Genre and Historical Considerations: considering Keener's use of over 300 footnotes in this opening chapter, his interaction with lots of sources is evident. The consensus on this end: there is none, but this is not to be surprised as most scholars on the liberal side of Christianity want to outdo the latest theory with another. Keener lands where I do in genre: biography.
Discourses: Keener presents ample evidence of the reliability of oral transmission in the time period as well as documentation for the possibility of note taking among some of Jesus' audience.
Author: While Keener lands on John, brother of James as the author, he goes into a long discourse about vocabulary to talk about the possibility of common authorship between the gospel and Revelation. In my opinion, this is the largest waste of time. Vocabulary, disparate and common, prove very little in terms of authorship.

I am almost through with the first volume (through chapter 10 in the gospel), and while I am impressed with the sources cited and Keener's grasp of culture, tradition, and literature that bear on the time period, I am uncomfortable with the many places where he veers from what I would consider a position of the reliability of John's account of what actually happened.
He starts volume two with chapter 11 and the raising of Lazarus, but takes a position on it and its significance to the cause of his crucifixion that I don't think can be born out by the facts in the rest of the gospel.
Overall, the work is a great trove of information that will allow one to do further work in almost any area related to John's gospel. While Keener's introduction implies a high view of Scripture, his analysis often moves toward John making things up for the sake of making a point. ( )

Genre and Historical Considerations: considering Keener's use of over 300 footnotes in this opening chapter, his interaction with lots of sources is evident. The consensus on this end: there is none, but this is not to be surprised as most scholars on the liberal side of Christianity want to outdo the latest theory with another. Keener lands where I do in genre: biography.
Discourses: Keener presents ample evidence of the reliability of oral transmission in the time period as well as documentation for the possibility of note taking among some of Jesus' audience.
Author: While Keener lands on John, brother of James as the author, he goes into a long discourse about vocabulary to talk about the possibility of common authorship between the gospel and Revelation. In my opinion, this is the largest waste of time. Vocabulary, disparate and common, prove very little in terms of authorship.

I am almost through with the first volume (through chapter 10 in the gospel), and while I am impressed with the sources cited and Keener's grasp of culture, tradition, and literature that bear on the time period, I am uncomfortable with the many places where he veers from what I would consider a position of the reliability of John's account of what actually happened.
He starts volume two with chapter 11 and the raising of Lazarus, but takes a position on it and its significance to the cause of his crucifixion that I don't think can be born out by the facts in the rest of the gospel.
Overall, the work is a great trove of information that will allow one to do further work in almost any area related to John's gospel. While Keener's introduction implies a high view of Scripture, his analysis often moves toward John making things up for the sake of making a point. ( )

An extensive commentary on John with a predominantly conservative tone the unique thing about this book is the correlation of the text within the historical setting, particularly the classic Greek and Roman world as well as the Hebrew one. Extensive references at the foot of the page sometimes distracted me from the flow of the text. I would not recommend this as the first commentary one reads w John ( for that I recommend DA Carson's), but this is a great reference and addition to ones theological library. ( )

NO OF PAGES: 831 SUB CAT I: Commentary SUB CAT II: Apostolic Writings SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: Keener?s commentary explores the Jewish and Greco-Roman settings of John more deeply than previous works, paying special attention to social-historical and rhetorical features of the Gospel. It cites about 4,000 different secondary sources and uses over 20,000 references from ancient literature.
"Sixteen hundred pages is a lot of pages for a commentary on the Gospel of John, surpassing Raymond Brown and almost matching Rudolf Schnackenburg?s three volumes. But Craig Keener has given us far more than a commentary. He has invited us into the world of that Gospel and made it a magnificent window into the thought and practice of early Judaism and, to a lesser extent, the whole Greco-Roman world of the first century. At the same time, he has made those first-century worlds a lens through which to view the Gospel of John itself. The reader will find this work a treasure trove of information about the origins of Christianity, shedding light on such questions as what is a Gospel? how reliable are the four Gospels in their portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth? and in particular how reliable is the Gospel of John? Keener presents a compelling case for viewing Jesus himself within the framework of early Judaism, and for both the Jewishness and the essential reliability of the traditions about Jesus preserved in John?s Gospel. Keener?s introduction runs to well over three hundred pages, and his bibliography to almost two hundred.NOTES: Purchased from Amazon.com. SUBTITLE:

NO OF PAGES: 801 SUB CAT I: Commentary SUB CAT II: Apostolic Writings SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: Keener?s commentary explores the Jewish and Greco-Roman settings of John more deeply than previous works, paying special attention to social-historical and rhetorical features of the Gospel. It cites about 4,000 different secondary sources and uses over 20,000 references from ancient literature.
"Sixteen hundred pages is a lot of pages for a commentary on the Gospel of John, surpassing Raymond Brown and almost matching Rudolf Schnackenburg?s three volumes. But Craig Keener has given us far more than a commentary. He has invited us into the world of that Gospel and made it a magnificent window into the thought and practice of early Judaism and, to a lesser extent, the whole Greco-Roman world of the first century. At the same time, he has made those first-century worlds a lens through which to view the Gospel of John itself. The reader will find this work a treasure trove of information about the origins of Christianity, shedding light on such questions as what is a Gospel? how reliable are the four Gospels in their portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth? and in particular how reliable is the Gospel of John? Keener presents a compelling case for viewing Jesus himself within the framework of early Judaism, and for both the Jewishness and the essential reliability of the traditions about Jesus preserved in John?s Gospel. Keener?s introduction runs to well over three hundred pages, and his bibliography to almost two hundred.NOTES: Purchased from Amazon.com. SUBTITLE: