The Gospel of John in Cultural and Rhetorical Perspective

by Jerome H. Neyrey S.J.

Overview

Given all that has been written about the Gospel of John over the past twenty centuries, can anything more possibly be said about it? Yes, says Jerome Neyrey — by reading this “maverick Gospel” in terms of ancient rhetoric and by viewing it in terms of cultural anthropology. / By interpreting the text in these two fresh ways, Neyrey distinctively illuminates the Gospel of John, casting new light on its theological message and on such topics as Jesus the revealer practicing secrecy, foot-washing as transformation ritual, and the Jewish background of Jesus’ equality with God, of Jesus being “greater than” Abraham. Neyrey’s scholarly study will certainly educate — and at times provoke — attentive readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802848666
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	11/10/2009
Pages:	509
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Jerome H. Neyrey is professor emeritus of the University of Notre Dame. His many books include Render to God: New Testament Understandings of the Divine and The Social World of Luke-Acts: Models for Interpretation.

Table of Contents

Preface: The Gospel of John in Cultural and Rhetorical Perspective viii

Acknowledgments xiv

Abbreviations xvi

Part 1 The Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel: Major Perspectives

1 Encomium vs. Vituperation: Contrasting Portraits of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel 3

2 Role and Status in the Fourth Gospel: Cutting through Confusion 29

3 Spaces and Places, Whence and Whither, Homes and Rooms: "Territoriality" in the Fourth Gospel 58

Part 2 Narrative Episodes in Focus

4 "Are You Greater than Our Father Jacob?": Jesus and Jacob in John 1:51 and 4:4-26 87

5 "He Must Increase, I Must Decrease" (John 3:30): A Cultural and Social Interpretation 123

6 What's Wrong with This Picture?: John 4, Cultural Stereotypes of Women, and Public and Private Space 143

7 "Equal to God" (John 5:18): Jesus and God's Two Powers in the Fourth Gospel 172

8 The Trials (Forensic) and Tribulations (Honor Challenges) of Jesus: John 7 in Social Science Perspective 191

9 Jesus the Judge: Forensic Process in John 8:21-59 227

10 Secrecy, Deception, and Revelation: Information Control in the Fourth Gospel 252

11 The "Noble" Shepherd in John 10: Cultural and Rhetorical Background 282

12 "I Said: You Are Gods": Psalm 82:6 and John 10 313

13 "In Conclusion...": John 12 as a Rhetorical "Peroratio" 332

14 The Footwashing in John 13:6-11: Transformation Ritual or Ceremony? 356

15 Worship in the Fourth Gospel: A Cultural Interpretation of John 14-17 377

16 "Despising the Shame of the Cross": Honor and Shame in the Johannine Passion Narrative 412

Part 3 Jesus vis-à-vis God: Agent orEqual?

17 "My Lord and My God": The Heavenly Character of Jesus in John's Gospel 441

18 "I Am the Door" (John 10:7, 9): Jesus the Broker in the Fourth Gospel 454

Index of Topics 477

Index of Passages in John's Gospel 483