Criswell
Theological Review 3.1 (1988) 185-97.
Copyright © 1988 by The
A REVIEW ARTICLE
COMMENTING ON COMMENTARIES
ON THE BOOK OF JOHN
JOHN
A. BURNS
The Fourth Gospel will soon be the
object of Bible study in many churches.
The
purpose of this article is to give some hints about the study of the Gospel
In addition to the direct study of
the Gospel's text and the use of
commentaries, there are other
considerations in preparing to teach the Fourth
Gospel. The theology of this Gospel emphasizes
the importance of signs and
the predominance of glory. Robert
Cook's Theology of John and W. F.
Howard's
Christianity According
to St. John will assist the student in the
theological content of the book.
A number of themes could be
profitably studied in this Gospel, such as its
Jewish
background, omissions in the book, the role of John the Baptist, the
Second
Exodus theme--and Jesus as the "new Moses," controversy with the
Jews,
the Graeco-Roman background of John (e.g., logos,
cosmos), the Upper
Room
Discourse, worship patterns, apologetic patterns, Jesus' Sonship
and
related personal titles, witness in the Fourth
Gospel, and truth in this Gospel.
There are a number of volumes and
articles which will assist in the
literary study of the Fourth Gospel. Literary
communication takes notice of
the three aspects of the message: the author's
literary intention, the written
"signals" and the mindset of the original receivers of
this message. It should
not be overlooked that the text of Scripture may
have a range of secondary
purposes. Three books which will introduce the
student to the literary study
of John are R. A. Culpepper's Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel, P. D. Duke's
Irony in the Fourth Gospel, and L. Ryken's How to Read
the Bible as
Literature. A more advanced study
in this vein is B. Olsson's Structure and
Meaning in the Fourth
Gospel. A helpful general
introduction to literary study-
will be found in Literary
Approaches to Biblical Interpretation by T. Long-
man III.
For the student who has no facility
with the Greek of the NT, a number
of helps ate available. There are word study helps
like A. T. Robertson s
Word Pictures in the New
Testament,
H. Alford's New Testament, M. Vin-
cent's Word
Studies, and the emphasis on word meanings in Barclay's well
186
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
known set of commentaries. Those who are
adventuresome enough to read
between the lines of Greek and benefit from the
English explanations will
greatly profit from the use of such recent
commentaries as C. K. Barrett's
masterful The
Gospel According to St. John or well known standards like
B.
F. Wescott's The Gospel According
to
through theological divergences, you may wish to
consult Brown's two
volumes in the Anchor bible or Schnakenburg's three-volume set; both sets
are by Roman Catholic authors. The two-volume
commentary by Haenchen
provides, in addition to textual study, an
excellent and nearly exhaustive
bibliography at the close of each
section. The works of E. C. Hoskyns and
C.
H. Dodd still exert great influence.
A more exhaustive study of key words
can be made by using a concor-
dance such as Young's or Strong's, and then
consultation of G. W. Bromiley's
translation of Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by Kittel
and Friedrich (either the one-volume abridgement or
the full ten-volume
set). Brown's New
International Dictionary of New Testament Theology
(3
volumes) can be utilized in thematic study when used with the Scripture
Index
to the New International Dictionary of
New Testament Theology by
D.
Townsley and R. Bjork. It has over 1,250 references
to locations in the
three-volume set. Concerning the
Fourth Gospel, additional help may be had
from Trench's Synonyms
of the New Testament and Earle's Word
Meanings
in the New Testament. A model of such doctrinal study can be found in
M.
Tenney's volume Galatians,
the Charter of Christian Liberty where he
employs several methods of Bible study.
Whenever the student looks for
background studies on John, articles in
the Zondervan
Pictorial Bible Dictionary and the more recent International
Bible Encyclopedia (vol. 2) will give a
thorough grasp of the development of
this Gospel, its characteristics, authorship, date,
relationship to the other
Gospels, and purpose. Alternative solutions to
critical questions are proposed
in both works. Seminal studies in this Gospel may
be found in W. Graham
Scroggie's Guide to the Gospels and in Morris' Studies in the Fourth Gospel.
An
example of a detailed study is to be found in Bargen's
Bread from
Heaven, an exegetical study of
the concept of Manna in this Gospel. A recent
doctrinal study of interest is Gruenler's
The Trinity in the Gospel of John.
Even
if one does not share all the author's conclusions, this study points one in
the direction of how John can be studied
doctrinally.
When looking for devotional studies
in this Gospel, the reprint of J. C.
Macaulay's
Expository Commentary provides a homiletical outline in each of
its 57 chapters and includes helpful illustrations.
M. Boice has a multi-volumed
expositional set on John. The
material is largely homiletical and often evange-
listic; the reader is
challenged spiritually in each chapter. A helpful example
of the devotional-expositional method is presented
in the reprint of Rainsford's
work on John 17, Our
Lord Prays for His Own. This book of 476 pages is
profitable for study and private meditation.
Of course, it is best to study any
book of the Bible by direct study of the
text, with appeal to reference works whenever
necessary. Concordances,
Bible
dictionaries, word study helps, volumes dealing with geography, his-
Bums:
COMMENTING ON COMMENTARIES 187
torical background, and
biblical customs will greatly enhance the first-hand
study of the Word of God. Once these resources have
been used, it is time to
open up new lines of study and to provide
confirmation through the employ-
ment of commentaries and
periodical articles selected from an Index to
Religious Periodical Literature. At times, a study guide
like those on John by
Jensen
or Kysar will reinforce the unity of the book
studied.
The following four commentaries have
been specifically chosen for dis-
cussion because they are usable
by everyone, their cost is not prohibitive,
they have verse-by-verse exposition of the Greek
text, and they are not
conditioned by severe and unsympathetic
methodologies that are destructive
to confidence in the Bible. It needs to be
emphasized that there are many
books and commentaries that are useful to a certain
readership, some of them
are extremely technical, others, purposefully
simplistic in their treatment of
the Gospel of John. These four selected books have
extensive bibliographies
which will guide the advanced student for further
study.
G.
R. Beasley-Murray, John. Word Bible Commentary. Vol. 3.
Word, 1987.
The academic exposure under which
the author grew (Dodd, Gardner-
Smith),
his reading sources (Hoskyns, Schlatter,
Brown, Bultmann and Barrett),
and the range of his preparation (attested by the
tables of abbreviations) give
promise of a most useful commentary.
His introduction of 60 pages deal
with the usual matters related to the
nature of this Gospel, its origin in literature,
tradition and religion, authorship,
date and place of writing, its theology, purpose and
structure. The author
gives us the benefit of his study of a wide range of
writers. His observations
regarding the relation of the terms
"sign" and "work" are informative (p. xi)
as is his discussion of sources surrounding this
Gospel and its preaching
(p. xlii) by the whole church (p. xliv).
The authorship of the Gospel is in
Beasley-Murray's mind anonymous,
the uncertainty of identity not affecting the
authority of the message. He
refers to the unknown Beloved Disciple as the
messenger of a tradition which
began in
Beasley-Murray’s position that in
addition to Christology, the theology of
the book features soteriology
and eschatology is well taken and ably demon-
strated, including a suggestive
list of 22 ways in which Jesus is confessed and
described in John's Gospel. Beasley-Murray's
interest centers more on the
eschatological contents of John's
Gospel than its soteriology. His treatment
of the structure lacks theological cohesion, being
built around three features:
the Prologue, the Public Ministry of Jesus, and the
Passion and Resurrection
of Jesus. Each sub-segment of the outline carries
a well-chosen special
bibliography.
There are 25 sections in the
commentary. Each section begins with a
specific, detailed bibliography and is followed
by a fresh translation of the
verses in that segment. The reader will not always
agree with certain points in
translation. It would be best to compare any verse
in question with other
translations and other commentaries.
A case in point is John 1:4 where
Beasley-Murray's
translation is, "What has come into being had its life in
188
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
him." The explanation in a footnote does not
address the first clause. One
might question the translation in v 5 by the word
"grasp" and the rendering of
the participle "by coming" in v 9. The
word "children" is still a better
rendering of the Greek idea than "son"
(v 12). So, though the translation is
quite adequate, it needs to be compared with
well-accepted translations for
the sake of certainty.
The author's treatment of the
literary structure of the Prologue is very
helpful, especially his comparison of the Greek
and Hebrew terms for "word."
It
is apparent throughout the commentary that he has come to grips with the
significant literature on the Fourth Gospel. An
illustration of this concerns his
treatment of the
meaning and use of the word "sign,"
Beasley-Murray's comments are very
informative. His treatment of the
student may not sympathize with the author's
conclusions regarding source
criticism (see p. 71) or his judgment about
7:53-8:11 but the comments will
familiarize the reader with problems and prepared
solutions. An example of
this is found in the comments of chap 11, especially
in connection with 11:25-
26.
His handling of the problems of chap 12, and especially his translation of
the early part of chap 13, is indicative of the
author's range of ability. The
same helpfulness is exhibited in his handling of the
word "abide" in chap 15.
Though
Beasley-Murray does not deal with the theological problems that
most readers will encounter in this chapter, he does
supply information that
can help one refocus on the interpretation of the
text. Likewise, he provides a
helpful treatment of the trial of Jesus and an
interesting sidelight on Pilate's
character (pp. 332-34). There is a helpful
chronology of the events of Jesus'
arrest, examination, trials, passion and burial (p.
321); his c.omments on "It is
finished" are well taken (19:30).
Beasley-Murray provides close to 50
pages on the resurrection and post-
resurrection ministry of Jesus. The
reader will wish that even more space
could have been given to this section of the book
which often is treated too
briefly by commentators.
This up-to-date commentary will
stimulate your imagination in Bible
study. As in others of his books, he has given us a
work that will be in-
dispensible in the study of the
Fourth Gospel.
Tenney, Merrill C. "The Gospel of John" in The Expositor's Bible Com-
mentary. Vol.
9. Ed. F. E. Gaebelein.
This commentary series has replaced
many other sets for a large segment
of Bible students. It combines general exposition
with notes for further study.
Each
book has an introduction, bibliography, and at least one map, following
an outline. The translation found at the head of
each portion of the outline is
the NIV. The author has been Professor of Bible and
Theology at
College
and is now Emeritus.
The pages given to the study of John
are about one-half of the number in
Beasley-Murray's volume. The approach in the
introduction is more general
than that of the previous commentary. Although the
bibliography is quite
brief, the author has utilized a broader scope of Johannine literature than he
quotes. Some distinctly evangelical authors are listed
in the bibliography;
Burns: COMMENTING ON COMMENTARIES 189
these are absent from the Word series. Because of the book's size, most
comments are less extensive; this is also true of
the treatment of critical
problems, a number of which are not mentioned in
this work. Foreign words
are transliterated for the reader; there are
occasional notes referring to Greek
grammar (p. 30) and syntax (p. 34). Contact with
the literature of other
religions is mentioned, though not extensively,
nor in depth.
The treatment of the Prologue, given
the size of the commentary, is quite
brief. Perhaps the author was pledged to accept the
NIV translation; at any
rate, he comes to no conclusion about the textual.problem, which, based on
the two most recent Greek editions, should read (at
1:18) "only or uniquely
begotten God." Tenney
has an interesting comparison between the days of
the last part of chap 1, and the days of Jesus'
last earthly week are worthy of
further study.
There should be a full treatment of
the word "miraculous sign" at 2:11
but there is not even a footnote, let alone
linguistic observations about the
terminology of miracle in the Gospels. There could
also be a listing of the
"signs" and their individual significance (p. 68
provides no indication of
significance) .
Tenney's
corrective note on the NIV's "again" (3:3)
is well taken. His
definition of "born again" is helpful.
The discussion of 3:5 is far from adequate,
especially in view of the theological ramifications
involved.
The author's conclusion about the
account of the adulterous woman is
basically the same as Beasley-Murray's. Tenney's footnote gives the teacher an
adequate listing of text-critical evidence. There
is no discussion of rabbinic
teaching; such would enhance the information one
needs to teach this passage.
The
connection between John 11:25 and the Pauline statement (1 Thess
4:16-17)
is helpful. It does not seem to be important that Jesus' anger could be
directed against unbelief-or even against the
revelation of sin's consequences
(11:33-35).
The student will be interested in the comparison of
the three words
signifying Jesus' feelings in this passage.
Tenney's
comments on the chronological problems of chap 13 are a good
summary, though many will want a more extensive
marshalling of the
information. Mention is made of the significance of
the lateness of Jesus'
intrusion into the course of the Passover meal to
wash the disciples' feet (13:2).
His
observation that Peter may have been speaking for the disciples in his
protestation is interesting. Also
useful is the alternate meaning of the word "cut
off," but he does not explain it in relation
to the statement that God,
" . . . removes the dead wood from his
church. . ." in 15:2. There is no
chronological pattern provided for
the arrest and trials of Jesus, though there is
a brief discussion and a note emphasizing the
"word" from the cross, "It is
finished."
The comments on chaps 20 and 21
occupy 17 pages. There are notes on
only nine of the verses of these two chapters. The
notes on vv five and six and
the note on angels in v 12 provide a few helps not
found in the similar works.
There
is assistance in the note on page 19 that will qualify as one of the most
informative in the entire volume. It would have been
helpful to provide
information about the fish beyond their approximate
weight. There is a very
190
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
brief but suggestive indication of how to render the
verb usually translated "we
know."
Tenney's
volume is not meant to be in the direction of a full commentary,
but it is one that will render assistance to the
Bible student who is not looking
for an in-depth treatment of the text and its
problems. This overview of the
Gospel
of John will provide a vantage point for those whose needs do not
require a great deal of detailed information,
but it may be consulted with profit
by pastors as well as other Bible students.
Bruce, F. F. The Gospel of John, Introduction, Exposition
and Notes. Grand
Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1983.
The name of the author is well known
to students of Pauline and Lukan
studies. This commentary came out of his early
retirement years; it is the
outcome of 30 years of study.
Although the book is nearly 450
pages in length, it makes no attempt to be
exhaustive. Its introduction to this Gospel is only
17 pages in length. Its
emphasis is on the Evangelist, his gospel, and
the message in the context of the
early church. The outline consists of six major
points. Bruce, in his preface,
states he has written for the general Christian reader
engaged in serious Bible
study. Since it is not targeted for the professional
or specialist, critical questions
are only casually treated. There is a five-page
bibliography of English language
works from Westcott to Beasley-Murray. There are 56
notes concerning the
introduction alone.
Chap 1 occupies pp. 28-65, with five
and one-half pages of notes for
further study. Each verse segment studied is
grouped in clusters of one to five
verses. Explanations are brief but provide a
responsible, continuous exposition.
Statements
are substituted for explanations because of the intended scope but
are a distillation of extensive study of the Johannine literature. An example of
this procedure is illustrated in the study of such
ideas as "word" (p. 29), third
day (p. 30) and sign (p. 72).
Having declined to identify
Nicodemus with a person named in the
Talmud,
Bruce regards Nicodemus an exception to most Pharisees. He bases
this on grammatical considerations as well as the
Pharisee's actions. He states
there is no difference between being born from above
and born of water and
Spirit. The latter expression is used to remind
Jesus' inquirer of OT phrase-
ology. (Ezek 36:27).
The story of the adulterous woman is
considered at the close of the
commentary. As is the case with other authors,
Bruce considers the account "a
fragment of authentic gospel material not
originally included in any of the four
gospels." It is found interspersed in five
locations in Luke and John. His
comment that adultery is not committed by one
person in solitude (p. 414)
highlights the injustice of this attempt to trap
Jesus. Bruce rejects the identifica-
tion of this incident with
the one cited in the Gospel according to the Hebrews.
The
author specifies Judas as the branch among his disciples which must
be removed; he says in a related connection"
. . . it may be implied that his
word is the means used by the Father to perform his
work of pruning" (p. 309)
or cleansing.
Burns: COMMENTING ON
COMMENTATARIES 191
Bruce
distinguishes between the sour wine drunk by the soldiers guarding
the crosses and the myrrh mixed wine which was a
sedative (p. 373). He makes
a knowledgable comment
about the hyssop sponge impaled on a Roman
soldier's weapon. A connection is made between
Jesus' cry of accomplishment
and his anticipation of it in 17:4, and there is a
concise, illuminating paragraph
about the process of Christ's physical death (p.
375).
The author makes a significant
connection between the Spirit imparted by
Jesus
(p. 392) and the verb employed in the LXX of Gen 2:7, where, as a
consequence of the impartation, man became a living
being, as well as the
reference in Ezek 37:9. Bruce is correct in noting
that there is more in the
incident of the great fish catch, "than
meets the eye" (p. 402). He calls it a
parable of "their missionary
activity." The author correctly recognizes the four
pairs of synonyms in 21:15-17.
This volume is worth much more than its
weight as a model of exegetically-
based exposition. No student or professional should
consider by-passing this
splendid work.
Eerdmans,
1971.
The Principal of Ridley College,
extensive commentary on the Fourth Gospel. After a
few pages of contents,
editor's forward and a one-page author's preface
with acknowledgements,
there is a commentary of 930 pages, including 41
pages of indices. There is a
table of abbreviations that doubles as a
bibliography.
The introduction to the book is
composed of nine sections of three to five
pages each, except for the discussion of authorship
which is 22 pages. Of the
four commentaries examined, only this one calls John
the Apostle the author
of this Gospel. He posits a pre-A.D. 70 date after
a long oral tradition, with
20:31
as the Apostle's statement of purpose-a theological purpose without
distortion of fact or discount of history. His observation
about ancient his-
torians and their writing is
worth noticing (p. 48). His evaluation of the
evidences for Johannine
dependence must be considered; he sees no evidence
of written connection with the Synoptics.
Morris cites an important catalog of
those who reject displacement
theories. He also surveys the theories of source
criticism applied to John. He
reminds us that the style of this Gospel is
uniform, not denying that John
made use of sources at
Hellenistic
world of thought, and he is acquainted with the same Christ as
Paul without trace of Paulinism
or Gnosticism.
The history of the understanding of
1:7 sheds light on a long-standing
problem of how to deal with the fact that
"nothing is outside the range of his
activity in creation and proto-Gnostic
claims." Life is one of John's frequently
used terms (36 times). He refers to the recipients
of life as "children" of God,
rather than "sons" (1:12). Another
correction he makes is at 1:18, where "only
begotten God" is the preferable translation
on the basis of impressive textual
evidence.
In Appendix G (p. 684ff), Morris
discusses at length the word "sign" and
sign-structure of John, but he reminds
us that signs are purposed to display
192
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
glory. The interpretations of John 3:5, he reminds
us, may be classified in
three main groupings: Purification, Procreation and
Water Baptism. His pre-
ference is for the second
category. He reminds us that John enjoys using
expressions that can be taken in more than one way.
His consideration of 7:53-8:11 comes
in an appendix at the close of this
book (p. 882ff). He does not understand this section
as an authentic part of
the Gospel. He reminds us that there are textual
variations in addition to the
question of its placement. He concedes that the
story is ". . . true to the
character of Jesus" (p. 983) and quite
ancient. He recognizes the Pharisees
aim at entrapment first of the woman, then of
Jesus.
Jesus gives more than the promise of
resurrection and life. He gives
Himself,
and He is both resurrection and life. With personal trust in Jesus, a
man will live even though he dies. The life of the
age to come may be
experienced now. Morris is the only one of the four
commentators to explain
(in the reviewer's mind) the reason for Jesus' weeping. The
other instance of
His
weeping is also in a context of Jewish unbelief. The verb "to weep"
is
only here in the NT, though the cognate noun occurs
ten times.
The first footnote in chap 13
reminds us that there are many allusions in
Jesus' Farewell Discourse to Moses's
Farewell Discourse in Deuteronomy.
Morris
rejects the idea of Judas' heart being entered, preferring with some
others to mean, "the devil made up his mind that
Judas. . . ." There is,
however, an altered reading of the text
concerning the event that transpired
"during supper."
Morris reminds us of the widespread
background of the vine motif in the
OT. He connects the true vine idea to that of the
believer in Christ; the
connection is that of vitality between Christ and
His own. He is the only one
of the four commentators who directly addresses
the theological difficulties in
15:2.
The point is that left to itself "a vine will
produce a good deal of
unproductive growth, thus pruning is
an essential work of the Father."
Attention should be called to an
entire series of added notes and ap-
pendices sprinkled through the
book. One is at the end of his extensive
treatment of the Roman trial of Jesus--a note on
the Last Supper and the
Passover. It explores several of the problems of
this subject. His conclusions
about chronology are some of the best features of the
book. He concludes the
note by offering some special bibliography.
Morris has an extensive footnote
concerning "hyssop." He explains its
connection with the Passover and with the Cross. In
chap 19 he refuses a
drink that would have dulled his mind but accepts a
different kind that will
moisten his dry throat. Amid suffering there is
the thought of Jesus' peaceful
death. His trust in His Father is indicated by the
bowing of his head (only in
John);
the same expression is used for "going to bed."
The "forgiving" and
retaining of sins (20:23) is explained, together with
objections to understanding this as the power of
forgiveness of sins of indi-
vidual men. He notes also the
importance of the perfect verb tense. The
intention of the text is to remind the entire
church that under the leadership of
the Spirit they will express what has already been
determined in heaven.
Burns: COMMENTING ON
COMMENTARIES 193
Even under Peter's expert
organization, the net was too heavy with fish
to be moved. Morris rejects any symbolic meaning
to the number of fish
caught, believing there is no actual evidence to
support the view. It remains,
however, the only other place (besides the
feeding of the multitude) when the
count of fish is provided. The differing views of
Jesus' words about Peter's
love is discussed in both text and in footnotes. The
author's intent is to show
Peter's
restoration has been accomplished.
Certainly this is the best extended
treatment of the Fourth Gospel, just as
Bruce's
work is the best shorter commentary.
Selected Bibliography on the Gospel of John
Barclay,
William. The Gospel of
John. 2 vols.
Barrett,
C. K. The Gospel
According to
1978.
Beasley-Murray,
George R. "John." Word Biblical
Commentary. Volume 36.
Bernard,
J. H. The Gospel
According to
T & T Clark, 1928.
Blank, J. The Gospel According to
Blum, Ed. "John." The Bible Knowledge Commentary.
Edited by J. Walvoord
and R.
Zuck.
Boice, James M.
The Gospel of John.
________.
Witness and Revelation
in the Gospel of John.
van, 1970.
Bonneau, N. R. "The Woman at the Well: John
4 and Genesis 24." The Bible
Today 67 (1973) 1~2-59.
Bowman,
John. "The Fourth Gospel and the Samaritans."
BJRL 40 (1958)
298-315.
Brown,
Raymond E. The
Community of the Beloved Disciple.
Paulist, 1979.
_______.
The Gospel According to
John. 2 vols. AB. Garden City: Doubleday,
1966.
_______.
“Incidents That are Units in the Synoptic Gospels, but
Dispersed in
_______."The
Passion According to John: Chapters 18 and 19." Worship 49
(1975) 126-34.
Bruce,
F. F. The Gospel of
John.
Bultmann, Rudolf. The Gospel of John. Trans. G. R.
Beasley-Murray. Phila-
delphia:
Calvin,
John. The Gospel
According to
Trans. T. H. L. Parker. 2 vols.
Carson,
D. A. "Current Source Criticism in the Fourth Gospel: Some Metho-
dological Questions." JBL 97 (1978) 111-29.
_______.
Divine Sovereignty and
Human Responsibility.
1981.
194
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
________.
“Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel: After Dodd,
What?"
Gospel Perspectives. Edited by J. Wenham and R. France.
JSNT Press (1981) 83-145.
________.
“Understanding Misunderstanding in the Fourth Gospel."
TynBul 33
(1982) 59-91.
Collins,
R. F. “The Representative Figures of the Fourth Gospel.” The Down-
side Review 94 (1976) 26-46, 118-32.
Connick, C.
M. “The Dramatic Character of the Fourth Gospel.” JBL 67
(1948) 159-69.
Cook,
Robert. Theology of
John.
Cross,
F. L., ed. Studies in the Fourth Gospel.
Cullmann, Oscar. The
Early Disciples and in Early
Christianity. Trans.
John Bowden.
SCM, 1975.
_________.
Early Christian Worship.
Trans. by A. S. Todd and J. B. Torrence.
Culpepper,
R. Alan. Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel: A
Study in Literary
Design.
________.
The
________.
"The Pivot of John's Prologue." NTS 27 (1980) 1-31.
Dodd,
C. H. Historical Tradition in the Fourth
Gospel.
Press, 1963.
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