Comparing Jn commentaries: Eerdmans, BCBC

The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of John by J. Ramsey Michaels
John (Believers Church Bible Commentary) by Willard M Swartley
Eerdmans Critical Commentary: The Gospel and Letters of John, volume 2: The Gospel of John by von Wahlde
The Gospel of John: A Commentary by Frederick Dale Bruner
Anyone who has any of these?

Since before I have one top-rated verse-by-verse commentary from 1953 by a Reformed scholar, one theological paragraph-by-paragraph commentary by a Catholic who also knows a bit about "Gnosticism" from 1978, Hermeneia (the volumes are from 1988 by Ernst Haenchen) and a 2001 monograph about the Jews in the Gospel of Jn by Barnabas Lindars. Plus I have access to the NAC -volume.

The commentary should preferably not be too conservative, but on the other hand not rely on Raymond E. Brown in the Anchor Yale Bible, or Bultmann.
I know the Gk alphabet and I'm learning Gk - I'm going to take several classes in uni.

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N/A

bump! An answer within a few hours would be appreciated.

André Kamphuis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547370#Comment_547370

Hi Nö, do you happen to know Unix?

N/A

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547374#Comment_547374

This is the account Unix paid for his friends and mom (his mom isn't going to use it until she retires), no-one has yet started using this account for real/downloaded anything. The reason for starting the account in advance was the Revised English Bible on pre-pub, free books (such as the Understanding the Bible Mk) and Logos's birthday gift certificate.

Bruce Dunning

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547376#Comment_547376

This is the account Unix paid for his friends

I think I understand the connection now. Just to clarify, you said the account is for his friends (plural). Does that mean multiple people are using the account?

N/A

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547381#Comment_547381

Yes it's plural because Unix doesn't know yet who will use the account or even whether anyone will, currently no-one is using. He asked the friend who lives in the archipelago and he didn't want it as he had started using E-sword. Me in the picture live closer to him and would want to use a Bible on my cellular phone but unsure if that would work. My computer has XP so probably only one of the books, the Mk commentary, would download. EDIT: Forgot to say that the reason is that Libronix/Logos 3 would start faster than Logos 4.
Then Unix has a friend far away in Sweden, but it's unsure what software she has (she has studied) and it's improbable that she'll want the account. Yet another friend lives in the U.S. and is opposed to using Logos because there are too many books in the Logos Store (he is an Accordance user, has studied and has worked in a Theological library), perhaps an account that has originally been paid by someone else (Unix, who also has the password) would prove to be a high enough threshold for him so that it would not be a temptation for him to buy a lot, or perhaps not.
The newest friend doesn't live far away - there's the commuter train connection but Unix doesn't know whether she would want the account or whether she has some software already:

you said the account is for his friends (plural). Does that mean multiple people are using the account?

Bruce Dunning

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547386#Comment_547386

That makes sense Nö. I remember Unix discussing this in the past.

Graham Criddle

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547386#Comment_547386

would want to use a Bible on my cellular phone but unsure if that would work

It should work fine if the phone is running either the iOS or Android operating system. You would need to install the Logos app appropriate for that environment - available at https://www.logos.com/iphone or https://www.logos.com/android

Forgot to say that the reason is that Libronix/Logos 3 would start faster than Logos 4.

I would suggest it worth checking if your machine meets the requirements to run Logos 4 acceptably before taking a decision on this - what are the specs of the machine?

Unix

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547400#Comment_547400

I would appreciate if anyone could answer my question - to tell me something about the commentaries specified in the first post! Either just about one of them, or a comparison.

Ken McGuire

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547403#Comment_547403

I would appreciate if anyone could answer my question - to tell me something about the commentaries specified in the first post! Either just about one of them, or a comparison.

It is hard to really give you recommendations since you have such unusual and strong opinions. I don't know any of the works you list, but after hearing such good things about Bruner's Matthew commentary would be interested in finding out more about his, if I were shopping for a John commentary, which I am not.

Oh - and the Hermenia commentary you mention was completed after the author's death, and so is really "older" than the publication date. In addition, it is uneven in coverage since it was based and partial drafts and notes, and so some sections are much more detailed than others.

N/A

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547421#Comment_547421

Thanks Ken, and also thanks to www.bookreviews.org Unix parents ordered him Bruner with a printed matter offer valid until today, as a birthday gift!

Reimar Vetne

Unix,

Ramsey Michael's NICNT commentary is quite ok, but I do not find it more useful than the previous NICNT volume on John by Leon Morris.

My favorite commentaries on John include D A Carson (Pillar series) which is my preferred general commentary on John, Craig Keener (Baker) which is very strong on the first century background material, Bruner (Eerdmans) which is strong on the history of interpretation on John throughout church history.

Personally I do not buy the position of Raymond Brown (Anchor Yale) and von Wahlde (Eerdmans Critical) that a lot of the material is inauthentic and describes needs in the Johannine community rather than teachings from Jesus. Maybe you do. But anyway there are good exegetical insights to get from both Brown and von Wahlde.

Two good resources for evaluating commentaries are:
[View:http://www.bestcommentaries.com/john/:550:0]

And Carson's New Testament Commentary Survey from Baker (currently in the 6th edition from 2007 in Logos, and 7th edition in print from 2013).

Reimar Vetne

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547484#Comment_547484

A link to the "bestcommentaries" website disappeared. Here it is:

http://www.bestcommentaries.com/john/

André Kamphuis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547386#Comment_547386

Unix doesn't know yet who will use the account

Unix parents ordered him Bruner with a printed matter offer valid until today, as a birthday gift!

Hey Nö. I would have guessed that you and Unix were the very same person using two different account. Maybe I am too much into textual criticism, but all internal evidence goes this way. Anyway, you guys must be very close :-)

Joseph Turner

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/547511#Comment_547511

I also believe that NÖ is an alternate account used by Unix for the following reasons:

They both use "the friend" when talking about Unix's theology friend.

They both have the odd habit of posting a reply and then quoting the OP under the reply, as opposed to putting the OP first and then responding.

They both use the terminology "printed matter" for paper books.

They both use the terminology "see relevant posts here..." and link to other posts.

They are one and the same.

Joseph Turner

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/548091#Comment_548091

I have no idea what happened to that last post!

Never mind. I fixed it with Firefox.

Bruce Dunning

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/548091#Comment_548091

They are one and the same.

I have thought the same for some time too. [:)]