The Influence of Ezekiel in the Fourth Gospel: Intertextuality and Interpretation

173 Pages·2018·0.765 MB·English

by  William G. Fowler, Michael Strickland

The Influence of Ezekiel in the Fourth Gospel
Biblical Interpretation Series
Editors-in-Chief
Paul Anderson (George Fox University)
Jennifer L. Koosed (Albright College, Reading)
Editorial Board
A. K. M. Adam (University of Oxford)
Colleen M. Conway (Seton Hall University)
Amy Kalmanofsky (Jewish Theological Seminary)
Vernon Robbins (Emory University)
Annette Schellenberg (Universität Wien)
Johanna Stiebert (University of Leeds)
Duane Watson (Malone University)
Christine Roy Yoder (Columbia Theological Seminary)
Ruben Zimmermann (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz)
volume 167
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bins
The Influence of Ezekiel in the
Fourth Gospel
Intertextuality and Interpretation
By
William G. Fowler
Michael Strickland
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Fowler, William G., editor. | Strickland, Michael, 1974– editor. |
 Fowler, William G. Influence of Ezekiel in the Fourth Gospel.
Title: The influence of Ezekiel in the Fourth Gospel : intertextuality and
 interpretation / edited by William G. Fowler, Michael Strickland.
Description: Boston : Brill, 2018. | Series: Biblical interpretation series,
 ISSN 0928-0731 ; volume 167 | Thesis (Ph. D.)—Golden Gate Baptist
 Theological Seminary, 1995. Revised and updated by original author
 William G. Fowler and additional author/editor Michael Strickland. |
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018036417 (print) | LCCN 2018038128 (ebook) |
 ISBN 9789004383845 (ebook) | ISBN 9789004383814 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Bible. John—Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Bible.
 John—Relation to Ezekiel. | Bible. Ezekiel—Relation to John. |
 Intertextuality in the Bible.
Classification: LCC BS2615.52 (ebook) | LCC BS2615.52 .I644 2018 (print) |
 DDC 226.5/06—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018036417
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.
ISSN 0928-0731
ISBN 978-90-04-38381-4 (hardback)
ISBN 978-90-04-38384-5 (e-book)
Copyright 2018 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements x
Abbreviations xi
1 Introduction 1
1 In Search of the Background to the Fourth Gospel 3
2 Intertextuality and Interpretation 7
3 The Johannine Community and Ezekiel 11
4 Prior Research into the Inter-relatedness of Ezekiel and the
Fourth Gospel 14
5 Critical Issues 17
5.1 Authorship 17
5.2 Relationship to the Apocalypse 18
5.3 Unity and Order of Composition 18
5.4 Historicity 19
6 Methodology 19
7 Presentation 21
2 The Theological Vocabularies of John and Ezekiel 24
1 Words Used by John Fifty Times or More 27
1.1 Father 28
1.2 Believe 29
1.3 Know 30
1.4 World 32
1.5 Send 34
1.6 Hear 35
1.7 Love 36
1.8 Life 38
2 Words Used in the “I Am” Sayings 40
2.1 Bread 41
2.2 Light 42
2.3 Door 43
2.4 Shepherd 45
2.5 Resurrection 46
2.6 Way 47
2.7 Truth 48
2.8 Vine 49
vi Contents
3 Other Significant Words and Phrases 49
3.1 Word 50
3.2 Witness 53
3.3 Glory 54
3.4 Judgment 56
3.5 Water 58
3.6 Spirit 60
3.7 Signs 63
4 Conclusions 66
3 Primary Points of Contact 67
1 The New Temple 67
1.1 The Replacement, or Embodiment, of Judaism? 68
1.2 Jewish Expectations 70
1.3 Ezekiel’s New Temple 71
1.4 Jesus as the New Temple 75
1.5 Parallels 82
1.6 Conclusions and Implications 83
2 Rivers of Living Water 84
2.1 The Feast of Tabernacles 85
2.2 Punctuation and Antecedent of αὐτοῦ 86
2.3 Scripture Citation 87
2.4 Conclusions and Implications 88
3 The Good Shepherd 89
3.1 The Setting of John 10 89
3.2 Old Testament Imagery 91
3.3 Ezekiel’s Shepherd 91
3.4 The Good Shepherd in John’s Gospel 92
3.5 Comparisons and Conclusions 93
4 The Resurrection 95
4.1 Chapter 5 as Precedent to Chapter 11 96
4.2 The Resurrection and the Life, John 11 98
4.3 Ezek 37 and the Valley of Dry Bones 100
4.4 Comparisons and Conclusions 102
Contents vii
4 Secondary Points of Contact 104
1 Born of Water and Spirit 104
2 Son of Man 109
3 Paraclete 112
4 “Die in Your Sins” 114
5 “I Have Glorified It” [My Name] 114
6 The Christ Remains Forever 115
7 I Will Do It 116
8 The True Vine 117
9 The One Hundred Fifty-Three Fish 118
10 Conclusion 121
5 Conclusion 122
1 Hays’ Criteria and Evidence of Intertextuality 122
1.1 Availability 122
1.2 Volume 122
1.3 Recurrence 123
1.4 Thematic Coherence 124
1.5 Historical Plausibility 124
1.6 History of Interpretation 125
1.7 Satisfaction 125
2 Conclusions Regarding Influence 126
3 Value for Interpretation 127
Bibliography 131
Books and Commentaries 131
Articles and Essays 140
Unpublished Works 147
Index of Subjects and Modern Authors 148
Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Writings 150

Preface
The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the influence of Ezekiel in the
Fourth Gospel by identifying and evaluating intertextual links between the
two texts. Chapter 1 introduces the study, provides its parameters, and identi-
fies features that may be regarded as evidence of intertextuality.
The theological vocabularies of John and Ezekiel are examined in Chapter 2
to discover possible points of contact. Words used by John fifty times or more,
words used in the “I am” sayings, and other words significant to John’s theol-
ogy are compared to Ezekiel. Significant contact appears with the words hear,
know, send, word, spirit, water, and shepherd.
Chapters 3 and 4 set forth primary and secondary points of contact between
Ezekiel and John. Primary points include the new Temple, the living water, the
Good Shepherd, and being “born from above.” Secondary points include the
figures Son of man, Paraclete, and True Vine, along with various phrases that
may owe some debt to Ezekiel’s influence. The majority of these have been
observed by other authors. The chief contribution of this study is to bring them
all together and show Ezekiel as an important influence on John’s presentation
of Jesus.
Richard Hays’ criteria for evaluating evidence of intertextuality are used in
chapter 5 to assess the evidence set forth in chapters 2–4. We conclude that
the Fourth Gospel reveals a strong intertextual relationship with Ezekiel at sev-
eral points. When taken into account, these links are a valuable resource for
the interpretation of the Fourth Gospel’s witness to Jesus. As such, the study
underscores the continuing need for historical-critical research alongside the
more modern critical methods of interpretation.