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" The “Rule of the Community” as a valid linguistic resource for understanding truth terminology in the Gospel of John: A semantic analysis "
Elizabeth W. Mburu
A. Kostenberger
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Latin Dissertation
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English
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| Record Number
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52758
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| Doc. No
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TL22712
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| Call number
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3313304
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| Main Entry
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Elizabeth W. Mburu
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| Title & Author
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The “Rule of the Community” as a valid linguistic resource for understanding truth terminology in the Gospel of John: A semantic analysis\ Elizabeth W. Mburu
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| College
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Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
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| Date
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2008
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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2008
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| Page No
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348
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| Abstract
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This dissertation analyses the linguistic parallels between the Gospel of John and the sectarian Qumran document, the Rule, and investigates the degree of semantic continuity in their respective uses of truth terminology. The major premise is that the Rule provides linguistic clues which illuminate our understanding of how the author of the Fourth Gospel used truth terminology and expected it to be understood. A corollary question that is investigated is whether this continuity could be attributed merely to a general shared milieu or whether it stems from a common dependence on a shared tradition, as well as knowledge of the terminology found in the linguistic matrix of the Qumran literature. The first chapter establishes the notable failure to arrive at a consensus of how truth terminology is used in the history of interpretation of the Gospel of John. The major factors contributing to this lack of consensus are identified and semantic principles arising from the particular problems noted in the history of interpretation of [special characters omitted] expounded on. This is followed by a survey of Qumran and New Testament research that establishes the current position in this field of study and provides a rationale for the comparative approach adopted in this study. Finally, this chapter concludes with a discussion of methodological considerations related to the role of genre, history, literature, and theology, as well as principles that need to be kept in mind when dealing with parallels. Chapters 2 and 3 consist of an exegetical survey of all the instances of [special characters omitted] in the Gospel and [Emet] in the Rule in their various contexts and combinations. The purpose of these two chapters is to explore the respective uses of truth terminology as it relates to authorial intent. Chapter 4 discusses the background behind the Gospel in order to determine the parameters within which possible linguistic influences on the Gospel are to be sought. The second part of this chapter is an investigation of the use of truth terminology in its various combinations in the Hebrew Old Testament and Septuagint, as well as current usage of the term in the period between 200 B.C. and A.D. 100, via a selective survey of passages. This establishes whether the general Jewish and early Christian milieu spanning this period reveals a similar use of this terminology, or whether some kind of development is reflected in John's Gospel and the Rule, either in terms of increased use, new combinations or different use. Chapter 5 evaluates the possible impact of the Rule on the Gospel through a comparative analysis, and specific areas of overlap between the two documents that cannot be accounted for by influence from the Hebrew Old Testament and Septuagint or current use as found in the surveyed Jewish literature and the writings of the New Testament are determined and assessed. The chapter concludes that both John's Gospel and the Rule use truth terminology in ways that reflect differences with regard to their respective theologies and referents, but also striking similarities with respect to linguistic combinations and certain uses. The final chapter concludes that while these similarities may be attributed to a development of the common tradition shared by both the Gospel and the Qumran literature, as well as the influence of ideology, the semantic continuity with the Rule makes it likely that the author of the Fourth Gospel was familiar with the mode of thought represented in the linguistic matrix of the Qumran literature and that he followed this in articulating his ideas in certain parts of his Gospel. The dissertation ends with implications that relate to the interpretation of the Gospel of John.
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| Subject
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Philosophy, religion and theology; Dead Sea Scrolls; Gospel of John; New Testament; Qumran; Rule of the Community; Semantic; Truth; Truth terminology; Bible; 0321:Bible
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A. Kostenberger
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Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
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