Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Recommendation Needed

I have always found this to be a fruitful way to hunt down my next commentary purchase. So here goes: I am looking for a really solid commentary on the Johannine letters. I do own Smalley in WBC, but it is a bit dated (1984).

I have heard that Yarbrough's (BECNT) recent contribution is good, but I am also wondering about anything else that I should be considering.

So if I could have your opinions on Yarbrough and others I would greatly appreciate it.

4 comments:

Sean said...

Yarbrough is good, but his Calvinism appears in some unexpected places. Kruse is pastorally helpful, but not comprehensive. Strecker is probably the most technical. Smalley has offered a complete revision of his WBC. But I still like Dodd, then Brown, then Kruse.

Daniel said...

Yarbrough is my favorite by far, but I am a bit biased. Kruse in Pillar is quite good as well.

danny said...

Personally, I think Rudolph Schnackenburg's commentary is underrated in evangelical circles. I use him and Kruse side-by-side and have benefited. I haven't used Yarbrough yet, so I can't say.

Scripture Zealot said...

I like Kruse but I don't have others to compare it to.

Something a little different is That You May Know: Assurance of Salvation in 1 John (New American Commentary Studies in Bible and Theology)

It's on assurance of salvation but it reads like a commentary and he manages to cover nearly all of 1 John. Depending on your purpose this might be nice.
Jeff