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Two Parables in John

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2009

Barnabas Lindars
Affiliation:
Cambridge, England

Extract

One of the most fruitful aspects of recent study of the Fourth Gospel has been the recovery of traditional sayings of Jesus embedded in Johannine discourses. They are often the starting point of the whole argument. The classic example of this is the Parable of the Apprenticed Son in John v. 19 f. This was isolated as a parable from earlier tradition by both C.H. Dodd and P. Gächter, working independently of each other. In this case it is easy to see how the entire exposition of the work of Jesus as the Son of man, with which the Son and the Slave in viii. 35 has a similar relation to the discourse in which it is enclosed, even though this may not be so obvious at first sight. These and other examples of parables in John have been conveniently collected in the popular work of A. M. Hunter, According to John (1968), pp. 78–89.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1970

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References

page 318 note 1 Une parabole cachée dans le quatrième évangile’, Revue d' Histoire et de Philosophie Religieuses, XLII (1962), 107–15Google Scholar = ‘A Hidden Parable in the Fourth Gospel’, More New Testament Studies by Dodd, C. H. (1968), pp. 3040.Google Scholar

page 318 note 2 ‘Zur Form von Joh. 5. 19–30’, in Neutestamentliche Aufsätze, edited by Blinzler, J., Kuss, O., and Mussener, F., in honour of Schmid, J. (1963), pp. 65–8.Google Scholar

page 319 note 1 Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel (1963), pp. 224f.Google Scholar All other references to the work of Dodd are taken from this book.

page 321 note 1 Die johanneische Weinregel, Joh. 2. 10’, Z.N.W. XIV (1913), 248–57.Google Scholar

page 323 note 1 New Testament Apocrypha, edited by Hennecke, E., Schneemelcher, W. and Wilson, R. M., 1 (1963), 388400.Google Scholar

page 323 note 2 Ibid. pp. 400f.

page 324 note 1 Op. cit. pp. 279–87.Google Scholar

page 325 note 1 Cf. Robinson, J. A. T., Twelve New Testament Studies (Studies in Biblical Theology, XXXIV) (1962), p. 49 n. 49.Google Scholar

page 326 note 1 The phrase αύτη ον ή χαρά ή έμη πεπλήρωται is typical of John cf. xv, II; xvi. 24. Verse 30 could be derived from a previous tradition, as the verbs are not used elsewhere by John. But it cannot have been part of the parable, as it makes use of the first person. Thus I cannot agree with the attempt of Black, M. (An Aramaic Approach to the Gospels and Acts (3 1967), p. 147Google Scholar) to weld these verses together as a whole from an Aramaic source, though the resulting paronomasia (kalletha–νυμφη, qala–φωνή, qelal–έλαττοσθαι, and kelal–πεπλήρωται) is attractive. His tracsposition of verse 30 to precede the final words of 29 is a further count against it.

page 326 note 2 The dative of the verbal noun, used in conjuunction with the cognate verb, frequently represents the Hebrew infinitive absoulte construction in both LXX and NT, cf. Blass–Debrunner–Funk, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and other Early Literature, Christian (1961), § 198 (6).Google Scholar This suggests that the original of the parable was in Hebrew rather than Aramaic. In his Aramaic reconstruction Black makes no attempt to translate this phrase. The Syriac versions insert an adjective to avoid the difficulty (haduta' rabeta' hade'). The use of the infinitive absolute construction is not considered by Emerton, J. A. in his article ‘Did Jesus speak Hebrew?’, J.T.S. n.s. XII (1961), 189202.Google Scholar But it does seem to point to the conclusion that some of the sayings of Jesus were transmitted either in Hebrew or in a Hebrew, Aramaized (cf. Luke xxii. 15).Google Scholar

page 327 note 1 Cf. Tohoroth, the sixth division of the Mishnab, and Appendix IV to Danby's translation, pp. 800–4.

page 327 note 2 Thus πέραν τοΊορδάνου is from i. 28 and μεμαρτύρηκας is from i. 34, deliberately referring back to these verses; βαπτίει is reference to iii. 22,ρχεσθαι προς αύτόν is used of Jesus himself undergoing John' baptism in i. 29; verse 27 embodies a cardinal point of Johannine theology, with close verbal parallels in vi. 65 and xix. 11; in verse 28 αύτοί ύμεīς μοι μαρτυρεīτε refers to ή μαρτυρία του Ίωάννου in i. 19; ούκείμί έγώ ό χριστός is from i. 20; άπεσταλμένος είμί μτροσθεν έκείνου alludes to i. 15, 27, 30, but interestingly preserves more nearly the testimonium (Mal. iii. i) combined with Exod, . xxiii. 20Google Scholar, Cf. Matt, . xi 10Google Scholar poar than any of these verses.

page 327 note 3 Reading ίησο(Bentley) or τοΊησο(Baldensperger) for the impossible Ίουδαίου of the majority of texts. The plural Ίουδαίων, read by GΘλφ syrcur and some Latin and Bohairic texts, is an attempt to ease the sense, but does little to solve the difficulties of interpretation. The error may be due to contamination from καθαρισμόν τνΊουδαίων in ii. 6 at a very early stage of trasmission.

page 327 note 4 The opening may be preserved in καί λον…καί επαν αύτ· ραββί. As it stands, the title is surprising in addressing the Baptist (but cf. Luke, ii. 12Google Scholar). it is much more likely to be a relic of address to Jesus.