The Call Of Nathanael. John 1:49. A Rhetorical-Theological Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Historicist approaches to the reading of sacred texts, rapidly attain a point where further research produces diminishing returns, resulting in more historical speculation rather than less. This is the opposite of the desired result. The cause of this impasse lies in a failure to discern the rhetorical techniques of the author as a basic reading strategy. Similarly, it is necessary to discern that the author has already made key determinations as to historicity. What is now required of the reader is a deepened appreciation of the intentional theological, ontological and existential implications of the narrative. This paper examines how a literary/rhetorical approach may yield positive results in the case of the call of Nathanael, a narrative fragment that poses intriguing critical questions, both theological and Christological. The results suggest a dominical encounter that supplies the reader with pre-emptive eschatological intensity through deliberate juxtaposition of Nathanael's disbelief and Jesus' selfawareness held together in a matrix of scriptural fulfilment.

Pleasant places in the gospel according to John: A classical motif as introit to theological awareness

“…31 Expressed in broader terms, these concerns overlap with the significance of the LA: 'peace, prosperity and divine blessing'. 32 Thus at a general, rather than a specific, interpretive level the substance of the scene is accessible. Nathanael, under the fig tree, symbolizes the apparent telos of his tradition in terms reminiscent of the LA.…”