John

Introductory Studies

Three good conservative introductions are Leon Morris’s Studies in the Fourth Gospel (Paternoster, 1969), Robert Kysar’s The Fourth Evangelist and His Gospel (Augsburg, 1975) and Stephen Smalley’s John-Evangelist and Interpreter (Paternoster, 1978).

Commentaries

The major conservative commentary on John is by Leon Morris (Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1971). One drawback of this work is that theological and historical details are sometimes not dealt with extensively. C. K. Barrett’s The Gospel According to St John (Revised edition, SPCK, 1978) is more thorough and useful in exposition. This has a good introduction but may be beyond the competence of some because it uses Greek extensively.

The two-volume commentary by Raymond Brown in the Anchor Bible Series (Geoffrey Chapman, 1971) is even more thorough and detailed in analysis of the text. It is clearly based on Greek exegesis but it is more possible for those without a knowledge of the language to use Brown than Barrett. This is because the Greek text is transliterated, and each section has detailed notes and a long section of comment. Its attractive layout style also makes for easy reading.

The Word Commentary by G. R. Beasley-Murray (Word, 1987) follows the helpful format of this series by providing exegetical and theological comments based on the Greek text without extensive reference to it. It aims to be a preacher’s commentary and is not simply an examination of issues raised by contemporary scholarship. One reservation about Beasley-Murray’s work is that it provides insufficient space for some significant verses or sections. This is perhaps inevitable with a book like John, which has provoked so many lines of interpretation. Ultimately, one needs to consult other commentaries to get an adequate treatment of this all-important Gospel. An example is Don Carson’s Jesus and His Friends (IVP, 1986), which is a worthwhile exposition of the upper room discourse in John 14-17.

Leviticus and Numbers

These two books must be among the least familiar in the Bible to most modern Christians. That is one good reason to study them and teach them! Our problem, of course, with such books as these is with their relevance. The food laws, the sacrificial laws, the festivals-what can these things have to say to a Christian in 1988?

Some readers will have on their shelves a copy of Andrew Bonar’s old commentary on Leviticus (republished by Banner of Truth). It represents one approach to find relevance in the laws of Leviticus. Bonar continually draws attention to parallels, some of them ingenious, between the laws of Leviticus and the gospel of Christ. The problem with this approach is that the ingenuity of the commentator can take over.

A far more reliable approach is provided by Gordon Wenham [Leviticus, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Eerdmans, 1979)]. This is an excellent commentary, which helps to explain the significance of the whole system of laws in Leviticus. How these laws taught the Israelites of the holiness of God is the key. For Christians, the book of Leviticus still speaks of God’s holiness, but in even clearer terms when read in the light of the gospel of Christ.

Leviticus by R. K. Harrison is a slightly briefer work, but I have found it less clear and perceptive than Wenham.

The book of Numbers, which sees the Israelites leave Mt Sinai and journey towards the Promised Land, has also been the subject of a commentary by the energetic Gordon Wenham [Tyndale OT Commentaries (IVP, 1981)]. Again, it is very good value. As in many commentaries, the Introduction is most important.

For a greater amount of technical and other detail, but not greater perception into the meaning of the text, there is P. Budd’s commentary on Numbers in the Word Series.

The older commentary on Numbers by Martin Noth is of little value to the Bible student.