Moody Smith delivered this commentary on the Epistles of John in the Interpretation Bible Commentary series. You may have noticed his name showing up in the literature on the Gospel of John so he was a natural choice to tackle the Johannine Epistles in the series. As you are probably aware, this series is known for its critical outlook and its homiletical/theological contributions. Though a thinner volume than I expected, it succeeds in reaching the aims of the series. Probably his background on John made him able to say much in fewer words.

He offers a somewhat breezy introduction to these epistles. Even where I could not agree with his conclusions, there was an evident love for these epistles which always raises the value of a commentary to my mind. In the unusual buildup within this introduction, I was beginning to believe he was going to suggest that the Apostle John himself was the writer. That was a surprise because it would not be typical in this series. As it turned out, he closely followed the well-known critical scholar, Raymond E. Brown, and his well-known thesis of the Johannine school or community. Though some of us have never bought into that theory, even critical scholarship has backed away from it in recent years. He does share some good information on how the same person could have written the gospel and these epistles, but his conclusions in my judgment on the impossibility of John himself as the writer fell flat.

He also discussed the audience and purpose of the letters, had some discussion of the composition and structure of these letters that also reminds one of Raymond Brown’s positions, and the use of these letters in the church. From there, he discussed interpretation and shared a few good insights along the way. The final two sections that describe the commentary itself and biological reflection were of less value.

Though it was somewhat brief and guided by some of the earlier critical conclusions mentioned, his exegesis was well done. There are reports that he plans a more substantial volume on these epistles in the future. Overall, I would label it a solid volume in the style I have come to expect from this series.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This new volume in the Old Testament Library (OTL) series replaces the old volume by J. Alberto Soggin. Niditch has improved on that older entry. I always turn to this series to grasp the critical viewpoint and to get some theology that you just don’t get in other places. This volume generally falls within the expectations of the series yet would not necessarily be my favorite. In the plus column, the book is well-written and it’s easy to follow the author’s train of thought, but on the negative side it pushes the envelope too far in some places and is too brief in others.

There’s a lengthy bibliography provided at the beginning of the book. The commentary section is substandard and only lists seven titles. On the other hand, the rest of the bibliography is quite thorough.

The Introduction begins by describing the Book of Judges as epic-style literature. There’s a discussion of the office of a judge that is quite interesting. Folklorist insights calling them epic heroes, social bandits, etc., are a little much for me. There’s discussion of the war and fighting in the Book of Judges, the history of the Book of Judges (the author at least sees the material as “meaningful” to the time of the Kings). I had trouble accepting the redaction history that was given as well as some of the discussion about genre. The discussion of the voice of the theologian and the humanist gave some food for thought. The section called texture provided some helpful structural insights. There seemed to be, however, an over-emphasis on the oral nature of the material in the text-critical section.

Where the commentary wasn’t too brief, there were some interesting observations in the commentary proper. At times there’s too much of a feminist angle, but at other times you will find some real help. The exegetical work is sufficient within the framework of the author’s outlook.

Critical scholarship is usually never too kind to the book of Judges. In any event, this book is probably as good as any in understanding a critical approach to the book. While not the equal of some in the series, it does have value.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.