Journal for the Study of the New Testament

http://jnt.sagepub.com 8. John
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2007; 29; 68 DOI: 10.1177/0142064X07080163 The online version of this article can be found at: http://jnt.sagepub.com

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JSNT 29.5 (2007) 68-78 Copyright 2007 SAGE Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore) http://JSNT.sagepub.com DOI: 10.1177/0142064X07080163

8. John

Allusion and Meaning in John 6 Susan Hylen

BZNW 137; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2005, 3-11-018577-6, 74.00, ix + 238 hb

After a brief discussion of the Rezeptionsgeschichte of Jn 6 from John Chrysostom to Peder Borgen, Hylen spends a good deal of time exploring the differences between allusions, intertextuality and metaphor, although without making the distinction absolutely clear. Essentially Hylen reads allusions as both metaphors and non-metaphors, but always as that which activates a relationship between one text and another. She argues strongly that allusions to the Exodus themes in Jn 6 activate (positive) relationships between the two texts, in line with conventional readings of the Exodus theme in two Hellenistic Jewish writers (Philo and Ben Sira). John 6 is then read within this context in order to elucidate positive allusions to the key Exodus themes of Moses, crossing the Red Sea, manna and the Israelites. Hylen concludes the study with a reading of Jn 6 which is heavily based on Dawsons distinction between gurative and gural readings. Dawsons distinction is dealt with very briey and clearly bears its own ideological agenda. This makes the subsequent reading of Jn 6 somewhat obscure and a little too ideological. When a reading is offered which stands against the vast majority of modern scholarship, a greater emphasis could have been given to the actual text and vocabulary of Jn 6. This work provides an insightful reading of the continuation of themes from Exodus through to Jn 6. However, it does not adequately address issues of discontinuity between the two texts and, although it seeks to redene Johannine dualism and Christology in ch. 6, it does not do so within the context of the Gospel as a whole.
Peter Phillips

The Beloved Disciple in Conict? Revisiting the Gospels of John and Thomas Ismo Dunderberg
Oxford: OUP, 2006, 0-19-928496-2, 45.00, xiii + 249 hb

Dunderbergs discussion of the hypothesis of a conict between the Johannine and Thomasine communities draws together a number of his recent studies on the topic, as well as adding some fresh material. Despite the number of pages, this is a relatively short book (printed with a large font on small pages with a generous amount

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of white-space), which repackages four of Dunderbergs earlier articles in slightly modied form. The two introductory chapters helpfully summarize and critique the positions of the main proponents of the theory of competition between the groups behind the Gospels of Thomas and John. Riley advocates conict due to differing stances on the physicality of the resurrection; DeConick suggests a dispute over vision mysticism; and Pagels highlights differences of interpretation surrounding Gen. 1.26-27. For Dunderberg this lack of consensus is a key reason for rejecting the conict hypothesis (pp. 45-46). This conclusion does not seem to follow, since it could still be the case that one of the suggestions could be correct. Chapters 4 to 6 draw heavily upon essays already published, and readily available in the volume by Risto Uro (ed.), Thomas at the Crossroads. These chapters deal with Jesus I-sayings in Thomas and the gure of the Beloved Disciple in John and Thomas. It does seem strange that such recent work is so quickly being remarketed. There is little that is new in Dunderbergs book for those who have read his earlier publications, and the price of the volume is hard to justify for such recycled material.
Paul Foster

The Branches of the Gospel of John: The Reception of the Fourth Gospel in the Early Church Kyle Keefer
LNTS 332; London: T&T Clark, 2006, 0-567-02861-5, 50.00, 118 hb

This is a short but wide-ranging and ambitious book. Its author considers the different ways in which a number of early Christian theologians interpreted the Fourth Gospel, and compares their approach to those of certain modern interpreters. He also draws on Hans Robert Jausss concept of Rezeptionssthetik and Gerhard Ebelings description of church history as the history of the exposition of scripture to argue that the work of early interpreters should not be neglected today. The ancient readers on whom he focuses, albeit very briey, are Heracleon, Irenaeus and Origen; their modern counterparts, discussed in shorter compass still, include Bultmann, Ksemann, Martyn, Meeks and Brown. The brevity of this book may be both a strength and a weakness. Its lightness and accessibility seems attractive, but often the discussion seems patchy and skims too lightly over the surface of some of the issues that it raises. It also appears very heavily dependent on secondary sources. Advanced level undergraduates and others may wish to consult it as a convenient introduction to certain aspects of the early interpretation of John, but should not neglect other works on this topic.
Andrew Gregory

The Christ is Jesus: Metamorphosis, Possession, and Johannine Christology Pamela E. Kinlaw
ACB 18; Atlanta: SBL, 2005, 1-58983-165-9, $32.95, vii + 206 pb

Pamela Kinlaws monograph explores the Christology of the Johannine Literature from within a putative ancient Mediterranean context. Kinlaw initially outlines three approaches to the study of Johannine Christology, especially the history of

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religions approach, and afrms her understanding of the role of the authorial audience. In chs. 2 and 3, Kinlaw outlines her thesis that divine theophany in ancient Mediterranean culture can be described within the broad categories of metamorphosis and possession. She then explores possession in relation to the Christology of the Epistles, arguing that dissension in the community centred on whether such possession was temporary or permanent. In the fth chapter, Kinlaw offers a more detailed exegesis of the Fourth Gospels Christology, once again focusing on possession. This is an important work which needs careful study. But its essential weakness is in the weak handling of the actual texts themselves. The impressively broad brush strokes hide a series of exegetical and methodological problems. Can divine appearances to humans, from Homer to Ovid and from Seneca to Isaiah, really be summarized into just two categories, however broad they are? What of some analysis into the anthropological, sociological and theological differences between Greek and Roman culture, never mind Roman and Jewish culture? In what sense is Johns Christology actually understood as possession when the Word becomes esh? Kinlaws stimulating thesis offers plenty of questions, but leaves many still to be answered.
Peter Phillips

Departure and Consolation: The Johannine Farewell Discourses in Light of Greco-Roman Literature George L. Parsenios
NovTSup 117; Leiden: Brill, 2005, 90-04-14278-9, 80.00, $103.00, xi + 174 hb

This monograph is a revised version of Parsenioss doctoral dissertation accepted by Yale University in 2002. In it he argues against the common opinion that the Johannine Farewell Discourses (Jn 1317) represent solely the genre of the Testamentwhether in its primarily Jewish form (e.g. The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs), or in its Graeco-Roman form (e.g. Platos Phaedo). Rather, to read the Discourses properly, they must be read against the backdrop of a wide range of Graeco-Roman literature. This includes classical drama (which, incidentally, explains the aporia in 14.31 etc. without recourse to redaction theories), consolation literature and the literary symposium. Above all, utilizing classical literature claries Jesus ongoing presence after his return to the Father, through the role of the Paraclete as his Doppelgnger. This is a well-researched and referenced monograph, that Brill has done well to publish. It makes no startling revelations regarding the Johannine Farewell Discourses, but this is hardly surprising given the wealth of study already done on them. However, it does present a good case that the Gospels recourse to various forms of GraecoRoman literature is deliberate and intentionalindeed, that it is intended to steer the listener. Parsenioss Greek Orthodox tradition occasionally inuences the monograph unduly (e.g. his insistence on calling the nal meal the Last Supper, with its Synoptic eucharistic overtones). But the over-riding value of this monograph is to point Johannine students and scholars alike to the wealth of Graeco-Roman literature that is relevant to Johannine studies. With Dodds Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel the proverbial pendulum began to swing towards the wealth of Jewish

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literature that has a bearing on the Johannine corpus. This monograph will certainly help to bring greater equilibrium in this regard.
Glenn Balfour

The Gospel According to St John Andrew T. Lincoln

BNTC; London/Peabody: Continuum/Hendrickson, 2005, 0-8264-7139-0/1-56563-401-2, 19.99, $29.95, ix + 584 pb

Commentary series all need updating, and Andrew Lincolns Blacks commentary on the Fourth Gospel is a commendable updating of one of the classic Johannine commentariesSanders/Mastin, 1968. However, it is not yet a replacement. The work is split into two main sections: a thorough and well-written introduction covering contemporary debates about the Gospel, and a commentary on passages giving specic notes and a general theological overview. The work also contains a bibliography and several brief indices. Aimed at the serious student, the work offers a straightforward and helpful commentary, which presents a literary interpretation of the work as a cohesive narrative, while eschewing footnotes and avoiding explicit engagement with more than a handful of other scholars or their works. As such, Lincoln provides both a cogent and sensible overview of the present state of Johannine scholarship, and a useful, well-written and understandable commentary. On occasions, of course, Lincolns own work on the Fourth Gospel is included in the overview, with an emphasis throughout on the trial motif and on the role of witnesses. This emphasis on witness sometimes sits uneasily alongside discussions of the Gospels lack of historical reliabilitywhy would the author seek to defend something he knew was false? Or does there need to be some differentiation between the real world and the symbolic world of the Johannine community? Such issues show how, governed by the remit for this series, the commentary tends to focus on consensus readings rather than forge new ones and seems to sum up old conversations rather than start new ones.
Peter Phillips

Imagery in the Gospel of John: Terms, Forms, Themes, and Theology of Johannine Figurative Language Jrg Frey, Jan G. van der Watt & Ruben Zimmerman, eds. with Gabi Kern
WUNT 200; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006, 3-16-149116-5, 109.00, x + 495 hb

Imagery in the Fourth Gospel is hardly a novel topic. But these essays provide fresh thinking. The introductory essay by Zimmermann argues that images should not be confused with reality, but they enable the reader to see Jesus with deeper insight. In the section on Terms, Forms and Methods, Attridge sees an interconnected system ultimately focusing on the cross. Hirsh-Luipold and Poplutz look at althinos, paroimia, parrsia, smeion; Petersen at the Jn 8.12 I AM saying; Zumstein, the vine metaphor. Anderson introduces gradations of symbolism as a control on theologizing speculation gone awry. The essays on Texts, Themes and Theology, including Thompson on God, Busse on kingship, Coloe on John the Baptist, Maritz and Van Belle on Jn 6.35, Tolmie on shepherd imagery and Peter, Culpepper on the

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church illuminated through Jn 21, Koester on the human condition, and Van der Watt on ethics illustrate the essential place of images in developing Johannine theology, Christology, anthropology and ecclesiology. This collection has a clear focus on the theological function of imagery. The essay by Zimmerman gives an excellent orientation to contemporary study. The other methodological studies show how John develops traditional images to illuminate Jesus, essentially a Christologizing of symbols. The theological essays show this process in practice. This is a rich volume indeed.
Kent Brower

Incarnation and Covenant in the Prologue to the Fourth Gospel (John 1:1-18) Wilson Paroschi
EHS 23.820; Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2006, 3-631-54830-3, 29.80, xv + 238 pb

In this monograph, Paroschi provides a close exegetical reading of the Prologue of Johns Gospel, providing ample footnotes and direction for the reader. After a brief introduction, ch. 2 asserts that Jn 1.1-5 refers to the pre-existent Logos, refuting all arguments to the contrary. Chapter 3 argues that Jn 1.6-13 refers to the ministry of the incarnate Logos, while in ch. 4, Paroschis contention is that Jn 1.14-18 provides a theological reection on the ministry of the incarnate Logos described in the previous section. The work also includes an extensive and mostly up-to-date Johannine bibliography, as well as an essay refuting the hymn hypothesis for the Prologues background. Paroschis style is somewhat declarative, refuting scholarship with which he disagrees and imposing on the reader the only reading with which he can agree. There is no room for ambiguity and little for scholarly debate. This idiosyncratic style seriously limits the amount of space which Paroschi can give to validating his own, at times eccentric, arguments. So, his exploration of covenant is limited to one page, apparently ignoring the possibility of any covenant prior to Sinai. Students of the Prologue will want to make use of this text, not least for the wealth of information in the footnotes. Since the basic contention of the work represents the broad consensus of contemporary Johannine scholars, it seems strange that Paroschi feels that so much needs to be refuted!
Peter Phillips

Jesuss Death and the Gathering of True Israel: The Johannine Appropriation of Restoration Theology in the Light of John 11.47-52 John A. Dennis
WUNT 2.217; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006, 3-16-148821-0, 69.00, xi + 418 pb

Discussions on restoration theology generally ignore John, perhaps because of questions about historical reliability. Dennis disagrees. John is steeped in restoration theology and, according to 11.47-52, Jesus death brings about Israels restoration, although not quite as expected. Jesus death and resurrection break the bonds of oppression and establish the eschatological dwelling of God for the restored community, in effect gathering the scattered people of God. Ironically, Jesus death is for the Ioudaioi, those who are ethnically and geographically Judeans, and the nations

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are saved in the wake of Israels restoration (p. 345). Children of God are the true Israel, Johns community, which is Jewish. By extension 11.52b could have been, at some point, applied to Gentiles who entered Johns community (p. 348), even the other sheep of Jn 10.15-16 point to non-Gentile believers while the Greeks of 12.20 are already attached to Judaism. This study deserves far more than this short note. A key point is Denniss acceptance of Boyarins denition of Ioudaioi. But this is far from all that leads to his tart observation that there is simply nothing in the FG that corresponds to the commission of Mt. 28.19 The nations as such are not the focus for John (p. 306). If he is correct, then the Johannine debates are all in-house and cannot be anti-Semitic, whatever the subsequent reception history may tell us. Excellent stuff.
Kent Brower

The Jews and the World in the Fourth Gospel Lars Kierspel
WUNT 2.220; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006, 3-16-149069-X, 54.00, xii + 283 pb

Since the Holocaust, the alleged anti-Semitism of John has been the focus of many studies. This study rejects a literalist and racist interpretation of the Jews in favour of a reading that treats humanity as a whole as the opposition. Kierspel discusses ve proposed meanings for Ioudaios, but none is persuasive. Religious authorities cannot be sustained linguistically; Inhabitants of Judea fails to resolve the problem; all followers of the Jewish religion misses the parallel between the Jews and the world; Jewish Christians is too narrow; a cipher for all who do not believe is too unhistorical. Most recent studies suffer from reductionism. Only a synchronic analysis can show the parallelism between the Jews and the world in opposition to Jesus and his followers. Thus, opposition to Jesus from the Jews is a subset of opposition from the world. This is an excellent study. Kierspels analysis is comprehensive and fair; his attention to linguistic detail in a whole-Gospel, sequential reading is persuasive; his proposed life setting is defensible. If Kierspel is right, then John cannot be used in an anti-Semitic fashion. Instead, opposition to Jesus from the Jews continues in opposition from the world and past history is actualized for present purposes (p. 218). Hence, this Gospel treats all who oppose JesusJews and Gentiles alikeas participants in the drama. The tension in John is not a dualism of race but one of religion (p. 239). Of course, this presents its own problems for interfaith dialogue, but it at least removes the charge of anti-Semitism.
Kent Brower

Das Johannesevangelium Hartwig Thyen

HNT I/6; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005, 3-16-148485-1, 49.00, xii + 796 pb

Thyens work on the sources, authorship and scholarly interpretation of the Fourth Gospel will be well known to those who read German. It is therefore good to have a commentary which bears all the hallmarks of his careful, sensitive interpretation and thus provides a coherent exploration of this Gospel, not least in its literary relationship

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with the synoptics. Here, Thyen prefers to explore this relationship in terms of intertextuality rather than sources, as such, reminding us that the issue is a case of positing the presumed knowledge of the synoptics by the readers of the Gospel as much as that of the author. This is in keeping with his reluctance to treat the Gospel diachronically; the focus is clearly on its literary qualities (Thyen summarizes these with the word, hochpoetischen). It also relates to Thyens insistence that John was intended for all Christians and not just a specic Johannine community. As one might expect, the exegesis itself is detailed (often punctuated by excurses) and conversant with the secondary literature, even though Thyen clearly ploughs his own furrow. The main omissions are of any kind of treatment of introductory matters (Thyens view on such questions can be found in the relevant articles of the Theologische Realenzyklopdie and in a recently published essay collection, where one gets a clearer sense than here of the fact that Thyen was a pupil of Bultmann) and of any indices, the latter a particular frustration when trying to locate the excurses, or making more thematic use of the commentary. Nevertheless, this is a major commentary, and Johannine scholars will want to consult it often.
Sean Winter

Johannine Discipleship as a Covenant Relationship Rekha M. Chennattu

Peabody: Hendrickson, 2006, 1-56563-668-6, $29.95, 17.99, xxiv + 256 pb

This monograph, with a foreword from Chennattus supervisor, Francis Moloney, explores the relationship between discipleship and covenant themes in the Fourth Gospel. The work opens with a brief overview of a selection of works on Johannine discipleship, sometimes including minor articles rather than major monographs, as well as a reading of Jn 1.35-51. Chapters 23 introduce OT covenant motifs before switching abruptly to a detailed look at the Upper Room Discourse of Jn 1317, interpreted in terms of covenant renewal. Chapter 4 explores the development of discipleship themes in Jn 2021, with the nal chapter applying these to the sociohistorical context of rst-century Judaism. Chennattus work provides an important addition to the discussion of Johannine discipleship. The exploration of Jn 1317 as covenant renewal offers a fresh reading and ts well into Chennattus thesis, although important alternative voices, especially Simoens and Segovia, are not adequately addressed. The basic understanding that covenant themes underlie Johannine discipleship would not be contested by anyone, but the suggestion that the Upper Room Discourse represents a covenant renewal ceremony is more contestable. More surprising is the limited, indeed almost absent, discussion of the disciples, especially the Beloved Disciple, as paradigmatic developments of the covenant relationship through the Gospel; also the piecemeal approach to the Gospels overall narrative structure; and, perhaps most important, the lack of discussion concerning the role played by the Logos/Jesus and the Paraclete/Holy Spirit within this covenant relationship.
Peter Phillips

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BOOKLIST 8. John
John Gail R. ODay & Susan E. Hylen
WBC; Louisville, KY: WJK, 2006, 0-664-25260-5, $24.95, x + 205 pb

75

This commentary is part of the Westminster Bible Companion Series which aims to help lay people read the Bible with greater clarity and with a deeper understanding of the difculties in the text. Its brief introduction covers not just historical issues of authorship and date, and theological issues of Christology, but also more literary concerns such as irony, characterization and metaphor. The Gospel is divided into four parts. Each part is introduced and then broken down into sections. The text of each section is given, followed by a discussion of its context, its use of key words, characterization and storytelling-techniques. Controversial issues, such as who is the speaker of Jn 3.31-36, are mentioned but not dwelt upon. Brief excurses on The Jews and on The Eucharist in John are included. Throughout, the texts signicance for modern readers is highlighted. The book fulls its aims well. It is free from scholarly references and inaccessible language and offers an uncluttered but not unsophisticated reading of the Gospel. Its discussion of Jesus trial before Pilate (18.2819.16a), which it reads as a drama in seven scenes, is particularly helpful and clear. ODay and Hylen do not shirk from admitting that modern readers can only know so much about the meaning of an ancient text, and that there are aspects of this text which modern interpreters cannot fathom with certainty. This honest approach is engaging, and the authors interaction with the translation decisions of the NRSV will be of interest to many readers. What has been sacriced in terms of detailed analysis by the constraints of the format of this commentary is richly compensated for in its clarity and accessibility.
Alison Jack

Lazarus, Mary and Martha: Social-Scientic Approaches to the Gospel of John Philip F. Esler & Ronald Piper
Minneapolis/London: Fortress/SCM, 2006, 0-8006-3830-1/0-334-04016-7, $22.00, 29.99, vi + 201 pb/hb

Esler and Pipers book is the fruit of a paper presented at the 2003 St Andrews conference on the Gospel of John and Christian theology. It aims to provide a fresh social perspective, to understand the account of Mary, Martha and Lazarus in terms of intercultural communication and communion, and to raise questions about contemporary Christian experience and identity. It is set out in seven chapters and two brief appendices (respectively on translating Ioudaioi as Judaeans and the spice used in the anointing, Jn 12.3). A subject and author index is included. The book follows a familiar social-scientic pattern. It starts with a brief survey of the literature and continues with a denition and defence of the social-scientic model (in this case social identity theory). It provides an analysis of textual issues (including discussion of synoptic parallels) and then applies the model to Mary, Martha and Lazarus respectively, in relation to their roles as exemplars of the family group embodying love and the raising of the dead. This application is followed with a conrmation of the utility of the model, in this case by reference to illustrations from early Christian art. What is perhaps the books strongest feature, and less

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familiar in such treatments, is the theological conclusion, which draws several threads together in its discussion of intercultural communication and communion. It is curious for a social treatment, which identies Lazarus, Mary and Martha as siblings and a family, that there is no discussion of what such categories might have meant in a rst-century Judaean contextthe sort of omission that Bruce Malina was castigating in the 1970s.
Timothy Ling

Life in Abundance: Studies of Johns Gospel in Tribute to Raymond E. Brown John R. Donahue, ed.
Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2005, 0-8146-3011-1, $29.95, 20.99, xiv + 313 pb

Raymond E. Browns contribution to the eld of Johannine scholarship is undisputed. But what of his legacy? This volume brings together papers on the Fourth Gospel delivered at a conference held in Browns honour at St Marys Baltimore in 2003, and edited by John Donahue, rst holder of the Chair established there in Browns honour. It is divided into four sections, each containing substantial papers and shorter responses by conference participants: the challenges and prospects of Johannine studie, the Gospels historical context, the theology of the Gospel, an assessment of Browns work (particularly his view of the sensus plenior in interpreting scripture, and his pastoral writings). A number of themes predominate in this volume. First, there is Browns enormous contribution both to the academy and to making connections between the academy and the church (this is explicitly addressed in the paper by Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, though is a recurring theme throughout). Second, there is an assessment of Browns specic contribution to Johannine studies, which has required a certain replotting in the light of his posthumously published Introduction to the Gospel of John (the chapter by its editor, Francis Maloney, is particularly instructive here). Third, this collection explores the prospects for Johannine studies in our post-Brown world: including the contribution of more synchronic approaches, a greater awareness of ideological stance, and the future survival of the Johannine Community hypothesis. This is an excellent and timely collection, which sets out the state of play in Johannine studies and offers new insight into particular theological and historical issues. It offers much of value to scholars in the eld, while also accessible to students wishing to deepen their engagement with the Fourth Gospel.
Ian Boxall

The Prologue of the Fourth Gospel: A Sequential Reading Peter M. Phillips

LNTS 294; London: T&T Clark, 2006, 0-567-03065-2, 65.00, xvi + 258 hb

Phillips examines Jn 1.1-18 through a text-based reading strategy that he calls sequential disclosure. Phillips devotes the second to fourth chapters to Literary Theory, Rhetoric and Sociolinguistics, setting methodological foundations. First, the literary theory of Iser and Eco, amongst others, supports the view that this text allows ambiguity to promote interaction but gradually discloses its signicance. Then, through informal rhetoric, Johns author invites readers to question their assumptions.

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Phillipss sociolinguistic analysis points to a community willing to engage with the world around it. In ch. 5, Phillips examines logos. Although none of the possible textual backgrounds adequately explains the term, cultural intertextual links are extensive. Thus, logos signies a universal concept and therefore is an ambiguous word. The text is therefore open, connecting with the range of traditions available and questioning all of them. In fact, because logos disappears and is replaced by the historical Jesus, all presuppositions are challenged. The penultimate chapter gives a verse-by-verse exegesis of the prologue in which the sequential reading strategy is put into practice. This demanding study is persuasive. Phillipss sophisticated analysis demonstrates that this Gospel has an evangelistic agenda. By redening logos, primarily based upon the Jewish scriptures but accessible to others, the author invites readers to become part of the we of the Gospel. This invitation is extended to other Christians and non-Christians, to Jews and Gentiles alike. Thus, mission is a central focus. The prologue, in fact, effectively contributes to the authors stated agenda in 20.31.
Kent Brower

Raconter, voir, croire: Parcours narratifs du quatrime vangile Yves-Marie Blanchard, lie Latour, Franois Mirguet & Batrice Oiry
CRB 61; Paris: Gabalda, 2005, 2-85021-166-7, 30.00, 90 pb

This short book contains three papers presented by doctoral students at a seminar on Johannine narratology at the Institut Catholique de Paris led by Yves-Marie Blanchard, who provides a fourth summarizing paper. Franoise Mirguet opens with an exploration of the role of narration/narrator and reading/reader, looking at the use of rst and second person personal pronouns and the role of four paradigmatic characters in the Fourth Gospel. In this study, Mirguet highlights a constellation of interlocking narrative layers which reveal the readers privileged place of understanding within the Gospels narrative. lie Latours paper unpicks the difference between narrative and discourse, exploring the effects of Johannine irony and misunderstanding. Guided by the Prologue, Latour argues that in the end readers must put aside their own understanding and see the world centred on Jesus as the discourse of God. Batrice Oirys paper explores the journey of the reader through the nal chapters of the Gospel (pp. 20-21), focusing especially on seeing, body and Scripture. Yves-Marie Banchards concluding paper outlines the essential points raised by the students, especially the role of narratology and the effect of the text on the reading process. Overall this collection of papers presents some rst-class explorations of the Johannine narrative through a specically French lens, providing worthwhile examples of imaginative readings from three gifted doctoral students.
Peter Phillips

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Die Theologie der Liebe Gottes in den johanneischen Schriften: Zur Semantik der Liebe und zum Motivkreis des Dualismus Enno Edzard Popkes
WUNT 2.197; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005, 3-16-148669-2, 74.00, xx + 466 pb

This book is a Dissertation, written at Munich under the supervision of Jrg Frey. It surveys the theme of love in the Johannine literature. The material on love is seen as exerting a theological controlling force to which other theological motifs, such as dualistic ones, are subordinate. For Johns Gospel in particular, Popkes develops a comprehensive system in which the Christology and soteriology are primarily expressed through a network of relationships of love: between God and Jesus, God and the world, Jesus and the disciples, and the disciples and the world (after Jesus death). In terms of text, Popkes focuses especially on 1 Jn 4.75.4, Jn 17, Jn 3.1-21 and the Farewell Discourse. This sequence of texts in Johns Gospel is indicative of Popkess system. One nal conclusion to mention is that the schism in the Johannine community is a key contextual consideration shaping all the writings (with the Gospel prior to the letters). This is an interesting study, drawing attention to many connections that are not generally considered. Popkess ideas about the importance of the theme of love in Johns Gospel seem strong. However, it will probably be harder for him to persuade other scholars of the systemic subordination of dualistic motifs to love-related ones. Judgment on this issue will tend to be related to views about the context of the Gospel and the letters. If Popkes is right about the centrality of the schism to all the texts, then his argument has a fair amount to commend it.
Peter Oakes

Das Corpus Johanneum bei Irenus von Lyon: Studien und Kommentar zum dritten Buch von Adversus Haereses, Mutschler Forme culturali del cristianesimo nascente, Destro & Pesce

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