| 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. |
| 4778 E.g., PGM 4.930–1114; 12.325–334; 77.1–5; Lucian Icaromenippus 1–2 (satirically); Lincoln, Paradise, 83; cf. shamanic journeys in other cultures, e.g., Rasmussen, «Journey.» 4779 One might argue that the lack of early attestation reflects the secret character of transmission (Séd, «Traditions secrètes,» following t. Hag. 2:2), but this only means we cannot verify their antiquity either way. Dimant and Strugnell, «Vision,» contend for early Merkabah revelations on the basis of 4Q385.4. 4781 Some argue that Jewish merkabah mysticism provided the framework for Paul " s experience (Bowker, «Visions»; cf. Kim, Origin, 252–53; contrast Schäfer, «Journey»); for a Jewish context including such rabbinic and apocalyptic sources, see Young, «Motif.» 4783 See particularly Meeks, Prophet-King, 298–99. Grese, «Born Again,» argues that John adapts the «heavenly journey» motif to entering the kingdom through Jesus. 4785 E.g., Epictetus Diatr. 1.30.1 (νωθεν); for vertical dualism, see, e.g., Epictetus Diatr. 1.9; Plutarch R.Q. 78, Mor. 282F. Sanders, John, 123, thinks John " s «from above» reflects a Hellenistic vertical dualism; but apocalyptic texts are full of vertical dualism (below); for that matter, the image is not foreign to unrelated cultures (e.g., Mbiti, Religions, 237). 4786 E.g., T. Ab. 7:7A; m. Roš Haš. 3:8. Using the term νωθεν in this sense, see, e.g., Sib. Or. 3.307; Philo Heir 64; Flight 137–138; Names 259–260. Many texts associate God with heaven (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; T. Ab. 2:3A; Philo Creation 82; Sib. Or. 1.158,165; 3.247, 286; 4.51). 4787 E.g., Ascen. Isa. 9:9; T. lud. 21:3; Gen. Rab. 38:6; Pesiq. Rab. 25:2. See especially in apocalyptic texts, most thoroughly in Lincoln, Paradise. 4788 E.g., 3 En. 28:9; b. Pesah. 54a; Gen. Rab. 51:3; Ecc1. Rab. 10:11, §1; Marmorstein, Names, 91. For «heaven» as a title for God, see Dan 4:26 ; Luke 15:18,21; Rom 1:18 ; 1 En. 6:2; 13:8; 1QM 12.5; 3Macc 4:21; m. «Abot 1:3,11; 2:2,12; t.B. Qam. 7:5; Sipra Behuq. pq. 6.267.2.1; Sipre Deut. 79.1.1; 96.2.2; »Abot R. Nat. 29 A; b. c Abod. Zar. 18a, bar.; Nid. 45a, bar.; Num. Rab. 7:5; 8:4; cf. probably Diodorus Siculus 40.3.4. On periphrasis, see Rhet. ad Herenn. 4.32.43; Rowe, «Style,» 127; Anderson, Glossary, 23,102. |
| 6727 E.g., Plutarch Superst. 5, Mor. 167B (including Judaism as a superstition in Superst. 8, Mor. 169C). Cf. freedom from fear of death (Cicero Nat. d. 1.20.56; Seneca Ep. Luci1. 80.6; Nat. 3.pref.l6; Epictetus Diatr. 1.17.25; 2.5.12; Heb 2:15). 6728 Seneca Ep. Luci1. 94.19. 6729 E.g., Aristotle Rhet. 1.9.27, 1367a; Plutarch S.S., Anonymous 37, Mor. 234B; Dio Chrysostom Or. 18, On Freedom; Epictetus Diatr. 1.4.19. Aeschylus Prom. 50 opines that none but Zeus is free from all troubles. 6730 Epictetus Diatr. 2.14.13. 6731 Seneca Dia1. 1.5.6. 6732 Brown, John, 1:355. 6733 E.g., Diodorus Siculus 10.34.8; Strabo Geog. 10.4.16. 6734 Dionysius of Halicarnassus R.A. 7.42.2. For freedom from undue interference in internal Jewish affairs, see 1 Esd 4:49–50; Josephus Ant. 16.2. 6735 Arrian Alex. 4.11.8; Sallust Cati1. 51.31; Jug. 31.11; Speech of Macer 1,9; Letter to Caesar 2A; 10.3; Cornelius Nepos 8 (Thrasybulus), 1.2; Musonius Rufus 9, p. 72.9–10. 6736 Demosthenes 3 Philippic 36; Dionysius of Halicarnassus R.A. 3.23.18–19; 6.7.2; Appian R.H. 4.10.80; Maximus of Tyre Or. 23.4; cf. Philostratus Hrk. 4.1–2. 6737 Lucan C.W. 7.445; Cornelius Nepos 8 (Thrasybulus), 1.5; Cicero Att. 14.14; Phi1. 3.5.12; 3.11.29; 3.13.33; 6.7.19; 14.14.37; Seneca the Elder, Historical Fragments 1; Iamblichus V.P. 32.220; Philostratus Vit. soph. 1.15.498; 1.486. 6738 Lysias Or. 2.21, §192; Demosthenes 3 Philippic 36; 4 Philippic 25; Isocrates Peace 105, Or. 8.180 (though employing νδραποδισμς); Sallust Jug. 102.6; Letter of Mithridates 10; Dionysius of Halicarnassus R.A. 3.23.20; Appian R.H. 8.9.56; Herodian 3.2.8; Cornelius Nepos 15 (Epaminondas), 5.3; 1Macc 2:11; Musonius Rufus relates it to freedom to speak out (παρρησα, see comment on 7:4) in 9, p. 72.23, 27–29; 72.31–73.3; 74.10–13) and to reason (16, p. 106.6–8). 6739 Culpepper, Anatomy, 157, thinks Jesus» interlocutors here mean freedom politically but are ironically self-evidently wrong. 6740 E.g., 3Macc 2:6; Josephus Ant. 3.19–20; 6.86. Some later rabbis celebrated this freedom also as ability to rule (Song Rab. 6:12, §1). |
| 3238 Wis 8:3. Cf. the close relationship between Isis and Osiris, Isis being mediator (Plutarch Mor. 352A in Betz and Smith, «De Iside,» 41). 3239 Gen. Rab. 1:1, using language from Prov. 8:30 . Freedman and Simon observe (Midrash Rabbah 1n. 1) that here «the Torah was with God as with a tutor, reared, as it were, by the Almighty.» Cf. Burkitt, Gnosis, 95, who suggests that John here echoes Genesis, which pictures God «producing the creation by consulting with Himself.» 3240 Pollard, «Relationships,» 364–65 (all six instances outside John connote «active relationship or intercourse «with»»); cf. Carson, Discourse, 92. The construction here represents neither movement toward God (Ellis, John, 21; Stevens, Theology, 90; cf. Morris, John, 76) nor an Aramaism; by this period, prepositions were becoming more ambiguous (cf., e.g., μετ» αλλλων in 6and προς αλλλους in 6:52). 3241 E.g., Pereira, «Word,» 182, citing 7:29. On relations among Father, Son, and Spirit in this Gospel, see more fully Harner, Analysis, 1–43; cf. also Gruenler, Trinity. 3249 E.g., Euripides E1. 1298–1300; Josephus Ag. Ap. 2.245; cf. Homer Il. 18.94–96; Ovid Metam. 4.234–244. Most deities could not restore life once it was gone (Ovid Metam. 2.612–613). 3250 E.g., Homer Od. 4.459–461; Apollodorus 2.5.11 (cf. magical papyri for the manipulation of demons). 3251 E.g., 2Macc 6:26; 3Macc 5:7; Wis 7:25; Let. Arts. 185; Sib. Or. 1.66; T. Ab. 8:3; 15:12A; b. Šabb. 88b; Yebam. 105b; Yoma 12a; cf. Goodenough, Symbols, 2:179. 3252 E.g., Virgil Aen. 1.60; 3.251; 4.25, 206, 220; 6.592; 7.141, 770; 8.398; 9.625; 10.100, 668; 12.178,791; Georg. 2.325; Ovid Metam. 1.154; 2.304,401,505; 3.336; 9.271; 14.816; Valerius Flaccus 3.249; Plutarch Isis 2, Mor. 352A; Van der Horst, «Macrobius,» 232, also cites Macrobius Sat. 1.23.21. But Juno might be omnipotens (Virgil Aen. 7.428) yet prove unable to prevail against Fate (7.314); other deities appear as omnipotent, e.g., Pluto in Orphic Hymns 18.17 (but perhaps as the «chthonic Zeus,» 18.3). In unrelated religious traditions, see, e.g., Mbiti, Religions, 40–41. |
| 9017 E.g., Polybius 1.62.8; 14.1; Dionysius of Halicarnassus R.A. 3.28.7; 3.51.1; 5.26.4; 5.50.3; 6.21.2; 6.95.1; 8.9.3; 8.36.3; 15.7.2; Diodorus Siculus 14.30.4; 14.56.2; 17.39.1; 17.54.2; 19.66.6; 19.67.1; 21.12.6; 31.5.3; 32.16.1; 33.28b.4; 40.1.2; Livy 6.2.3; 27.4.6; 43.6.9; 45.12.6; Sallust Jug. 14.17; 102.6; Herodian 4.7.3; 4.15.8; 1Macc 12:1,3,8; 14:40; cf. 1 Kgs 5:1; 2Macc 11:14. For further discussion in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, see Balch, «Friendship.» 9018 Often in Plutarch (e.g., Agesilaus 23.6; Pompey 70.4; Statecraft 13, Mor. 806F-809B; Philosophers and Men in Power 1, Mor. 776AB; O.M.P.A. 6, Mor. 787B); but also elsewhere (e.g., Achilles Tatius 4.6.1–3). Contrast the older Stoic values of Chrysippus in Diogenes Laertius 7.7.189; but cf. Engberg-Pedersen, Paul and Stoics, 74. Even among Greeks, whereas Aristotle notes friendships based on goodness, pleasure, or utility (E.E. 7.2.9–13,1236a; 7.10.10,1242b; N.E. 8.13.1,1162ab), he assigns most to utility (E.E. 7.2.14, 1236a). 9020 Friedländer, Life, 1:225. Cf. Judge, Pattern, 33–34 (in the context of imperial friendships): «not simply a spontaneous relationship of mutual affection. It was a status of intimacy conferred on trusted companions.» 9021 Cf. Stowers, Letter Writing, 29: «It is doubtful that any but those with some wealth and leisure could attain either the Greek or the Roman ideal of friendship.» 9022 Also Cicero Verr. 1.7.18 (one must be careful what one says about friends of rank); on friendship in his letters, see Fiore, «Theory.» 9023 E.g., Dionysius of Halicarnassus Lit. Comp. 1; Valerius Maximus 7.8.7; Philostratus Hrk. 4.3; 10.2; Acts 19:31; cf. AE 1912.171 (in Sherk, Empire, 235). Iamblichus V.P. 22.101; 33.230, admonishes respect for benefactors in a friendship. 9024 Martial Epigr. 3.36.1–3; 3Macc 5:26; probably P.Oxy. 2861 (in Stowers, Letter Writing, 63); cf. Musonius Rufus 15, p. 98.5–6; DeSilva, Honor, 99. See also, e.g., a magician dependent on a spirit (PGM 1.172, 190–191). 9028 |
| 7169 With Lightfoot, Gospel, 203. Some also find echoes of Wisdom seeking out disciples (Wis 6:16; Blomberg, Reliability, 156). 7174 Especially in the East, e.g., Valerius Maximus 7.3.ext.2; Chariton 5.2.2; often with connotations Jews would have avoided, Arrian Alex. 4.11.8; Cornelius Nepos 9 (Conon), 3.3; Greeks disliked it because they valued freedom (Plutarch Themistocles 27.3–4; Heliodorus Aeth. 7.19), Jews because they venerated only one God (Esth 3:2,5; Tg. Neof. 1 on Gen 19:1 ; Tg. Ps.-J. on Gen 26:35 ; though cf. Tg. Neof. 1 on Gen 18:2; 24:48; 33:3; 42:6; 43:26 ). 7175 E.g., 3Macc 5:50. The Gentile family of Pentephres προσεκνησαν before Joseph in Jos. Asen. 5:7/10, but Joseph recounts that he προσεκνησα before Pentephris in T. Jos. 13:5. Perhaps this was less complete prostration than Eastern monarchs required (and to which Greeks also objected). 7177 Josephus Life 138; Menander Rhetor 2.13,423.27; Herodian 7.5.4. One ancient Greek form of supplication involved clasping the knees of the person from whom one needed help (Homer il 1.427; Euripides Orest. 382). 7178 Also Hoskyns, Gospel, 359; cf., e.g., T. Ab. 9:1–2; 18:10A. Cf. Rev 4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 11:1, 16; 14:7; 15:4; 19:4; such worship was emphatically due only God and the Lamb–not angels (Rev 19:10; 22:8–9) or anyone else (e.g., Rev 19:20; 20:4). 7180 E.g., Sophocles Oed. tyr. 371, 375, 402–403, 419, 454, 747, 1266–1279; Ovid Metam. 3.336–338, 525; Apollodorus 3.6.7. Cf. Phineas in Apollonius of Rhodes 2.184; Apollodorus 1.9.21; M. Perperna in Valerius Maximus 8.13.5. Literal «blind guides» are better than ignoring the gods (Xenophon Mem. 1.3.4). 7182 E.g., Epictetus Diatr. 1.18; Plato Rep. 6.484BD; Catullus 64.207–209; Iamblichus V.P. 6.31; 32.228; inferior thoughts about the divine in Porphyry Marc. 18.307. The impious cannot judge piety, for the blind would call seeing blindness (Heraclitus Ep. 4). Platós Socrates claimed to expose the ignorance of those who claimed knowledge (Apology of Socrates in Bruns, Art, 45); less relevant would be philosophers» teaching on the deceitfulness of the senses (Plato Phaedo 83A; see comment on John 8:15–16 ). Greeks usually viewed «sin» in stark moral terms less than most of Judaism did (Euripides Hipp. 615; Aristotle N.E. 4.3.35, 1125a; Nock, «Vocabulary,» 137; Ferguson, Backgrounds, 118). |
| When Jesus connects obedience with love, biblically literate Jewish hearers would immediately think of the associations between obeying God " s commandments and loving God (Exod 20:6; Deut 5:10; 7:9; 10:12; 11:1, 13, 22; 19:9; 30:16 ; Neh 1:5; Dan 9:4 ; Sir 2:15 ; 4Q176 frg. 16, line 4). Some might also recall wisdom tradition: love (αγπη) is the keeping (τρησις) of Wisdom " s laws (νμων; Wis 6:18). 8736 Jesus speaks of «having» and «keeping» the commandments. Jewish teachers debated whether knowing or doing Torah took precedence, but all agreed that both were necessary (see comment on 7:17). Given the abundance of ancient literature, it is not difficult to find other examples of selective revelation (14:21; cf. Acts 10:41). Thus, for example, Odysseus and the dogs witnessed Athene, but Telemachus could not (Homer Od. 16.159–163); perhaps more relevant, Apollo appears only to the good (who must also be great, not lowly; Callimachus Hymns 2 [to Apollo], 9–10); likewise, on his peoplés behalf, God reveals his glory to all except his people (3Macc 6:18). Some teachers also warned that their most special teachings were only for a select group, like initiates in the Mysteries. 8737 Nevertheless, Jesus» selective revelation (14:21) has roots in the historical Jesus tradition (e.g., Acts 10:41; cf. Mark 8:11–12 ; Matt 16:1, 21). The world is skeptical because Jesus does not manifest himself or his Father to the world (7:4) but only to his own (17:6); this takes the idea of a messianic or kingdom secret to a new (and more chronologically extended) leve1. But on the theological level, Jesus» selective revelation especially conforms to his identity in this Gospel; Wisdom was not manifest (φανερ) to the masses (Wis 6:22); likewise, in wisdom tradition, God becomes manifest (εμφανζεται) to those who do not disbelieve in her (Wis 1:2). 8738 Another allusion might have impressed itself more quickly on John " s first audience, however; as 14echoed Moses» request to be shown the Father, so might Judas " s desire to understand how only the disciples would receive the revelation in 14:22. 8739 |
| 8335 Cf. Aelius Aristides Defense of Oratory 336, §11 ID; especially Alcibiades» behavior, which differed from Socrates (Xenophon Apo1. 19; Mem. 1.2.12–18,26; Plutarch Alc. 7.3). Not all disciples prove to be true disciples ( John 8:30–31 ). 8338 Digressions were a frequent literary device (Sallust Cati1. 5.9–13.5; Livy 9.17.1–9.19.17, though he apologizes for it in 9.17.1; Arrian Ind. 6.1; Cornelius Nepos 16 (Pelopidas), 3.1; Josephus Ag. Ap. 1.57; Life 336–367). 8339 This is true also in T. Ah. 7:12; 8:2, 12; 15:10, 13; 19:4A, but there context qualifies rather than redefines the sense of κολουθω. Perhaps more relevant is the use of the philosophical martyr tradition (particularly epitomized in Socrates) as a moralist model in Greco-Roman sources (Tiede, Figure, 56). 8340 Cf. Job " s courageous promise in T. Job 4:2/3 (followed by warning of the cost and, in 5:1, reaffirmation, followed by success); but T. Job 4:2/3 may echo the language of Israel " s failed promise in Exod 19:8. 8343 Lucan C.W. 2.517–518 claimed that noble Romans preferred an honorable death to surrender, but when tested, Lucan himself vainly betrayed others, including his own mother, to try to save himself from Nero. 8344 Finkelstein, «Documents,» 8–18, argues for roots in the Hasmonean period, though thinking (p. 17) that the current practice stems from much closer to 70 C.E. than 175 B.C.E. His arguments, unfortunately, do not seem strong. 8345 See, e.g., Musonius Rufus 3, p. 38.25–26; 4, p. 42.34–35; 16, p. 101.20–21 ; 17, p. 106.20–21. A teacher might also lecture in response to a comment: 14 p. 90.24–25; 14, p. 96.4. 8350 See the discussion ibid., 11–12; Brown also acknowledges that basic historical fact could be retold in an imaginative manner (pp. 620–21). 8355 E.g., Alciphron Courtesans 13 (courtesan to lady friend), frg. 6, par. 18; Farmers! (Iophon to Eraston), 3.10, par. 1, 3; [Virgil] Moretum 1–2; Babrius 124.12–18; Apuleius Metam. 2.26; Heliodorus Aeth. 1.18; Philostratus Vit. soph. 2.11.591; Polybius 12.26.1; 3Macc 5:23; b. Ber. 60b; p. Ki1. 9:3, §3; Pesah. 10:6; cf. p. Ber. 9:1, §17 (God gave cocks wisdom when to crow). In particular, Mark " s «second» cockcrow may refer to dawn, as in various other texts (Heliodorus Aeth. 5.3; Brown, Death, 137, cites Aristophanes Ecclesiazusae 30–31, 390–391; Juvenal Sat. 9.107–108; Ammianus Mar_ cellinus Res gestae 22.14.4). |
| 9165 While this discourse probably does date from the circles that produced 1 John, the π» ρχς is of itself inadequate to suggest the connection (pace the suggestion in Berg, «Pneumatology,» 171 n. 26). 9166 «Stumbling» refers to apostasy (see comment on 6:61). It is most frequent in Matthew and Mark but rare in Luke and John (probably not because of his Judean focus, as Swete, Discourse, 109, thinks). 9167 Apart from the conflict implied in 15:26–27, it appears to fit its context loosely; see comments above on the Paraclete sayings fitting their context. 9172 Philo Spec. Laws 1.54–55 (the interpretation is debatable); t. Sank. 11(although R. Eleazar ben Zadok " s view was a minority position; see m. Sanh. 8:7); 3Macc 7. 9174 Amoraic traditions speak of executing Jesus» disciples (e.g., b. Sanh. 43a, in Herford, Christianity, 90–95), but this may reflect rabbinic wish rather than fact. Martyn, Theology, 80–81, suggests that Ben Stada, said to be executed in rabbinic literature, was a Jewish-Christian rabbi rather than Jesus; but his evidence does not seem compelling. 9178 See, e.g., the discussion in Setzer, Responses, 172, including Justin " s claim that other peoples carried out the synagogue curses (Dia1. 96.2). 9179 See ÓNeal, «Delation»; corrupt leaders cultivated abuse of informers (e.g., Herodian 7.3.2; 7.6.4). 9180 Pliny Ep. 10.96–97; cf. Hemer, Letters, 67. Johnson, " Delatorum» suspects political reasons for the accusations, rooted in intraurban factionalism and city rivalries. 9181 Setzer, Responses, 114, doubts the specific claims of Mart. Po1. 17.2; 18.1. But such claims at the least reflect some early Christians» expectations concerning some leaders in the synagogue community. 9184 On the heavenly court, see, e.g., Keener, «Court»; it became dominant in Amoraic texts ( " Abot R. Nat. 32A; b. c Abod. Zar. 36a; B. Mesi c a 75a; 85b; 86a; Git. 68a; Mat 13b; Pesah. 53b; Sabb. 129b; p. Sanh. 1:1, §4; 11:5, §1; Gen. Rab. 49:2; 64:4; Exod. Rab. 12:4; 30:18; Lev. Rab. 11:8; 24:2; 29:1, 4; Num. Rab.3:4; 18:4; 19:3; Ruth Rab. 4:3,5; Ecc1. Rab. 1:11, §1; 2:12, §1; 5:11, §5; Song Rab. 3:11, §2; Pesiq. Rab Kah. 23:4; 24:11; Pesiq. Rab. 15:19). |
| Some scholars complain that the Gospels report too many events between Jesus» arrest and crucifixion for a short period, 9769 but if some Jerusalem aristocrats met during the night, as the Gospels imply, and the hearing before Pilate took place «early» (18:28), the chronology makes sense. Indeed, πρω could signify the final watch of the night, from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.; 9770 they probably brought Jesus to Pilate ca. 6 a.m. (On some other matters John " s chronology differs from that of the Synoptics; see comments on John " s dating of the Passover in 18and on 19:14.) Clients approached their patrons early in the morning, those in front of the line receiving attention beginning around dawn, ca. 6 a.m. 9771 For Romans, «late morning» in summer was before 8 or 9 a.m.; 9772 most upper-class Romans ended their transaction of public business around noon. 9773 Romans normally only slept in if they were drunkards who had partied too late and had to «sleep off their overnight excesses.» 9774 Jewish people were well aware of officials» early schedule; «friends» or clients of officials could visit them even before the sunlight was widely viewed (3Macc 5:26). 9775 Naturally, Roman governors followed the same pattern of early-morning meetings. 9776 Like other Romans of rank, they would normally keep part of their day for leisure, 9777 though Pilate would undoubtedly have less of this when he visited Jerusalem. When a Roman official came to town, he was often swamped with legal requests. In Roman Egypt a prefect came to local municipalities for only a few days each year, and fielded 700–750 petitions a day. Because regulations allowed the prefect " s office to remain open only ten hours in a day, more than one petitioner would have presented a case each minute, suggesting that clerks and aides processed the less important ones. 9778 In urban Jerusalem, elders from the municipal aristocracy undoubtedly judged most cases themselves, reducing the number of petitions that would be brought before the governor. But regardless of the length of line waiting to see Pilate that morning, the urgencies of the municipal aristocracy would take precedence and summon his immediate attention, especially if a prolonged detention held the potential to arouse unrest. The claim that the high priests could not have access to Pilate early in the morning unless he had earlier been apprised of Jesus» arrest and the charge against him 9779 is therefore unfounded. |
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