Wisdom's Friends

by Ringe, Sharon H.

• ISBN13: 9780664257149
• ISBN10: 0664257143
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Pr

Summary

Sharon Ringe sheds new light on a heretofore neglected aspect of the Fourth Gospel--friendship--and through it links the concepts of community and Wisdom Christology. This connection between Johannine ecclesiology and Christology, she writes, is critical to an in depth understanding the Fourth Gospel.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Abbreviations	xiv
Wisdom and Friendship: Images of Christ and Church	1	(9)
Wisdom and Friendship---Christ and Community Intertwined	2	(3)
Presuppositions about Christology and Ecclesiology	5	(3)
Interdependent	5	(1)
Metaphorical	6	(1)
Plural	7	(1)
Contextual	8	(1)
Structure of This Study	8	(2)
Getting to Know the Johannine Community	10	(19)
Language	12	(1)
Location	13	(1)
Social Composition	14	(4)
Ethnicity	14	(2)
Gender	16	(2)
Economic Status	18	(1)
The Johannine Community and oi 'Iouδαioi	18	(5)
John and the Synoptic Gospels	23	(3)
Conclusion	26	(3)
The Roots of Wisdom	29	(17)
Wisdom in the Hebrew Bible: From Principle to Presence	31	(6)
Psalm 104 (LXX 103)	31	(1)
Job 28	32	(1)
Proverbs 1--9	33	(4)
Wisdom in the Deuterocanonical Literature: A Jewish Legacy in the Hellenistic World	37	(5)
Sirach	37	(2)
Baruch 3:9--4:4	39	(1)
Wisdom of Solomon	40	(2)
Circumscribed Wisdom in 1 Enoch, 2 Esdras, and Philo	42	(2)
1 Enoch 41:1--2; 2 Esdras 5:9b--10a	42	(1)
Philo	43	(1)
Conclusion	44	(2)
Wisdom Made Flesh	46	(18)
The Hymn to the Word	48	(5)
Structure and Literary Context	48	(1)
A Hymn to the Word: A Hymn to Jesus Christ	48	(1)
Strophes 1 and 2 (1:1--5): The Word ``In the Beginning''	49	(1)
The Witness of John (1:6--9)	50	(1)
Strophe 3 (1:10--12b): The Mixed Reception of the Word in the World	50	(1)
Those Who Become God's Children (1:12b--13)	51	(1)
Strophe 4 (1:14, 16, [15]): The λóγoζ Becomes Flesh	51	(1)
A Concluding Commentary on the Hymn (1:17--18)	52	(1)
The Hymn in the Rest of the Gospel	53	(4)
The Motif of the λóγoζ	53	(1)
Divine Presence and Divine Gifts	54	(1)
Acceptance and Rejection: Community Boundaries	55	(1)
Glory and Incarnation	55	(2)
Wisdom's Saving Presence	57	(4)
Encounters in Public Places	57	(1)
``Sent from Above''	58	(1)
Teacher of Wisdom's Way	59	(1)
Wisdom's Bounty	60	(1)
εγωεiμi	60	(1)
Conclusion	61	(3)
Appointed to Be Friends	64	(20)
Linguistic Evidence: &phis;iλεω&, &phis;iλoζ	65	(1)
Key Text: John 15:1--17	65	(4)
Friendship Interpreted: Evidence from Culture	69	(6)
Hellenistic Philosophy	69	(2)
Biblical Examples	71	(1)
Linguistic Evidence	71	(1)
Narratives of Friendship	72	(3)
Friendship Elaborated: Evidence in the Johannine Narrative	75	(7)
Friendship and Daily Life	75	(1)
A Ministry of Accompaniment	75	(1)
A Verb with Staying Power	76	(1)
Sharing Meals	76	(1)
Friendship and Times of Crisis	77	(1)
Caring in Sickness and Death	78	(1)
Friends and Families	79	(1)
The ``Good'' Shepherd	80	(1)
Shepherding the Community	81	(1)
Conclusion	82	(2)
The ``Other Paraclete'': The Story Continues	84	(9)
The Word παρακλητoζ in Its Literary Context in the Fourth Gospel	85	(1)
Detailed Analysis: The παρακλητoζ in the Christology and Ecclesiology of the Fourth Gospel	86	(6)
The First Paraclete Section: Love, Commandment, Presence (14:15--26)	86	(3)
Jesus' Leave-taking: Assurance for the Community (14:27--31)	89	(1)
Friendship and Accompaniment (15:1--17)	90	(1)
Jesus' Leave-taking from ``the World'' (15:18--25 [16:2--3])	90	(1)
The Second Paraclete Section: Testimony against ``the World'' (15:26--16:15)	90	(2)
Conclusion	92	(1)
Conclusions and Implications	93	(6)
Summary of This Study	93	(1)
Pastoral and Theological Implications	94	(5)
Notes	99	(18)
Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Literature	117