It is widely recognized that the Gospel of John utilizes a variety of images and symbolic language throughout its text. Water is one such image that is used frequently throughout the Gospel of John and the variety with which it is used has provided scholarship with a great deal of material upon which to reflect. Of particular interest is the Gospel's use of "living water," a phrase which refers to water that has some sort of movement and in the context of Jewish ritual purification was important for the cleansing of those with serious ritual impurity. In the Fourth Gospel, living water is directly connected to the Spirit (John 7:37-39). This dissertation examines the Gospel's use of living water as an image for the Spirit. Other studies have examined the motif of water; however, these studies have not distinguished between the Gospel's use of living water and other references to water, such as those which refer to drawn water or the water in miqveh. This dissertation seeks to make such a distinction by first examining the Jewish use of water in the Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, and rabbinic texts. This study also categorizes the water passages in the Gospel of John, to see how water is used as a setting, as a reference to baptism, and as an instrument used by Jesus in miracles. Finally, in examining the living water passages, I argue that these are the only symbolic uses of water and that only the living water symbol is properly used for the Spirit in the Gospel of John.
اصطلاحهای موضوعی کنترل نشده
اصطلاح موضوعی
Biblical studies
اصطلاح موضوعی
Theology
نام شخص به منزله سر شناسه - (مسئولیت معنوی درجه اول )