Revisiting Nicodemus's Question in John 3:9
There are good reasons for questioning the overtly negative interpretations of John 3:9 that prevail in current scholarship. A helpful place to start is to ask what kind of question 3:9 is. There are three options: (i) a question of modality, asking in what way birth from above takes place; (ii) a r...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2019]
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| In: |
The journal of theological studies
Year: 2019, Volume: 70, Issue: 1, Pages: 110-140 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Johannesevangelium 3,9
/ Nicodemus
/ Question
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| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | There are good reasons for questioning the overtly negative interpretations of John 3:9 that prevail in current scholarship. A helpful place to start is to ask what kind of question 3:9 is. There are three options: (i) a question of modality, asking in what way birth from above takes place; (ii) a rhetorical question, the purpose of which is to question that birth from above can take place; or (iii) a real question about the conditions under which a birth from above could take place. The present article claims that 3:9 is a real and legitimate question that is given a substantive answer by Jesus. Many of the negative claims made about Nicodemus based on 3:9 are either unwarranted or questionable. Nicodemus is not critiqued for asking the question in 3:9 or for not knowing its answer, but for thinking that he already knew who Jesus was and for not adequately realizing his own need to be born from above. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4607 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of theological studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jts/fly168 |