This book (written in Hebrew, just published March 2014 by the Hebrew Universitys Magnes Press) contains eight conversations on the Gospel of John between the Jewish Bible scholar Yair Zakovitch and Early Christianity scholar Serge Ruzer. The Gospel of John, the Fourth Gospel, differs considerably from the other three canonical Gospels, representing an independent writing and outlook. Usually dated to the end of the first century CE, this composition reflects a particular offshoot of early Christian identity being defined vis-à-vis both Jewish messianic beliefs of broader appeal and perceptions current among other groups within the Jesus movement. Accordingly, the conversations in the book deal with the issues crucial for understanding Johns polemical strategies: Jesus as second Moses (inter alia, when performing wonders); crucifixion and sacrifice of Isaac; Jews in the Forth Gospel; biblical exegesis employed in John; the Prologue of John as programmatic introduction and hermeneutical key; and, finally, the author of John as a diligent editor of an inherited narrative and as a daring innovator vis-à vis the Synoptic tradition reflected in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The discussion highlights two intriguing features of the Fourth Gospel: the first – its complicated balancing act between the desire to present the claim for Jesus’ messiahship as continuation of biblical expectations and propagating ideas both daring and innovative; the second – its being a witness for Jewish beliefs otherwise attested only in much later rabbinic sources. This turns John into a precious witness both for developments within earliest Christianity and for trajectories in broader Judaism.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 13:55:50 +0000
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