James H. Charlesworth,Jesus as Mirrored in John: The Genius in the New Testament

This immense volume encompasses the author’s publications, often revised, ranging from 1969 to the present. Following a preface and introduction, both of which plunge us into issues to come, there are 18 essays in all, grouped under four headings. Part 1, entitled ‘Origin, evolution and settings of the Gospel of John’, includes essays on topics including paradigm shifts in Johannine studies and the historical and social setting of John’s Gospel. The second part, ‘John and the historical Jesus’, covers the Gospel as a neglected source and archaeological discoveries supporting its historicity, while Part 3, ‘The Gospel of John and other sacred literature’, is divided into three subsections on the Dead Sea Scrolls, John and Enoch, and the Odes of Solomon. The final part, ‘Symbolic language in the Gospel of John’, contains five essays on subjects ranging from Jewish purity laws to the origin of the title ‘According to John’. The conclusion is followed by a select bibliography.

Space permits two brief responses to this volume, including some questions prompted by Charlesworth’s arguments. How far can Gospel evidence of a knowledge of pre-70 ce Jerusalem serve to fix the milieu of its first edition, especially when the extensive detail suggests a readership unfamiliar with these venues? How persuasive is it to argue that the Cana episode was based on a source representing Jesus’ own marriage while assigning what does not fit to the Evangelist’s purpose to deflect attention away from it? Why identify the Beloved Disciple as Thomas, who refused to believe in Jesus’ resurrection without direct physical evidence, when we have already learned that the Beloved Disciple ‘saw and believed’ on seeing only the discarded grave clothes? Second, and more positively, readers of this collection cannot fail to benefit from Charlesworth’s considerable expertise and extensive knowledge, often first-hand, of archaeological discoveries in Palestine and of literature of the period, all of which is communicated with commendable lucidity.