Engaging with C. H. Dodd on the Gospel of John
Sixty Years of Tradition and Interpretation

C. H. Dodd's Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel, published in 1963, marked a milestone in New Testament research and has become a standard resource for the study of John. Historically biblical scholars have concentrated on the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke. However, Dodd's book encouraged scholars to take John seriously as a source for the life of Jesus. This volume both reflects upon and looks beyond Dodd's writings to address the implications, limitations and potential of his groundbreaking research and its programmatic approach to charting a course for future research on the Gospel of John. Leading biblical scholars demonstrate the recent surge of interest in John's distinctive witness to Jesus, and also in Dodd's work as the harbinger of advancements in the study of the Fourth Gospel. This volume will be invaluable to all those studying the New Testament, Johannine theology and the history of the early Church.

1. The semeiotics of history: C. H. Dodd on the origins and character of the Fourth Gospel Tom Thatcher; Part I. Approaching the Problem: Reflections on Dodd's Context and Method: 2. C. H. Dodd as a precursor to narrative criticism R. Alan Culpepper; 3. Progress and paradox: C. H. Dodd and Rudolf Bultmann on history, the Jesus tradition, and the Fourth Gospel Craig R. Koester; 4. Symbolism in John's Gospel: an evaluation of Dodd's contribution Jan van der Watt; 5. C. H. Dodd on John 13:16 (and 15:20): St John's knowledge of Matthew revisited David Godecharle and Gilbert Van Belle; 6. John and the rabbis revisited Catrin H. Williams; 7. Characters who count: the case of Nicodemus Jaime Clark-Soles; Part II. History and Tradition in the Fourth Gospel: 8. C. H. Dodd, the historical Jesus, and realized eschatology Urban C. von Wahlde; 9. Historical tradition(s) and/or Johannine redaction? A reflection on the threefold repetition of Pilate's statement 'I find no guilt in him' (John 18:38b; 19:4, 6) Hellen Mardaga; 10. Incidents dispersed in the synoptics and cohering in John: Dodd, Brown, and Johannine historicity Paul N. Anderson; 11. Reflections on a footnote John Ashton; 12. The anointing in John 12:1–8: a tale of two hypotheses Wendy E. S. North; 13. Eucharist and Passover: the two 'loci' of the liturgical commemoration of the Last Supper in the early Church Michael Theobald; Part III. Future Directions: 14. The Fourth Gospel and the founder of Christianity: the place of historical tradition in the work of C. H. Dodd John Painter.

Tom Thatcher is Professor of New Testament Studies at Cincinnati Christian University. His books include Jesus in Johannine Tradition (2000), Why John Wrote a Gospel (2006), What We Have Heard from the Beginning (2007) and John, Jesus, and the Renewal of Israel (with Richard Horsley, 2013).
Catrin H. Williams is Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. She is the author of I Am He: The Interpretation of 'Anî Hû' in Jewish and Early Christian Literature (2000) and co-editor of John's Gospel and Intimations of Apocalyptic (with Christopher Rowland, 2013).