| 5982 E.g., Lev. Rab. 22:6, although this is late; Musonius Rufus frg. 45, p. 140.1 (πειρζων), 8–9 (δοκιμαστριω); cf. other forms of testing in Iamblichus V.P. 5.23–24; 17.71; and sources in Keener, Matthew, 476. 5984 Andrew and Philip appear together not only here (6:5–9) but also in 1:40–44 and 12:21–22. Their geographical origin (1:44) and perhaps kinship would have connected them, but greater precision on the matter is no longer possible. 5985 Estimates vary. If Frier, «Annuities,» is correct, the average per capita income in the early empire was about 380 sestertii, which translates (cf. Perkin, «Money,» 407) into roughly a quarter denarius per day. 5986 Tob 5:14; White, «Finances,» 232; Stambaugh and Balch, Environment, 79; Lachs, Commentary, 334; Perkin, «Money,» 406. 5987 One report from impoverished rural Egypt indicates that pay totaled «two loaves of bread a day, i.e., roughly half a kilogram per person» (Lewis, Life, 69); cf. Plutarch Love of Wealth 2, Mor. 523F. 5988 John refers to the number of νδρες, men (cf. Matt 14:21). Often men alone were counted (e.g., L.A.B. 5:7; 14:4), hence John " s tradition does not report the number of women and children (and unlike perhaps Josephus, some ancient writers were disinclined to invent numbers, recognizing also the tendency of some oral sources to inflate them; Thucydides 5.68.2). Thus we cannot estimate how many would have followed into the wilderness. 5989 Augustine Tr. Ev. Jo. 24.5.1–2 allegorized the five loaves as the five books of Torah (on bread as Torah, see comment on 6:32–51; but to be consistent, he also allegorized the two fish as the priest and king). 5990 Lads occasionally elsewhere served as protagonists; cf., e.g., T. So1. passim (e.g., 22:12–14); the story line in Pesiq. Rab Kah. 18:5. Although they represent distinct pericopes, John " s dependence on 2 Kgs 4:42–44 suggests to some that he derives the «lad» (παιδριον) from 2 Kgs 4:38,41 LXX. 5991 As in the story of two disciples who shared their food with an old man in p. Šabb. 6:9, §3; or the man who shared his cart with vestal virgins in Valerius Maximus 1.1.10. |
| 7888 E.g., Homer ft 8.75–77, 133, 145–150, 167–171; 15.377, 379; 17.594–596; Valerius Maximus 1.6.12; Silius Italicus 12.623–625; cf. Pindar Nem. 9.25; armies facing lightning sometimes persuaded themselves, however, that it was not an omen (e.g., Silius Italicus 12.627–629; Plutarch Alex. 60.2). In Israel, see 1Sam 2:10; 7:10 ; Isa 29:6; perhaps Judg 5:20 ; cf. judgment in Sib. Or. 4.113; 5.302–303. 7889 E.g„ Homer Od. 20.101, 103; 21.413; Virgil Aen. 7.141–142; 8.523–526; 9.630–631; Pindar Pyth. 4.197–200; Silius Italicus 15.143–145; Ovid Fasti 3.369; Cicero Cat. 3.8.18; cf. Parthenius LR. 6.6; Catullus 64.202–206; in Jewish tradition, see Exod 19:19; 1Sam 12:17–18 ; Sir 46:16–17 ; cf. 1 Kgs 18:36–38,44. In heavenly visions, cf. ΙΕη. 14:8; 17:3; 69:23; 3 En. 29:2; PGM 4.694–696. 7894 E.g., Homer II. 3.276, 320, 350,365; 10.154; 11.56, 80,182,201, 544; 16.253; 17.46; Od. 14.440; 15.341; 16.260; 24.518; Hesiod Op. 169; Euripides Medea 1352; Aristophanes Clouds 1468–1469. 7895 Homer I1. 1.544; 4.68; 5.426; 8.49, 132; 12.445; 15.12, 47; 16.458; 20.56; 22.167; Od. 1.28; Hesiod Theog. 457, 468, 542; Scut. 27; Op. 59; Diodorus Siculus 1.12.1 (following Homer); Ovid Metam. 2.848; 14.807; Epictetus Diatr. 1.19.12; Phaedrus 3.17.10. 7898 E.g., Epictetus Diatr. 1.6.40; 1.9.4–7; 1.13.3–4; 3.22.82; Diogenes Laertius 7.147; Acts 17:28. 7899 Plutarch Plat. Q. 2.1, Mor. 1000E; Alexander 15 in Plutarch S.K., Mor. 180D; Γ.Τ. 8.1.3, Mor. 718A; Babrius 142.3; Orphic Hymns 15.7; PGM 22b.l-5 (Jewish); other deities in Martial Epigr. 10.28; Orphic Hymns 4.1; 12.6. «Adonai» is «Father of the World» in PGM 1.305 (apparently as Apollo, 1.298). For the common usage in Philo, see documentation in comment on John 1:12 . 7900 Virgil Aen. 1.60; 3.251; 4.25; 6.592; 7.141, 770; 8.398; 10.100; 12.178; Ovid Metam. 1.154; 2.304,401; 3.336; 9.271. 7901 Homer Il. 8.69,245,397; 14.352; 15.637; 16.250; 22.60,209; Od. 12.63; 13.51; Virgil Aen. 2.691; Georg. 1.121, 283, 328, 353; 2.325; Orphic Hymns 19.1. The deity is in a number of cases «father» as «creator» or progenitor (e.g., Sophocles Ajax 387; Epictetus Diatr. 1.3.1; Marcus Aurelius 10.1; see further documentation in comment on John 3:3 ); most of the Latin references above are to pater, but Jupiter is also called genitor, e.g., Virgil Aen. 12.843. No henotheism is in view; sometimes «father Zeus» is listed alongside Athene and Apollo (e.g., Homer Od. 4.340; 7.311; 17.132; 18.235; 24.376). |
| 8296 E.g., 1Pet. 5:5 ; t. Meg. 3:24; c Abod. Zar. 1:19; 4 Bar. 5:20; Ps.-Phoc. 220–222; Syr. Men. 11–14, 76–93 (but cf. 170–172); Homer II. 1.259; 23.616–623; Aulus Gellius 2.15; Diodorus Siculus 1.1.4; 2.58.6; Pythagoras in Diogenes Laertius 8.1.22–23. 8300 Among philosophers, cf. Epicurus (Culpepper, School, 107, cites Lucretius Nat. 3.9); Epictetus Diatr. 3.22.82; Nock, Christianity, 30. 8302 E.g., Philostratus Vit. soph. 1.490; 1.25.536, 537; Iamblichus V.P. 35.250; 2 Kgs 2:12; 4 Bar. 2:4, 6, 8; 5:5; t. Sanh. 7:9; Matt 23:9; cf. Gen. Rab. 12(Simeon b. Yohai of the sages of Beth Hillel and Shammai); for Christian usage from the second to fifth centuries, see Hall, Scripture, 50. 8303 E.g., Ahiqar 96 (saying 14A); Sir 2:1 ; Did. 5.2; 1 John 2:1; cf. Babrius pro1.2; Babrius 18.15. This included astronomical and other revelatory wisdom (1 En. 79[esp. MS B]; 81:5; 82:1–2; 83:1; 85:2; 91:3–4; 92:1). 8304 E.g., Jub. 21:21; Tob 4:3,4, 5,12; 1Macc 2:50, 64; 1 En. 92:1; T. Job 1:6; 5:1; 6:1; T. Jud. 17:1; T. Reu. 1:3; T. Naph. 4:1; Pesiq. Rab. 21:6. 8305 E.g., m. B. Mesía 2:11; Ker. 6:9; Sipre Deut. 32.5.12; p. Hag. 2:1, §10; among Gentiles, Theon Progymn. 3. 93–97. 8307 Malina, Windows, 55. One may compare the frequent topic of unity in Greek speeches (e.g., Dionysius of Halicarnassus R.A. 7.53.1; Livy 24.22.17). Some characterized loving one another (φιλλληλους) as more naturally a rural phenomenon that could include sharing resources (Alciphron Farmers 29 [Comarchides to Euchaetes], 3.73, par. 2). 8308 Though Segovia, Relationships, 179, is correct that the Gospel, unlike 1 John, is involved in polemic with the synagogue rather than «intra-church.» 8309 «Commandment(s)» appears frequently in the Johannine Epistles (1 John 2:3–4, 7–8; 3:22–24; 4:21; 5:2–3; 2 John 4–6 ; cf. also Rev 12:17; 14:12); the commandment specifically concerns love (1 John 3:23; 4:21) and accurate faith (1 John 3:23). 8310 It was new in the sense of realized eschatology (1 John 2:8). The Johannine Epistles may employ «from the beginning» meaning «from the beginning of the gospel tradition,» however (1 John 2:24; 3:11; 2 John 6 ), perhaps as a double entendre with the beginning of creation (1 John 1:1; 2:13–14; 3:8). |
| 5885 Sib. Or. frg. 7. 5886 Josephus Ag. Ap. 2.167. 5887 Alexander son of Numenius Rhetores graeci 3.4–6 (Grant, Religions, 166); PGM 13.843; Iamblichus Myst. 7.2. The highest good had to be self-sufficient (Aristotle N.E. 1.7,1097B). 5888 E.g., Aristotle Heav. 1.9, 279a.l l-b.3; Pyth. Sent. 25; Marcus Aurelius 7.16; Plutarch Isis 75, Mor. 381B; Maximus of Tyre Or. 38.6; in Jewish sources, Let. Aris. 211; 3Macc 2:9; Josephus Ant. 8.111; Ag. Ap. 2.190; Philo Creation 100; Acts 17:25. On sources of Philós portrait of God " s transcendence, see Dillon, «Transcendence.» 5889 E.g., 2 Bar. 21:10; Pesiq. Rab. 1:2; «who lives forever» (e.g., Tob 13:1, ζν …); for the " liv-ing God,» cf., e.g., Marmorstein, Names, 72; Rev 7:2; also Deut 5:26 ; Josh 3:10; 1Sam 17:26,36; 2 Kgs 19:4, 16; Ps 42:2; 84:2 ; Isa 37:4,17; Jer 10:10; 23:36 ; Dan 6:20, 26 ; Hos 1:10 ; Matt 16:16; 26:63; Acts 14:15; Rom 9:26 ; 2Cor 3:3; 6:16; 1 Thess 1:9; 1Tim 3:15; 4:10 ; Heb 3:12; 9:14; 10:31; 12:22. 5890 Tob 13:1,6; 1Tim 1:17 ; 1 En. 5:1; 25:3,5; Sib. Or. 1.45,50,53,56,73,122,152,167,232; 3.10, 276, 278, 302, 328, 582, 593, 600–601, 604, 617, 628, 631, 698, 717; 8.428; Josephus Ag. Ap. 2.167; Philo Creation 100; Good Person 20; Ps.-Phoc. 17; T. Ab. 15:15A; 2Bar. 21:10; CI] 1:489, §677; cf. Plutarch Isis 1, Mor. 351E; PGM 13.843. 5891 Sib. Or. 3.15–16; cf. Plutarch Ε at Delphi 17, Mor. 392A. 5892 PGM 4.640–645 (Betz, Papyri, 50). 5893 To others God commits temporary, limited political authority (19:11) or the authority to become his children (1:12), but only to Jesus does God entrust authority over all humanity (17:2). 5894 For refutation, see Brown, John, 1:215, whom we follow here. 5895 For the admonition not to marvel along with provision of evidence, cf. 3:7–8; probably 6:61–62; for the principle, see Mark 2:9–11 . 5896 E.g., Apocr. Ezek. introduction. 5897 Also, e.g., Hanson, Gospel 52. 5898 Bailey, Poet, 62, sees a chiastic structure, but if one is present, it is highly asymmetrica1. |
| 6512 E.g., 3 En. 48A:7; t. Sotah 12:2; Sipra A.M. pq. 11.191.1.3; par. 8.193.1.7; " Abot R. Nat. 28, 30A; 23, §46B; Esth. Rab. 10:5; Rom 4:3; 9:17 ; Matt 19:4–5; 1 Clem. 56.3; cf. the similar wording, probably intended as analogous to oracular authority, in Epictetus Diatr. 1.10; and appeal to philosophic authority in Epictetus Diatr. 3.13.11. 6513 Guilding, Worship, esp. 92–120. Some have tried to date the triennial cycle as early as the first century (Monshouwer, «Reading»). 6514 See Morris, Lectionaries. 6515 Ancient texts, like modern ones, often assume a fair degree of cultural competence for their ideal audience (e.g., Philostratus Hrk. 1.3; see Maclean and Aitken, Heroikos, 5 n. 6). Informed members of even very hellenized churches a few decades before John knew of the festivals (e.g., 1Cor 5:7; 16:8 ; Acts 20:6,16; 27:9). That some of this information might be unknown in John " s day, however, could also be used to support the tradition " s authenticity (Blomberg, Reliability, 137–38). 6516 Commentators often note this lectionary reading, e.g., Dodd, Interpretation, 350; Hunter, John, 84–85; Schnackenburg, John, 2(citing b. Meg. 31a); Bruce, Time, 46. Haenchen, John, 2:17, curiously takes the tradition for Zech 14, Ezek 47 , and Isa 12 back to 90 C.E. (R. Eliezer b. Jacob) but then denies its relevance to the Fourth Gospe1. Early synagogue readings from the prophets are probable (Riesner, «Synagogues,» 202–3, cites the Masada synagogue scroll and Luke 4:17), though early standard lections are not. 6517 T. Sukkah 3(trans. Neusner, 2:222–23). 6518 T. Sukkah 3:3–10. 6519 T. Sukkah 3(4) (trans. Neusner, 2:218–19). 6520 T. Sukkah 3(trans. Neusner, 2:220). 6521 T. Sukkah 3(trans. Neusner, 2:220). 6522 The gate of John 10 could allude to the prince and his people going in and out through the gate of Ezek 46:9–10 , but the phraseology may be much broader than that: Num 27:17 ; 2Sam 5:2; 1 Kgs 3:7; 1 Chr 11:2. 6523 Hodges, «Rivers,» 247; the other uses of «last day» in the Fourth Gospel are uniformly eschatological (6:39–40, 44, 54; 11:24; 12:48). We base this opinion on Johns propensity for double entendres and his usual use of «last day,» not on the construction, which is acceptable in the form in which it appears (cf., e.g., 1QM 18.1). |
| 6774 For «remaining forever,» cf. 12:34; 1 John 2:17; 2 John 2 (there are only three non-Johannine uses in the NT; cf. 1 Esd 4:37–38). That legal adoption of a son was also μνω (P.Oxy. 1206.9) is probably irrelevant. 6775 E.g., Dio Chrysostom Or. 64.13. 6776 E.g., Sipre Deut. 40.6.1 (parable); b. B. Bat. 10a (about Akiba but probably later); Deut. Rab. 3:2; Pesiq. Rab. 27:3; see further Montefiore and Loewe, Anthology, 117–18. 6777 See Westcott, John, 134; Sanders, John, 221 ; Evans, John, 93. For background on Hagar " s and Ishmael " s «freeing» as slaves, see Sarna, Genesis, 128–29,155–57. 6778 E.g., Culpepper, Anatomy, 157. 6779 Jos. Asen. 10:4; 17:4; possibly Acts 13:1; Dixon, Mothers, 128. 6780 For people dwelling in shrines, see, e.g., Livy 40.51.8. The gate of John 10 could allude to the prince and his people going in and out through the gate of Ezek 46:9–10 , but the phraseology may be much broader than that: Num 27:17 ; 2Sam 5:2; 1 Kgs 3:7; 1 Chr 11:2. 6781 E.g., Isaeus Estate of Astyphilus 16; Estate of Nicostratus 27–31; Lysias Or. 7.24–33, §110–111; 7.41, §112; 16; 18; Cicero Verr. 2.1.6.17; Vat. 1.1–2; Rosc. com. 7.21; Pro Sulla 24.68; 26.72; Dionysius of Halicarnassus Isaeus 3, 9; Rhet. ad Herenn. 4.50.63; Valerius Maximus 8.5.6; Acts 23:1. 6782 E.g., Plutarch Demosthenes 11.4; Cicero 38.2–6; 40.3. Sometimes even the butt of the joke was forced to laugh (Xenophon Cyr. 2.2.16). 6783 Plutarch Cicero 5.4; 27.1; 39.1. Cicero was sometimes intemperate with his vice lists (e.g., Pis. 27.66)! 6784 E.g., Lysias Or. 3.1, §96; Aeschines Against Timarchus passim, esp. (and ironically!) 179; False Embassy 3,14,56,69; Thucydides 3.61.1; Cicero Verr. 2.1.6.17; Rosc. Amer. 30.82–45.132; Cae1. 13.31; 24.60; Quinct. 3.11–9.33 (the entire narratio!); Pro Scauro 13.29; Sest. 37.80; Matt 12:24–45; probably Acts 24(implied in the anacoluthon); cf. comments in Anderson, Glossary, 72–73. Occasionally one brought countercharges only afterward (Thucydides 3.70.3–4); such behavior might serve to deter future claimants. |
| 9399 Also Painter, John, 59. 9400 Appold, Motif, 199, suggests connections «with the worship experiences of the Johannine church» (cf. 4:23–24); but the hymns in Revelation, which differ considerably from this prayer, may be more revealing. 9401 Also Tob 3:11–12; 4Q213 frg. 1, co1. 1, line 8; 4 Bar. 6:5; Jos. Asen. 11:19/12:1; f. Ber. 3:14; Pesiq. Rab. 3:5; p. Ber. 4:6; Carson, Discourse, 175; see comment on 4:35. Prayer toward Jerusalem was, however, normative as we11: 1 Kgs 8:44; Dan 6:10; 1 Esd 4:58; m. Ber. 4:5–6; t. Ber. 3:14; for standing in prayer, see, e.g., Matt 6:5; Luke 18:11; p. Ber. 1:1, §8; Lachs, Commentary, 210. 9402 Homer/. 7.178, 201; Xenophon Cyr. 6.4.9; Virgil Aen. 2.405–406 (because she could not lift her hands); 12.195; Silius Italicus 1.508; Chariton 8.7.2; cf. some (albeit only some) traditional cultures in Mbiti, Religions, 84. PGM 4.585 reports closing eyes for prayer, but some parts require the eyes to be open (PGM 4.625; cf. Iamblichus V.P. 28.156); the magical papyri require many different magical gestures. 9403 E.g., Judaism frequently associates God with «heaven» (e.g. 1 Esd 4:58; Tob 10:13; Jdt 6:19; 1Macc 3:18, 50, 60; 4:24; 3Macc 7:6; 1 En. 83:9; 91:7). Greeks also sometimes located Zeus in heaven (Achilles Tatius 5.2.2; cf. Seneca Dia1. 12.8.5). As a circumlocution for God, see comment on John 3:3 . 9404 Ezra 9:5; Lam 2:19; 3:41 ; Isa 1:15; 1 En. 84:1; Jub. 25:11; Ps 155:2; 1 Esd 9:47; 2Macc 3:20; 14:34; 15:12, 21; 3Macc 5:25; 4 Macc 4:11; Sib. Or. 3.559–560, 591–593; 4.162–170; Josephus Ant. 3.26,53; 4.40; Ag. Ap. 1.209; 3.26; T. Mos. 4:1; Mek. Pisha 1.38; t. Móed Qat. 2:17. Cf. also 1Tim 2:8 ; 1 Clem. 29.1; Acts John 43. 9405 E.g., Homer I1. 1.450; 3.275, 318; 5.174; 6.257; 7.130; 8.347; 15.368–372; 19.254; Od. 9.294, 527; 17.239; 20.97; Euripides E1. 592–593; Apollonius of Rhodes 1.248; 4.593,1702; Virgil Aen. 1.93; 4.205; 9.16; 12.195; Ovid Metam. 2.477, 580; 6.261–262; 9.702–703; 11.131; 13.410–411; Diodorus Siculus 14.29.4; Dionysius of Halicarnassus R.A. 3.17.5; 15.9.2; Appian C.W. 2.12.85; R.H. 2.5.5; Livy 7.6.4; Suetonius Nero 41; Arrian Alex. 4.20.3 (a Persian); Epictetus Diatr. 4.10.14; Plutarch Cleverness 17, Mor. 972B; Chariton 3.1.8. |
| 3456 Most commentators take the Revelation reference more literally than meaning inadequate Christology, however (e.g., Bowman, Revelation, 31). For banquets associated with the imperial cult, cf., e.g., CIL 3.550 (Sherk, Empire, §125, p. 165). 3457 Caird, Revelation, 39, noting that Jezebel " s «harlotry» in the OT (2 Kgs 9:22) was only figurative; cf. 4QpNah. 3.4; perhaps Wis 14:12. It could refer to literal cultic or other prostitution, as at Baal-peor (Beasley-Murray, Revelation, 86–87), although this is not attested in conjunction with the imperial cult; both readings (spiritual or physical fornication) seem contextually possible (Meeks, Moral World, 146). 3458 Also Hooker, «Baptist,» 358; Boice, Witness and Revelation, 26; Wink, lohn, 105; Collins, Written, 8–11. 3462 Kraeling, John, 51–52. While historically Johns «eschatological «radicalisation»» lent itself to political misinterpretation (Hengel, Leader, 36), neither political nor moral proclamation characterizes the Fourth Gospel " s Baptist. 3463 Meier, «John,» 234. For the passagés authenticity, see also Feldman, «Methods and Tendencies,» 591. 3465 See 1:7–8,15,19, 34; 2:25; 3:11, 26, 28, 32–33; 4:39,44; 5:31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 39; 7:7; 8:13, 14, 17, 18; 10:25; 12:17; 13:21; 15:26–27; 18:23, 37; 19:35; 20:24. Painter, John, 8, counts forty-seven uses in John and only six in the Synoptics, «4 of which refer to the false witnesses at the trial of Jesus» (cf. further ibid., 90); even if John emphasizes separation from the hostile world more than the Synoptics (Goppelt, «Church in History,» 196–97), he seeks to prevent the flow of influence in only one direction. 3467 E.g., Plutarch Apoll 14, Mor. 108E («το θεον also testifies to this»); Oracles at Delphi 22, Mor. 405A (Homer testifies); Nicias 6.3 («events πεμαρτρει to his wisdom,» LCL 3:226–27); Josephus Ag. Ap. 1.4. Aristotle supposed ancient witnesses the most reliable because they could not be corrupted (Rhet. 1.15.13,1375b; 1.15.17). Trites, Witness, 4–15, shows that they were used in both legal and nonlegal (e.g., historiographie) contexts to establish data. |
| 1090 With Caird, Revelation, 63–64; Beasley-Murray, Revelation, 113. Cf. 1:6; they probably represent the 24 priestly watches of 1 Chr 24:1–6 (1QM 2.2 seems to have 26), courses still observed in later times (e.g., Luke 1:5; t. Sukkah 4:26; Ta c an. 2:1; Stern, «Aspects,» 587–95). Heavenly priests would fit the image of a heavenly temple (for heavenly service, apparently angelic, cf. 2 En. 22:3A). White garments, characteristic of worshipers in temples (SEG 11.923 [in Sherk, Empire, 58]; Acts John 38; Safrai, «Temple,» 877; cf. Diogenes Laertius 8.1.33), naturally especially characterized priests (e.g., Exod 39:27; 2 Chr 5:12; Pesiq. Rab. 33:10; Apuleius Metam. 11.10; cf. also Stambaugh and Balch, Environment, 135). In Asiatic art each priest may have represented many more worshipers (Ramsay, Letters, 62–63). 1091 See also Caird, Revelation, 94–95; Rissi, Time, 89; Ladd, Last Things, 71–72. Others see them as an eschatological remnant for ethnic Israel (Tenney, Revelation, 78); although this may not fit Rev 2:9,3:9, it would not be incompatible with the Johannine community " s self-perception as ethnically still a Jewish entity. 1093 Most Jewish evidence cited as precedent for Dan " s particular apostasy ( Gen 49:16–17 ; Judg 18:30; 1 Kgs 12:29; T. Dan 5:6; t. Šabb. 7:3; Gen. Rab. 43:2; Pesiq. Rab. 12:13; Beasley-Murray, Revelation, 143–44; Caird, Revelation, 99; Russell, Apocalyptic, 279; cf. Jub. 44:28–29, 33) is too general (in the earliest sources, other tribes were equally criticized) or too late. Evidence for the antichrist " s origin from that tribe (Milligan, Thessalonians, 167), is too late. While some of the former may have influenced the particular selection of Dan for the dubious distinction of omission in Rev 7:4–8, the omission of one of the tribes (indeed, the first in Ezek 48:1–7, 23–27 ) may simply be intended to make the point that even the apparent elect were susceptible to apostasy. 1095 Whereas 1 John speaks of the present, Revelation again addresses the future; the Targumim apply the «second death» to eschatological annihilation (Abrahams, Studies, 2:44; McNamara, Targum, 123). |
| 7156 «From the [beginning of] the age» (9:32) might ironically recall Jesus» preexistence by means of his power to heal what no one else could (cf. 1:1–2; 17:24), but the link is at best a possibility. 7158 This response sidesteps the question of demonic involvement in sorcery, which his interrogators presumably would have considered (see pp. 274–75); but John comments little on demons and addressed this charge against Jesus in earlier chapters (7:20; 8:48). 7160 E.g., CIJ 1:365, §500; 2:14, §748; on the frequency of Roman Jewish names alluding to this virtue, see CIJ l:lxvii. 7161 E.g., Abraham in T. Ab. 4:6A; Joseph in Jos. Asen. 4:7/9; Jewish elders from Palestine in Let. Aris. 179. 7162 Citing notably the Aphrodisias inscriptions, Levinskaya, Diaspora Setting, 51–82; idem, «Aphrodisias»; Tannenbaum, «God-Fearers»; Van der Horst, «Aphrodisias»; Feldman, «Sympathizers»; idem, «God-Fearers.» Citing especially other sources, Lifshitz, «Sympathisants»; Gager, «Synagogues»; Horsley, Documents, 3, §17, p. 54; Finn, «God-Fearers»; Overman, «God-Fearers.» 7163 Kraabel, «Disappearance»; idem, «Jews»; MacLennan and Kraabel, «God-Fearers.» The designation functioned in various ways (Murphy-ÓConnor, «God-Fearers»; cf. Wilcox, «God-Fearers»); for various perspectives on detail, cf., e.g., Cohen, «Respect»; Siegert, «Gottesfürchtige.» 7164 E.g., Ps 66:18 ; Gen. Rab. 60:13; Exod. Rab. 22:3; cf. 1Pet 3:7,12 ; Iamblichus V.P. 11.54; Porphyry Marc. 24.374–375. Many commentators cite this principle here (Dodd, Interpretation, 81; Edersheim, 408). Abrahams, Studies, 2:40, citing 1 Kgs 8:41–43, argues that the rabbis would have to affirm that God heard some pagan prayers; in Studies, 1:61, he points to a sinner whom God heard for one act of piety (p. Taan. 1:2). 7165 His denial that he could do nothing at all is an emphatic double negative and contrasts with that of the opponents who do «nothing» good and know «nothing» (11:49; 12:19). 7166 It may be only coincidental; κβλλω appears with sheep in the NT only in 2:15, which hardly provides a favorable model for 10:4. Still, this is an unusual term to apply to leading forth sheep, appearing nowhere with them in the LXX (Exod 2applies to the shepherds driving away the priest " s daughters). |
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