Modern, major commentaries on John

This list includes commentaries that give detailed attention to the Greek text and use more recent methods of analysis. Students are required to use modern commentaries in their exegetical assignments in order to become acquainted with resources that are scholarly and up-to-date. The number of pages gives some indication of how detailed the analysis is. If your commentary is not on this list, it does not count as a “modern, major” work. If you’d like a book to be added to this list, please contact the instructor. 

Many of the books below have a link to amazon.com, where you can "search inside this book." You can view some but not all of the pages. Go to the table of contents, find the title of your passage, and then search for that phrase. You cannot print the view, and you cannot electronically "copy and paste" into Word, but you can copy the old-fashioned way, by writing it out  by hand. You can also use "print screen" and paste into Paint or Word to preserve an electronic copy or to print. Go to the pages you want, and "print screen" and save. If the pages you want aren't visible in one browser, try another - the results can be different at different times. Try different search words - the pages that are visible may again be different. 

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John

Beasley-Murray, George R. John. Revised Edition. Word Biblical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999. 592 pages. Amazon.

Beutler, Johannes. A Commentary on the Gospel of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017.  639 pages. Amazon.

Borchert, Gerald L. John. 2 vols. New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1996-2002. 799 pages. Amazon. Vol. 2

Brant, Jo-Ann A. John. Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011. 352. pages. Amazon. 

Bruner, Frederick Dale. The Gospel of John: A Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012. 1311 pages. Amazon 

Burge, Gary M. John. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000. 618 pages. Introduction on Amazon.

Coloe, Mary L. John 1-10; John 11-21.  Wisdom Commentary. Liturgical, 2021. 390 pages; 303 pages. 

Constable, Thomas L. "Notes on John." 339 pages. https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/nt/john/john.htm 

Ford, David F. John: A Theological Commentary. Baker, 2021. 496 pages. Amazon

Gangel, Kenneth. Holman New Testament Commentary - John. Nashville: Holman Reference, 2000. Amazon

Harris, W. Hall III. The Gospel of John: Introduction and Commentary. Online; accessed 13 March 2020. https://bible.org/series/commentary-gospel-john 

Holmes, Laura Sweat, and George Lyons. John 1-12: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. Kansas City, MO: Beacon, 2020. 320 pages. 

Jarvis, Cynthia A., and E. Elizabeth Johnson. Feasting on the Gospels--John, Volume 1. A Feasting on the Word Commentary. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2015. 335 pages. Amazon. Volume 2: 432 pages. Amazon. 

Jobes, Karen. John Through Old Testament Eyes: A Background and Application Commentary. Kregel, 2021. 376 pages. Amazon.

Kanagaraj, Jey J. John. New Covenant Commentary. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2013. 264 pages. Amazon.

Keener, Craig S. John. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary volume 2A. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019.  272 pages. Amazon.

Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John: A Commentary. 2 vols. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2003. 1636 pages. Amazon.

Klink, Edward W. III. John. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016. 976 pages. Amazon.

Kruse, Colin. The Gospel According to John. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2017. 496 pages. Amazon.

Köstenberger, Andreas. John. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004. 720 pages. Introduction and prologue on Amazon.

Lincoln, Andrew T. The Gospel According to Saint John. Black's New Testament Commentary. Continuum, 2006. 584 pages. Amazon.

Lyons, George, and T. Scott Daniels. John 12-21: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. Kansas City, MI: Beacon Hill, 2020. 224 pages.

MacArthur, John. John 1-11 and John 12-21. MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 2006, 2008. 528, 400 pages. Vol. 1.Vol. 2.

Malina, Bruce J., and Richard L. Rohrbaugh. Social-Science Commentary on the Gospel of John. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998. 340 pages. Amazon.

Martin, Francis, and William M. Wright IV. The Gospel of John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2015. 368 pages. Amazon.

McHugh, John F. John 1-4: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary. International Critical Commentary. Bloomsbury/ T&T Clark, 2009. 368 pages. Amazon.

Michaels, J. Ramsey. The Gospel of John. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010.

Moloney, Francis J. The Gospel of John. Sacra Pagina. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1998. 608 pages. Amazon.

Mounce, Robert H. “John.” In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, rev. ed., vol. 10. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007. 303 pages.

Neyrey, Jerome H. The Gospel of John. New Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge University Press, 2006. 374. Amazon.

Neyrey, Jerome H. The Gospel of John in Cultural and Rhetorical Perspective. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009. 512. Amazon.

Osborne, Grant R. The Gospel of John, 1-3 John. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary. Tyndale House, 2007. 432 pages. Introduction and chapter 1 on publisher's website.

Osborne, Grant R. John Verse by Verse. Osborne New Testament Commentaries. Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2018. 432 pages. Amazon.

Pate, C. Marvin. The Writings of John. Zondervan, 2011. 560 pages. Amazon.

Smith, D. Moody. John. Abingdon New Testament Commentary. Nashville: Abingdon, 1999. 428 pages. Amazon.

Stevick, Daniel B. Jesus and His Own: A Commentary on John 13-17. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010. 384 pages.

Swartley, Willard M., Douglas B. Miller, and Loren L. Johns. John. Believer's Church Bible Commentary. Herald Press, 2013. 538 pages. Amazon.

Talbert, Charles H. Reading John: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles. Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 1999. 300 pages. Amazon.

Thompson, Marianne Meye. John: A Commentary. New Testament Library. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2015.  568 pages. Amazon.

von Wahlde, Urban C. The Gospel and Letters of John. Commentary on the Gospel of John. 2 volumes. Eerdmans Critical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010. 932 pages. Amazon.

Whitacre, Rodney A. John. IVP New Testament Commentary. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1999. Commentary available online at http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/?action=getBookSections&cid=4  Amazon. (includes the introduction)

Page updated May 15, 2023