D. Phil. (Religious Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (DTh (Old and New Testament))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research aims to give an answer to the correlation between ‘Belief’ and the ‘Logos’, which are the fundamental themes of the Prologue, by using a ‘complex parallelism’ and to understand the literary style that is found in the Prologue and to combine previous literary methods thereby making them useful for the interpretation of the Prologue to the Gospel of John. Our hypothesis is that the Prologue should be read in line with the broader theological viewpoint of the Gospel of John, viz. the Prologue aims that all readers should believe in the ‘Logos’. Chapter 2 describes how various previous approaches presented and detected the theme and structure of the Prologue, viz. sequence reading (or a thematic approach) and literary reading (or a structural approach). The former reading presents the ‘Logos’ as the fundamental theme of the Prologue; the latter reading describes various literary figures, viz. parallelism, chiasm, and alternative/complementary literary models, and various pivotal themes of the Prologue. Their research illustrates the possibility of identifying varied and deep structures within the Prologue and suggests that the Prologue could be read from multiple angles. Chapter 3 discusses various types of parallelism and patterns of chiastic structure which constitute the basic elements of complex parallelism and the criteria for identifying the chiastic structure as an adequate methodology for the analysis of the Prologue. Among the various types of parallelism which were proposed and advanced by the previous scholars, synonymous parallelism, antithetic parallelism, synthetic parallelism, staircase parallelism, and inverted parallelism are employed and the chiastic structure, including various extended figures of chiasm, is classified into three patterns: the A-B-A' pattern, the A-B-B'-A' pattern and the A-B-C-B'-A' pattern. In addition, four criteria for identifying the chiastic structure are selected and modified for this research, among the criteria applied by the previous scholars. We discuss some textual-critical issues in Chapter 4, before embarking on analysis of the structure of the Prologue. Among them, we argue that only in the case of three verses textual variants raise debatable issues: e.g., the textual variants of punctuation of verse 3, the textual variants of the number of the relative pronoun and of the verb in verse 13, and the textual variants with regard to monogenh.j qeo,j in verse 18. Chapter 5 explores the structure of the Prologue with complex parallelism in order to reveal both ‘Belief’ and ‘Logos’ as the fundamental themes of the Prologue. In complex parallelism, complex chiastic structure and complex inverted parallelism combine structurally and semantically. Both complex structures have surface and deep structures: In complex chiastic structure, the surface structure is formulated with macro chiastic structure and each parallel section is described as various types of parallelism and chiastic patterns. This complex chiastic structure focuses on the theme of ‘Belief’. On the other hand, in complex inverted parallelism, the surface structure is formulated with macro inverted parallelism and each parallel section is illustrated as various chiastic patterns. All concepts and themes regarding the ‘Logos’ are described in the complex inverted parallelism. The final chapter sets out to reveal the correlation between ‘Belief’ and the ‘Logos’ in the concluding summary of our research. In complex parallelism, the complex chiastic structure reveals that ‘Belief’ is the pivotal theme of the Prologue, whereas, the complex inverted parallelism presents the ‘Logos’ as the only object of ‘Belief’. In other words, the former describes that the readers should believe; the latter describes what/whom they should believe in. Therefore, the Prologue focuses on both the theme of ‘Belief’ and the ‘Logos’. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om die verband te ondersoek tussen ‘Geloof’ en die ‘Logos’, as kernbegrippe in die Proloog van die Johannes Evangelie, deur gebruikmaking van ‘n ‘kompleks-parallellisme’, en om die literêre styl wat in die Proloog aangetref word te verstaan, en om deur literêre metodes wat voorheen in hierdie verband gebruik is te kombineer en so bruikbaar te maak vir die interpretasie van die Proloog. Die hipotese is dat die Proloog saam met die breër teologiese bedoeling van die Evangelie volgens Johannes gelees moet word, naamlik dat die Proloog lesers tot geloof in die ‘Logos’ wil oproep. Hoofstuk 2 beskryf hoe verskillende benaderings die tema en struktuur van die Proloog ontdek en voorgestel het, naamlik ‘n opeenvolgende lees (‘n tematiese benadering) en ‘n literêre lees (‘n strukturele benadering). Die eerste leesstrategie stel die ‘Logos’ voor as die kerntema van die Proloog, terwyl die tweede leesstrategie verskillende literêre stylfigure soos parallellismes, chiasmes en alternatiewe komplementêre literêre modelle, asook sleuteltemas van die Proloog, beskryf. Sulke navorsing illustreer die moonltikheid om verskillende en diep strukture binne die Proloog te identifiseer, en suggereer dat die Proloog uit verskillende hoeke gelees kan word. Hoofstuk 3 bespreek die verskillende tipes parallellismes en patrone van chiastiese strukture wat die basiselemente uitmaak van kompleks-parallellisme en die kriteria vir die identifisering van chiastiese struktuur, as voldoende metodologie vir die analise van die Proloog. Die verskillende tipes parallellisme wat al geïdentifiseer is, sluit in sinonieme parallellisme, antitetiese parallellisme, sintetiese parallellisme, trap-parallellisme en omgekeerde parallellisme; chiastiese strukture word gewoonlik in drie vorme geklassifiseer: die A-B-A' patroon, die A-B-B'-A' patroon, en die A-B-C-B'-A' patroon. Verder word vier kriteria vir die identifisering van chiastiese strukture geselekteer uit die kriteria wat in die verlede aangewend is, en aangepas vir hierdie navorsingsondersoek. In Hoofstuk 4 word ‘n aantal teks-kritiese sake in die Proloog bespreek, voordat ‘n analise van die struktuur gedoen word. Van al die verskillende teks-kritiese sake, word daar aangevoer dat slegs drie daarvan debat ontlok: bv. die teks-kritiese variante vir die punktuasie in vers 3; die tekstuele variante vir die getal van die betreklike voornaamwoord en die werkwoord in vers 13; en, die tekstuele variante met betrekking tot monogenh.j qeo,j in vers 18. Hoofstuk 5 ondersoek die struktuur van die Proloog met behulp van kompleks-parallellisme om sodoende beide ‘Geloof’ en ‘Logos’ as kernbegrippe in die Proloog aan te toon. In kompleks-parallellisme word kompleks-chiastiese struktuur en kompleks-omgekeerde parallellisme struktureel en semanties gekombineer. Beide kompleks-strukture het oppervlaken dieptestrukture: in kompleks-chiastiese struktuur word die oppervlakstruktuur met makrochiastiese struktuur geformuleer en elke parallelle afdeling word beskryf as verskillende tipes parallellisme en chiastiese patrone. Hierdie kompleks-chiastiese struktuur fokus op die tema ‘Geloof’. Aan die ander kant, in kompleks-omgekeerde parallellisme, word die oppervlakstruktuur geformuleer met makro omgekeerde parallellisme en elke parallelle afdeling word as verskillende chiastiese patrone geïllustreer. Al die konsepte en temas met betrekking tot die ‘Logos’ word beskryf in die kompleks-omgekeerde parallellisme. Die finale hoofstuk het ten doel om die verband tussen ‘Geloof’ en die ‘Logos’ in ‘n slotbeskouing bloot te lê. In kompleks-parallellisme, lê kompleks-chiastiese struktuur ‘Geloof’ as sleutelbegrip in die Proloog bloot, terwyl kompleks-omgekeerde parallellisme die ‘Logos’ as die enigste voorwerp van ‘Geloof’ oorhou. Met ander woorde, die eersgenoemde beklemtoon dat die lesers moet glo; die laasgenoemde beklemtoon in wie of wat hulle moet glo. Die Proloog fokus dus op beide die temas ‘Geloof’ en die ‘Logos’.

The Fourth Gospel uses space to arrange its narrative and uses its narrative to represent Johannine space and experience. The spaces alluded to in John are full of contestation and serve as identity markers. By Nathanael asking if anything good can come from Nazareth, he represents Nazareth and its inhabitants as insignificant. Yet, by Jesus seeing in Nathanael, not a Galilean but an Israelite, Jesus subverts the regional stereotypes operative in Nathanael and John’s narrative world but maybe reflective of John’s concrete experience. By denying the sacred places of Jerusalem and Samaria, and proposing worship in spirit and truth, the Johannine Jesus is theologically and socially located on the margins of sacred place but at the centre of sacred presence. When the Johannine Jesus sees the arrival of the Greeks as the ‘hour of glory’ he subverts diaspora existence and marginalises the centre, Palestine. If the ultimate place to access God in John is utopia, then this is, no place. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.