John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) [Hardcover]

Andreas J. Köstenberger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2004 | Series: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

Andreas J. Köstenberger's new commentary on the Gospel of John draws on extensive research and engages the best of contemporary scholarship, yet provides a readable study that will be beneficial to students, pastors, and scholars.

After considering the historical context of the letter as well as its relation to other New Testament writings, Köstenberger turns to his exegetical work. An introduction to each exegetical unit is provided along with the author's own translation of the Greek text. In the course of his verse-by-verse comments, Köstenberger incorporates references to other ancient writings that help explain the book's theological, cultural, and social context. Where appropriate, he draws upon the work of other commentators and provides extensive notes for further reading and research.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Andreas Köstenberger (Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is professor of New Testament and director of Ph.D/Th.M. studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including Encountering the Gospel of John, The Book Study Concordance of the Greek New Testament, and The Missions of Jesus and the Disciples according to the Fourth Gospel. He also translated Adolf Schlatter's two-volume New Testament Theology.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 720 pages
• Publisher: Baker Academic (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080102644X
• ISBN-13: 978-0801026447
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 2.1 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Kostenberge is Senior Research Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He is also the founder of Biblical Foundations™. Dr. Kostenberger is the author of numerous books on a variety of biblical and theological topics. He also serves as the editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society and as Director of Acquisitions for B&H Academic. Dr. Kostenberger and his wife Margaret have four children and live in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding New Commentary December 21, 2004

By David A. Booth

Format:Hardcover

Andreas Kostenberger has provided us with a genuine treat in his new commentary on the Gospel of John. This commentary is in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series, which is developing into one of the most useful series of commentaries for those who love God's word.

Like all of the commentaries in this series, Kostenberger's volumn is written from an evangelical standpoint that embraces the Gospel of John as being the authoritative word of God. This work consistently interacts with the Greek text and the majority of major contemporary commentaries on John.

Highlights of this volumn include:

1. It is extremely well written. Even in a series known for its readabilty, Kostenberger stands out as a model of clarity. Rather than simply checking selections, I have read this commentary from cover to cover - and it is a great joy to read.

2. Kostenberger makes outstanding use of footnotes. This feature makes it particularly easy to find both the support for his interpretations as well as dissenting voices. I suspect this feature alone will make Kostenberger's commentary the first one to be pulled off of the shelf.

3. Unlike many commentaries that answer all the questions except the one you are actually asking; this volumn shows exceptional judgment in selecting and addressing questions. Preachers will find this commentary a particulary rich and helpful resource in sermon preparation.

Are there reservations in recommending this commentary? Yes. First, while anyone could benefit from Kostenberger's excellent work - it will be best used by those who have at least one year of Koine Greek. Second, I wish that Kostenberger had been a little more painstaking in making and commenting on his (generally excellent) translation. Two illustrations of this should suffice:

1. Kostenberger translates John 3:19 "This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people preferred darkness to light; for their deeds were evil." The words translated "preferred" are almost universally translated "loved" and "more than" (i.e. "loved darkness more than light"). The word "loved" is identical to the word "loved" in John 3:16 just 3 verses earlier ("God so loved the world"). It is difficult to see why Kostenberger would lessen the force of this statement from "loved darkness" to "preferred darkness" and he offers no explanation in his text.

2. Kostenberger translates John 3:9 "Nicodemus answered and said to him, 'how can these things happen?'" The commentary points out that nearly all translations of this verse (NIV, NASB, NRSV, NKJV, NLT, ESV, TNIV, et. al.) render this verse "How can these things be?" Kostenberger then writes: "However, the translation 'How can these things happen?' is preferrable" without offering any explanation at all as to why it is preferrable or what difference it makes. Perhaps he thinks it is simply obvious, but the fact that it wasn't obvious to any of the translation committees of all the major English translations of the Bible cries out for an explanation/argument.

These are obviously very minor criticisms. This is a wonderful commentary and belongs on the shelf of every student of John's Gospel.

60 of 72 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Author's Response January 25, 2005

By Andreas Kostenberger

Format:Hardcover

I appreciate David's positive review. The purpose of this brief note is to respond to the second of his two criticisms, which is that I do not justify my translation of 3:9 as "How can these things happen?" rather than the more conventional rendering, "How can these things be?"

In short, David's criticism is not valid. It is true that I do not include an explicit rationale. I do, however, refer the reader to the commentaries by Barrett and Carson, implying that I concur with their rationale. All the reader has to do, therefore, is to go to one of these commentaries to find out why I favor this particular rendering.

I realize that sending the reader to another commentary is not ideal, but at times it was necessary to use this kind of shorthand in light of space constraints. In any case, the reader who wants to know why I chose this particular rendering can find out why by consulting Barrett and/or Carson. I hope this helps.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Commentary May 30, 2005

By David A. Booth

Format:Hardcover

Andreas Kostenberger has provided us with a genuine treat in his new commentary on the Gospel of John. This commentary is in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series, which is developing into one of the most useful series of commentaries for those who love God's word.

Like all of the commentaries in this series, Kostenberger's volumn is written from an evangelical standpoint that embraces the Gospel of John as being the authoritative word of God. This work consistently interacts with the Greek text and the majority of major contemporary commentaries on John.

Highlights of this volumn include:

1. It is extremely well written. Even in a series known for its readabilty, Kostenberger stands out as a model of clarity. Rather than simply checking selections, I have read this commentary from cover to cover - and it is a great joy to read.

2. Kostenberger makes outstanding use of footnotes. This feature makes it particularly easy to find both the support for his interpretations as well as dissenting voices. I suspect this feature alone will make Kostenberger's commentary the first one to be pulled off of the shelf.

3. Unlike many commentaries that answer all the questions except the one you are actually asking; this volumn shows exceptional judgment in selecting and addressing questions. Preachers will find this commentary a particulary rich and helpful resource in sermon preparation.

Are there reservations in recommending this commentary? Yes. First, while anyone could benefit from Kostenberger's excellent work - it will be best used by those who have at least one year of Koine Greek. Second, I wish that Kostenberger had been a little more painstaking in making and commenting on his (generally excellent) translation. Two illustrations of this should suffice:

1. Kostenberger translates John 3:19 "This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people preferred darkness to light; for their deeds were evil." The words translated "preferred" are almost universally translated "loved" and "more than" (i.e. "loved darkness more than light"). The word "loved" is identical to the word "loved" in John 3:16 just 3 verses earlier ("God so loved the world"). It is difficult to see why Kostenberger would lessen the force of this statement from "loved darkness" to "preferred darkness" and he offers no explanation in his text.

2. Kostenberger translates John 3:9 "Nicodemus answered and said to him, 'how can these things happen?'" The commentary points out that nearly all translations of this verse (NIV, NASB, NRSV, NKJV, NLT, ESV, TNIV, et. al.) render this verse "How can these things be?" Kostenberger then writes: "However, the translation 'How can these things happen?' is preferrable" without offering any explanation at all as to why it is preferrable or what difference it makes. Perhaps he thinks it is simply obvious, but the fact that it wasn't obvious to any of the translation committees of all the major English translations of the Bible cries out for an explanation/argument.

These are obviously very minor criticisms. This is a wonderful commentary and belongs on the shelf of every student of John's Gospel.