which did not and yet was equitable to all. I felt she was exceptionally fair to the Anabaptists and accurately stated their position. Without doubt, this volume favors a Calvinistic viewpoint, but what else would you expect from a Reformation commentary?
If you are familiar with this series, you will be pleased to know that this latest release is wonderfully consistent in following the series format and making interesting selections from Reformation writings. General editor Timothy George has succeeded in having this series make a congruous presentation.
Picky readers can always argue selections made for each passage, yet it would be impossible to debate the distinct contribution this volume makes. There is nowhere else you could gain all these Reformation insights between two covers. And as we said before, these chapters were the favorite of the Reformers. There simply had to be great pressure in covering Romans 1-8 in the RCS series and that pressure has brought us a pearl.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
I enjoyed Adam’s introduction to the commentary on Romans 1-8. She fully described the challenges you would anticipate with this volume and yet gave a wonderful overview in around 25 large pages. She explained which groups wrote widely on Romans and which did not and yet was equitable to all. I felt she was exceptionally fair to the Anabaptists and accurately stated their position. Without doubt, this volume favors a Calvinistic viewpoint, but what else would you expect from a Reformation commentary?
If you are familiar with this series, you will be pleased to know that this latest release is wonderfully consistent in following the series format and making interesting selections from Reformation writings. General editor Timothy George has succeeded in having this series make a congruous presentation.
Picky readers can always argue selections made for each passage, yet it would be impossible to debate the distinct contribution this volume makes. There is nowhere else you could gain all these Reformation insights between two covers. And as we said before, these chapters were the favorite of the Reformers. There simply had to be great pressure in covering Romans 1-8 in the RCS series and that pressure has brought us a pearl.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
December 6, 2021
(Full review at SpoiledMilks, 11/14/19)
Craig Keener is a prolific scholar. Everything he writes is quality, nuanced, well-read, and usually massive. Keener understands wide swaths of Jewish and Greco-Roman literature. This commentary is a condensed version of his 2-volume John commentary. There are still references here to Jewish and Greco-Roman writings, Roman and Hellenistic culture, but there are no footnotes (only 1,500 endnotes).
The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary series aims to give Christians “good historical information” about the Bible without giving all of the information that can be given. There are “hundreds of photos, maps, charts, artwork, timelines, sidebars, and reflections within these pages.
* Keener provides a two-page spread on who the Samaritans were (John 4).
* Though he doesn’t believe the story of the woman caught in adultery to be canonical, he explores what Jesus may have written on the ground (John 8:6, 8).
* He gives five pages to different topics in John 10, “Figurative Use of Shepherds in Antiquity,” “The Sheep Image,” “Thieves and Robbers,” and “Sheep Pens and Gates.”
* Other topics covered would be the Jewish understanding of “The Name,” the understanding of the Holy Spirit as “The Advocate,” the meanings of “The Spirit of Truth” and “Indwelling of Deity,” “The Vine,” “Pruning, “Ancient Friendship Ideals,” “Resurrection,” “Parallels to the Resurrection Appearances?,” etc.
Recommended?
This series gives more information per verse than a study Bible and less than the larger commentaries. It’s great for a layperson wanting to dive deeper into the text without getting in over their heads.
Craig Keener is a prolific scholar. Everything he writes is quality, nuanced, well-read, and usually massive. Keener understands wide swaths of Jewish and Greco-Roman literature. This commentary is a condensed version of his 2-volume John commentary. There are still references here to Jewish and Greco-Roman writings, Roman and Hellenistic culture, but there are no footnotes (only 1,500 endnotes).
The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary series aims to give Christians “good historical information” about the Bible without giving all of the information that can be given. There are “hundreds of photos, maps, charts, artwork, timelines, sidebars, and reflections within these pages.
* Keener provides a two-page spread on who the Samaritans were (John 4).
* Though he doesn’t believe the story of the woman caught in adultery to be canonical, he explores what Jesus may have written on the ground (John 8:6, 8).
* He gives five pages to different topics in John 10, “Figurative Use of Shepherds in Antiquity,” “The Sheep Image,” “Thieves and Robbers,” and “Sheep Pens and Gates.”
* Other topics covered would be the Jewish understanding of “The Name,” the understanding of the Holy Spirit as “The Advocate,” the meanings of “The Spirit of Truth” and “Indwelling of Deity,” “The Vine,” “Pruning, “Ancient Friendship Ideals,” “Resurrection,” “Parallels to the Resurrection Appearances?,” etc.
Recommended?
This series gives more information per verse than a study Bible and less than the larger commentaries. It’s great for a layperson wanting to dive deeper into the text without getting in over their heads.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews