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Exploring the Gospel of John: In Honor of D. Moody Smith

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This book contains 20 essays written to honor Professor D. Moody Smith, in recognition of his brilliant and extensive contributions to Johannine studies. The authors collectively deliver a broad, up to date cross section of the discipline. Anyone genuinely interested in Johannine literature can't go wrong buying a volume that brings together such names (listed randomly) as C.K. Barrett, J. Louis Martyn, Marianne Thompson, Alan Culpepper, Stephen Smalley, John Painter, to mention only a few. The essays are arranged in five sections, dealing with (1) the history of the Johannine community, (2) the traditions behind the Gospel of John, (3) its literary aspects, (4) its theology, and (5) "appropriating [its] proclamation" (interpretation and application). This is not merely a formal arrangement: As Robert Kysar points out in the introductory essay, Smith's work extends over all these five fields of study. The word "Exploring" of the title evokes what the Preface calls "provisional surveys of forested terrain, soundings of the depths." Written in understandable language, albeit a scholarly tone, each of the essays will open to the careful reader new ways to read and understand the Fourth Gospel.