Ti Emoi Kai Σoi

1985 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 582-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur H. Maynard
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
The Way

In John 2. 4 there is a peculiar Greek idiom which has not only given almost every translator difficulty, but which is, in the opinion of the writer, both a key to the way in which the author of the Fourth Gospel used his sources, and to his interpretation of Jesus. The verse reads ‘And Jesus said to her: τί έμοί καί σοί; woman, my hour has not yet come.’

A Neglected Feature of the Christology of the Fourth Gospel

1975 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Mastin
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
General Terms ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Way

Because the term θεóς is used so infrequently of Jesus in the New Testament, it is not surprising to find that there are relatively few discussions of it as a christological title. However, it may be of value to investigate the way in which the Fourth Gospel speaks of Jesus as ‘God’ since its usage differs somewhat from that of the rest of the New Testament. First, the extent to which the New Testament describes Jesus as God will be surveyed, and this will be contrasted in general terms with the approach of the Fourth Evangelist. Then the passages in the Fourth Gospel which may call Jesus ‘God’ will be examined in more detail, and an attempt will be made to establish the way in which this designation is used by the evangelist. Next it will be asked how the distinctive usage of the Fourth Gospel came to be adopted. Finally the view that the word θεóς expresses a functional christology will be considered.

scholarly journals Characterisation of Thomas in the Fourth Gospel

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johnson Thomaskutty
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Structure ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Narrative Framework ◽  
The Way

Thomas appears four times within the narrative framework of the Fourth Gospel (Jn 11:16; 14:5; 20:24–28; 21:2). His presence in the Gospel introduces some of the strategic transitions within the macro-narrative structure. The following are some of the crucial moments that are introduced through the entry of Thomas: firstly, Thomas’ character is brought to the foreground towards the end of Jesus’ public ministry, where a transition is underway through Lazarus’ death and raising to Jesus’ death and resurrection (11:16); secondly, he appears as a significant interlocutor engaged in dialogue so that Jesus’ identity as ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ may be revealed to the disciples during his private ministry (Jn 14:5–6); thirdly, Thomas’ character appears towards the climax of the Book of Glory as he is instrumental in revealing the identity of Jesus as ‘Lord’ and ‘God’ (Jn 20:24–29); and fourthly, he appears as one of the seven disciples during the post-resurrection context in Galilee (Jn 21:2). The unique placement of Thomas communicates something significant about the character and his development within the narrative.

The Myth of a Descending-Ascending Redeemer in Mediterranean Antiquity

1976 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 418-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Talbert
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Nag Hammadi ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

In spite of its popularity, the contention that the Christian conception of Jesus as a descending-ascending saviour figure was derived from the gnostic redeemer myth faces serious problems. Three are widely noted; another needs attention. (I) The sources from which our knowledge of the gnostic myth comes are late: e.g. the Naassene hymn, the hymn of the Pearl, the Mandean materials, the Manichean evidence, the accounts in the church fathers, and the Nag Hammadi documents. Sources from Chenoboskion like the Paraphrase of Shem, the Apocalypse of Adam, and the Second Logos of the Great Seth do contain a myth of a redeemer that is only superficially christianized. Hence the gnostics may not have derived their myth from Christians. It does not follow, however, either that Christians got it from gnostics or that it is pre-Christian. (2) A redeemer myth is not essential to gnosticism. Though gnosticism may contain a redeemer myth (e.g. the Naassene hymn), it may exist without one. In Carpocrates' system, for example, Jesus' soul remembered what it had seen in its circuit with the unbegotten God. The Ophites in Origen'sAgainst Celsusknow of no descending-ascending redeemer. They look to an earthly being who fetches gnosis from heaven. InPoimandres, the writer is the recipient of a vision in rapture. He then teaches the way of salvation. Indeed, the proto-gnosticism of Paul's opponents in I Corinthians apparently did not contain a redeemer myth. Such evidence demands that a distinction be drawn between two issues: (a) whether or not there was a pre-Christian gnosticism, and (b) whether or not there was a pre-Christian gnostic redeemer myth. Since a redeemer myth is not constitutive for gnosticism, the existence of a pre-Christian gnosis is no guarantee for the presence of a gnostic redeemer myth. (3) In the Christian sources where the gnostic myth has been assumed to be influential (e.g. the Fourth Gospel), there is no ontological identity between Christ and the believers as in gnosticism. There is, in the Christian writings, no pre-existence of the soul or redeemed redeemer. Given these difficulties, why the attractiveness of the gnostic hypothesis?

scholarly journals The midwife of truth: The nature of irony and a rationale for its prevalence in the Gospel of John

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Bruce W. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Conceptual Level ◽  
Passion Narrative ◽  
Sustained Use ◽  
Meaningful Engagement ◽  
Major Treatment ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Conceptual Link ◽  
The Way

<p>The Gospel of John is renowned for its pervasive use of irony. While this phenomenon is widely recognized by scholars, there have been only a few attempts to explain the “how” of Johannine irony and no meaningful attempt to explain its “why.” The last major treatment of the topic was by Paul Duke in his 1985 work, Irony in the Fourth Gospel, which provides an account of how Johannine irony works through an analysis of local and extended ironies. Other examinations, such as Gail O’Day’s Revelation in the Fourth Gospel in 1986, explore irony as a corollary of some other thematic concern. The reticence of scholars to delve deeper into the nature of Johannine irony is understandable given that as Duke puts it, irony laughs at all pretensions, especially the pretension of claiming to have grasped irony.  This study undertakes the demanding but necessary task of describing irony to a level that allows meaningful engagement with ironic texts, while accepting that it remains ultimately indefinable. Particular attention is paid to historical shifts of understanding of the nature of irony and the implications this has for appreciating irony at a conceptual level. From a survey of the Johannine scholarship, a comprehensive but non-exhaustive overview of the Fourth Gospel’s use of irony is derived. No previous work has attempted to approach the subject in this way. The main advantage of doing so is that it allows for the identification of broad patterns of irony and the way it functions in the narrative. This in turn provides a framework for proceeding to an examination of particular texts and the identification of a possible rationale.  The present study assesses several hypotheses to explain why the author of the Fourth Gospel makes such sustained use of irony. The preferred hypothesis is that it is intrinsically linked to a predominant Johannine theme of alētheia (truth). Drawing on the conceptual link between irony and truth, it argues that the truth theme is a deliberate literary strategy employed by the author to entice the reader to seek certain propositional truths within the narrative. This ultimately serves the author’s desire to evoke revelation and response in line with the Gospel’s purpose statement in 20:31.  The argument that irony serves the Johannine truth theme is tested with particular reference to the Prologue (1:1-18) and the Passion Narrative (chapters 18-19). The study establishes that irony serves as the link between appearance and reality in the narrative. Its subtle and engaging qualities make irony the most suitable vehicle to testify to the Gospel’s propositional statements in a manner that fulfils the author’s stated Christological (a revelation of Jesus’ true identity) and soteriological (a response that leads to salvation) purposes.</p>

Eschatology and Time in the Gospel of John

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Life Time ◽  
Eternal Life ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Linguistic Expression ◽  
Complex Issue ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
The Way

The article discusses the complex issue of time and eschatology in the Fourth Gospel. To get a grip on John’s eschatology it is necessary to take seriously John’s own use of language, and not to let the issue be determined solely by categories or terms (such as ‘eschatology’ and ‘apocalypticism’) introduced by scholars. It is essential to understand John’s eschatology as an aspect of the Gospel’s broader concept of time and the way in which this concept is given linguistic expression. This approach allows more recent, in particular narratological, methods to be applied to determine the Gospel’s concept of time. The article addresses the following topics: present and future eschatology in recent scholarship; the fusion of temporal horizons in the Farewell Discourses; motifs of time and eschatology, such as ‘the hour’, ‘the last day’, and ‘eternal life’; time and narration in John; and implications for John’s theology and ethics.

scholarly journals Die vertaling van ἐξουσία [eksousia] in Johannes 1:12

2012 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Francois Tolmie
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
John 1 ◽  
Bible Translations ◽  
The Way

The translation of ἐξουσία [eksousia] in John 1:12. A survey of Bible translations in Afrikaans, Dutch, English, German and French indicates that the term ἐξουσία [eksousia] in John 1:12 is translated in different ways by translators. In Afrikaans the options available to translators are ‘gesag’ (‘authority’), ‘mag’ (‘might’), ‘krag’ (‘power’), ‘reg’ (‘right’) and ‘voorreg’ (‘privilege’). In this article, the translation into Afrikaans of the term in John 1:12 is considered. The article begins with an overview of choices made by previous translators in this regard, as well as an overview of how the term is interpreted in dictionaries and by commentators. This is followed by an investigation of the other occurrences of the term in the Fourth Gospel, and suggestions as to the way it should be interpreted in each case. The use of the term in John 1:12 is then considered. It is proposed that the best translation of the term in Afrikaans is ‘mag’ (‘might’).

scholarly journals Johannæisk filosofi?

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-69
Author(s):  
Jesper Tang Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Eternal Life ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Major Argument ◽  
Philosophical Questions ◽  
The Way

The article presents and discusses Troels Engberg-Pedersen’s new book on the Fourth Gospel. Engberg-Pedersen argues that the gospel is a philosophical narrative in the way that it in its narrative about Jesus poses and answers philosophical questions about theology, epistomology, cosmology and ethics. One major argument in the book is that John adheres to a Stoic understanding of pneuma. The Stoic pneuma has both an ontological and a cognitive side. In the Fourth Gospel it is exclusively given to Jesus in his baptism and is present in his words. In his resurrection he is transformed into pure pneuma and returns to his disciples in order to convey the pneuma to them. This is what gives them eternal life. The article raises exegetical questions to this interpretation. It argues that the traditions behind the Johannine pneuma are more complex and the narrative is more complicated than Engberg-Pedersen allows for.

scholarly journals The midwife of truth: The nature of irony and a rationale for its prevalence in the Gospel of John

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Bruce W. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Conceptual Level ◽  
Passion Narrative ◽  
Sustained Use ◽  
Meaningful Engagement ◽  
Major Treatment ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Conceptual Link ◽  
The Way

<p>The Gospel of John is renowned for its pervasive use of irony. While this phenomenon is widely recognized by scholars, there have been only a few attempts to explain the “how” of Johannine irony and no meaningful attempt to explain its “why.” The last major treatment of the topic was by Paul Duke in his 1985 work, Irony in the Fourth Gospel, which provides an account of how Johannine irony works through an analysis of local and extended ironies. Other examinations, such as Gail O’Day’s Revelation in the Fourth Gospel in 1986, explore irony as a corollary of some other thematic concern. The reticence of scholars to delve deeper into the nature of Johannine irony is understandable given that as Duke puts it, irony laughs at all pretensions, especially the pretension of claiming to have grasped irony.  This study undertakes the demanding but necessary task of describing irony to a level that allows meaningful engagement with ironic texts, while accepting that it remains ultimately indefinable. Particular attention is paid to historical shifts of understanding of the nature of irony and the implications this has for appreciating irony at a conceptual level. From a survey of the Johannine scholarship, a comprehensive but non-exhaustive overview of the Fourth Gospel’s use of irony is derived. No previous work has attempted to approach the subject in this way. The main advantage of doing so is that it allows for the identification of broad patterns of irony and the way it functions in the narrative. This in turn provides a framework for proceeding to an examination of particular texts and the identification of a possible rationale.  The present study assesses several hypotheses to explain why the author of the Fourth Gospel makes such sustained use of irony. The preferred hypothesis is that it is intrinsically linked to a predominant Johannine theme of alētheia (truth). Drawing on the conceptual link between irony and truth, it argues that the truth theme is a deliberate literary strategy employed by the author to entice the reader to seek certain propositional truths within the narrative. This ultimately serves the author’s desire to evoke revelation and response in line with the Gospel’s purpose statement in 20:31.  The argument that irony serves the Johannine truth theme is tested with particular reference to the Prologue (1:1-18) and the Passion Narrative (chapters 18-19). The study establishes that irony serves as the link between appearance and reality in the narrative. Its subtle and engaging qualities make irony the most suitable vehicle to testify to the Gospel’s propositional statements in a manner that fulfils the author’s stated Christological (a revelation of Jesus’ true identity) and soteriological (a response that leads to salvation) purposes.</p>

‘Was kann aus Nazareth schon Gutes kommen?’ (Joh 1.46). Die Bedeutung des Judeseins Jesu im Johannesevangelium

2000 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
THOMAS SÖDING
Keyword(s):  
Jewish People ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Son Of God ◽  
Essential Aspect ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Cross ◽  
The One ◽  
The Way

The polemic against ‘the Jews’ in the Fourth Gospel is often realized and criticized. But John also points out that Jesus himself is a Jew. This is the way John draws the line of his incarnation theology into the ‘history’ of Jesus, narrated in the gospel. As ‘prophet’ (4.19) Jesus the ‘Jew’ (4.9) is ‘the Saviour of the world’ (4.42); as man, coming from Nazareth in Galilee (1.46; 4.43f; 7.41), Jesus is the Messiah, born in Bethlehem (7.42): well known as ‘son of Joseph’ (1.45; 6.42), unknown as ‘Son of God’ (cf. John 1.19). On the cross Jesus the ‘King of the Jews’ (19.19) dies ‘for the people’ and ‘for the scattered children of God’ (11.50ff). It is an essential aspect of John's Christology that Jesus belongs to his Jewish people. This theological fact, founded in the identity of the one God, shows the so-called anti-Judaism of John in a new light.

scholarly journals The Eschatological Aspects of the Monastic Life in St. Jerome’s Letters

Vox Patrum ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 ◽  
pp. 143-155
Author(s):  
Marcin Wysocki
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Monastic Community ◽  
Monastic Life ◽  
Saint Jerome ◽  
The Way ◽  
Realized Eschatology

In the year 1953, a New Testament scholar named Charles Harold Dodd published a book titled The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel which revolutionized the way of thinking about Christian eschatology. In his opus vitae, Charles Dodd argued based on the Gospel of John that apocalyptic realities are in fact already realised through Jesus and His Apostles’ ministry. On this premise, he coined the term “realized eschatology”, in which all announcements concerning the Kingdom of God had already been realized according to Dodd. This “realized eschatology” can be seen through various realities of everyday life of the community of believers. In the case of Saint Jerome of Stridon, he saw the eschatological reality in the monastic lifestyle. This article aims to show what eschatological signs are present in the description of the monastic community found in the letters of Saint Jerome. For in his letters many times he refers to eschatological realities already present in monastic life, which is for him a kind of paradise on earth and the fulfilment of Christ’s eschatological prophecies.

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