410 - 1, 2, 3 John. Word Biblical Commentary 51

1, 2, 3 John. Word Biblical Commentary 51
Stephen S. Smalley
Waco, Word, 1984. 386 pp. $19.95.

This volume in the Word Biblical Commentary series contains detailed, well-documented exegesis of the

411 - 1, 2, 3 John. Word Biblical Commentary 51

Greek text. Each section includes bibliography, translation, notes, and comments on form, structure, and setting. The "Comment" that follows is quite detailed. To make the results accessible to non-specialists an "Explanation" of the passage is given in non-technical language. Extensive use of Greek makes the book heavy, going for the general reader.

Smalley's reconstruction of the Johannine community challenges Raymond Brown's Anchor Bible commentary. He thinks that the Johannine epistles, written by ordained leaders in the Johannine community addressed problems posed by three fronts: Jewish Christians, loyal to the Law, who saw Jesus as human, "gnosticizing" Christians, whose pagan background led them to emphasize the divinity of Jesus; and the secessionists, some of whom had left the Johannine community while others never belonged to it.

Smalley sees I John as structured around the demands of Christian conduct. He agrees that it comments on the Fourth Gospel, but rejects the elaborate parallels that Brown finds between the two.

Pheme Perkins
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, Mass.