The Shepherd Discourse of John 10 and Its Context

This volume which emerges from an SNTS seminar in 19851986 analyses one of the best-known but also one of the most intriguing of Jesus'' discourses within the Fourth Gospel. Previous studies of the Shepherd Discourse have concentrated either on its historical setting in the life of Jesus (Simonis) or on the prehistory of its text (Bullmann and his school). The present study consisting of essays written by an international team of specialists adopts a more contextual approach. The Shepherd Discourse is here situated in the text of the Fourth Gospel with particular emphasis on the preceding chapter and on the subsequent Passion narrative. The internal coherence of John 10 so becomes clearer and it is seen that - in spite of its links with Gnostic ideas - the roots of the Discourse in Old Testament and Jewish texts about the shepherds of Israel become apparent.