Understanding the Fourth Gospel [Hardcover]

John Ashton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0199297614 | ISBN-13: 978-0199297610 | Publication Date: June 21, 2007 | Edition: 2

In this fully revised new edition of a pioneering study of John's gospel, John Ashton explores fresh topics and takes account of the latest scholarly debates. Ashton argues first that the thought-world of the gospel is Jewish, not Greek, and secondly that the text is many-layered, not simple, and composed over an extended period as the evangelist responded to the changing situation of the community he was addressing. Ashton seeks to provide new and coherent answers to what Rudolf Bultmann called the two great riddles of the gospel: its position in the development of Christian thought and its central or governing idea. In arguing that the first of these should be concerned rather with Jewish thought Ashton offers a partial answer to the most important and fascinating of all the questions confronted by New Testament scholarship: how did Christianity emerge from Judaism? Bultmann's second riddle is exegetical, and concerns the message of the book. Ashton's answer highlights a generally neglected feature of the gospel's concept of revelation: its debt to Jewish apocalyptic.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`Review from previous edition A splendid piece of scholarship, brilliant in conception and profound in argument. ' Expository Times

`An important contribution to understanding the Gospel, which is likely to have profound influence on all future work in this field. ' Scottish Journal of Theology

`Essential reading ... lucid and ... illuminated by delightful turns of phrase. At a scholarly level ... this is a book to be reckoned with. ' THES

About the Author

John Ashton was formerly University Lecturer in New Testament Studies, and Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 620 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (June 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199297614
• ISBN-13: 978-0199297610
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,082,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything About John the Evangelist You Ever Wanted to Know, April 4, 2007

By 

John D. White "camsterdad" (Cayce, South Carolina United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Understanding the Fourth Gospel (Clarendon Paperbacks) (Paperback)

Ashton has left no stone unturned. Every pebble has been picked up, looked at, cataloged, set aside, and used. There is no aspect of Johannine studies that Ashton has not read, learned, mastered and presented here in this literal encyclopedia of Johannine learning. This is not an easy bedtime book to read. Like climbing a mountain. It requires effort. It requires patience. It requires seriousness and diligence. But for the person willing to work through this massively written, theologically dense, literate work on John's gospel -- the view and scenery are breathtaking and you will never be the same. Once I finished reading it, it took my breath away when I considered what Ashton was up to here. Ashton shows himself a master of Johannine studies as few others are, and there are many brilliant commentators on John. Not for the faint of heart, but worthy of study and reflection.