Narrative Criticism of the Religious Authorities as a Group Character in the Gospel of John: Some Problems

Recent narrative critical studies of the religious authorities in the Fourth Gospel have proposed, first, that the term ‘Jews' has only one meaning in the Gospel and, second, that ‘the Jews' and ‘the Pharisees' constitute a single group character. However, when viewed from a different...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Von Wahlde, Urban C. 1941- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Cambridge Univ. Press [2017]
In: New Testament studies
Year: 2017, Volume: 63, Issue: 2, Pages: 222-245
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B John / Jews / Pharisees / Authorities
IxTheo Classification:HC New Testament
HD Early Judaism
SA Church law; state-church law
Further subjects:B Jews
B religious authorities
B Farisaíoi
B Narrative Criticism
B Ioudaíoi
B group character
B Pharisees
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Recent narrative critical studies of the religious authorities in the Fourth Gospel have proposed, first, that the term ‘Jews' has only one meaning in the Gospel and, second, that ‘the Jews' and ‘the Pharisees' constitute a single group character. However, when viewed from a different perspective, the term ‘Jews' can be said to have three different meanings in the Gospel. Moreover, when viewed from this perspective, the various usages exhibit a remarkable consistency, one not evident when all instances are thought to have the same meaning. If only those instances of ‘the Jews' that refer to religious authorities are studied from the point of view of narrative analysis, their character exhibits a great homogeneity but at the same time contrasts consistently with the portrayal of the character of ‘the Pharisees' (together with ‘the chief priests' and ‘rulers'). This article describes eight ways in which the character of the religious authorities is portrayed differently (and in a contrasting manner) in the two sets of terms, thus indicating that not all instances of the term ‘Jews' have the same meaning and that the terms for religious authorities do not constitute a single group character, thus raising substantial questions about the proper method for interpreting these texts within the Gospel.
ISSN:1469-8145
Reference:Kritik in "Narrative Readings of the Religious Authorities in John (2020)"
Contains:Enthalten in: New Testament studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0028688516000436