A Philological Study of the Reflexive-Possessive Use of Personal Pronouns in the Fourth Gospel

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-35
Author(s):  
Thomas Tops
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Literary Context

Abstract This study provides a philological analysis of all the occurrences of personal pronouns with reflexive-possessive meaning in the Gospel of John. Here, the author argues that the Gospel highly conforms to the rule of Classical Greek that the deictic force of the article suffices to identify the possessor when it is clear in the literary context who the possessor is. This high conformity enables the author to specify in which cases personal pronouns are strictly necessary to indicate the possessor and where they are redundant. Exegetical case studies (e.g., John 6:52) illustrate the implications of this study for the interpretation of the Gospel.

Veiling Esther, Unveiling Her Story

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Silverstein
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Religious Background ◽  
Literary Context ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Selection Of

This book examines the ways in which the biblical book of Esther was read, understood, and used in Muslim lands, from ancient to modern times. It zeroes-in on a selection of case studies, covering works from various periods and regions of the Muslim world, including the Qur’an, premodern historical chronicles and literary works, the writings of a nineteenth-century Shia feminist, a twentieth-century Iranian dictionary, and others. These case studies demonstrate that Muslim sources contain valuable materials on Esther, which shed light both on the Esther story itself and on the Muslim peoples and cultures that received it. The book argues that Muslim sources preserve important, pre-Islamic materials on Esther that have not survived elsewhere, some of which offer answers to ancient questions about Esther, such as the meaning of Haman’s epithet in the Greek versions of the story, the reason why Mordecai refused to prostrate himself before Haman, and the literary context of the “plot of the eunuchs” to kill the Persian king. Furthermore, throughout the book we will see how each author’s cultural and religious background influenced his or her understanding and retelling of the Esther story: In particular, it will be shown that Persian Muslims (and Jews) were often forced to reconcile or choose between the conflicting historical narratives provided by their religious and cultural heritages respectively.

„Gyertek, nézzétek meg!”

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-109
Author(s):  
Levente Balázs Martos
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The One ◽  
Fundamental Values

The concept of motivation is related to the encouraging effect on others on the one hand and the reasons for our own actions on the other. Motivation always reflects a specific set of values and tools, as well as behavior. In our short study, some of the fundamental values characteristic of the Bible will be presented, and then we observe the motivating presence of Jesus for his disciples in the narration of the fourth gospel, the Gospel of John.

The Beloved Disciple, the Fourth Evangelist, and the Authorship of the Fourth Gospel

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Thatcher
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Individual ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Beloved Disciple

Discussions of the authorship of the Gospel of John must answer two questions: who is the Beloved Disciple who is portrayed as the book’s primary source of information, and how is this individual related to the author, John the evangelist? On the first question, scholars are divided on whether the Beloved Disciple is a real historical individual or an ideal symbolic figure. Data from the text itself and from social-science perspectives on the reputations of key figures from the past suggest that both are correct: the Beloved Disciple was a legendary associate of Jesus whose presentation reflects his reputation as a source of information that was critical to the Johannine theological outlook. On the second question, data suggests that the evangelist was not the Beloved Disciple but rather a disciple of that individual, perhaps basing his own book on an earlier document produced by the Beloved Disciple.

Ethics and the Gospel of John: Toward an Emerging New Consensus?

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 280-304
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Skinner
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Gospel Of John ◽  
English Language ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Ethical Systems

For decades the scholarly consensus held that the Fourth Gospel was either devoid of ethics or that its ethical material was narrow, exclusive, and sectarian. In recent years, that consensus has begun to show signs of wear. This article examines the more recent turn to ‘implied’ ethics by looking at four English-language books on the subject published in the past four years. This examination is undertaken with a view to tracing a newly emerging consensus, which holds that (1) the Gospel of John has ethical material, and (2) that material must be taken seriously by those reflecting on ancient ethical systems in general and New Testament ethics in particular. Further, the emerging consensus holds that the implied ethics of the Fourth Gospel, far from being strictly sectarian, are useful for reflecting on and/or constructing models of normative Christian behavior.

Engaging scripture: incarnation and the Gospel of John

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-160
Author(s):  
Angus Paddison
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
John's Gospel

This article presents a theological engagement with the Christ of the Gospel of John. Christology has two basic responsibilities. First, all Christology is required to demonstrate that it is rooted in scriptural reading. Second, consistent attentiveness needs to be paid to the dynamic relationship between Christ's person and work. The nature of these two responsibilities is elucidated by exploring some recent christological contributions. The remainder of the essay engages with the encounter at the centre of the Fourth Gospel: that in the Word made flesh the eternal love between the Father and the Son is unfolded into the time of this world. Jesus' life and ministry is the decisive meeting of time and eternity. Counsel is then offered for how John's Gospel may faithfully be read in line with this subject matter. Important objections to ‘Logos’ Christologies, and Johannine Christology in particular, are introduced. This article then proceeds to argue for the realistic meeting of all that is human and all that is divine in the person of Jesus who lives a life of loving obedience to the Father. Throughout, this article maintains a conversation with the Fourth Gospel, the ontological implications of this text, and those voices from within Christian tradition that can help us in the reading of John.

scholarly journals Fictive-friendship and the Fourth Gospel

2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeba A. Crook
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Fourth Gospel

The phenomena of friendship and giftship in antiquity have been the focus of much anthropological interest, yet those terms are still used much too broadly, wherein any one can be friends and anything exchanged is a gift. This article argued that proper friendship requires equality of exchange and status. When inequality of exchange is present, we will almost always also have inequality of status. These two things together naturally and necessarily result in the absence of frank speech. At this point, proper friendship (defined by frank speech) and the exchange of gifts (defined by equality of value) are impossible, and we have fictivefriendship, a term I have introduced in this article. Fictive-friendship refers to the practice, often but not exclusively amongst elites, of using friendship language to mask relationships of dependence (patronage and clientage). I closed my argument by looking at two examples of fictive-friendship in the Gospel of John.

The Sources of the Gospel of John: An Assessment of the Present State of the Problem

1964 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 336-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Moody Smith
Keyword(s):  
Present State ◽  
Literary Theory ◽  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Bench Mark ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Rudolf Bultmann ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Subsequent Discussion ◽  
Recent Developments

For more than one hundred years scholars have endeavoured to discover and separate the sources or literary strata believed to be embedded in the Gospel of John. Previous attempts to explain the origin of the Fourth Gospel by theories of a Grundschrift or literary sources and redaction, not to mention rearrangement, found their culmination and were probably superseded when, over twenty years ago, Rudolf Bultmann set forth a comprehensive literary theory in his magisterial Das Evangelium des Johannes. Bultmann's work has given a measure of unity to the subsequent discussion of the literary problem where it has been taken into account. Those who sharply disagree with Bultmann have found it a convenient bench-mark by which to gain a perspective on the problems of the gospel. His theory, worked out in most minute detail, involves the evangelist's use of sources, the presumably accidental disruption of the original textual order, and the (incorrect) restoration and editorial expansion of the text by an ecclesiastical redactor. Any discussion of recent developments in this area will naturally and appropriately begin with his work.

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>

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