The Pivot of John's Prologue

Abstract

The prospect of writing anything further about the prologue of John reminds one of the verdict quoted by W. C. van Unnik in a similar context some twenty years ago: ‘the new things he said were not true and the true things were not new’. The prudent course may, therefore, be to refine an already established position with the hope of being able to say something true, even if it is not altogether new. The thesis of this article is that the prologue is a chiasm with verse 12bat its centre. That the prologue is chiastic is not a new thesis; that its centre isv. 12bis. The first part of this paper attempts to establish this thesis. The second part studies the key phrase inv. 12b, τέκνα Θεοũ, and the implications of its position in the prologue.

The metaphor of light embedded in the Johannine prologue, Part 1: The Light before the incarnation

“…This 2. Boismard (1957), LaMarche (1964, Borgen (1970), Hooker (1970), Culpepper (1981, Van der Watt (1995), Keener (2003) and Neyrey (2007:38-41), to name a few, believe that the prologue is chiastic. In their investigation, each one follows different criteria and considerations, and accordingly proposes their chiastic structure of the prologue.…”

Geweld in 'n evangelie van liefde: Die Evangelie van Johannes se perspektief op geweld teen Jesus en sy dissipels

“…Die begin (proloog) van die Evangelie van liefde is reeds in die skadu van duisternis (Joh 1:5; 3:19; 8:12; 12:35; 12:46) en verwerping gehul (Joh 1:5-11). Culpepper (1981Culpepper ( , 1983 argumenteer dat die plot van die Evangelie al in Johannes 1:9-13 gegee word: Jesus kom na sy eie mense toe en hulle verwerp Hom. Hulle wil Hom nie hê nie.…”

The metaphor of light embedded in the Johannine prologue, Part 2: The Light at and after the incarnation

“…The prologue of the Gospel of John is one of the most studied texts of early Christian writings (see for example, De Wolf 1960;Ryan 1963;Brown 1965;Cahill 1976;Miller 1977;Staley 1986;Waetjen 2001;Deeks 2002;Hildegard & Newman 2003;Riches 2005;Boismard 1953;LaMarche 1997;Borgen 1970;Hooker 1970;Culpepper 1981;Van der Watt 1995). It takes the reader from the 'world above', the realm of God and the Logos, to the 'world below', the world of human history, and back again to the 'world above' into the bosom of the Father.…”