| 4857 Matt 18may suggest genuine historical tradition here (Witherington, End, 64; Pryor, «Relation»). 4858 See more fully Fenton, John, 53; Culpepper, Anatomy, 155; Aune, Environment, 56; Becker, Evangelium, 1:135–47; Reynolds, «Misunderstanding.» 4860 On the use of surprise and incongruity for humor among radical Greek sages, including Cynics, see Branham, «Humor»; this was also a method of biblical prophets (e.g., wordplays in Jer 1:11–12 ; Amos 8:1–2; Mic 1:10–15 ; cf. 2 Chr 25:16–17). Riddles were common (Virgil Ecl 3.104–107; Phaedrus 3.1.7; Plutarch Cicero 14.4–5), and Greek oracles often functioned thus (Sophocles Oed. tyr. 439; Virgil Aen. 6.98–101; Ps.-Callisthenes Alex. 1.35; cf. Homer Od. 2.181–182). 4862 On the Fourth Gospels riddles (the answers known to the informed audience), see Thatcher, «Riddles in Gospel»; idem, Riddles in John; cf. Doh, «Paroimiai.» 4864 Colwell and Titus, Spirit, 117, though they take this too far with their adoptionist Christology. Nicodemus " s allusion to of his age in 3may also imply a claim to honor (see Josephus Ag. Ap. 2.206; Ant. 3.47; Keener, Matthew, 543) though in the context of his coming to Jesus probably simply reinforces the reality of his perplexity. 4868 E.g., Aristophanes Ach. 751–752. Duke, Irony 53, suggests that the Johannine Jesus is more Socratic than in the Synoptics, with more humor. 4870 E.g., Ellis, Genius, 1. See, e.g., the guest in Philostratus Hrk. passim, who offers «little except to ask leading questions … (not unlike many of Socrates» interlocutors)» (Maclean and Aitken, Heroikos, xli). 4873 Painter, John, 9, compares John " s misunderstanding motif with Mark " s Messianic Secret; cf. Wrede, Secret, 143–45. 4879 Spriggs, «Water»; Pamment, «Water and Spirit»; Witherington, «Waters»; idem, Wisdom, 97; Lee, Narratives, 45. 4881 Another possible image would be washing in water immediately after birth (e.g., Hom. Hymn 3, to Delian Apollo, line 120, δατι). 4882 So Odeberg, Gospel, 49–52, though he also emphasizes the celestial waters of Jewish throne-visions (51–53). |
| 6372 Homer Od. 18.196; Euripides Medea 300, 923; Virgil Aen. 12.67–69; Ovid Metam. 1.743; 2.607; 13.789; Plutarch Theseus 23.2; Longus 1.18; Achilles Tatius 1.4.3; Chariton 2.2.2. They also preferred thick, dark eyebrows (Artemidorus Onir. 1.25; Achilles Tatius 1.4.3) and full cheeks (Artemidorus Onir. 1.28). 6373 Virgil Aen. 10.137; Ovid Metam. 2.852; 3.423; 4.354–355; Longus 1.16; Babrius 141.7. For exceptions, see Snowden, Blacks, 105,154,178–79. 6374 See Stauffer, Jesus, 59. 6375 Cf. Lev. 19:27 ; Pesiq. Rab Kah. 16:3. Evidence for the Diaspora suggests that Jews, like most of their contemporaries, were usually clean-shaven or short-bearded before Hadrian (Sanders, Judaism, 123–24); but coins from 54 and 37 B.C.E. and 70 C.E. all present Jewish captives with «shoulder-length hair and full beards» (Stauffer, Jesus, 60; significant unless their hair simply grew out in captivity on all these occasions). 6376 Stauffer, Jesus, 59. Black hair was common (see Matt 5and sources cited in Keener, Matthew, 194–95). 6377 See, e.g., Luke, «Society»; see comments in our introduction, ch. 5. On «murmuring» in 7:12, see the verb cognate in 6:41–42 (with comment), 61; 7:32. 6378 Jurors in politically sensitive situations had been known to avoid publishing their opinions (Plutarch Caesar 10.7). Rhetoricians practiced presenting various sides of a debate, and historians developed this skill in seeking to detail what each side in a conflict would have felt; the negative characters here tend to be flatter, however, serving John " s overall purpose (see our introduction, pp. 216–17). Cf. the use of λλοωσις described in Rutilius Lupus 2.2; Quintilian 9.3.93 (Anderson, Glossary, 16–17), undoubtedly related to σγκρισις and perhaps to διαρεσις (in the sense of distributio in Rhet. ad Herenn. 4.47; Anderson, Glossary, 32–33); also επνοδος in Anderson, Glossary, 49–50; for an example of presenting various views about a person, see Iamblichus V.P. 6.30. 6379 Meeks, Prophet-King, 47–52, 56; Stauffer, Jesus, 206; Hill, «Sanhédrin:» Cf. 1Q29 frg. 1 (as reconstructed in Wise, Scrolls, 178–79, using 4Q376) for discerning false prophets; and more clearly from Deut 18 , 4Q375 1 1.1–4 (a true prophet) vs. 4–5 (a false one), on which see further Brin, «Prophets.» |
| 6346 Cf. Michaels, John, 114, denying a double entendre. 6347 Hunter, John, 79; Brown, John, lxxxxv. Given the significance of Galilee in the Gospel, his «remaining» in 7could also then be a double entrendre (cf. 1:38–39; 2:12; 4:40; 10:40; 11:6, 54). 6348 This might be especially the case if the first «yet» (οπω) in 7is a scribal addition (missing in and the easier reading); arguments for this variant " s originality, however, are stronger than often noticed (see Caragounis, «Journey to Feast»). 6349 Essenes vowed not to conceal any secrets from one another (Josephus War 2.141), behavior Josephus regarded as ideal (Ag. Ap. 2.207). 6350 E.g.,Tob 7:10–11; 1Macc 7:18; 1QS 10.22; Let. Aris. 206,252; Josephus Ag.Ap. 2.79; Ps.-Phoc. 7; Sib. Or. 3.38,498–503; Γ. Dan 3:6; 5:1–2; Eph 4:25 . 6351 E.g., Plutarch Educ. 14, Mor. 11C; frg. 87 (in LCL 15:190–191); Diogenes Laertius 1.60; Phaedrus 4.13; Cornelius Nepos 25 (Atticus), 15.1. 6352 E.g., Quintilian 2.17.27; 12.1.38–39; T. Jos. 11:2; 13:7–9; 15:3; 17:1; for war or the service of the state in Xenophon Mem. 4.2.14–15; Seneca Controv. 10.6.2. In the epic period, deception for useful purposes could indicate cleverness (Homer Od. 19.164–203, esp. 19.203; Gen 27:19, 24; 30:31–43 ), though Odysseus " s cleverness (e.g., Sophocles Phi1. 54–55, 107–109, called «wisdom» in 119,431) appears unscrupulous to some (Sophocles Phi1. 1228). 6353 E.g., Exod 1:19; 1Sam 16:2–3; 21:2,5,8,13 ; 2Sam 12:1–7; 17:14; 1 Kgs 20:39–41; 22:22; 2 Kgs 8:10; 2 Chr 18:22; 1er 38:27; probably 2 Kgs 10:19; probably not acceptable in 1 Kgs 13:18. 6354 E.g., t. Ta c an. 3:7–8. 6355 " Abot R. Nat 45, §§125–126 B. 6356 E.g., Phaedrus 4.pro1.8–9; 2Cor 1:17–18 ; on fickleness, Virgil Aen. 4.569–570 (applied to women); Cicero Fam. 5.2.10; Marshall, Enmity, 318–19. 6357 Carson, John, 309, citing Porphyry C. Chr. in Jerome Pelag. 2.17. 6358 E.g., P.Ry1. 174.6–7; P.Lond. 334.6; P.Oxy. 494.31. 6359 Stanton, Jesus, 124; Aune, Environment, 32; e.g., Plutarch Marcus Cato 1.3; Sulla 2.1; Philostratus Hrk. 10.1–5; 34.5; 48.1 (cf. Maclean and Aitken, Heroikos, xlix). For handsomeness listed as a virtue in biographies, see, e.g., Cornelius Nepos 7 (Alcibiades), 1.2. |
| 6408 Duke, Irony, 73. 6409 Sophocles Ajax 185; Ant. 955–965; similarly being detained by a deity, P.Lond. 23.5–35; 42.9–13; Nilsson, Piety, 172. Cross-cultural anthropological studies indicate hyperarousal and changes in brain activity during possession trances (Goodman, Demons, 20, 126; cf. further examples in Goodman, Henney and Pressel, Trance). 6410 E.g., Homer Od. 18.15,406; 19.71; much less seriously, cf. 23.166,174,264. Crowds were not always as respectful as teachers would like (e.g., Eunapius Lives 460; Acts 2:13); here some are degrading though not yet fully hostile. 6411 Aune, Environment, 56. Boring et a1., Commentary, 283, cites Porphyry De abstinentia 2.42, although this may betray the influence of Christian ideas. 6412 E.g., PGM 1.80–81, 88–90, 164–166, 181–185, 252–253; 2.52–54; 1 En. 65:6; LA.B. 34:2–3; Ascen. Isa. 2:5; b. Sanh. 67b; cf. CD 12.2–3 (false prophets); T. Jud. 23:1; Irenaeus Haer. 1.13.3–4; Aune, Prophecy, 45. Some pagans felt that particular deities enabled magic (cf. Graf, «Initiation»); the use of angels became dominant in medieval Jewish «good» magic (Fass, «Angels»). 6413 See PGM 5.107–109; 13.345; Gager, «Magician»; idem, Moses, 134–61; on God as magician in some late Jewish sources, see Hayman, «Magician.» 6414 Much Jewish teaching condemned magic, e.g., Exod 22:18; Deut 18:10, 14 ; Wis 17:7; Jub. 48:9; 1 En. 65:6; L.A.B. 34; Ps.-Phoc. 149; Ascen. Isa. 2:5; 2 Bar. 60:2; 66:2; m. Sanh. 7:11; Sipra Qed. pq. 6.203.2.2; b. Sanh. 65b-66a, bar.; 67b; Sebu. 15b; p. Hag. 2:2, §5; Roš Haš 3:8, §1. 6415 E.g., Apuleius Metam. 2.5; Smith, Magician, 75–76; Theissen, Stories, 239–42 (though some regard them as charlatans, e.g., Plato Rep. 2.364BC; Plutarch Bride 48, Mor. 145C). 6416 Nevertheless, in late antiquity many Jews increasingly practiced magic or used amulets to defuse it (e.g., PGM 4.1222, 3040–3041; 13.815–818; CIJ 2:62–65, §819; 2:90f, §849; for more detail, see Jacobson, «Vision»; Isbell, «Story»; Kotansky, «Amulet»; Schäfer, «Magic Literature»; Goodenough, Symbols, 2:153–295; 12:58–63; in the rabbis, cf. " Abot R. Nat. 25A; b. Sanh. 65b; Goldin, «Magic»), as did many Christians in a later period (Gitler, «Amulets»). Pagans also incorporated Jewish elements (e.g., PGM 1.298–305; 4.2355–2356; Deissmann, Studies, 321–36). |
| 6439 For the utility of antithesis in rhetoric, see Rhet. Alex. 26,1435b.25–39; Anderson, Glossary, 21–22 (citing Rhet. ad Herenn. 4.21, 58; Demetrius 22–24, 247, 250). 6440 R. Eliezer (ca. 90 C.E.) in t. Šabb. 15:16; and other passages (cf. b. Yoma 85b) cited by commentators (e.g., Dodd, Tradition, 332; Hoskyns, Gospel, 316; Smith, Parallels, 138; Schnackenburg, John, 2:134). Later rabbis also applied qal vaomer arguments to other matters superseding the Sabbath (p. Roš Haš. 4:3, §3). Haenchen, John, 2:15, cites another line of argument from Num. Rab. 12 (the foreskin as a physical blemish), but it is late and probably irrelevant. 6441 Josephus Ant. 12.277; 13.12–13; 14.63; War 1.146; b. c Arak. 7a; Yoma 84b, bar.; Gen. Rab. 80:9; cf. Urbach, Sages, 1:368; it overrides even Yom Kippur (b. Yoma 82b). One should care for all a birthing mother " s needs even on the Sabbath (Safrai, «Home,» 765, cites m. Šabb. 18:3; Roš Haš. 2:5). 6442 E.g., m. " Abot 1:6, 8; 2:4. In broader Greco-Roman thought, see, e.g., Seneca Ep. Luci1. 14.1; 94.13; for rhetorical invitation to «judge for yourselves,» see, e.g., Alciphron Courtesans 7 (Thaïs to Euthydemus), 1.34, par. 7; Acts 4:19; 1Cor 10:15; 11:13 . The more specific contrast some offer to the Tabernacles ritual (Moloney, Signs, 79–80) may presuppose knowledge not available even to most Tabernacles pilgrims over two decades before the Gospel " s writing. 6443 Cicero Off 2.14.51 6444 Cato Col1. dist. 53; Columbanus, (probably) Catonian lines, line 27; Hesiod Precepts of Chiron 2. 6445 Brown, John, 1:313. 6446 Populist support could shield a person from the Jerusalem elites power (e.g., Josephus Life 250). Yet pace Morris, John, 415, the language of 7and 7does suggest that by this point they wished to arrest, not merely watch, Jesus. 6447 Cf. Yee, Feasts, 78. 6448 See, e.g., Judg 19:17 ; 1Sam 25:11 ; Homer Od. 19.104–105; Euripides Cyc1. 102, 275–276; Helen 86; Iph. taur. 495, 505; Rhesus 682; Virgil Aen. 2.74; 8.112–114; Terence Eunuch 306; Propertius Eleg. 1.22.1–2; Appian C.W. 1.14.116; Parthenius L.R. 26.4. See comment on 3:8. |
| 3701 Many commentators acknowledge the allusion to Exod 34:5–6 here, e.g., Westcott, John, 13; Barrett, John, 167; Epp, «Wisdom,» 138; Boismard, Prologue, 54–56; Dahl, «History,» 132; Lee, Thought, 40; Gaston, Stone, 209. Most acknowledge that the phrase is dependent on the Hebrew expression even if they do not cite Exod 34as the specific allusion (e.g., Stuart, «Examination,» 316; Dodd, Bible, 75; Hoskyns, Gospel, 150; Ladd, Theology, 230). Readers naturally continued to find God " s special mercy toward Israel in this passage (b. Roš Haš. 17b), rightly understanding it to imply that God " s mercy exceeds his anger (e.g., t. Sota 4in Urbach, Sages, 1:450). 3702 Hanson, «Exodus,» 93; Vellanickal, Sonship, 153–54. Χρις can mean «charm» (Demetrius 3.128–156) or, more aptly here, «generosity» (Grayston, Gospel, 12, citing inscriptions). 3704 Barrett, John, 167; Epp, «Wisdom,» 138; Richardson, Theology, 281–82; Schnackenburg, John, 1:272. Philós preferred term for God " s gracious activity is also χρις (Schnackenburg, John, 1:272). Because only χρις recurs in the prologue and neither term occurs in the Gospel outside the prologue, Johannine usage is not decisive in this case (Epp, «Wisdom,» 139). Though when conjoined with speech (λγος and other terms), χρις could mean «charm» (e.g., Homer Od. 2.12–13; Plutarch Cic. 39.6; Demosth. 7.2; Menander Rhetor 2.5, 395.4; 2.6,400.1; 2.7, 405.28; 2.17, 446.12), the exodus background and the «word» as Torah suggest «generous kindness» instead. 3706 See Charlesworth, «Comparison,» 415, who cites in 1QS 4.4 and in 1QS 4.5. The component ideas by themselves need require no allusion at all; cf. God " s «grace and mercy» in Wis 3:9; his «kindness» and «truth» in Wis 15:1; the «graces of [his] blessing» in 1QM 12.3. God " s names that are not sacred (perhaps meaning nontechnical titles) include «full of grace» and «full of mercy» in p. Meg. 1:9, §17. 3707 Michaels, John, 8, is among those who suggest that it modifies Jesus instead, citing Acts 6:3, 5, 8; 7:55; 11:24); the adjective is itself indeclinable. |
| 8639 This image also occurs elsewhere in early Christian literature; cf. Longenecker, Christol-ogy, 26ff. 8643 Johnston, Parables, 592. In Amoraic texts, see, e.g., Deut. Rab. 3:11; in the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, see Hafemann, «Moses.» 8646 Holwerda, Spirit, i, 64; Price, «Light,» 23; Hasitschka, «Parakletworte»; Turner, Spirit, 85–87; cf. Porsch, Wort, 324 (the revelation is «in einer forensischen Situation»). 8648 Franck, Revelation, 9–10, who argues (17–21) that the macrostructure context is what provides the forensic meaning. 8649 Shafaat, «Geber,» 267. Isaacs, Spirit, 95, sees the Paraclete not as an advocate before God but as a helper to the disciples. 8651 Harris, Prologue, 38, especially dealing with the Pleroma of sapiential traditions, though he does not develop it sufficiently in pre-Christian texts. 8653 Riesenfeld, «Paraclete,» 272. Franck, Revelation, 130–31, accepts it as part of the background, but not the whole. 8657 Bürge, Community, 142; Quispel, «Qumran,» 147; Barrett, John, 91; so also Crane, Spirit. Berg, «Pneumatology,» 214, thinks that the masculine in 16may presume that the fourth Paraclete saying originally immediately preceded the fifth; but this assumes an editorial ineptness not characteristic of John " s relatively consistent style. For εκενος as «he» in John, even when referred back to an immediate antecedent, see Arndt and Gingrich, Lexicon, 239. 8658 In Gnosticism, see Irenaeus Haer. 1.2.5; Gospel of Philip 70–71 (NHL 136); Wilson, «Spirit,» 352; Pagels, Gospels, 52–53; Daniélou, Theology, 81. In Mandean texts, Wilson, «Spirit,» 355; in Elkesite tradition, see Hippolytus Haer. 9.8; Daniélou, Theology, 140 (despite the gnostic formulation in Hippolytus, however, a feminine interpretation of the Spirit is natural from a Hebrew reading). 8660 There are some indications of feminine imagery for God already in the biblical tradition (De Boer, Fatherhood, passim), developed further in the second-century Christian text Odes So1. 19:1–7, and Jesus could be portrayed in feminine terms in Odes So1. 8(though cf. similarly 1Cor 3for Paul; Homer I1. 8.271–272; Od. 20.14–16), and perhaps less self-consciously in Matt 23:37; Luke 13:34. A late Amora observes that «the Holy Spirit ... is sometimes used as masculine and sometimes as feminine» (Ecc1. Rab. 7:27, §1). |
| 8215 Homer Od. 21.26–28; Livy 39.51.12. Nevertheless, some warned that too much trust even of friends could prove dangerous (Hesiod Op. 370–372). 8216 Aeschines False Embassy 22, 55. For a guest to act unkindly was deceptive treachery (Catullus 64.176). 8217 Euripides Herac1. 1034–1036 (even by descendents in subsequent generations!); Cicero Pis. 34.83; betrayal by seeking the host " s wife, Ovid Her. 17.3–4. On kindness due a host, see Cicero Verr. 2.2.47.117. 8218 Betrayed trust reflected badly only on the betrayer, however, if the betrayed had taken appropriate precautions (Polybius 8.36.4). 8220 Thus, though rabbis applied the passage to Ahithophel " s betrayal of David, a specifically messianic use is only one possible use (cf. Brown, John, 2:554–55, who sees the absolute use of «I am» in 13:19). 8221 Sanders, Jesus and Judaism, 309, thinks the betrayal involved ludas " s revealing the secret of Jesus» royal claim. The Gospels are clear, however, that he revealed Jesus» whereabouts to hand him over secretly. 8224 Stauffer, Jesus, 116. For skepticism that any of the Pesach Haggadah predates 70, however, see Stemberger, «Pesachhaggada.» 8226 Cf., e.g., Epictetus Diatr. 2.5.2; 4.8.27; Diogenes Laertius 10.85; 10.144.17; see comment on 11:33. 8227 Against Ferraro, «Pneuma,» πνεμα here refers to Jesus» spirit (cf. «soul» in 12:27), not to the activity of the Holy Spirit. 8231 Haenchen, John, 2:110. One might also lay onés head on another " s bosom, which in that culture, far more tactile than our own, had no necessary sexual connotations (Diogenes Laertius 1.84; cf. the seating in Plato Symp. 222E-223A; Malina, World, 22–23). 8232 Malina and Rohrbaugh, John, 220. A genuine triclinium would be downstairs, not in the upper room depicted in Mark " s tradition ( Mark 14:15 ; might any of John " s audience assume this setting here?); but one might still emulate the banquet practices as much as possible. 8235 Haenchen, John, 2:110, following Billerbeck; Malina and Rohrbaugh, John, 220; Whitacre, John, 335 (citing t. Ber. 5:5). |
| 1004 By contrast, the Odyssey, which cannot imply an omniscient narrator since the narrator is Odysseus, must supply other knowledge to Odysseus through conversations with the gods to remain plausible (e.g., Homer Od. 12.389–390). 1005 Hillman, «Statements.» For historians» asides (e.g., Polybius 1.35.1–10; Diodorus Siculus 31.10.2; Dionysius of Halicarnassus RA. 7.65.2), see the discussion of Greco-Roman biography and history under the discussion of genre in ch. 1 of the introduction. 1007 The phenomenon spans many cultures; Nagy, «Prologue,» xxxiii-xxxiv, cites a ninth-century Irish epic supposedly recounted to the poet by the deceased hero Fergus. 1008 Isaacs, «Spirit» 406; Boring, Sayings, 85–86. Even ecstatic prophecy could be didactic, of course (Aune, Prophecy, 63, following Nock on didactic oracles). 1010 Käsemann, Testament, 46, is correct that the Spirit is bound to Jesus» word in John. This might suggest that the Paraclete sayings already have in view the schismatics which appear in 1 John. The Spirit-Paraclete may have authenticated the leadership of the Johannine community (Smith, Johannine Christianity, 185); he certainly authenticated their message (1 John 4). 1018 E.g., Johnston, Spirit-Paraclete, 75–78, thinks that the writer of the Gospel may have drawn on 1 John while composing the Gospe1. Russell " s proposal of 1 John as an introduction to the Johannine literature («Mysteries,» 343) is based on a fanciful parallel with initiation into the Mysteries. More reasonably, Schnelle, Christology, 228, dates John later because he thinks its antidocetic polemic more developed. 1020 E.g., Segovia, Relationships, 21 (citing also Georg Richter and Hartwig Thyen; Jürgen Becker, and R. Schnackenburg). 1023 Ibid., 122, citing John 1:29 . John does not, however, stress Jesus» baptism as a point of revelation, as Brown suggests (p. 119); John omits any reference to Jesus» baptism (1:32–33), probably purposely (cf. Theon Progymn. 5.52–56 on the propriety of narrating more concisely or adding details as necessary). |
| 994 Thus, for instance, some scholars suggest that Josephus viewed himself as a prophetic historian on the analogy with the inspired prophets who wrote biblical history. 995 And, just as prayers could be written as well as spoken, 996 one could claim prophetic inspiration for a literary composition without dependence on any prior oral compositions. 997 After analyzing Josephus as interpretive prophetic history and Jubilees as inspired prophetic history, 998 R. G. Hall concludes that John best fits the mold of interpretive prophetic history: John interprets historical events on the basis of revelation. 999 John " s activity as an omniscient narrator who has special insight into the thoughts and deeds of his characters, 1000 and who frequently informs his readers by narrative asides, 1001 need not be viewed as particularly prophetic. Omniscient narrators are common features of Hellenistic 1002 (including Hellenistic Jewish) 1003 literature. The Iliad at one point recounts what one Thracian was dreaming before he was slain in his sleep (Horn Il. 10.496–497)! 1004 Ancient biographers like Plutarch regularly supplemented their narrative with authorial asides. 1005 But it may have been significant from the Jewish standpoint that one could claim special insight or revelation for the inclusion of such details (2 Kgs 6:12); 1006 Greeks also believed that the Muses could provide information to an omniscient narrator whose information was otherwise lacking (e.g., Homer II. 2.484–492; 11.218; Od. 1.1). 1007 The inspiration in John is not clearly ecstatic, 1008 despite the Montanists» later use of this Gospel to validate their own activity. 1009 Much like the Dead Sea Scrolls, where inspiration includes revelation gleaned in study of the Scriptures, inspiration in the Johannine community seems to have included exposition of the Johannine Jesus tradition; indeed, some have proposed that the Spirit in John «is bound exclusively to and dependent on the Word of Jesus.» 1010 In the Johannine community as in the Qumran community, teachers could claim «prophetic» inspiration just as prophets did. |
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