John 5:39 is similar to 5:46 in that Jesus is speaking of the Scripture\u2019s testimony to himself: \u201cYou search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you
\nhave eternal life. Yet it is these that testify about me.\u201d Again, it is easy to assume that the scriptural testimony to Jesus comprises a relatively few messianic passages that speak of a savior to come in the future. Is that what Jesus means, or does he mean the same thing as I suggested for v. 46, that the Scriptures testify to the God of Israel, to whom Israel must come to find eternal life? John 5:40, when compared to Isa 55:3 and its rendering in Tg. Isa, provides us a clear answer:<\/p>\n
John 5:40
\nIsa 55:3
\nTg. Isa. 55:3
\nAnd you are unwilling to come to me, so that you may have life.
\nCome to me, listen, so that your soul may live.
\nReceive my Word, listen, so that your soul may live.<\/p>\n
The Voice of the Word in the Tabernacle<\/p>\n
After the giving of the law code on Mt. Sinai, the LORD said he would continue to speak to Moses in the tabernacle, from the earthly model of his heavenly throne room. Thus, as on Mt. Sinai, the Word spoke to Moses, now from between the cherubim, in connection with the giving of his law to Israel (Tgs. Neof. and Ps.-J. Num 7:89; cf. Tgs Onq., Neof. and Ps.-J. Exod 25:22 and Num 17:4). Therefore, the laws given in Leviticus through Deuteronomy, in targumic thought, would have been given to Moses by the Word speaking to him from above the mercy seat in the holy of holies. As we saw in ch. 1, the rendering of Tg. Ps.-J. Num 7:89, when compared to John the Baptist\u2019s description of the baptism of Jesus (John 1:32\u201333), indicates that in John\u2019s understanding, Jesus is this law-giving Word who has now become flesh.
\nIn light of the above, we can see the irony of John 9:29: \u201cWe know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he is from.\u201d This \u201cman\u201d is the Word who spoke to Moses, who now has become flesh, a man like Moses. Jesus speaks as one sent by God, yet he also speaks as God. Thus in place of the OT concept of God and his prophet, John presents Jesus as the divine prophet, the Word become flesh.<\/p>\n
THE UPPER ROOM AS A NEW SINAI<\/p>\n
The Synoptic Material<\/p>\n
From the Synoptic Gospels, John\u2019s readers would already know of the inauguration of the new covenant (Matt 26:28; Matt 14:24; Luke 22:20), which brings to mind the promise of Jer 31:31\u201334, but also (by way of contrast) the Sinai covenant, which the passage in Jeremiah refers to as the old covenant. As the sign of the new covenant, there is a new ceremonial law, the Lord\u2019s supper, for the purpose of remembering Jesus, based on the Mosaic Passover celebration, which was for the purpose of remembering the LORD and what he did for Israel (Deut 16:2\u20133, etc.). The material in John corroborates the synoptic material to give an overall impression of the upper room as a \u201cnew Sinai.\u201d<\/p>\n
The New Commandment<\/p>\n
\u201cA new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another\u201d (John 13:34; similarly 15:12, 17). Along with the new covenant is a new commandment. The question often asked is, what is \u201cnew\u201d about it? It sounds like a very good paraphrase of several Mosaic ethical laws, as we shall see. And if that is the case, one might say that it is not really new, but in fact would have been given through the Word to Israel already, before his incarnation. In fact, this commandment was first given at Mt. Sinai in Exod 22\u201323, and again given in Lev 19, and then expounded several times by Moses in Deuteronomy before Israel entered the promised land.<\/p>\n
Exod 22:21\u201322; 23:9<\/p>\n
You shall not mistreat or oppress [\u05dc\u05d7\u05e5] a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not oppress [\u05e2\u05e0\u05bc\u05d4] any widow or orphan. If you do oppress [\u05e2\u05e0\u05bc\u05d4] him at all, if he cries out to me, I will surely hear his cry, and my anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will become widows, and your children orphans.\u2026 You shall not oppress [\u05dc\u05d7\u05e5] a sojourner, since you yourselves know the soul of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.<\/p>\n
Israelites were oppressed sojourners in Egypt (\u05dc\u05d7\u05e5 is used for Egyptians oppressing Israel in Exod 3:9; \u05e2\u05e0\u05bc\u05d4 is used in Gen 15:13; Exod 1:11\u201312) but are no longer oppressed or sojourners. Why? Because the LORD loved them and brought them out of Egypt. They should not act towards others as the Egyptians acted towards them. Rather, they should love the sojourner in their midst as the LORD loved them. If they act like the Egyptians did, and the oppressed cry out to the LORD as the Israelites did, then he will hear and act against them as he did against the Egyptians.<\/p>\n
Lev 19:33\u201334<\/p>\n
33When a sojourner resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress him. 34The sojourner who resides with you shall be to you like the native among you. You shall love him as yourself; for you were sojourners in Egypt; I am the LORD your God.<\/p>\n
This command expands somewhat on Exod 23:9. Verse 34 contains what Jesus later called the second great commandment (Lev 19:18; Matt 22:39; Matt 12:31; Luke 10:27) and applies it to the sojourner in Israel, so that an Israelite should not need to ask, \u201cWho is my neighbor?\u201d (cf. Luke 10:29). To love one\u2019s neighbor as oneself is to treat one\u2019s neighbor as one would like to be treated, so the Golden Rule (Matt 7:12\/\/Luke 6:31) is simply another way of stating the second great commandment. Leviticus 19:33\u201334 gives a specific application of the Golden Rule. The Israelites were sojourners in Egypt, deprived of rights, and made slaves. Did they like to be treated this way? Obviously not. They cried out to the LORD, and he delivered them, gave them freedom, gave them rights such as to a just legal system. They should keep this in mind when they deal with the sojourner in their midst. We might say Lev 19:33\u201334 is the Golden Rule beyond the plane of human relationships. The LORD is really saying to Israel, \u201cLove the sojourner as I loved you when you were sojourners.\u201d The example of his love to which \u201cas I loved you\u201d refers is the exodus from Egypt, and the law is an example of the ideal of moral, ethical godlikeness expressed in biblical law.
\nAgain, the paraphrase of Exod 23:9 and Lev 19:34 given above sounds very much like the \u201cnew\u201d commandment of John 13:34. Further, according to the marginal readings of Tg. Neof. Exod 20:22 and Lev 19:1, this command was spoken to Moses by the Word of the LORD. Apart from those verses, however, we have the general statement in the Targums of Exod 25:22, Num 7:89, etc., that this law was given to Moses by the divine Word speaking to him from between the cherubim in the holy of holies. So it sounds like the same commandment from the same lawgiver. In what sense is it new?<\/p>\n
Deut 5:14\u201315<\/p>\n
The rationale for keeping the Sabbath commandment is godlikeness in both Exod 20 and Deut 5, but the aspect of godlikeness brought out in the two chapters is not the same. In Exod 20:11, the Israelite rests in imitation of God\u2019s rest after creating the universe. In Deut 5:14\u201315, however, godlikeness consists of giving rest to others, as God gives them rest: \u201cso that your male servant and female servant may rest, as well as you. And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there.\u201d
\nIsrael had no Sabbath in Egypt; the Sabbath rest was given to them by God as part of their redemption. Israelite heads of households were masters, not slaves, because the LORD loved them and gave them freedom and rest. Likewise, they must be good masters in giving the Sabbath rest to members of their households, as he was a good Master in giving them a Sabbath day of rest. They must love the members of their households as God loved them. God is saying to them, \u201cLove your households (by giving them a Sabbath rest) as I have loved you (by giving you this rest).\u201d<\/p>\n
Deut 10:18\u201319; 24:17\u201318<\/p>\n
These two laws are similar to each other and to Exod 22:21\u201322; 23:9 and Lev 19:33\u201334:<\/p>\n
(The LORD) executes justice for the orphan and widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. So you love the sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt (and I loved you). (Deut 10:18\u201319)<\/p>\n
You shall not pervert the rights of a sojourner or orphan, nor take a widow\u2019s garment in pledge. But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the LORD your God redeemed you from there. (24:17\u201318)<\/p>\n
Again, one can paraphrase, \u201cLove the orphan, the widow, the sojourner as I have loved you; love one another as I have loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deut 15:12\u201318<\/p>\n
This law could be summarized, \u201cGive your servant an exodus, as I gave to you.\u201d That is, \u201cLove him as I have loved you.\u201d Italicized words with explanatory notes, marked by brackets here and just below, highlight the exodus theme in this law:<\/p>\n
12If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve[1] you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go[2] free from you. 13And when you let him go[2] free from you, you shall not let him go[2] empty-handed[3]; 14you shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your wine press; as the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15You shall remember that you were a slave[1] in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. 16But if he says to you, \u201cI will not go out[4] from you,\u201d because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you, 17then you shall take an awl, and thrust it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant[1] for ever. And to your servant girl you shall do likewise. 18It shall not seem hard[5] in your eyes, when you let him go[2] free from you; for at half the cost of a hired servant he has served you[1] six years. So the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do.<\/p>\n
[1] The servant\u2019s servitude is analogous to Israel\u2019s servitude in Egypt (note that \u201cservant\u201d and \u201cslave\u201d are the same word in Hebrew; the word also is used generally for an employee). But if the servant considers himself better off under his master (because like the LORD he is good to him), he can remain a servant. The master remembers that it is by the LORD\u2019s grace that he himself is not a slave in Egypt.<\/p>\n
[2] The verb \u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05dc\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7 (\u0161illa\u1e25), used repeatedly for the exodus: \u201cLet my people go.\u201d<\/p>\n
[3] Same word as in Exod 3:21: \u201cWhen you leave, you shall not leave empty-handed.\u201d<\/p>\n
[4] The verb \u05d9\u05b8\u05e6\u05b8\u05d0 (y\u0101\u1e63\u0101\u02be), used repeatedly for the exodus (mostly in the hiphil [causative] form, \u201cbring forth\u201d).<\/p>\n
[5] The verb \u05e7\u05b8\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d4 (q\u0101\u0161\u00e2), used occasionally for Pharaoh\u2019s stubbornness about letting Israel go (Exod 7:3: \u201cI will harden Pharaoh\u2019s heart\u201d; 13:15: \u201cPharaoh was stubborn about letting us go\u201d). The Israelite master, the household head, is enjoined to be like his God, not like Pharaoh: \u201cAs the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him\u201d (v. 14). That is, love him as the LORD has loved you; do not oppress him, as Pharaoh did you.<\/p>\n
Why Is the Old Commandment Called \u201cNew\u201d?<\/p>\n
It would therefore appear that the new command, \u201clove one another, as I have loved you,\u201d is a good paraphrase of several OT laws. Further, being derived from the second great commandment, \u201clove your neighbor as yourself,\u201d and being based on the principle of ethical likeness to God, that the LORD\u2019s people, as his beloved children, should imitate him, it is at the very heart of OT ethical law. It appears to be an old commandment. And by identifying Jesus as the Word who is the lawgiver, John shows us that the \u201cI\u201d in the new commandment is the same as in the old. In light of this, Christopher J. Wright\u2019s comment on Deut 15:12\u201318 is quite ironic: \u201cThis wonderful text \u2026 could have come from the lips of Christ himself.\u201d The OT and targumic roots of John\u2019s theology have revealed that in fact it did!
\nIn what sense, then, is this a new commandment? Even if John 13:34 contained the exact wording of a command from the OT, the context of the verse shows us how it can be called a new commandment. The wording could be identical, but the meaning of \u201cas I have loved you\u201d is new. In every case, in these OT laws which can be paraphrased \u201clove others as I have loved you,\u201d the expression \u201cas I have loved you\u201d refers to God\u2019s love for Israel expressed in the exodus. In the exodus of Israel from Egypt, the LORD showed himself to be a gracious, loving Lord and Master, giving an example to Israelite masters, heads of households, judges, etc., so that they should be like him in the exercise of their power and authority. In John 13:34, however, \u201cas I have loved you\u201d refers to the fact that the eternal Son of God laid aside his privileges of deity and took upon himself the form of a servant. In the context of John 13, Jesus has just graphically illustrated this to the disciples by laying aside his garments and washing their feet. So this commandment is new in the sense that it requires Christ\u2019s followers to imitate not the heavenly Master who freed his people from Egypt, but the heavenly Servant who laid down his life for them and for their salvation.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s Failure to Receive the Word of the LORD<\/p>\n
Another passage that forms an important background for understanding the significance of Jesus\u2019 words in the upper room is Deut 15:12\u201318. Since this passage, dealing with the manumission of Hebrew slaves, is essentially an expansion of Exod 21:2\u20136, it is the first ordinance in the law code of Exod 21\u201323. It is appropriate that this law comes first because of the circumstances of Israel\u2019s deliverance from Egypt. It reminds them that they were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD set them free.
\nThis law is reflected in Jer 34:8\u201322, a passage that, in the synagogue reading schedule that has come down to us, was read along with Exod 21:2\u20136. Jeremiah had been preaching submission to the Babylonians and prophesying defeat and the destruction of the city and the temple if they resisted. Jeremiah 34:7 indicates that his prophecy was well on its way to fulfillment; only three fortified cities (including Jerusalem) had not fallen to the Babylonian army. Verses 8\u201311 describe how Zedekiah had enforced the law of manumission, so that the people set their Hebrew servants free, and how they then changed their minds (like the Egyptians in Exod 13!) and brought their servants back into bondage, despite having made a very solemn self-maledictory covenant to set them free (Jer 34:18). Apparently the people changed their minds when the coming of the Egyptian army resulted in the temporary lifting of the Babylonian siege on Jerusalem (vv. 21\u201322; 37:5\u201311).
\nIn vv. 12\u201316, the LORD reminds them of the connection between the manumission law and Israel\u2019s exodus from Egypt and tells them that their forefathers did not keep this law, or as it is put in Tg. Jer. 34:14, their fathers \u201cdid not receive my Word.\u201d Likewise, the present generation, after temporarily obeying, repented of their repentance, and in v. 17 the \u201cmeasure for measure\u201d judgment was pronounced on them because they \u201chave not received my Word\u201d to love their neighbor as the LORD loved them. The curse that the king, the priests, the officials, and the people pronounced upon themselves in the covenant (v. 18) would come true; they would be \u201creleased\u201d to judgment, terror, disease, famine, and death.
\nThe situation in the upper room has a number of similarities to that of Jeremiah\u2019s time. Jesus had predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple a few days earlier (Matt 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 19:43\u201344; 21:20). The Word of the LORD has become a servant, and as such he reiterates the old commandment to love \u201cas I have loved you,\u201d but he gives it a new meaning. It now grows out of the reality that he himself is going to the cross as a result of a gross violation of that commandment. Jesus will not merely be taken advantage of, as Israel was warned not to take advantage of the widow, the orphan, the sojourner, or the servant. He will be subject to a total denial of justice, and of the most basic of rights\u2014the right to live. That is, Israel will once again refuse to receive the Word of the LORD, who commanded them to \u201clove one another as I have loved you,\u201d but they will treat him worse than their fathers treated their servants in the time of Jeremiah. Jeremiah\u2019s words thus would come to have new meaning: \u201cYou have done evil more than your fathers\u201d (Jer 7:26).<\/p>\n
The Obedience of the Son<\/p>\n
Finally, we note that Jesus, through whom this command was given to Israel in OT times, himself kept the command. The commandment given by God to Israel, \u201clove one another as I have loved you,\u201d becomes, in the incarnation, a command from the Father to the Son, for the Son to love others as the Father has loved him. In John 15:9\u201310, Jesus says that he has obeyed that command: \u201cJust as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.\u2026 I have kept my Father\u2019s commandments.\u201d Two verses later, he repeats the \u201cnew\u201d commandment to the disciples. This obedient love of Christ for people is what sent him to the cross, so that his law-keeping becomes an example for his followers of how to keep his law.<\/p>\n
Loving God Means Keeping His Commandments<\/p>\n
The Second Commandment and the Great Commandment<\/p>\n
Another way in which the upper room appears as a new Sinai, with Jesus as lawgiver, is in the connection Jesus makes between love for him and keeping his commandments. In the second commandment from the old Sinai, the LORD says, \u201cI the LORD your God \u2026 show kindness to thousands, to those who love me, and to those who keep my commandments\u201d (Exod 20:5\u20136; Deut 5:9\u201310). The conjunction translated \u201cand\u201d could also be rendered \u201cthat is,\u201d so that love for God is defined as keeping his commandments. This seems clearly to have been the case in the great commandment expounded by Moses in Deut 6:5\u20139, where he commanded Israel to \u201clove the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength\u201d and immediately followed this with the requirement to keep his commandments upon their hearts, to speak of them throughout the day, and to teach them to their children.
\nJesus makes the same point in the upper room, speaking not as a prophet, but as the lawgiver: \u201cIf you love me, you will keep my commandments\u201d (John 14:15). Keener comments that \u201cBiblically literate Jewish hearers would immediately think of the associations between obeying God\u2019s commandments and loving God (Exod 20:6; Deut 5:10; 7:9; 10:12; 11:1, 13, 22; 19:9; 30:16; Neh 1:5; Dan 9:4 \u2026).\u201d According to the Pal. Tgs. of the Pentateuch, Israel heard the voice of the Word from Mt. Sinai make this connection between loving him and keeping his commandments. Later they heard this same connection made by Moses in Deuteronomy, since they requested that they hear from a person, not directly from the Word. And now the Word who has become flesh, a man like Moses, makes the same connection between loving him and keeping his commandments in the upper room, the new Sinai.
\nSimilar ideas appear in John 14:21: \u201cHe who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me\u201d; in 14:23: \u201cIf anyone loves me, he will keep my word\u201d; and (framed negatively) in 14:24: \u201cHe who does not love me does not keep my words.\u201d In John 15:14, Jesus says, \u201cyou are my friends if you do what I command you.\u201d God calls Abraham \u201cmy friend\u201d in Isa 41:8. The Hebrew word translated \u201cmy friend\u201d is the singular form of the word translated \u201cthose who love me\u201d in the second commandment. Thus John 15:14 is saying essentially the same thing as the verses cited above.
\nThe second commandment also speaks of those who hate God: \u201cI, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.\u201d Jesus also speaks in the upper room of those who hate him: \u201cIf the world hates you, know that it has hated me before you.\u201d \u201cHe who hates me, hates my Father also.\u2026 Now they have both seen and hated me and my Father as well. But this is in order that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their law, \u2018They hated me without cause\u2019 \u201d (John 15:18, 23\u201325).
\nShould these words be interpreted along the same lines as those in which Jesus speaks of love for him? That is, is this divine speech? One might say that by quoting from Ps 35:19 (= 69:4), Jesus is speaking of hatred of one human by another, like that experienced by David. Yet there is another potential OT background for these words, where God is speaking. In John 15:24, Jesus says, \u201cIf I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin.\u201d This sounds very much like Exod 34:10, where the LORD says, \u201cBehold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will do miracles which have not been done in all the earth.\u201d Just three verses earlier, the LORD quotes partially from the second commandment (20:5), ending with \u201cvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generation.\u201d The verse finishes with the words (spoken, according to the Targums, by the Word from Mt. Sinai) \u201cof those who hate me.\u201d Read in the light of the Targums, then, Jesus speaks the words, \u201cthe world \u2026 has hated me,\u201d as both God and man, as the lawgiver who gave the law on Mt. Sinai and a man like David who experienced hatred from other men who forsook the law. The targumic Word has become flesh.<\/p>\n
The Obedience of the Son<\/p>\n
As the Son through whom the law was given said that Israelites would show their love for him by keeping his commandments, he, too, when he took on human flesh, must show his love for the Father by keeping his commandments. In John 14:31, Jesus expresses this truth by saying, \u201cThat the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.\u201d
\nIsaiah prophesied the obedience of the Servant of the LORD in submitting to beating and humiliation in Isa 50:5\u20136. Yet Christ\u2019s obedience did not consist of arranging for someone to mistreat him. Rather, it consisted of following the law of Moses, loving the church as the Father loved him, and telling the truth as God\u2019s representative. This obedience itself led to enmity and hatred, from which he did not shrink back. \u201cThe world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil\u201d (John 7:7).
\nJesus did not go around trying to get himself killed. Before his hour came, in fact, he hid himself or avoided his persecutors who wanted to kill him (e.g., John 8:59). He obeyed the command to go to the cross by going to a certain place (Gethsemane), at a certain time (after the last supper), and submitting to arrest and all that followed. The divine lawgiver became the divine law keeper, an example for his people of showing love for God by keeping his commandments.
\nThese comparisons of Jesus\u2019 statements in the upper room with passages from the OT have shown that there is no conflict between the requirements of the OT law and the NT ideal of Christlikeness. When the LORD gave Israel the command to \u201clove others as I have loved you,\u201d moral likeness to God was the basis for that law, as it was for all of the other moral laws. Reading Jesus\u2019 upper room discourse in the light of the Targums shows that the OT laws were given to Israel through the Word of God\u2014the Son. Therefore, moral likeness to the Son was the basis for the ethical laws of Moses. To suggest that this basis for NT ethical conduct is a change from the OT period is therefore to overlook the implications of Christ\u2019s deity.<\/p>\n
The Blessings and Curses<\/p>\n
A significant portion of the law consists of promises of blessing for obedience and warnings of curses for disobedience. The major passages of blessings and curses in the law are Lev 26 and Deut 28, and we can also see some similarities between these passages and the upper room discourse.
\nIn John 13:17, Jesus gives a general promise of blessing for obedience: \u201cIf you know these things, blessed [or happy] are you if you do them.\u201d This may be compared to the general promise of blessing in Deut 28:2, \u201cAll these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you listen to the voice of the LORD your God,\u201d which Tg. Neof. renders \u201c\u2026 if you diligently listen to the voice of the Word of the LORD your God\u201d and Tgs. Ps.-J. and Onq. render \u201c\u2026 if you receive the Word of the LORD your God.\u201d
\nIn John 14:23, Jesus promises, \u201cIf anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our dwelling with him.\u201d This promise contains parallels to Lev 26:11\u201312, which we noted in ch. 2, because of its rendering in the Targums:<\/p>\n
MT
\nTargums
\nI will make my dwelling among you
\nTg. Neof.: I will make the glory of my Shekinah dwell among you (similarly Tg. Ps.-J.)
\nand my soul
\nTgs. Onq. and Ps.-J.: my Word
\nwill not reject you.
\nI will also walk among you
\nTg. Neof.: my Word will go among you
\nTg. Ps.-J.: I will make the glory of my Shekinah dwell among you (similarly Tg. Neof. [mg.])
\nand be your God
\nTgs. Neof. and Ps.-J.: my Word will be to you a redeeming God
\nand you shall be my people.<\/p>\n
In John 14:21, 23; 15:10, Jesus promises the disciples that if they keep his word, they will be loved by the Father and the Son. This promise can be compared to Deut 7:12\u201313, where Moses says that if the Israelites obey the LORD, \u201che will love you and bless you and multiply you,\u201d and Tg. Ps.-J. Lev 26:44, \u201cI will love them in my Word\u201d (MT: \u201cI will not reject them\u201d). In John 14:27; 16:33, Jesus promises the blessing of peace, which reminds us of Lev 26:6, \u201cI will grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down with no one making you tremble.\u201d In John 15:5, Jesus promises the blessing of fruitfulness, just as Lev 26:9 says \u201cI will make you fruitful and multiply you.\u201d
\nAnother way the theme of blessings and curses is brought out by Jesus is in his use of the vine and branches analogy and its basis in (primarily) Ps 80, in which Israel is the vine transplanted from Egypt into the promised land. There the vine initially prospered and filled the land but has since been despoiled by passersby and wild beasts, who came through its broken walls (vv. 12\u201313), and burned it with fire so that the people perish (v. 16). God does not answer their prayers (v. 4); they are fed the bread of tears (v. 5) and scorned by their neighbors (v. 6). In short, Israel has experienced the covenant curses.
\nJesus uses the same figure to speak of the blessings and curses. In Ps 80, the vine is ruined, but the success of Jesus as vine is not in doubt: \u201cI am he, the true vine\u201d (John 15:1). The true vine stands in contrast to fallible and\/or false predecessors such as Zedekiah, the false vine of the parable of Ezek 17. However, the success of the branches is in doubt. The interpretation of the branches as disciples in Tg. Ps. 80:11 may have been current as Jesus spoke, and if so the figure would be familiar to the disciples. If the disciples are obedient, they will bear much fruit (John 15:5) and their prayers will be answered, unlike the situation of Ps 80:4 (cf. John 15:7; 16:23\u201324). As with the targumic vine (along with its branches) in Ps 80, if they are not obedient, they will be burned up (v. 6).
\nDespite the many OT parallels, there is something new about the blessings and curses in the upper room discourse. Jesus warns the disciples that even though they are blessed by doing his will and bearing fruit, they may be killed precisely because of their obedience (John 15:21; 16:2\u20133). This is important since if one defines blessings and curses only according to the terminology of the law, one might rather conclude that those killed for the sake of Christ are cursed. Of course, the believer\u2019s example in this matter is Jesus himself, put to death as a notorious criminal, but endlessly blessed:<\/p>\n
May his name endure forever,
\nMay his name increase as long as the sun shines.
\nLet men bless themselves in him,
\nLet all nations call him blessed. (Ps 72:17)<\/p>\n
The Command to Depart<\/p>\n
John is the only Gospel writer to report that the disciples left the upper room at the command of Jesus (John 14:31). John might have mentioned this simply as a way of highlighting the obedience of Jesus to the Father, as noted above. But he may also have wanted to draw the attention of his followers to another parallel between his teaching in the upper room and Mt. Sinai. We have already seen that the Lord\u2019s promise of going to prepare a place for the disciples parallels the LORD going before Israel on a three-day journey from Mt. Sinai (Num 10). In highlighting the command to depart, John may be completing the picture.
\nNumbers 10:13 says that Israel \u201cmoved out for the first time according to the mouth of the LORD through the hand of Moses.\u201d The Targums say that they departed according to \u201cthe Word of the LORD\u201d (Tgs. Onq. and Ps.-J.) or \u201cthe decree of the Word (of the LORD)\u201d (Tg. Neof.). The command to depart is recalled by Moses in Deut 1:6, and here the Targums do not ascribe the command to the Word of the LORD. However, one could infer from the Pal. Tgs. Num 7:89 that this command was communicated to Moses by the Word, speaking to him from the holy of holies. Numbers 9:18\u201323 also makes the point several times that the Israelites set out and camped throughout the wilderness period \u201caccording to the mouth of the LORD\u201d (vv. 18, 20, 23), which the Targums render, as in Num 10:13, \u201caccording to the Word of the LORD\u201d or \u201caccording to the decree of the Word of the LORD.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE OBEDIENCE OF JESUS AT THE FEASTS<\/p>\n
Besides details such as the time and place of the three annual feasts, the sacrifices to be offered, and the like, Deut 16 prescribes certain duties that the Israelites are to carry out. Of primary importance was the duty to remember their deliverance from Egypt, mentioned in connection with the feasts of Passover\/Unleavened Bread (v. 3b) and Pentecost (v. 12). We may presume that this duty was intended to be part of the Feast of Booths as well, though it is not specifically mentioned; if nothing else, says Deut 16:3, they should remember every day of their lives their deliverance from Egypt. In light of this, the statement by Jesus\u2019 critics in John 8:33, \u201cWe have never been enslaved to anyone,\u201d implies that they had failed in their duty to be thankful to God for their redemption.
\nJesus\u2019 status as the Word of the LORD raises the question as to whether he was obligated to keep this command of remembrance. The OT redemption from Egypt was, after all, accomplished through him, and he came to the feasts as the redeemer. Malachi had prophesied, \u201cThe Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple\u201d (3:1), and John seems to indicate that this prophesy was fulfilled at the Feast of Booths (John 7\u20138). John 7:11 says that the Jews were seeking him at the feast, and then in v. 14 he suddenly appears in the temple in the middle of the feast. He comes to the feast as redeemer, not as one needing to remember redemption. His saying, \u201cI am he, the light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life\u201d (8:12) may serve as a reminder that Israel had followed the Word of the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud out of Egypt, according to Tg. Neof. and Frg. Tg. P Exod 13:21\u201322. In John 8:32\u201336, Jesus offers redemption from slavery to sin, a greater deliverance than that from Egypt, since one can be free from Egypt, but not be \u201cfree indeed\u201d (v. 36). How should Israel have responded to their redemption? They should have been thankful. Yet as previously noted, John 8:33 indicates that they are not thankful. Indeed, they seek to kill the redeemer at the feast (7:19, 25; 8:59)!
\nDeuteronomy 16 also obligates the Israelites to rejoice at the feasts. While this duty is mentioned specifically for only two of the three feasts (Pentecost, v. 11; Booths, vv. 14\u201315), it is again safe to presume that this was an obligation for all three. Further, the celebrant was not to think only of himself and his family when rejoicing; he was to ensure that all could rejoice, including those most likely to be poor and unable to provide for the festivities\u2014servants, orphans, widows, sojourners, and Levites.
\nJohn highlights the obedience of Jesus to this obligation of rejoicing at the Feast of the Passover\/Unleavened Bread, his last feast, during which he was crucified and rose again. John 13:29 says that the disciples thought that Jesus had sent Judas out to buy provisions for the feast or to give something to the poor. That the disciples would think this shows that it was the practice of Jesus to give to the poor. This general obligation of the Israelite is especially important at the feasts so that the poor might rejoice along with everyone else.
\nPsalm 41:1 pronounces a blessing on the one who considers the poor (or the helpless): the LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble, protect him, and keep him alive. This blessing would apply to Jesus, as one who considered the poor. Jesus has just quoted from this psalm (John 13:18), saying that he would be betrayed as David was. Would the psalm\u2019s promise of being kept alive be fulfilled for him? As some commentators have noted, the Hebrew, \u201cyou will keep him alive\u201d (v. 2), can also mean \u201cyou will make him alive,\u201d and so yes, the promise was fulfilled, in resurrection.
\nThe disciples, as itinerant ministers, would be like the Levites whom the Israelites were to provide for so that they too could rejoice in the feast. Because Jesus was going to die, they would instead be filled with sorrow. Nevertheless, Jesus assures them that he will not leave them as orphans (John 14:18; orphans, again, are to be Israel\u2019s special concern during the feasts); their sorrow will be turned to joy (16:20\u201322). But Jesus also promises joy beyond the feast days, joy that comes from keeping his commandments and abiding in his love, joy that comes from answered prayer (15:10\u201311; 16:24). \u201cThat your joy may be made full\u201d (cf. 15:11; 16:24) sounds very much like Deut 16:15, \u201cthat you may be altogether joyful.\u201d
\nWidows were also singled out for special concern at the feasts, and in John 19:26\u201327 we see Jesus caring for his mother by appointing someone to care for her, which may indicate that she was a widow. If her husband Joseph were in fact deceased, then a widow losing her oldest son during the feast would have been a special cause of sorrow for Mary. Jesus provides for her, asking the \u201cbeloved disciple\u201d to serve as her son. Like the sorrow of the disciples, her sorrow too will be turned to joy during the feast.
\nIn providing for Mary, Jesus is also keeping the fifth commandment. As Paul says, this is the first commandment with a promise, and the promise is long life upon the land. Even while dying, Jesus paradoxically fulfills the command that promises long life for those who keep it. The same paradox exists in the fourth Servant Song, Isa 52:13\u201353:12. The passage makes it clear that the servant would suffer to the point of death: \u201che was cut off out of the land of the living\u201d (53:8); his grave would be assigned to be with wicked men, yet he would be with a rich man in his death (v. 9). Yet, despite his suffering, \u201che will prolong his days\u201d (the reward for keeping the fifth commandment, and the law in general). The promise is fulfilled in the resurrection.
\nThe law was given through the Son in OT times, and from the time he left his Father\u2019s house until the time he returned to the Father, Jesus fulfilled the role of a servant, always obeying the law, always doing the will of the Father as his representative, and, when the appointed hour had come, surrendering himself to the powers of darkness to make his obedience complete for the salvation of his people.<\/p>\n
CONCLUSIONS<\/p>\n
Again we have seen that Jesus, as he is presented as the lawgiver in the fourth Gospel, has both divine (YHWH) and human (Moses) parallels to the OT. The divine parallels involve OT texts wherein the divine Word figures prominently in the corresponding Targums. John portrays Jesus as the one through whom the OT law was given on Mt. Sinai and in the holy of holies. He remains the divine lawgiver, but, having become flesh, he is also a human lawgiver, as well as the perfect law keeper, all to provide salvation and set an example for his followers.<\/p>\n
8<\/p>\n
Jesus as the One in Whom We Must Believe<\/p>\n
INTRODUCTION<\/p>\n
We have seen in previous chapters that John portrays Jesus Christ in various divine roles (the one who comes down from heaven to save his people by warfare, to be their glorious bridegroom, to be their lawgiver, and to dwell among them and be their God), that Jesus\u2019 performance of these roles reveals the name of God, and that in the work of Christ there is continuity with the works of God throughout the OT, as well as change due to the incarnation. \u201cThe Word became flesh and dwelt among us\u201d summarizes this message. This revelation calls for a response of faith, and in this chapter we examine language in John that speaks either of those who believed in Jesus or of the need to believe in Jesus in order to have life. We will also look at similar language of response in the OT and as it is developed in the interpretations of the OT found in the Targums. Again we will see that there is continuity between the OT and the Gospel of John on the theme of believing in YHWH, as well as change that results from the fact that the Word of God has become flesh.<\/p>\n
BELIEVING IN JESUS THE SON OF MAN<\/p>\n
In the OT, resting one\u2019s faith on humans is not generally commended; more often it is condemned (e.g., Jer 17:5). Sometimes, however, faith in humans, specifically God\u2019s spokespersons the prophets, is viewed positively. This raises the question whether OT passages that commend faith in the prophets or passages that focus on faith in the LORD are more relevant to John\u2019s language about trusting in Jesus. In keeping with John\u2019s overriding theme that \u201cthe Word became flesh,\u201d we shall see that the answer is that both are relevant.<\/p>\n
Faith in Moses and the Prophets (Exod 14:31; 19:3; 2 Chr 20:20)<\/p>\n
Moses is singled out as a man in whom Israel should believe. After crossing through the Red Sea, \u201cthe people believed in the LORD, and in Moses his servant\u201d (Exod 14:31). On Mount Sinai the LORD says to Moses, \u201cI will come to you in a thick cloud, that the people might hear when I speak with you, and may also believe in you forever\u201d (Exod 19:3). Clearly, believing in Moses is viewed positively and is grounded in the fact that Moses is a faithful spokesperson for the LORD. Similarly, Jehoshaphat urges the people of Judah, \u201cBelieve in the LORD your God, and believe in his prophets,\u201d using wording much like Exod 14:31 and addressing a similar situation (2 Chr 20:20; compare v. 17 with Exod 14:13\u201314).
\nJohn 14:1 is closely analogous to Exod 14:31, substituting Jesus as servant of God for Moses, as can be seen from the following comparison:<\/p>\n
Exod 14:31
\nJohn 14:1
\nThe people \u2026 believed in the LORD and in Moses his servant.
\nBelieve in God, believe also in me (a servant like Moses).<\/p>\n
John 5:46 points in the same direction: \u201cIf you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.\u201d That is, if Jesus\u2019 hearers believed in Moses the spokesperson for God, they should believe in Jesus, another spokesperson for God. After all, Moses promised in Deut 18:15\u201318 that God would raise up prophets like Moses in the future to speak to the people. However, passages like John 9:35, \u201cDo you believe in the Son of Man?\u201d that are followed by profession of faith and worship (v. 38), clearly contrast with OT expressions of faith in Moses, which are subordinated to faith in the God of Moses.<\/p>\n
Faith in the Divine Word<\/p>\n
John 14:1; Num 10:33; Deut 1:32\u201333<\/p>\n
We saw in our examination of John 14:2 in ch. 5 that the Lord\u2019s language, \u201cI go to prepare a place for you,\u201d depends on Num 10:33, where the Targums say \u201cprepare\u201d instead of \u201csearch out\u201d a resting place. Jesus\u2019 going to the cross and returning in the resurrection is analogous to Israel\u2019s three-day journey on their initial departure from Mt. Sinai, with the LORD going before them to defeat their enemies and returning to dwell among them. Specifically, Jesus\u2019s death and victorious return answers the petition of Moses as rendered in the Targums that the Word of the LORD would rise up and scatter the enemies of God\u2019s people, turn away his wrath, and return to dwell among them and bless them (Pal. Tgs. Num 10:35\u201336). In Deut 1:32\u201336, Moses reminds Israel of how the previous generation refused to enter the promised land through unbelief, borrowing language from Num 10:33 and mentioning Caleb as an exception. Comparing this passage in Tg. Neof. with John 14, in light of John\u2019s designation of Jesus as the divine Word, is most suggestive:<\/p>\n
MT
\nTg. Neof.
\nJohn 14:1\u20133
\n32Yet in this matter you were not believing in the LORD your God, 33who goes before you on the way, to seek out a place for you to camp.\u2026 36Caleb \u2026 has followed the LORD fully.
\nYet in this matter you were not believing in the name of the Word of the LORD your God, who led before you on the way to prepare a place for your encampment.\u2026 Caleb \u2026 has followed the Word of the LORD completely.
\nLet not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father\u2019s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.<\/p>\n
Thus while John 14:1 can be taken along the lines of Exod 14:31 to mean \u201cBelieve in God and in me his servant and representative,\u201d it can also be taken along the lines of Tg. Neof. Deut 1:32 to mean \u201cBelieve in me, the divine Word.\u201d Again we recall that John\u2019s Prologue speaks of \u201cthose who believed in his (the Word\u2019s) name\u201d (John 1:12). But since John has told us \u201cthe Word became flesh,\u201d we do not have to choose between these two options; both are true. Jesus is warning the disciples implicitly not to be like the wilderness generation; instead, they should be like Caleb, who, long before them, followed the invisible Word fully by obeying his word given through the human representative, Moses.<\/p>\n
John 5:46; Exod 14:31<\/p>\n
Likewise, as we saw in ch. 7, the Targums of Exod 14:31 suggest another way of reading John 5:46:<\/p>\n
Pal. Tgs. Exod 14:31
\nJohn 5:46
\nThe people \u2026 believed in the name of the Word of the LORD and in the prophecy of his servant Moses.
\nIf you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.<\/p>\n
Again, John\u2019s designation of Jesus as the divine Word helps us make the proper connection. Two further factors of which we took note in ch. 7 point to this interpretation: (1) If we follow the emphasis of the Greek text, a better translation of John 5:46 would be, \u201cIf you believed Moses, you would believe me, for it was about me that he wrote. This is most naturally understood, \u201cMoses was my spokesperson\u201d (similarly John 12:41: Isaiah \u201cspoke of him,\u201d i.e., of Christ, referring to Isa 6). Moses wrote, for example, about the LORD who was \u201cfull of grace and truth\u201d (see ch. 2 above), who came down from heaven to reveal his name (chs. 3 and 4), to save his people (ch. 5), to take them as his bride (ch. 6), to give them his law (ch. 7), and to be their God. (2) Jesus may have been alluding to a rabbinical saying on Exod 14:31 (cited above), \u201cIf they believed Moses, a fortiori (they believed the Lord \u2026).\u201d<\/p>\n
John 12:37; 2:11, 23; Num 14:11, 22<\/p>\n
As we have noted several times, the wording of John 12:37 seems to be influenced by Num 14:11, and again the reference to the divine Word in the Targums of this verse is suggestive:<\/p>\n
John 12:37
\nNum 14:11 (MT)
\nTgs. Ps.-J. and Onq.
\nThough he had performed so many signs before them, they were not believing in him.
\nHow long will they not believe in me, despite all the signs which I have done in their midst?
\nHow long will they not believe in my Word, despite all the miracles which I have worked among them? (Cf. Tg. Neof.: How long will they not believe in the name of my Word?)<\/p>\n
Such a comparison would serve to draw a parallel between the generation that rejected Jesus and the generation that died in the wilderness: \u201cthis evil generation\u201d (Deut 1:35); \u201cthis evil congregation which is gathered together against me\u201d (Num 14:35). Likewise, the threat, \u201cyou will die in your sins\u201d (John 8:24), while reminiscent of similar warnings in Ezek 3:18\u201320; 33:8, 9, 18, should also remind us of the wilderness generation, as the daughters of Zelophehad, presenting their petition before Moses, said that their father had not participated in the rebellion of Korah, but \u201che died in his own sin\u201d (Num 27:3). That is, he was like the rest of the generation that \u201cdid not believe in the LORD\u201d (or, according to the Targums, \u201c[the name of] his Word\u201d) and died for this unbelief. The way John describes those who believed in Jesus inverts the way Num 14:22 and 14:11 describe the wilderness generation, speaking of their faith instead of their unbelief:<\/p>\n
Num 14:22
\nTgs. Num 14:11
\nJohn 2:11, 23
\nSurely, all the men who have seen my glory and my signs which I have done in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tested me these ten times and have not listened to my voice (Tgs. Ps.-J. and Onq.: have not received my Word), shall by no means see the land.
\nHow long will they not believe in [the name of] my Word?
\nThis beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him.\u2026 Many believed in his name, observing his signs which he was doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis glory\u201d and \u201chis signs\u201d seem naturally related to \u201cmy glory and my signs\u201d of Num 14:22, since there is no scriptural reference to the glory of Moses being manifested in the miracles of the exodus and wilderness. The \u201cbeginning of signs\u201d\u2014turning water into wine\u2014also points to the exodus miracles, which began with the waters of the Nile being turned to blood (Exod 7:17\u201319). Another possible parallel is that the Nile waters were used for purification and could be stored in vessels in a temple for that purpose. The two miracles form a contrast in that one was a disaster for Egyptians, the other a blessing for Israelites. In the same way, the first plague in Egypt, which killed the fish in the Nile (Exod 7:18, 21), can be contrasted to the last sign mentioned by John, the miraculous catch of fish (John 21:5\u20136).
\nThe other miracles of Jesus in John may likewise also be related to \u201cmy signs which I have done in Egypt and in the wilderness.\u201d The feeding of the five thousand is like the miraculous feeding of the Israelites in the wilderness (6:11). The healing miracles and the resurrection of Lazarus can be understood in light of the LORD\u2019s promise in Exod 15:26: \u201cIf you diligently listen to the voice of the LORD (Tgs. Onq. and Ps.-J.: \u201creceive the Word of the LORD\u201d; Tg. Neof.: \u201clisten to the Word of the LORD\u201d) \u2026 all the afflictions which I put upon the Egyptians I will not put upon you, for I, the LORD, am your healer\u201d (Tg. Neof. [mg. 1] and Frg. Tgs. P, V: \u201cwho by my Word heals you\u201d; Tg. Neof. [mg. 2]: \u201cwho heals by the Word of the LORD\u201d). Jesus\u2019 walking on the water is like the LORD leading the Israelites through the Red Sea, as we shall see below. The healing of the man born blind brought this man out of perpetual darkness; the ninth plague brought darkness upon the Egyptians (Exod 10:23; they did not see one another) while the Israelites experienced light. Even the crucifixion of Jesus, on Passover Eve, can be compared to the tenth plague, since in it he destroyed the works of the devil by enduring the fate of the Egyptian firstborn (see ch. 5).
\nTwo additional parallels between the two generations may have come to mind. First, Moses\u2019 generation perished over a period of forty years, and, more specifically, they fought after being warned not to fight since they would be defeated (Num 14:40\u201342). According to all the Targums of this passage, Moses warned them that they would be defeated because the LORD\u2019s Shekinah was not among them, and the Word of the LORD would not be their helper. Second, we note that the Talmud preserves a tradition that certain miracles interpreted as indicating the presence of the Shekinah in Israel ceased forty years prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, and perhaps that tradition was already current when John wrote.<\/p>\n
John 2:23\u201325; Gen 40:23; Jer 17:5, 7, 10; Ps 118:8\u20139<\/p>\n
As noted above, John 2:23 speaks about those who believed in Jesus at the Passover feast in a manner that contrasts with Israel\u2019s unbelief in the LORD described in Num 14:11, 22. The appropriateness of such faith in the man Jesus could be questioned on the basis of Jer 17:5, which says, \u201cCursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes flesh his strength,\u201d in contrast with \u201cthe man who trusts in the LORD, and whose trust is the LORD,\u201d who is blessed (v. 7), and Ps 118:8\u20139, which says that it is better to trust in the LORD than to trust in men, even princes. A look at the Targum renderings of these passages suggests that John may have met such objections in part by identifying Jesus as the divine Word. In the case of Jer 17:5, 7, we are most interested in a quotation of these verses in the Pal. Tgs. Gen 40:23, where there is an attempt to explain why Joseph had to remain in prison two more years after asking the cupbearer to remember him to Pharaoh:<\/p>\n
Joseph forsook the grace which is from above and the grace which is from below and the grace which accompanied him from his father\u2019s house, and he trusted in the chief cup bearer, in flesh that passes, in flesh that tastes the cup of death. And he did not remember the Scripture, for it is written in the book of the law of the LORD, which is like the Book of the Wars, \u201cCursed is the son of man who trusts in flesh and who places his trust in flesh. In saying that Jesus did not entrust himself to any person (John 2:24), John is telling us that Jesus himself was obedient to Jer 17:5. In identifying Jesus as the Word who became flesh, John also answers the objection that trusting in Jesus is trusting in flesh that passed away and tasted the cup of death, and that the person (son of man) who does so brings a curse upon himself or herself. To the contrary, those who trust in Jesus are blessed, not cursed, for they are trusting in the name of the Word of the LORD (John 1:12), making the divine Word their trust, who, though he tasted the cup of death, did not pass away but abides forever. John 3:14, 18; Num 21:8\u20139<\/p>\n In John 3:14, Jesus says to Nicodemus that he will be lifted up like the bronze snake in the wilderness, so that those who believe in him may have eternal life. He goes on to say that those who do not believe are condemned already, since they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. Numbers 21:5, \u201cThe people spoke against God and against Moses,\u201d is a reversal of Exod 14:31, when they believed in the LORD and in Moses. Numbers 21:8\u20139 does not mention any requirement of faith on the part of the Israelites who looked to the snake in order to live, and Tg. Ps.-J. apparently tried to make up for this perceived lack by adding that in order to live, the one who was bitten must direct his heart toward the name of the Word of the LORD. Based on this Targum reading, some scholars have suggested the possibility that \u201cthe name of the only Son of God\u201d in v. 18 is the same as \u201cthe name of the Word of the LORD,\u201d that is, the Tetragrammaton. That the name of the Son of God is the Tetragrammaton rather than a new name (i.e., Jesus) would explain why the one who does not believe in this name \u201cis condemned already.\u201d In the OT, Israelites were not required to believe in the name Jesus, but rather in the name YHWH, which is here called \u201cthe name of the only Son of God.\u201d This is further supported by John 17:11\u201312, where Jesus says that the Father has given him his name (see ch. 3).<\/p>\n John 6:20; 8:24, 28; 13:19; Isa 43:10<\/p>\n In Isa 43:10, the LORD summons Israel as witness to the fact that he alone (in contrast to the idols) foretells the future, \u201cSo that you might know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, and there will be none after me.\u201d As noted in ch. 3, \u201cI am he\u201d is \u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0, which is rendered idiomatically in the LXX as \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9. The Aramaic is \u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b8\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0. Consequently, when Jesus says \u1f10\u03b3\u03c9 \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9, the possibility exists that these Greek words represent an originally spoken Aramaic \u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b8\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0. When the language of Jesus alludes to MT language where God says \u201cI am he\u201d and the LXX has \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9, it is commonly accepted that we should understand \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 as the divine \u201cI am he.\u201d In the next chapter, I will argue that all the \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings of Jesus should be so understood and translated, but for now I will note those which seem to depend on Isa 43:10. Isa 43:10 The parallel to Isa 43:10 is slightly closer in the LXX: \u201cSo that you may know and believe and understand that I am he.\u201d COMING TO JESUS IN ORDER TO HAVE LIFE (JOHN 5:40; 6:45; 7:37; ISA 55:1\u20133)<\/p>\n Believing in Jesus and coming to him are essentially the same. This fact is seen in the parallelism within John 6:35, \u201cHe who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst,\u201d as well as in John 7:37\u201338, \u201cLet him come to me \u2026 he who believes in me.\u201d While language about believing in Jesus is found throughout the Gospel, the idea of coming to him is found in John 5:40 and 7:37 and six times in the bread of life discourse (6:35, 37 [2x], 44, 45, 65). We have already noted in ch. 4 the dependence of John 5:40 and 7:37 on Isa 55:1\u20133:<\/p>\n John 5:39\u201340 This dependence makes it clear that Jesus\u2019 statement that \u201cthe Scriptures \u2026 testify about me\u201d does not refer primarily to a relatively few messianic prophecies scattered throughout the OT, but should be taken in the same way as \u201cit was about me that Moses wrote\u201d a few verses later (v. 46). Hanson notes: \u201cThus we are not to seek for prophecies about the Messiah in the Pentateuch, where they are notoriously difficult to find.\u201d The OT Scriptures testify primarily about the person and work of YHWH, the God of Israel. \u201cCome to me\u201d is thus divine speech. SEEKING JESUS BUT NOT FINDING HIM<\/p>\n John 7:34, 36; 8:21<\/p>\n Hosea 3:4\u20135 says that in the last days, after many days without king or prince, sacrifice, sacred pillar, ephod, or household idols, \u201cthe sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king.\u201d The Targum interprets David as \u201cMessiah, son of David.\u201d When Jesus speaks about the Jews seeking him, it may simply reflect the idea that they will seek him, the (human) Messiah, just as Prov 29:26 says that many seek the face of a ruler. On the other hand, there is good reason to relate such words of Jesus to the OT idea that people must seek the LORD with a whole heart; that is, it is divine speech. John 12:26<\/p>\n Further corroboration for the theme of a divine withdrawal from Israel can be found in John 12:26: \u201cIf any one serves me, let him follow me; where I am, there shall my servant also be.\u201d Of course, \u201cwhere I am\u201d is going to be in heaven, at the right hand of the Father (7:34: \u201cI go to him who sent me\u201d). But Jesus is obviously not telling his servants they must be in heaven; we are to serve him in the world. Jesus is going to be in heaven, but also \u201coutside the camp\u201d (Heb 13:13). Again we note that Exodus Rabbah 45.3 says that Moses set up the tent of meeting outside the camp because God had withdrawn his Shekinah from the camp in response to the sin of the golden calf, and that Moses the servant must regard as excommunicated those whom his Master had excommunicated. Moses, the servant, followed his Master outside the camp when God withdrew his Shekinah from Israel\u2019s midst, under the principle \u201cWhere I am, there shall my servant also be,\u201d a principle Jesus repeats as he is preparing to again withdraw his presence from Israel, this time for a sin greater than that of worshiping the golden calf. It was outside the camp, at the tent of meeting which Moses set up, that the Israelites went to seek the LORD (Exod 33:7). Here \u201cthe Word of the LORD spoke to Moses\u201d (Tg. Ps.-J. Exod 33:9 and Tg. Neof. [mg.] Exod 33:11) and Moses saw the Word (Dibbura) of the glory of God\u2019s Shekinah (Tg. Neof. and Frg. Tgs. P, V Exod 33:23). At this place outside the camp, says Tg. Ps.-J. Exod 33:11, \u201cMoses heard the voice of the Word [Dibbura].\u201d John 13:33<\/p>\n In John 13:33, Jesus repeats some of his words in 7:34 to the disciples: \u201cLittle children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, \u2018Where I am going, you cannot come.\u2019 \u201d Notice that he does not say, \u201cYou will seek me, and you will not find me.\u201d Moreover, he goes on to say, \u201cWhere I go, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow later\u201d (v. 36). Again, if we understand these words as divine speech, Jesus is saying that the disciples will seek the LORD. Jesus is going outside the camp, and the disciples will be like those who sought the LORD outside the camp after the incident of the golden calf (Exod 33:7), where, according to the Pal. Tgs., the divine Word spoke to Moses. They cannot go there now, as Jesus is going to the cross to do battle alone and to return in resurrection, but later they too will bear his reproach outside the camp (Heb 13:13). FOLLOWING JESUS<\/p>\n Language about following Jesus is also susceptible to interpretations from two perspectives, human and divine, and again we find that the two come together in the fact that the Word became flesh. When Jesus says at the beginning of his ministry, \u201cFollow me\u201d (Matt 4:19; Mark 1:17; 2:14; Luke 5:27; John 1:43), his words are completely understandable from a human perspective; the disciples would literally follow Jesus around as others might follow another rabbi to learn from him. This charge is repeated to Peter, shortly before Jesus\u2019 ascension, in John 21:19\u201322, in keeping with the idea that the disciples must continue to follow Jesus (now not literally) even after he has ascended; they must follow his example and his teaching, and they must follow him to a similar destination of persecution.<\/p>\n John 8:12<\/p>\n Other passages, however, may be related to OT language about following the God of Israel that in some Targums has become language about following the divine Word. On the last day of the Feast of Booths, Jesus says, \u201cI am he [\u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9], the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life\u201d (John 8:12). \u201cLight of the world\u201d is not necessarily a divine designation, as Matt 5:14 makes clear (the disciples are the light of the world). The designation could simply be a claim to be the Messiah, the Servant of the LORD who is \u201ca light to the nations\u201d (Isa 42:6; 49:6). When the claim is repeated in John 9:5, the allusion to Isa 42:6\u20137 is hard to miss:<\/p>\n Isa 42:6\u20137 The saying in John 8:12 could also point to the Messiah of prophecy, as it has been noted that it could be an ironic response to the objection in 7:52, \u201cSearch and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee,\u201d drawing the attention of the listeners to the prophecy of a great light coming out of Galilee (Isa 9:2, connected to Christ\u2019s coming in Galilee in Matt 4:16). But John 8:12 has another context and is worded differently from 9:5. In 9:5, \u201cI am\u201d is simply \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9, while 8:12 has \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9, which, again, could reflect Aramaic \u05d0\u05e0\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0, \u201cI am he,\u201d and could be meant to echo the divine \u201cI am he\u201d of the OT. John 12:26; 13:36<\/p>\n We have already discussed John 12:26 and 13:36 and their allusions to the OT pattern of Moses following the LORD outside the camp. We also noted above that in Tg. Neof. Deut 1:36 the LORD says \u201cCaleb followed my Word fully\u201d and thus did not die in his sins but entered the promised land (cf. Tg. Neof. Num 14:24). The text in Num 32:11 that describes the generation that died in the wilderness as not following the LORD was accidentally omitted in Tg. Neof., but the following verse describes Joshua and Caleb as following the Word of the LORD fully. Targum Neofiti Deut 7:4 forbids intermarriage with the native peoples of the promised land because \u201cthey would lead your sons away from following [lit.: from after] my Word.\u201d In Tg. Neof. Deut 31:27, Moses says, \u201cBehold, while I am still alive with you today, you have rebelled from following [lit.: have been rebellious after] the Word of the LORD; how much more, then, after my death?\u201d In the ministry of Jesus, when the Word became flesh, we find out the answer to this question: the leaders of Israel would put him to death, just as they planned to do at various times to those who followed the LORD fully in the days of Moses (Num 14:10, etc.).<\/p>\n John 10:27<\/p>\n \u201cMy sheep hear my voice, and they follow me\u201d (John 10:27). Here again we could relate these words to both a human and a divine OT precedent. Though all the LORD\u2019s people are his sheep (e.g., Ps 78:52), their human leaders are often called shepherds. God\u2019s promise, made through Ezekiel, to \u201cset over them one shepherd\u201d and that \u201cmy servant David himself will tend them, and be their shepherd\u201d (Ezek 34:23), can be naturally understood as fulfilled in Jesus\u2019 claim, \u201cI am the good shepherd\u201d (John 10:11, 14). The contrast that Jesus makes between himself and hirelings also fits the theme of Ezek 34 with its extensive condemnation of self-seeking shepherds. John 10:27\u201328 Based on the parallels above, it seems likely that Jesus has taken the idea of \u201csheep of his hand\u201d and of those sheep hearing his voice from Ps 95 and used them as a bridge to the MT of Deut 32:39, \u201cno one \u2026 can snatch away from my hand\u201d and to the inference in Tg. Neof. of resurrection from the MT \u201cI give life\u201d or \u201cI make alive.\u201d \u201cSnatch away\u201d is the literal meaning of the Hebrew verb \u05d4\u05b4\u05e6\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dc, more often translated \u201cdelivered.\u201d The Aramaic verb used to translate \u05d4\u05b4\u05e6\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dc does not have this literal meaning. Thus the words of Jesus relate to both the Hebrew (\u201csnatch away\u201d) and the Aramaic (the interpretation of \u201cgive life\u201d as referring to resurrection) of Deut 32:39. It seems reasonable to conclude, then, that the \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 of John 10:11, 14 is, as in Deut 32:39, the divine I am he, especially when Tg. Neof. and Frg. Tg. V of this verse say \u201cI, in my Word, am he.\u201d<\/p>\n FORGIVENESS AND THE DIVINE WORD<\/p>\n The theme of Jesus as forgiver of sins is not as overt in John as in the Synoptics. So our focus will be on a single verse, John 8:24: \u201cTherefore I said to you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.\u201d We have noted the allusion to the idea in Num 27:3 that those who died in the wilderness died in their sin, like Zelophahad. The alternative to dying in one\u2019s sin is to receive forgiveness for one\u2019s sins. We also saw that this passage, among several in John, alludes to Isa 43:10, a divine \u201cI am he\u201d saying. Isaiah 43:25, just a few verses later, is another I am he saying: \u201cI, even I, am he who wipes out your transgressions for my own sake,\u201d or in Tg. Isa., \u201cI, even I, am he who forgives your sin for my name\u2019s sake.\u201d Again we note that in 1 John 2:12\u201314, John uses the Targum language of both of these verses together\u2014\u201che who is from the beginning\u201d (agreeing with Tg. Isa. 43:10), and \u201cyour sins are forgiven you for his name\u2019s sake\u201d (agreeing with Tg. Isa. 43:25). The implication, then, is that the one who says \u201cunless you believe that I am he\u201d is also the one who says \u201cI am he who wipes out your transgressions for my own sake,\u201d or, in Targum language, \u201cI am he who forgives your sins for my name\u2019s sake.\u201d Aaron was ashamed, and said to Moses, \u201cPerhaps the Word of the LORD is not pleased with the works of my hands.\u201d Then Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and prayed for the people of the house of Israel, and they came out and blessed the people, and said, \u201cMay the Word of the LORD receive your offerings with favor, and pardon and forgive your sins.\u201d Immediately the glory of the Shekinah of the LORD was revealed to all the people.<\/p>\n In John\u2019s presentation, when the Word became flesh, he became the offering that secures the believer\u2019s pardon and forgiveness, and the glorification (or \u201clifting up\u201d) of the Son on the cross can be interpreted as a divine sign that this offering was accepted, along the lines of Tg. Ps.-J. Lev 9:23.<\/p>\n CONCLUSIONS<\/p>\n Jesus speaks as both God and human in calling people to believe in him, come to him, seek him, follow him, in order to have eternal life. Knowledge of the Targums has again been helpful in illuminating the words of Jesus, disclosing them as divine speech. As a general rule, faith or trust in humans is not commended in the OT, but this rule should not be a stumbling block to Jews (or Gentiles) in believing in Jesus, since to believe in Jesus is in fact to follow the example of the OT faithful who believed in the LORD, or, as the Targums put it, in the Word of the LORD, or in the name of the Word of the LORD. The way of salvation has not changed from OT to NT; faith in YHWH has always been the essence of covenant keeping for God\u2019s people: \u201cHe believed in the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness\u201d (Gen 15:6). The language of the targums highlights the continuity present when the Word became flesh: \u201cHe believed in the Word of the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness\u201d (Tgs. Onq. and Ps.-J. Gen 15:6; Tg. Neof.; \u201cHe believed in the name of the Word of the LORD\u201d). For John, the name of the Word of the LORD, the Tetragrammaton, is \u201cthe name of the only Son of God\u201d (John 3:18), through whom believers, by trusting in that name (John 20:31), may have life and receive the forgiveness of sins.<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n The \u201cI Am He\u201d Sayings<\/p>\n INTRODUCTION<\/p>\n In chapters three and eight, we looked in some detail at the divine \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of the OT (Deut 32:39 and Isaiah) and observed that MT \u201cI am he\u201d (\u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0) is rendered idiomatically in the LXX as \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9, and that a number of \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings of Jesus seem to depend on the divine \u201cI am he\u201d of the OT, especially that of Isa 43:10. In addition, we noted that Pal. Tgs. associated with Deut 32:39 associate the divine Word with the divine \u201cI am he\u201d in different ways. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Deut 32:39 says, \u201cWhen the Word of the LORD shall be revealed to redeem his people, he will say to all the peoples, \u2018I am he who is and was, and I am he who will be.\u2019 \u201d As we saw, the threefold \u201cI am he\u201d of John 8:24, 28, 58, present, future, past, could be seen as a fulfillment of this quasi-biblical prophecy. In this Targum God goes on to say, \u201cI through my Word put to death and make alive\u201d (v. 39) and that God \u201cthrough his Word will make atonement for the sins of his land and of his people\u201d (v. 43). I am he, the LORD, who sanctified you, who redeemed you and brought you out redeemed from the land of Egypt to be to you in my Word a redeeming God. I am he, the LORD who redeemed your fathers, and will in the future redeem you There is considerable agreement between Tgs. Neof. and Ps.-J. in usage, so that the total number of distinct \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in the Pal. Tgs. of the Pentateuch is sixty-four (in fifty-seven verses). Six of these are in Pal. Tgs. Deut 32:39, so there are still almost sixty that we have not yet considered in this study. V. 35 But v. 41 is very close to what Jesus says later, \u201cI am he, the living bread that came down from heaven\u201d (v. 51). It may be, then, that John 6:41 is quoting something that Jesus said earlier that was not recorded by John in vv. 35\u201340. This is why I count it as a separate saying. For comparison we can look again at the \u201cSon of Man\u201d saying in John 12:34, when the crowd asks, \u201cHow can you say, \u2018The Son of Man must be lifted up\u2019?\u201d But John has left those words of Jesus out of John 12:23\u201332 (though they agree with John 3:14). Here too John might be counting, since he includes twelve \u201cSon of Man\u201d sayings by Jesus (the second \u201cSon of Man\u201d in John 12:34 is not a saying of Jesus but part of the question from the crowd).<\/p>\n CATEGORIZING THE \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 SAYINGS<\/p>\n The \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings in John could be categorized grammatically as to whether they have an antecedent or predicate, whether they are followed by a participle, etc. However, I think it will become apparent in this study that grammatical categories do not coincide with what the sayings tell us about the person and work of Christ. It is too simplistic to suggest, for example, that the \u201cabsolute\u201d sayings of John 8:24, 58; 13:19 are divine sayings, but those that have an antecedent or predicate are not. The categories I will be using here are those suggested by the analysis of John 1:47\u201351 carried out in ch. 1 (the revelation of Jesus to Nathanael). Recall that comparing John 1:47\u201351 to Gen 28:10\u201322 suggested three perspectives: (1) Jesus is divine (that is, Jesus\u2019 speaking to Nathanael is like the LORD speaking to Jacob); (2) Jesus is human (that is, Jesus is the Son of Man, a title related to the figure of Jacob in the OT; Nathanael calls Jesus Son of God and king of Israel, which he probably understood as equivalents of \u201cMessiah\u201d); and (3) Jesus is a means (that is, Jesus is the way to heaven, like Jacob\u2019s ladder). The divine perspective was further illuminated by the Pal. Tgs. of Gen 28:10, which indicate that a miracle took place so that Jacob would stop for the night at Bethel, \u201cbecause the Word [Dibbera] desired to speak with him.\u201d This triple perspective agrees also with what John gives us more straightforwardly in 1:12, 14 of the Prologue: the Word (Jesus is divine) became flesh (Jesus is human); by believing in him we become children of God (Jesus is a means). ANALYSIS OF THE TWENTY-TWO \u201cI AM HE\u201d SAYINGS IN JOHN<\/p>\n John 4:26<\/p>\n \u201cI know that Messiah is coming\u201d (he who is called Christ). \u201cWhen he comes, he will disclose all things to us.\u201d Jesus said to her, \u201cI am he, the one speaking to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Human: The Samaritan woman would take John 4:26 as Jesus\u2019 claim to be a certain man, one who was not understood to be divine by Jews or Samaritans. Jesus also speaks as a servant (\u201cMy food is to do the will of him who sent me,\u201d v. 34), which could recall the figure of the Servant of the LORD in Isaiah, and there are numerous parallels between the events at the well in John 4 and those of three OT scenes where a man meets a woman at a well (Gen 24; Gen 29; Exod 2), as discussed in ch. 6. \u201cYou are witnesses before me,\u201d says the LORD, \u201cand my servant the Messiah with whom I am pleased, that you might know and believe before me and understand that I am he. I am he who is from the beginning, even the ages of ages are mine, and there is no God besides me.\u201d<\/p>\n For the targumist, the Messiah is witness, as Israel is, that \u201cI am he; I am he who is from the beginning.\u201d But for the Messiah to say of himself \u201cI am he\u201d with the same divine implications goes far beyond the Targums\u2019 idea of the person of the Messiah. Yet the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of Jesus that depend on Isa 43:10 clearly point in this direction, and, as we have noted before, John himself identifies Jesus as \u201cthe one who is from the beginning\u201d (1 John 2:13\u201314). John 6:20<\/p>\n He said to them, \u201cI am he, do not be afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n Human: Most obviously, Jesus is identifying himself as a certain man known to the disciples, who would recognize Jesus by the sound of his voice, thus assuring them that they are not seeing an apparition. Any other hypothetical human observer who did not know Jesus would likewise assume that a man is simply identifying himself as a man known to the men in the boat. John 6:35, 41, 48, 51<\/p>\n The discourse on the bread of life, which presents Jesus as the true manna that brings eternal life, shares the same OT background of the feeding of the five thousand as the account of the giving of the manna, discussed in ch. 6. The audience of Jesus\u2019 discourse is clearly seeking more of the bread they received (6:30\u201331). In Num 21:5, the divine, the human, and the means of life come together as objects of the people\u2019s complaining, when \u201cthe people spoke against God and against Moses\u201d and complained, \u201cwe loathe this miserable food.\u201d In Tg. Neof. and a variant of Tg. Onq., they speak against the divine Word (Tg. Neof [mg.]: they speak against \u201cthe name of the Word of the LORD\u201d) and complain against Moses, saying, \u201cour soul is distressed by this bread, the nourishment of which is little.\u201d In Tg. Ps.-J., they complain in their hearts, speak against the Word of the LORD, and quarrel with Moses. Their soul loathes the manna, which is meager food. The complaints registered against Jesus in John 6:41, 43, 61 bring out this threefold perspective again, as the wilderness experience is repeated in the history of Israel: the people complain against the divine Word, the servant of God, and the means of life God gave to them. John 8:12, 18, 24, 28, 58<\/p>\n Human: The human aspect seems to be at the forefront in John 8:12, 18, and 28. In ch. 8, we saw how Jesus\u2019 claim to be \u201cthe light of the world\u201d could be related to prophecies of the Servant of the LORD in Isa 42:6; 49:6 and to the prediction that those who walk in darkness will see a great light in Isa 9:2 (thus John 8:12 is an ironic response to 7:52, \u201cno prophet comes from Galilee\u201d; cf. Matt 4:16). Isaiah Divine: Before looking at the individual verses, we can take note again that according to m. Sukkah 4:5, a modified form of \u201cI am he\u201d was used to address God in a daily procession during this feast, calling upon him to save his people (see ch. 3). Jesus\u2019 coming to the temple halfway through the feast can be seen as a fulfillment of the request, \u201cCome to our aid,\u201d and his repeated claim of \u201cI am he\u201d as identifying him as the one who would answer this request, which is ironic in terms of the reception he received.<\/p>\n John 8:12, 18<\/p>\n As we saw in ch. 8, the claim \u201cI am he, the light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life\u201d (John 8:12) should be interpreted in light of the fact that it is spoken at the Feast of Booths, a time when Israel would be especially mindful of the LORD\u2019s care for them in the wilderness and when the light ceremony could evoke thoughts of the pillar of fire leading Israel during the forty years of wilderness wanderings, a fire which the Targums connect with the divine Word. Read in the light of the Targums, this verse is a divine claim. The alternative to having the light of life is to walk in darkness and, as stated in vv. 21 and 24, to die in one\u2019s sin, an expression also applicable to those who died in the wilderness in their unbelief (Num 27:3) in contrast to those who, like Joshua and Caleb, followed the divine Word (Pal. Tgs.) into the promised land. John 8:24, 28, 58<\/p>\n The divine import of the words of Jesus is most obvious in vv. 24 (\u201cUnless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins\u201d) and 58 (\u201cBefore Abraham came into being, I am he\u201d). At the time of the first hearing of these words, the divine claim of v. 58 was immediately recognized (they picked up stones to kill him), but v. 24 was obscure to his hearers and brought the response, \u201cWho are you?\u201d (v. 25). The Lord\u2019s response is regarded as some of the most difficult Greek to interpret in John. The translation adopted here follows a singular reading from an early papyrus and assumes that \u201cthe beginning\u201d is as in, for example, Isa 48:16:<\/p>\n Isa 48:16 The words \u201cI said to you\u201d are found only in the margin of Bodmer Papyrus II (?66), which has \u201cI said to you\u201d (\u0395\u1f36\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd \u1f51\u03bc\u1fd6\u03bd) before \u201cin the beginning\u201d (\u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u1f00\u03c1\u03c7\u1f74\u03bd). Interpreting \u201cthe beginning\u201d not as the beginning of Jesus\u2019 earthly ministry but as the beginning of his revelation to Israel allows us to see a parallel to the divine revelation to Moses at the burning bush, in the context of which the issue of \u201cWho are you?\u201d was also raised (Exod 3:13: \u201cThey may say to me, \u2018What is his name?\u2019 \u201d). Recall from ch. 3 that the Pal. Tgs. import the divine \u201cI am he\u201d into the explanation of the divine name at the scene of the burning bush. In Tg. Ps.-J. Exod 3:14, \u201cI am he [\u05d0\u05e0\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0] who is and who will be\u201d stands for Hebrew \u05d0\u05b6\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u05d4 and, as I suggested in ch. 3, could be echoed in the present and future \u201cI am he\u201d of John 8:24, 28. In a lengthy marginal reading of Tg. Neof. Exod 3:14, God says, \u201cI am he who was for your help in the captivity of the Egyptians, and I am he who is yet to be for your help in every generation.\u201d Tg. Neof. Exod 6:2\u20137 Another \u201cI am he\u201d saying in Tg. Neof. (Exod 12:12) does not have \u201cyou\/they will know\u201d but can be related to John 8:28 because of its reference to the Passover:<\/p>\n And I will pass in my Word through the land of Egypt this night of the Passover and I will kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.\u2026 The LORD has said; [I am he].<\/p>\n John 8:28 is fulfilled at the Passover when Jesus destroys the works of the devil. Tg. Neof. Gen 17:1 Deuteronomy 32:39 and the Feast of Booths<\/p>\n I have been suggesting that, although none of the individual \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of John 8 seem to depend on the prototypical \u201cI am he\u201d of Deut 32:39 as it is worded in the MT, nevertheless, the threefold \u201cI am he\u201d of John 8:24, 28, 58, with present, future, and past reference, could be related to the prophecy in Tg. Ps.-J. Deut 32:39, which predicts that when the divine Word is revealed, he will say, \u201cI am he who is and was, and I am he who will be in the future.\u201d We have also seen that in the OT, the divine \u201cI am he\u201d is God\u2019s testimony concerning himself, which has potential relevance to John 8:18, \u201cI am he, the one who testifies concerning myself.\u201d Deuteronomy 32:39 is part of the Song of Moses, in which the apostasy of Israel is predicted. vv. 1\u20138 With regard to A\/A\u2032 we can note that the dialogue of John 8 takes place at the Feast of Booths, the occasion on which the law was to be read every seven years. Further, as already observed, 8:33 succinctly highlights a fundamental disregard of a major theme of Deuteronomy on the part of those attending the feast: \u201cWe have never yet been enslaved to anyone.\u201d Moses commanded Israel to remember at all times (Deut 5:6; 6:12, 21; 7:8; 8:14; 13:5, 10; 15:15; 24:18\u201322) and particularly every Sabbath (5:15) and at the feasts (16:12) that they had been slaves in Egypt. Since most in Moses\u2019 audience actually had never seen Egypt, it is clear that he nevertheless expected them (and thus future generations) to identify themselves as freed slaves. John 10:7, 9, 11, 14<\/p>\n Means: The first two of these \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings (v. 7: \u201cI am he, the gate for the sheep\u201d; v. 9: \u201cI am he, the gate\u201d) are clearly in the category of means, as is made explicit in v. 9: \u201cIf anyone enters through me, that one shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.\u201d I will surely gather all of you, Jacob, The last two lines could be interpreted as referring to the LORD leading his people as shepherd, or one could see a reference to both the LORD and the human king leading his people. Targum Jonathan reads as follows:<\/p>\n In the end I will indeed gather all of you of the house of Jacob. I will surely bring your exiles near, the remnant of Israel as one. I will make them like sheep in the pen, like a flock inside a sheepfold, noisy because of the multitude of people. The survivors shall go up as in the beginning, and a king shall go up leading at their head, and he shall break the enemy [be\u02bf\u0113l de\u1e07\u0101\u1e07\u0101] oppressing them and conquer the mighty cities; they shall take possession of the cities of the nations, and their king shall lead at their head, with the Word of the LORD for their help.<\/p>\n The Targum interprets the Hebrew text eschatologically but does not identify the king as the Messiah, though such an interpretation is found in rabbinical literature, and there is a parallel to the fourth night of Pal. Tgs. Exod 12:42, where the Messiah and Moses are said to lead the flock of Israel along with the divine Word. In Jesus leading his flock, the ideas of the human king and the divine Word leading Israel come together, because \u201cthe Word became flesh.\u201d The divine Word as Shepherd is also found in Tg. Onq. Gen 49:24 (the blessing of Joseph). In MT, Jacob says that God (\u201cthe mighty one of Jacob\u201d) is \u201cthe Shepherd, the Stone of Israel.\u201d In Tg. Onq. he is described as \u201cGod, the mighty one of Jacob, who by his Word fed their fathers.\u201d \u201cFed\u201d is from \u05d6\u05d5\u05df, used elsewhere in shepherding contexts (such as Tg. Ps. 23:1) but also more broadly with the idea of sustaining, nourishing people. My sheep hear my voice. (John 10:27) A few verses later in John is another saying which seems to borrow from an OT divine \u201cI am he\u201d saying in the same context as Isa 43:13, namely, Isa 43:10, which we have seen is so important for understanding other \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings, though the \u201cI am he\u201d portion is not completely carried over:<\/p>\n If I do them (the works of my Father), though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. (John 10:38)<\/p>\n So that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. (Isa 43:10)<\/p>\n So once again, in the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of John 10, we have the same threefold message concerning the person of the Son: he is God, he is man, he is the way to the Father and eternal life.<\/p>\n John 11:25\u201326<\/p>\n I am he, the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me shall live, even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?<\/p>\n Means: This \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 saying most obviously belongs in the category of means. As the one who raises from the dead, Jesus is the means of bringing believers to eternal life. The Upper Room: John 13:19; 14:6; 15:1, 5<\/p>\n The four \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings John preserves from the upper room discourses cover the three categories we have been noting: John 13:19, of all the \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings, is most clearly dependent on the divine \u201cI am he\u201d of Isa 43:10. John 14:6 clearly belongs to the category of means. John 15:1, 5 suggests that Jesus is the true son of David, or Messiah, as seen from the OT background to these sayings. Isa 43:10 The context of both passages is that of predictive prophecy that proves that the LORD is the one true God, so Jesus is clearly making a much greater claim than merely that of being a true prophet. Such a conclusion would seem to be reinforced by the fact that the final \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings (John 18:5, 8) occur when the prediction made in John 13:18 is fulfilled. We have also noted that the MT\u2019s \u201cBefore me there was no god formed\u201d is rendered in Tg. Isa. as \u201cI am he who is from the beginning,\u201d which John says of Jesus in 1 John 2:13\u201314, which, assuming common authorship, confirms this interpretation. 10Go up among her walls and destroy, but do not do so completely. Take away her branches, for they are not the LORD\u2019s. 11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, declares the LORD. 12They have lied about the LORD, for they have said \u201cNot he! [\u05dc\u05b9\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 cf. \u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0] Disaster will not come upon us, and we will not see sword or famine.\u201d<\/p>\n The walls are often taken to be vineyard walls because of the reference to branches. Targum Jeremiah 5:11\u201312 says they \u201chave acted deceitfully against my Word, they have lied about the Word of the LORD,\u201d and the rest of v. 12 is changed to \u201cthey have said, \u2018Not from before him do good things come upon us.\u2019 \u201d The Targum renders \u201cwalls\u201d as \u201ccities\u201d and \u201cbranches\u201d as \u201cfortresses,\u201d so one could relate this Targum passage to John 15 only by knowing both the Hebrew and the Aramaic (the LXX is similar to Tg.) and by taking the figure as that of a vineyard. If we do so, then we see that the branches are taken away for dealing treacherously against the divine Word.<\/p>\n The Betrayal and Arrest: John 18:5, 6, 8<\/p>\n Human: When Jesus says \u201cI am he\u201d in John 18:5, 8 (v. 6 is John\u2019s narrative repetition), the clear antecedent is \u201cJesus of Nazareth.\u201d Any man could say \u201cI am he\u201d when someone has mentioned his name as one who is being sought, and certainly those who sought Jesus to arrest him were looking only for a man. CONCLUSIONS<\/p>\n We have seen three categories of claim or self-disclosure in the twenty-two \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings of Jesus, which match the interpretation of John 1:47\u201351 given above. That is, these sayings portray Jesus from three different perspectives: (1) divine, (2) human, and (3) the means to eternal life, or the way to the Father. We saw that the divine use of \u201cI am he\u201d by Jesus matched the OT claims of YHWH that \u201cI am he\u201d (YHWH the one true God), but also that in such claims Jesus always asserted at the same time his servanthood or his subordination to the Father and made clear that he became a man to bring humans to the Father and eternal life. Thus the three categories are not completely separable, but together describe the incarnate Son of God. Thus it would be helpful to translate \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 uniformly as \u201cI am he,\u201d as I have done here. These three perspectives do not depend entirely on the readings of the Targums, but we observed that often the sayings are illuminated by the Targums in general, and that the divine perspective was often illuminated by the use of the \u201cWord of the LORD\u201d in particular. These results support the conclusion that the Logos title is based on the targumic Memra and that in John\u2019s adaptation, \u201cthe Word\u201d means \u201cYHWH the Son,\u201d the one who is with the Father and shares the divine name with him. This is seen in the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings that coincide with the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of YHWH in the OT and therefore characterize the Father. 10<\/p>\n Unwitting Prophecies in the Targums<\/p>\n INTRODUCTION<\/p>\n John 11:51 tells us that Caiaphas prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, when he advised the council that it was expedient for Jesus to die in order to avoid Roman action against the Jewish leadership and the temple. This kind of prophecy is obviously quite different from what one is used to from the OT. The meaning John takes from it is quite different from what Caiaphas meant, for Caiaphas was hostile to Christ, speaking not for the will of God but against it, in contrast to a prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15\u201322). This raises the question, why call this a prophecy at all? We can see that such an unconscious prophecy on the lips of a Jewish high priest would make an effective argument in the Jewish-Christian circles to whom (in part) the Fourth Gospel was addressed.\u2026<\/p>\n The principle of unconscious prophecy was accepted in Judaism (examples in StB [= Str-B], II, p. 546). In particular, the gift of prophecy was associated with the high priesthood. Josephus, Ant. [11.327] tells how the high priest Jaddua received an enlightenment that Alexander the Great would spare Jerusalem. Even high priests whose lives were far from perfect had the privilege, for example Hyrcanus in Ant. [13.299]. Therefore, John\u2019s outlook on the powers of Caiaphas was very much at home in 1st-century Judaism.<\/p>\n Brown\u2019s comments are accurate; however, the examples Brown cites in Josephus are not actual examples of unwitting prophecy. The high priests were indeed said to accurately tell the future, and in the case of Jaddua, the prediction resulted from a dream. However, Alexander the Great also was said to have had a prophetic dream. Likewise, Hyrcanus was said to have the gift of prophecy, even to the extent of conversing with God (Ant. 13.282\u2013283). The Jews associated a measure of prophetic faculty to the high priest when, after being duly vested, he \u201cinquired of Yahweh\u201d (Ex. 28:30, Lev. 8:8, Num. 27:21). Josephus had left on record that he, as a priest, claimed to have power to read the future [J.W. 3.350\u2013354]. And Philo says that the true priest is always potentially a prophet [On Special Laws 4.192].<\/p>\n Dodd noted that in Philo \u201cthe Logos is the true priest-prophet\u201d and \u201cMoses is a type of the Logos,\u201d but \u201cit is clear that our present passage is moving in a different world of thought.\u201d C. K. Barrett gives examples of unwitting prophecy as indicated by Philo (Moses 1.274, 277, 283, 286), but these deal with Balaam, who not only was not a high priest, but who also was aware that he was prophesying, though according to Philo he did not know the meaning of what he was saying. CATEGORIZING UNWITTING PROPHECIES IN THE TARGUMS<\/p>\n One could go about listing targumic unwitting prophecies in a number of different ways. One could just go through the Targums in canonical order and list relevant passages. One could try to categorize them thematically. Or one could go through John\u2019s Gospel sequentially and relate various Targum passages to various specific incidents in the Gospel. I am going to follow a combination of the second and third approaches. The reason for this is that there seem to be two broad categories of unwitting prophecies: (1) those which speak in general terms of the consequences to Israel of not receiving the divine Word, dealing falsely with the divine Word, etc., consequences similar to those experienced by Israel in the Roman conquest of C.E. 70 (defeat in battle, destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, exile, the withdrawal of the Shekinah, etc.); (2) those that can be related to specific incidents in the Gospel.<\/p>\n THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT RECEIVING THE WORD OF THE LORD<\/p>\n Again we note the wording of Tgs. Onq. and Ps.-J. Exod 19:5\u20136, \u201cIf you indeed receive my Word, \u2026 you will be to me \u2026 a holy nation.\u201d As in the first century, the majority of those who came out of Egypt did not receive the divine Word, and died in the wilderness: those \u201cwho have seen my glory and my signs \u2026 yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not received my Word shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers\u201d (Tgs. Onq. and Ps.-J. Num 14:22\u201323). Above we noted that \u201cmy glory\u201d and \u201cmy signs\u201d can be related to \u201chis glory\u201d and \u201chis signs\u201d in John 2:11, 23. The covenant curses<\/p>\n This idea of not receiving the divine Word is found in the covenant curses. Targum Onqelos Lev 26:14, 18, 21, 27 and Tgs. Onq. and Ps.-J. Deut 8:20; 28:15, 45, 62 all state that various calamities\u2014the covenant curses\u2014will befall the people if they do not receive the Word of the LORD. Jews who believed that their Scriptures came from God, that Moses was a true prophet, would, of course, agree that there must have been some great sin that resulted in the conquest of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, and the exile of the Jews. \u201cOh how serious are these sins and how great the sins that caused our fathers in Jerusalem to eat the flesh of their sons, and the flesh of their daughters they ate\u201d (Tg. Neof. Lev 26:29). Josephus suggested that the sins of the rebels themselves were a sufficient explanation (e.g., J.W. 1.10). By identifying Jesus as that Word that they did not receive, John gives an alternate explanation in the language commonly heard by worshippers in the synagogues. Numbers 14<\/p>\n Mention was made above of Tgs. Onq. and Ps.-J. Num 14:22, which states that Israel had tested God ten times and failed to receive his Word. Consequently, they would die in the wilderness and not enter the promised land. They would die in their sin, to use the expression of Num 27:3, which Jesus also used in John 8:24: \u201cUnless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sin.\u201d Numbers 14:40\u201345 goes on to describe how the Israelites changed their mind and decided to go fight the Canaanites anyway, and Moses warned them not to, since the LORD was no longer among them. Targum Isaiah 1:19\u201320<\/p>\n If you are willing and receive my Word, you shall eat of the good of the land; but if you refuse and do not receive my Word, by the adversary\u2019s sword you shall be killed; for by the Word of the LORD it has been so decreed.<\/p>\n Aramaic-speaking Jewish Christians would readily see a specific fulfillment of this threat in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans, and perhaps even relate \u201cby the Word of the LORD it has been decreed\u201d to the prophecy of such destruction by Jesus in the Olivet discourse in the Synoptic Gospels.<\/p>\n The temple sermons of Jeremiah and Jesus<\/p>\n One of Jeremiah\u2019s temple sermons (Jer 26) gives us a striking example of how an apologetic based on Targum readings might be developed. This sermon repeats some of the themes expressed in Jer 7 and culminates in Jeremiah\u2019s arrest. Standing in the temple, Jeremiah warns the people that if they do not listen to the voice of God, walk in his law, and heed the prophets he has sent, the temple and the city will be destroyed. In Tg. Jer. 26:4\u20136, his words read, \u201cIf you do not receive my Word \u2026 I will make this house like Shiloh, and this city I will make into a cursing for all the nations of the earth.\u201d Targum Ezekiel 39:23<\/p>\n And the nations shall know that the house of Israel was exiled because of their sins, because they dealt falsely with my Word, so that I removed my Shekinah from them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, and they were slain by the sword, all of them.<\/p>\n This example was cited at the end of ch. 1. We note again that what the Targum says of the Babylonian exile parallels the exile later caused by the Romans, when combined with the belief that the Shekinah departed Jerusalem forty years before the destruction of the temple, which according to Tg. Ezek. 39:23 would have been the time that Israel dealt falsely with the divine Word.<\/p>\n Targum Hosea 5:6, 7, 15<\/p>\n They will go with their sheep and their cattle to seek instruction from before the LORD, but they shall not find it. He will withdraw his Shekinah from them; against the Word of the LORD they have dealt falsely.\u2026 I will remove my Shekinah, I will return to my holy dwelling in heaven, until they realize they are guilty, and petition me.<\/p>\n We noted this text in ch. 2 (p. 60, no. 50) for its use of both \u201cWord\u201d and \u201cShekinah,\u201d and again in ch. 8 in connection with Jesus\u2019 saying \u201cYou shall seek me, but not find me\u201d (John 7:34). Again, this passage would have been quite suggestive in light of the belief that the withdrawal of the Shekinah took place forty years prior to the destruction of the temple, which must therefore have been when, in Targum language, Israel was believed to have dealt falsely with the divine Word.<\/p>\n Targum Zechariah 1:3\u20134<\/p>\n Return to my service, \u2026 and I will return by my Word to do good for you.\u2026 Do not be like your fathers.\u2026 They did not receive my Word.\u2026 Your fathers, where are they?<\/p>\n The first part of this passage is also found in Tg. Mal. 3:7. John had a similar message to his contemporaries, many of whom would have been children of exiles, to whom he would likewise say, \u201cDo not be like your fathers.\u201d In this context, John 14:23 gives a promise of the Father and Son coming to those who love the Son and keep his commandments.<\/p>\n Targum 2 Chronicles 30:7\u20139<\/p>\n In this passage, Hezekiah appeals to the survivors in the northern kingdom after their defeat by the Assyrians, that they should come to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. His words in the Targum could easily have been adapted by Aramaic-speaking Jewish Christians to appeal to their brethren after C.E. 70. Hezekiah says that they should not be like their ancestors and contemporaries who acted unfaithfully against the Word of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and were handed over to those who hated them and given up to desolation. Speaking of the captives, he says, \u201cIf you return to the fear of the LORD, your brethren and your sons, \u2026 he will return in his Word to restore them to this land; \u2026 he will not take up his Shekinah from you.\u201d<\/p>\n PASSAGES RELATING TO SPECIFIC INCIDENTS IN JOHN\u2019S GOSPEL<\/p>\n John 2:19\u201322<\/p>\n \u201cDestroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.\u201d \u2026 But he (Jesus) was speaking of the temple of his body. When he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.<\/p>\n Targum Isaiah 53:5, speaking of the Messiah (52:13), says, \u201cAnd he will build the sanctuary which was profaned for our sins, handed over for our iniquities; and by his teaching his peace will increase upon us, and in that we long for his words, our sins will be forgiven us.\u201d The next verse says, \u201cWe have gone into exile, every one his own way.\u201d Targumic references to the destruction of the sanctuary and exile would presumably refer to the Roman, not Babylonian, conquest, thus would not be current during the ministry of Jesus. But by the time John wrote his gospel, the Targum may have read as above. If so, John might look back on the words of Jesus about the destruction and rebuilding of the temple, that is, his body, and notice that the targumist had unwittingly done the same thing, as the MT reference to the piercing and crushing of the Servant is changed into a promise that the Messiah will rebuild the temple.<\/p>\n John 8:24, 28, 58<\/p>\n Unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.\u2026 Then you will know that I am he.\u2026 Before Abraham was born, I am he.<\/p>\n We have discussed in some detail already how this passage can be viewed as a fulfillment of Tg. Ps.-J. Deut 32:39 (see chs. three, eight, and nine): \u201cWhen the Word of the LORD shall be revealed to redeem his people, he shall say to all the nations, \u2018See now that I am he who is and was, and I am he who will be in the future.\u2026\u2019 \u201d This is followed in v. 43 by \u201cand he, by his Word, will make atonement for the sins of his land and of his people.\u201d The threefold \u201cI am he\u201d of John 8:24, 28, 58, past, present, and future, mark the revelation of the divine Word at the Feast of Booths. John 8:18<\/p>\n I am he who testifies concerning myself.<\/p>\n The witness of Jesus, the divine Word, at the Feast of Booths (and throughout his ministry) could be related to the oath of Tg. Jer. 42:5\u20136. In vv. 1\u20134, Jeremiah agrees to ask for the LORD\u2019s guidance for the remnant that has survived the destruction of Jerusalem. They promise, \u201cMay the Word of the LORD be among us as a faithful and true witness, if we do not act according to every word in which the LORD your God has sent you to us. Whether good or evil, we will receive the Word of the LORD our God before whom we are sending you, so that it will be well for us when we receive the Word of the LORD our God.\u201d They do not keep their promise; they do not receive the divine Word, and in the incarnation their invocation comes true, the divine Word is among them as a true and faithful witness of their apostasy. Again they do not receive him (John 1:11), and it does not go well for them. John 18:20, 23<\/p>\n I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in the synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together, and I spoke nothing in secret.\u2026 If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong, but if (I have spoken) rightly, why do you strike me?<\/p>\n John\u2019s narration of the earthly trial of Jesus can be compared to the heavenly trial which is a recurring theme of Isa 40\u201355, in which the LORD is giving evidence that \u201cI am he.\u201d In John 18:20, 23, Jesus borrows wording from Isa 45:19 in the course of this trial: \u201cI have not spoken in secret, in some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, \u2018Seek me in some waste place.\u2019 I, the LORD, speak what is right, declaring things that are upright\u201d (Isa 45:19). The Targum of this passage reads similarly, but goes on to say \u201cturn to my Word (MT: turn to me) and be saved, all the ends of the earth\u201d (v. 22). God says, \u201cI have not spoken in secret\u201d again in Isa 48:16: \u201cCome near to me, hear this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret.\u201d In the Targum it reads, \u201cCome near to my Word, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret.\u201d John presents this as literally fulfilled when Jesus\u2019 accusers literally drew near to the divine Word-become-flesh at his trial and heard him say, \u201cI spoke nothing in secret.\u201d John 19:14\u201315<\/p>\n And (Pilate) said to the Jews, \u201cBehold, your king!\u201d So they cried out, \u201cAway with him, away with him.\u2026 We have no king but Caesar.\u201d<\/p>\n In Frg. Tg. V Exod 15:18 (Tg. Ps.-J. Exod 15:18 reads similarly), the proper response to the miracles the Israelites witnessed is interesting in light of the presentation of Jesus by Pilate with a crown of thorns, and in light of Jesus\u2019 statement that his kingdom is not of this world:<\/p>\n When the children of Israel saw the signs and wonders which the Holy One, blessed be he, had done for them by the shore of the Sea\u2014may his name be blessed forever and ever\u2014they gave glory and praise and exaltation to their God. The children of Israel answered and said one to the other, \u201cCome, and let us set the crown on the head of the Redeemer (Tg. Ps.-J.: \u201cCome, let us set the crown of anointing on the head of our redeemer\u201d), who causes to pass, but is not himself made to pass (away), who changes but is not himself changed; who is King of kings in this world, and to whom also belongs the crown of kingship in the world to come (cf. John 18:36: \u201cmy kingdom is not of this world\u201d), and his it is forever and ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Forty years later, according to Tg. Neof. Deut 26:17, Moses says, \u201cThis day you have made the Word of the LORD your God to be King over you, so that he may be for you a savior God, (promising) to walk in ways that are right before him.\u201d By way of contrast, in Tg. Isa. 30:11, disobedient Judah, intent on going to Pharaoh for help, instead of to this divine King, says to Isaiah, \u201cRemove from before us the Word of the Holy One of Israel\u201d (MT: \u201ccause to cease from our presence the Holy One of Israel\u201d). APOLOGETIC USES OF UNWITTING PROPHECIES<\/p>\n The primary and most obvious audience to whom the apologetic approach of Targum-based unwitting prophecy would have been directed would have been Aramaic-speaking Jews familiar with the Targums. According to the usual date assigned the Gospel, John writes between the first and second destructions of Jerusalem by the Romans. While the reason for the recent exile was given generally in the Hebrew Scriptures (i.e., it must have been due to some apostasy such as that which led to the forty-year wilderness wanderings or the Babylonian exile), John appeals to a more specific answer as given in the Targums: Israel has not received the divine Word, nor believed in his name; they have dealt falsely with the divine Word. 11<\/p>\n \u201cThe Word Became Flesh\u201d Elsewhere in the New Testament<\/p>\n INTRODUCTION<\/p>\n Since enlightenment times it has been suggested that John\u2019s Christology is \u201chigh\u201d compared to the rest of the NT. Some would argue, in fact, that it is too high to have been penned by a first-generation disciple of Christ. William Hendriksen responds to this argument as follows:<\/p>\n But this is not even an argument. It amounts to begging the question. It is a bold assertion when proof is wholly lacking. Besides, the question may well be asked: Is the Christology of Paul any lower? Read Col. 2:9 or Phil. 2:6 or that very tantalizing passage Rom. 9:5.\u2026 And indeed, is the Christology of the Synoptics any lower? Read Matt. 11:27, 28.<\/p>\n I seek to make the same point in the present chapter, not by discussing all the passages outside of John\u2019s writings that have relevance to the doctrine of Christ\u2019s deity, but rather by showing that there are many passages that can be interpreted along the lines of the statement, \u201cthe Word became flesh,\u201d where \u201cthe Word\u201d is taken from the Targums. That is, if we examine the OT passage that seems to provide background to a saying of Jesus (or about Jesus), suggesting by comparison that Jesus is divine, and then we look in the corresponding Targum passage, we find reference to the divine Word. THE BAPTISM OF JESUS (MATTHEW 3:13\u201317; MARK 1:9\u201311; LUKE 3:21\u201322)<\/p>\n All three of the Synoptic Gospels mention the Spirit of God descending from heaven upon the Son after his baptism (Matt 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:21) and thus could be related to Tg. Ps.-J. Num 7:89 in the same way that we saw earlier a connection with John 1:32\u201333. The Targum passage says that in the holy of holies Moses heard the voice of the Spirit speaking to him as the Spirit descended from heaven over the mercy seat of the ark, and from there the Word spoke to him. Yet part of our justification for seeing a connection with the passage in John was John\u2019s explicit identification of Jesus as the divine Word, which the Synoptics do not do. Is there a similar linking feature in the Synoptics that would justify seeing the Spirit descending upon Jesus at his baptism as analogous to the Spirit descending over the ark, from where the Word spoke to Moses? THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS (MATTHEW 17:1\u20138; MARK 9:2\u20138; LUKE 9:28\u201336)<\/p>\n On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared, speaking with Jesus. Why Moses and Elijah? Perhaps because also in the OT both Moses and Elijah saw the glory of the LORD and spoke to him on a mountain (Sinai). Luke says they were speaking to him concerning \u201cthe exodus\u201d he was about to accomplish. In both the OT and NT cases, this appearance in glory was in a context of apostasy. GREATER THAN JONAH (MATTHEW 8:23\u201327; MARK 4:35\u201341; LUKE 8:22\u201325)<\/p>\n \u201cThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it. For they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here\u201d (Matt 12:41; Luke 11:32). The incident of Jesus asleep in the boat while a storm comes up, viewed against the background of the story of Jonah, serves to show how much greater Jesus is than Jonah. GREATER THAN SOLOMON (MATTHEW 11:28\u201330)<\/p>\n Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.<\/p>\n In Matt 12:42 and Luke 11:31, Jesus says \u201ca greater than Solomon is here.\u201d Jesus is greater than Solomon, and his kingdom is greater than that of Solomon. But just how much greater is Jesus than Solomon? Then I said, \u201cThey are only the poor; they are foolish. For they do not know the way of the LORD or the ordinance of their God. I will go to the great, and will speak to them; surely they know the way of the LORD, the ordinance of their God.\u201d But they, too, together have broken the yoke and burst the bonds. (Jer 5:4\u20135)<\/p>\n Thus, the \u201cway of the LORD, the ordinance of their God\u201d is also a yoke. With this background, we see that the yoke Jesus speaks of is the yoke of the divine lawgiver, not just the yoke of the true Son of David. As in the time of Jeremiah, \u201cthe great\u201d do not serve, though in a different way than in Jeremiah\u2019s time. Though there is much talk about keeping the law, those who teach it have taken away the key of knowledge, have not entered the kingdom, and have prevented others from doing so (Luke 11:52); they teach the law in such a way as to make it a heavy burden (Matt 23:4), so that the Israelites are weary and heavy laden as in the latter days of Solomon. Jesus thus speaks here as divine redeemer and lawgiver, roles which we noted in earlier chapters are roles clearly ascribed to the divine Word in the Targums. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John 5:39 is similar to 5:46 in that Jesus is speaking of the Scripture\u2019s testimony to himself: \u201cYou search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life. Yet it is these that testify about me.\u201d Again, it is easy to assume that the scriptural testimony to Jesus comprises a relatively few … <\/p>\n
\nLikewise Tg. Ps. 118:8\u20139 says that it is better to trust in the Word of the LORD than to trust in a son of man, even princes. Because of the incarnation, however, it is not an either-or situation; the Son of Man is now the divine Word, and trust in him is not only commended, but required, for eternal life.
\nJohn goes on to say that Jesus \u201cknew all men\u201d and \u201cknew what was in man\u201d (2:24\u201325), which agrees with another passage in Jer 17: \u201cThe heart is more deceitful than all else, \u2026 who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his own ways\u201d (vv. 9\u201310). In relation to Jer 17 and Ps 118, then, Jesus as a person was obedient to the command not to trust in any human, but those who trust in him are not guilty of trusting in a human, or a son of man, or in flesh that passes away; rather, they are obeying these passages because they are trusting in the name of the divine Word who has become flesh.<\/p>\n
\nThe clearest NT allusion to Isa 43:10 is found in John 13:19: \u201cFrom now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you will know that I am he.\u201d The premise of these two verses is the same\u2014that prediction of the future is proof of the genuineness and uniqueness of the God of Israel. The language moves beyond a mere claim to be a genuine prophet, although Jesus might have borrowed part of the language of this verse from Ezek 33:33: \u201cWhen it comes to pass\u2014behold, it is coming\u2014they will know that a prophet has been in their midst.\u201d When Jesus says \u201cyou will know that I am he,\u201d he is speaking to his disciples in his own person in the same way that God spoke to Israel through Isaiah.
\nJohn 8:24, like 13:19, contains an \u201cabsolute\u201d use of \u201cI am he.\u201d That is, the word \u201che\u201d (presumably underlying \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 in the Aramaic) does not have a precise antecedent or predicate. \u201cUnless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.\u201d Because his hearers do not immediately see the connection to the divine \u201cI am he\u201d of Isaiah, and because there is no predicate or antecedent, they do not understand who he is claiming to be (v. 25). In contrast, the saying in 8:28 has a clear antecedent: \u201cWhen you lift up the Son of Man, you will know that I am he.\u201d Although the antecedent is \u201cthe Son of Man,\u201d the allusion to Isa 43:10 is much like John 8:24; together they reflect the \u201cknow\u201d and \u201cbelieve\u201d of that verse:<\/p>\n
\nJohn 8:24
\nJohn 8:28
\nSo that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he.
\nUnless you believe that I am he.
\nThen you will know that I am he.<\/p>\n
\nAnother reason for linking John 8:28 with Isa 43:10 is that it is a prediction of the future, just as in the context of John 13:19. In addition, we saw in ch. 5 that the lifting up of the Son of Man is an offensive act of war on the part of Christ. Jesus\u2019 words in John 8:28 are tantamount to saying, \u201cWhen I defeat Satan on the cross, then you will know that I am he.\u201d In this form it can be compared to the idea that through God\u2019s acts of war against the Egyptians, they will know \u201cthat I am the LORD.\u201d In the Pal. Tgs. of the Pentateuch, \u201cI am [\u05d0\u05e0\u05d9] the LORD\u201d from the MT is often rendered by \u201cI am he [\u05d0\u05e0\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0], the LORD.\u201d In the next chapter, we will see that John 8:28 is also similar to several such divine sayings in Tg. Neof. Exodus, and some of these are spoken by the divine Word, according to the marginal glosses of Tg. Neof.
\nIn John 6:20, when Jesus walks on the water and greets the disciples with \u201cIt is I [\u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9], do not be afraid,\u201d the most obvious intent is to identify himself (by the sound of his voice) to his disciples as someone they know. However, there are also a number of reasons to understand this verse as echoing the divine \u201cI am he\u201d of Isa 43:10: (1) The divine assurance, \u201cdo not be afraid,\u201d also occurs in the context of Isa 43:10 (vv. 1 and 5). (2) That assurance is given to Israel for comfort when they are passing through the waters (v. 2), which is what the disciples are doing when Jesus comes to them. (3) \u201cDo not be afraid, I am with you\u201d of Isa 43:5 is in Tg. Isa. \u201cDo not be afraid, for my Word is your help.\u201d Jesus the Word helps the disciples get to the other side (v. 21). (4) The Targum also interprets Isa 43:2 historically: \u201cat the first, when you passed through the Red Sea, my Word was your help.\u201d When Israel crossed the sea, there was a strong wind blowing, and it was dark (Exod 14:21), just as in John 6 (vv. 17\u201318). Thus, while scholars have noted a connection between John 6:20 and Isa 43:10 based only on the MT, the connections are even stronger when we take into account Tg. Isa. 43 and John\u2019s designation of Jesus as the divine Word.
\nIn Tg. Isa. 43:1, God calls Israel \u201cmy own.\u201d The Aramaic is \u05d3\u05d9\u05dc\u05d9, and the third person (his own) would be \u05d3\u05d9\u05dc\u05d9\u05d4, which, as noted in ch. 1, has been suggested as the Aramaic which underlies \u201chis own\u201d of John 1:11\u201312, where John says that the divine Word came to his own, who did not receive him, but to those who did receive him, he gave the right to become children of God. In John 6:17\u201321, Jesus comes to the disciples (v. 17), they receive him (v. 21), and they immediately arrive at their destination (John uses the verbs \u1f14\u03c1\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1\u03b9 and \u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b2\u03ac\u03bd\u03c9, as in 1:11\u201312). The event thus echoes the language of 1:11\u201312, that Christ has come, and those who receive him are given eternal life.
\nThe crossing of the Red Sea is also mentioned in Ps 77:14\u201320. Verse 19 of the psalm says, \u201cYour path was through the sea, your way through mighty waters; Your footsteps could not be discerned,\u201d and some have related this to Jesus\u2019 walking on the sea. Some Targum passages speak of the presence of the divine Word in the crossing of the sea. Targum Neofiti [mg.] and Frg. Tg. V Exod 14:24 say that the divine Word looked upon the Egyptians and confounded them. In Tg. Ps.-J. Exod 14:25, the Egyptians acknowledge that the divine Word is fighting against them. At that time, his footsteps could not be seen on the dry ground because, of course, he had no physical feet. When the Word became flesh, his footsteps could not be discerned because water does not sustain footprints.
\nThe Targums render Ps 77 in some interesting ways: Targum Psalms 77:14 says, \u201cYou are he, the God who works wonders.\u201d \u201cYou are he\u201d is \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0, spoken of God, who says in Isa 43:10 (among many places), \u201cI am he.\u201d While v. 16 of the MT says that the waters saw God and trembled, the Targum says that the Israelites saw his Shekinah in the midst of the sea, and the Gentiles trembled. The disciples did both of these things when they saw Jesus.<\/p>\n
\nJohn 7:37
\nIsa 55:1\u20133
\nYou search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about me. But you are unwilling to come to me, that you might have life.
\nIf anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
\nEveryone who thirsts, come to the waters.\u2026 Incline your ear and come to me. Listen, that your soul may live.<\/p>\n
\nThat the \u201ccome to me\u201d language of John 6 also depends on Isa 55:1\u20133 is not so obvious. The more obvious OT background here is the giving of the manna in the wilderness. However, we note that the thought of John 6:27 (\u201cDo not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life\u201d) is very much along the lines of Isa 55:2 (\u201cWhy do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good\u201d). For \u201clisten carefully to me,\u201d Tg. Isa. has \u201cdiligently receive my Word.\u201d
\nIn John 6:45, Jesus also draws his hearers\u2019 attention to the context of this divine invitation by quoting the promise of Isa 54:13, \u201cAll your sons will be taught of the LORD,\u201d which appears just a few verses before that invitation. In the same verse, Jesus goes on to make another allusion to Isa 55:1\u20133 which becomes apparent only when we look at the Targum of that passage. \u201cCome to the waters\u201d of Isa 55:1 is rendered \u201ccome and learn,\u201d while \u201ccome, buy, and eat\u201d becomes \u201ccome, hear, and learn.\u201d Jesus seems to allude to this targumic interpretation when he says \u201cEveryone who has heard from the Father, and learned, comes to me\u201d (v. 45b).<\/p>\n
\nExodus 33:7 says that Moses set up a \u201ctent of meeting\u201d a good distance outside the camp and that those who sought the LORD would go there. That this tent was set up \u201coutside the camp\u201d contrasts with the purpose of the tabernacle, for which Moses had just received building instructions and which would also be called the \u201ctent of meeting\u201d\u2014that God would dwell in the midst of his people, not outside the camp. This observation gave rise to the interpretation in Jewish tradition that the tent was set up outside the camp because God himself had withdrawn his presence outside the camp, in effect excommunicating the nation after their worship of the golden calf (Exod 32). Moses, the servant of God, was therefore following his Master outside the camp. As noted in ch. 2, this interpretation is found in Exodus Rabbah 45.3. It is also reflected in Tg. Song 3:2, where the words of the bride concerning her bridegroom, \u201cI sought him but did not find him,\u201d are allegorized as the words of Israel after the sin of the golden calf: \u201c \u2018Let us request instruction from the LORD and the holy Shekinah which has been removed from us.\u2019 Then they went around in the towns, streets, and squares, but they did not find it.\u201d The bride repeats these words in 5:6, which are there allegorized as the words of Israel during the Babylonian captivity: \u201cI sought the Shekinah of his glory, but did not find it.\u201d
\nFor several reasons, the words \u201cI sought the Shekinah of his glory but did not find it\u201d invite comparison to the words of Jesus, \u201cYou will seek me and will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come\u201d (John 7:34). These reasons include the conceptual overlap between the targumic Word and Shekinah, John\u2019s identification of Jesus as the divine bridegroom (ch. 6), the implication that the bridegroom in Tg. Song symbolizes the divine bridegroom, and the similarity of historical period of John to the Babylonian exile and the golden calf incident. John underscores the significance of Jesus\u2019 statement by recording the crowd\u2019s question, \u201cWhat is this statement that he said, \u2018You will seek me, and will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come\u2019?\u201d (v. 36). Jesus\u2019 contemporaries interpret the statement as mere human speech: \u201cWhere does this man intend to go that we will not find him?\u201d If the interpretations reflected in Tg. Song 3:2; 5:6; and Exodus Rabbah 45.3 were current as Jesus spoke, then it is quite possible that Jesus was speaking of the withdrawal of the divine presence and indicating that when the Jews seek God through their regular religious observance in the synagogue and at the temple (as in Isa 58:2), they will not find him, for he will withdraw his presence from Israel.
\nInterpreting John 7:34 as divine speech would also call to mind the promise of Moses in Deut 4:29, that from exile \u201cYou will seek [\u05d1\u05e7\u05e9\u05c1] the LORD your God, and you will find him if you seek [\u05d3\u05e8\u05e9\u05c1] him with all your heart and all your soul.\u201d If they do not find him, then, it is not because he is going to a particular place that they do not have the physical means to get to (e.g., \u201camong the dispersion,\u201d John 7:35), but rather because they are not seeking their God with all their heart and soul. The promise is repeated in Jer 29:13, where it is spoken of the generation that will return from Babylon. It is also given with slight changes in 1 Chr 28:9 (David to Solomon) and 2 Chr 15:2 (the prophet Azariah to king Asa).
\nConfirming that John 7:34 is divine speech is the similar statement in 8:21, where \u201cyou will die in your sin\u201d stands in place of \u201cyou will not find me\u201d: \u201cI go away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.\u201d As we saw above, \u201cyou will die in your sins\u201d from a few verses later is prefaced by \u201cunless you believe that I am he\u201d (8:24), which is likewise divine speech, though not understood to be so by his hearers.
\nAnother example of seeking but not finding is in Hos 5:6\u20137: \u201cThey (the rebellious Israelites) go with their flocks and their herds to seek the LORD, but they will not find; he has withdrawn from them. They have dealt treacherously against the LORD.\u201d The mention of going with flocks and herds refers to sacrifice such as they would make at a feast (v. 7 mentions the new moon); similarly John 7:34; 8:21 is spoken in the temple at the Feast of Booths. The Targum of this passage in Hosea is most suggestive: \u201cHe has withdrawn his Shekinah from them; against the Word of the LORD they have dealt falsely.\u201d Similarly, v. 15: \u201cI will withdraw my Shekinah; I will return to my holy dwelling in heaven, until they acknowledge their sin\u201d (MT: \u201cI will go away and return to my place\u201d). John 7:34 and 8:21 can be interpreted along the same lines. Because Israel is going to deal falsely with the divine Word (Matt. 26:59: \u201cThe chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, in order that they might put him to death\u201d), he will return to heaven. The ascension of Jesus is the withdrawal of the Shekinah, the manifest presence of God. John 7:34, 36; 8:21 therefore do not speak merely of the physical departure of a person, but of the withdrawal of the divine presence, and they implicitly warn of the disasters that must follow that withdrawal.
\nWe read in John 8:59 that to avoid being stoned, \u201cJesus hid himself and went out of the temple.\u201d This could be seen as a foreshadowing of the withdrawal of the Shekinah, soon to occur for the same reason (that they sought to kill him). In Isa 45:15, Isaiah exclaims, \u201cTruly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, (its) savior.\u201d The Targum interprets this as saying that God caused his Shekinah to dwell in heaven, though it does not explicitly speak of the withdrawal of the Shekinah, as in other passages in the MT where God says he will hide his face from Israel: \u201cWhen the priests spread out their hands to pray for you, I will take up the face of my Shekinah from you, and when you multiply your prayers, I will not be pleased to receive your prayers, because your hands are full of innocent blood\u201d (Tg. Isa. 1:15). That John says Jesus (whom he has called \u201cthe Word\u201d) hid himself could also be related to Tg. Neof. Deut 31:18, where, instead of saying he will withdraw his Shekinah, God says, \u201cI in my Word will surely hide the face of my good pleasure in that day.\u201d A first-century Targum might have used such language in other passages where in MT God hides his face, or hides himself, including Isa 1:15; 45:15 (see also Deut 31:17, 20; Isa 8:17; 54:8; 57:17; 64:7; Jer 33:5; in Ezek 39:29 he promises not to do so).<\/p>\n
\nAs in John 8, where Jesus hid himself after announcing that his people will seek him in vain, so also in John 12, Jesus hides himself after telling his servants that they must follow him where he is going: \u201cThese things Jesus spoke and, going away, hid himself from them\u201d (v. 36). This is immediately followed by the allusion to Num 14:11, a context which (in the Targums) also speaks of the departure of God\u2019s presence and the lack of help from the divine Word (vv. 42\u201343).
\nIf the targumic belief that the Shekinah departed from Jerusalem forty years before its destruction was current when John wrote, it would explain his preservation of these sayings of Jesus. Of course, an observant Jew could also posit after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans that the cause must have been a great sin on the part of God\u2019s people that resulted in the withdrawal of his Shekinah. By identifying Jesus as the Word, John suggests that the nature of that great sin is identified in the Scriptures recited in the synagogue, such as Tg. Neof. Num 14:42\u201343, where Moses warns Israel after their refusal to go into the promised land, \u201cDo not go up (to fight), for the glory of the Shekinah of the LORD does not dwell upon you, lest you be struck down before your enemies.\u2026 You have turned back from the Word of the LORD, and the LORD will not be with you\u201d (mg.: \u201cthe Word of the LORD will not be your helper\u201d). According to talmudic tradition, that rejection of the divine Word would have been about C.E. 30. This advice Moses gave Israel before precipitously entering the promised land (as well as the advice of Jeremiah during the Babylonian invasion) was equally timely before the Jewish rebellion against Rome.
\nIsaiah 55:6 also expresses the idea that seeking the LORD is no guarantee of success: \u201cSeek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.\u201d This verse is just a few verses after the divine invitation \u201ccome to me\u201d (55:3). Jesus issues a similar invitation at the feast shortly after warning, \u201cyou will seek me and not find me\u201d (John 7:34). And of course, Isaiah\u2019s admonition to call on the LORD \u201cwhile he is near\u201d would be especially appropriate to the ministry of the incarnate Son, who is \u201cGod with us\u201d (Matt 1:23), a designation possibly alluded to in v. 33: \u201cfor a little while longer, I am with you.\u201d
\nIn the case of Isa 55:6, the Targum does not help us make the connection to John 7:34 by using language about seeking the divine Word. It does not say, \u201cSeek the Word of the LORD,\u201d but rather, \u201cSeek the fear of the LORD while you are alive.\u201d As far as I know, only one Targum passage talks about seeking the divine Word, Tg. 1 Chr. 16:10b\u201311a: \u201cLet the heart of those who seek the Word of the LORD rejoice. Seek the Word of the LORD and his strength.\u201d This one example would not count much by way of precedent, especially since there is no evidence that the books of Chronicles were read publicly in the synagogue. This passage in 1 Chronicles is identical (in the MT) to Ps 105:3b\u20134a, and the corresponding Tg. Ps. passage illustrates another common way of rendering the \u201cseek\u201d language: \u201cLet the heart of those who seek instruction from before the LORD rejoice. Seek the instruction of the LORD, and his Torah\u201d (Tg. Ps. 105:3b\u20134a).
\nThe circumlocution used in Tg. Isa. 55:6, \u201cSeek the fear of the LORD,\u201d was also used in Tg. Onq. Deut 1:36 with another verb: \u201cCaleb \u2026 has followed the fear of the LORD fully (MT: he followed the LORD fully).\u201d In Tg. Neof., however, it says that Caleb \u201cfollowed the Word of the LORD fully.\u201d Although it is speculative, it may be the case that in the first-century Targums the idea of seeking the Word of the LORD may have been more common than in our extant Targums. For example, there could have been an alternative reading to Isa 55:6 in the extant Tg. Isa. (or a Palestinian version), \u201cSeek the Word of the LORD while he may be found.\u201d We noted previously that there is some basis for thinking that there was a more \u201cPalestinian\u201d Targum of the Prophets. Besides the evidence from the Tos. Tgs., above we noted a quote from Jer 17 in Pal. Tgs. Gen 40:23 which uses the expression \u201cthe name of the Word of the LORD,\u201d an expression not found anywhere in Tg. Jon. (or Tg. Onq. of the Pentateuch, the other \u201cofficial\u201d Targum). We also saw in ch. 1 that Tg. Ps.-J. Deut 4:7 says \u201cthe Word of the LORD sits upon his throne, high and lifted up,\u201d which is obviously borrowed from Isa 6:1 but does not agree with Tg. Jon.\u2019s wording (Tg. Isa. 6:1 says, \u201cI saw the glory of the LORD, sitting upon his throne, high and lifted up\u201d).<\/p>\n
\nIn the OT, people sought the LORD because of some need. Often that need was to restore God\u2019s favor after some sin (e.g., Exod 33:7; 2 Sam 21:1; 2 Chr 15:4; Isa 26:16; Dan 9:3; Hos 10:12). Since the disciples were about to abandon Jesus at his arrest, they would have such a need. In this context, \u201cYou will seek me\u201d could be a prediction that the disciples would (unlike Judas) return in repentance and find him.
\nTo sum up, Jesus\u2019 expression in John 7:34, \u201cYou will seek me, and you will not find me,\u201d is not merely a prediction that the Jews will go looking for a certain person whom they know. Against the background of the Jewish understanding of Exod 33:7, Jesus is saying that he is going to excommunicate the nation of Israel, just as in the aftermath of the golden calf incident. Those who want to find the LORD must seek him \u201coutside the camp,\u201d as did Moses at the tent of meeting. By using the language of the Targums (identifying Jesus as the divine Word), John witnesses to his fellow Jews that OT history has repeated itself; the divine Word is to be sought and found outside the camp. The historical proof of the excommunication of Israel would follow in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. An application to the Gentile church would also be implied: history will again be repeated if the church stops following Christ \u201coutside the camp,\u201d for example by engaging in syncretism. The Lord\u2019s messages to the seven churches of Asia Minor contain such threats: \u201cUnless you repent, I will remove your lampstand,\u201d etc. (Rev 2:5, 16, 22\u201323; 3:3, 16).<\/p>\n
\nJohn 9:5\u20137
\nI will appoint you \u2026 as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes.
\n\u201cI am the light of the world.\u201d (Jesus then goes on to open blind eyes.)<\/p>\n
\nIn the time of Jesus\u2019 ministry, a great celebration of lights was held during the Feast of Booths (m. Sukkah 5:2\u20133), the significance of which is often assumed to include a reminder of the pillar of light that led the Israelites throughout their wilderness wanderings. This celebration would form a fitting backdrop for Jesus\u2019 words, \u201che who follows me,\u201d not only because of the idea of following the light, as Israel did in the wilderness, but also because this light ceremony utilized an arrangement of four golden lamps in the temple court of women. Towering fifty cubits high and illuminating every courtyard in Jerusalem, this arrangement would have been an appropriate representation of the pillar of fire that Israel followed for forty years. Now we may recall that Tg. Neof. Exod 13:21\u201322 says, \u201cThe Word of the LORD was leading before them during the daytime in a pillar of cloud, to lead them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fiery cloud to give them light, that they might journey by day and night. The pillar of cloud did not cease during the daytime, nor the pillar of fire by night, leading and standing in readiness and shining before the people\u201d (similarly Frg. Tg. P for v. 21). The idea of following Jesus, the light of the world, can thus be associated with the OT ideas of Israel following God in the wilderness and of following the Servant of the LORD in Isaiah. Both associations are valid because the divine Word has become flesh. Those who followed the LORD in the wilderness were on their way to the promised land. Most did not arrive at their destination. Jesus promises that those who persevere in following him will arrive at the destination of eternal life; they have \u201cthe light of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nBut in John 10:11, 14 we again have \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9, and this again raises the question of whether Jesus is using divine speech, in which case we would translate, \u201cI am he, the good shepherd.\u201d There is good reason from the context to answer in the affirmative. John 10:27 can be interpreted as divine speech because of what Jesus goes on to say in v. 28, and because of how vv. 27\u201328 compare with two OT texts, one of which is a divine \u201cI am he\u201d claim; further, one of the Targum translations of it speaks of the divine Word as the source of life in the world to come:<\/p>\n
\nMy sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
\nPs 95:7
\nFor he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you would hear his voice (Tg.: receive his Word), do not harden your hearts as at Meribah.
\nDeut 32:39
\nSee now that I, I am he, and there is no God besides me. I put to death, and I give life, \u2026 and there is no one who can snatch away from my hand.
\nTg. Neof. Deut 32:39 (similarly Frg. Tg. V)
\nSee now that I, I in my Word, am he, and there is no God besides me. I am he who puts to death the living in this world and who brings to life the dead in the world to come.<\/p>\n
\nJohn\u2019s description of Jesus as \u201cfull of grace and truth\u201d also implies that he is the forgiver of the believer\u2019s sins, since it is taken from God\u2019s self-description in Exod 34:6\u2014a comprehensive summary of the moral attributes of God that includes, \u201cwho forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin.\u201d Recall that in the Pal. Tgs. this is part of the revelation to Moses of the divine Word. In Num 14:19, after quoting from the LORD\u2019s description of himself as a forgiving God (Exod 34:7), Moses asks the LORD to forgive the people instead of destroying them for their refusal to follow him into the promised land (or, in language often used in Pal. Tgs., their refusal to follow the divine Word into the promised land). To this, the Word of the LORD replies to Moses, \u201cI have pardoned [\u05e9\u05c1\u05e8\u05d9] and forgiven [\u05e9\u05c1\u05d1\u05e7], as you have spoken\/according to your word\u201d (Tg. Neof. [mg.] and Frg. Tg. V Num 14:20).
\nThese two words used to express forgiveness are also used in Tg. Ps.-J. Lev 9:23. In the MT of this verse, Moses and Aaron go into the tent of meeting and then come out and bless the people. The glory of the LORD then appears to all the people. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan embellishes this account to explain why the Shekinah was not immediately revealed after the offerings of v. 22, and why Moses and Aaron went into the tent:<\/p>\n
\nTargum Neofiti Deut 32:39 reads quite differently but is also of interest: \u201cSee now that I, I in my Word, am he, and there is no other God besides me. I am he who puts to death the living in this world, and brings to life the dead in the world to come. I am he who strikes, and I am he who heals, and there is no one who delivers from my hand.\u201d Verse 40 adds, \u201cAs I live and exist in my Word forever.\u201d The Frg. Tg. V Deut 32:39\u201340 is almost identical to Tg. Neof.
\nBy now I hope my reader is becoming sympathetic to the idea that John calls Jesus \u201cthe Word\u201d because of the use of Memra and Dibbera\/Dibbura in the Targums. Such a conclusion helps resolve one of the problems of John\u2019s Gospel, namely, that Jesus is not identified as the Word outside of the Prologue. If \u201cthe Word\u201d is targumic, then we can see that Jesus repeatedly saying \u201cI am he\u201d in the body of the Gospel, in contexts that echo the divine \u201cI am he\u201d of the OT, amounts to the same thing as John\u2019s designation of him as the Word who is God in the prologue. Both expressions identify Jesus as the God of Israel, the one true God, so that the divine \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in the body of the Gospel complement the Logos title in the Prologue. References to the divine Word in the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of Pal. Tgs. Deut 32:39 serve to make this connection.
\nStrengthening the idea that John is using the language of the Targums in the Prologue (calling Jesus the Word) that corresponds to MT language in the body of the Gospel (Jesus echoing the divine \u201cI am he\u201d language of the MT not found in the Targums) are other examples where John uses targumic language in place of an MT equivalent in sayings of Jesus. We have seen that the \u201ccome to me\u201d language of Jesus in John 5\u20137 depends on \u201ccome to me\u201d in the divine invitation of Isa 55:3, whereas John, speaking of the same spiritual transaction, uses targumic language from Isa 55:3 (and elsewhere) that speaks of those who receive Jesus (the Word). Similarly, Jesus says \u201cbelieve in me,\u201d whereas John speaks of believing in \u201chis name,\u201d which is the Targums\u2019 way of referring to the divine Word. As we noted, outside the Gospel, John calls Jesus \u201che who is from the beginning\u201d (1 John 2:13, 14), which is how God describes himself three times in Tg. Isa. Generally, this expression stands for MT \u201cI am the first,\u201d which forms part of \u201cI am the first and the last,\u201d an expression used by Jesus three times in Revelation (1:17; 2:8; 22:13).
\nIn this chapter, we will look at references to the divine Word not only in Pal. Tgs. Deut 32:39 but also in the context of the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in Targum Isaiah, which, for the most part, agree with the MT sayings. We will also look at the several dozen divine \u201cI am he\u201d sayings which were added in the Pal. Tgs., almost always rendering MT expressions such as \u201cI (am) the LORD\u201d as \u201cI (am) he, the LORD.\u201d Many of these sayings may provide additional illumination regarding the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of Jesus, and some of them, according to one Pal. Tg. tradition (Tg. Neof. or a marginal gloss in Tg. Neof.), are spoken by the divine Word, making them potentially relevant to understanding the sayings of Jesus in John. Past studies have (rightly) examined the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in John from the background of the MT and LXX, but scholars have overlooked the substantial number of additional \u201cI am he\u201d sayings from the Pal. Tgs. of the Pentateuch, as well as references to the targumic Word in the context of the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in Isaiah.
\nWe will also see that there are \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in the Pal. Tgs. that, although not echoed in any \u201cI am he\u201d saying of Jesus, nevertheless speak to some aspect of the person and work of Christ in John\u2019s Gospel. For this kind of example, we can compare John 10:27, \u201cNo one can snatch them out of my hand,\u201d which (as noted in ch. 8) seems to be taken from the MT of Deut 32:39 (= Isa 43:13), without quoting the \u201cI am he\u201d portion of those passages. Targum Neofiti and Frg. Tg. V Deut 32:39 are of interest because they speak to the issue of eternal life, which also figures in the context of John 10:27. Conversely, there are references to the divine Word in the Targums that, apart from any \u201cI am he\u201d saying, may nevertheless illuminate one of these sayings in John.
\nIt should be acknowledged that there is no inherent divine claim in the mere utterance of the words \u201cI am he.\u201d The man born blind, for example, kept saying \u201cI am he\u201d (\u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9) when asked whether he really was born blind (John 9:9). David says, \u201cI am he who sinned\u201d (1 Chr 21:17 MT and Tg.). Targum Lamentations 3:1 says, \u201cI am he, the man who has seen affliction.\u201d Similarly, there are a few human \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in the Pal. Tgs. of the Pentateuch. In Tg. Ps.-J. Gen 45:3, we find, \u201cI am he, Joseph\u201d (spoken when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers). In Tg. Ps.-J. and Frg. Tg. V Lev 10:20, Moses says, \u201cI am he from whom the practice was hidden, and my brother Aaron taught it to me.\u201d In Tg. Neof. Deut 5:5, Moses says, \u201cI was standing between the Word of the LORD and you\u201d (referring to Exod 20); a gloss adds \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 to \u05d0\u05e0\u05d4. \u05d0\u05e0\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 is also used ten times in a tale told in Frg. Tg. P Exod 12:2, where the various months of the year issue their claims as to why they should be the first month of the year. This raises the question, are passages in the Pal. Tgs. where God says \u05d0\u05e0\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 relevant to the present investigation?
\nIn most of the passages in the Pal. Tgs. where God says \u05d0\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0, in MT of the passage he says \u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9. For example, in Exod 6:2, the LORD says to Moses, \u201cI am the LORD\u201d (\u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4), while Tg. Neof. has \u05d0\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 \u05d9\u05d9\u05d9 (CTg. D also adds \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0). Is the \u201caddition\u201d of \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 a matter of Aramaic idiom, of no more significance than the \u201cadded\u201d \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 in \u201cI am Joseph,\u201d or is it theologically motivated, perhaps as a way of referring to the name of God, based on the importance of this phrase in Deut 32:39 and Isa 41\u201352?
\nIn considering Hebrew phrases such as \u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 \u05de\u05b7\u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9, \u201cyou are [he] my king\u201d (Ps 44:4), S. R. Driver raised the question whether \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 should be considered the copula, in which case \u05d0\u05b7\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 should simply be understood \u201cyou are,\u201d or is \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 an anticipation of the predicate, in which case the sense would be \u201cyou are he, my king.\u201d Driver opted for the latter. We have the same choices in considering the \u05d0\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 phrases in the Pal. Tgs. outside of Deut 32:39. Even if one decides that there is an anticipation of the predicate in these passages, justifying the translation \u201cI am he\u201d as opposed to \u201cI am,\u201d it is still possible that the phrase is merely an expression of Aramaic idiom, rather than something meant to point to the name of God. So there is some uncertainty as to whether the additional \u05d0\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 passages in the Pal. Tgs. of the Pentateuch are relevant to an investigation of the \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings of Jesus.
\nOn the other hand, the fact that the divine \u201cI am he\u201d greatly predominates over the human \u201cI am he\u201d in the MT and the Targums would seem to give warrant for their inclusion in this study as at least potentially of interest. Targum Jonathan does not use \u201cI am he\u201d except in translating MT \u201cI am he,\u201d spoken in the prophets only by God (perhaps unintentionally, \u201cI am he\u201d in its first occurrence, Isa 41:4, is not translated), with the exception of three places where a divine \u201cI am he\u201d is added: once each in Tg. Isa. 43:10 and 48:12 (where there is already one \u201cI am he\u201d) and twice in Tg. Isa. 44:6. The effect of these additions is to make Tg. Isa. 43:10; 44:6; 48:12 all say, \u201cI am he, I am he who is from the beginning.\u201d As we have noted, the designation of Jesus as \u201chim who is from the beginning\u201d in 1 John 2:13\u201314 seems to come from this targumic expression, confirming evidence being that 1 John 2:12 draws from another targumic \u201cI am he\u201d saying from this context, \u201cI, I am he who forgives your sins for my name\u2019s sake\u201d (Tg. Isa. 43:25).
\nIn Tg. Onq., \u201cI am he\u201d is used only for MT \u201cI am he,\u201d which means it is found only in Tg. Onq. Deut 32:39. In Tg. Neof., however, including glosses, \u201cI am he\u201d occurs forty-seven times (in forty-two verses), forty-six of them spoken by God. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan has the expression forty-four times (in forty verses), forty-two of which are spoken by God. The Frg. Tgs. have a number of divine \u201cI am he\u201d sayings (in five verses), but they are not unique, agreeing with Tgs. Neof. or Ps.-J., or both. The Cairo Genizah Targum fragments likewise have some \u201cI am he\u201d sayings that agree with other Pal. Tgs. The CTg. F Lev 22:33 is of special interest, since it reads much like Tg. Neof., but its added text well illustrates why John might have been interested in the targumic Word. The following is from Tg. Neof. Lev 22:32\u201333, with bracketed text added by CTg. F:<\/p>\n
\nIn most cases where the additional \u201cI am he\u201d sayings from the Pal. Tgs. seem relevant to John, they reinforce the \u201cdivine\u201d interpretation already attributed by scholars to some of the \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings of Jesus, especially those of John 8:28, 58. In addition, certain \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings in John that would not appear to be divine speech based merely on an examination of the MT and LXX would, however, appear to be so based on examination of one or more passages in the Pal. Tgs.
\nVarious translations of the MT phrases \u05d0\u05e0\u05db\u05d9 \u05d0\u05e0\u05db\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0\/\u05d0\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0 (I am he, I am the one, I am the same) and the NT phrase \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 (I am he, it is I, I am) may be justified grammatically. The approach taken here assumes that every instance of \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 in the Gospel reflects a spoken Aramaic \u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b8\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0, and that \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 is used by John in translation because that is how the LXX renders the divine \u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0 of Deut 32:39 and Isaiah. We will be considering all twenty-two of the sayings together, rather than just the so-called \u201cdivine sayings\u201d or the so-called \u201cI am\u201d sayings (the good shepherd, etc.). It is possible that the number twenty-two itself signals that this is John\u2019s intent, since this is the number of letters in both the Hebrew and the Aramaic alphabet and could therefore convey the \u201cfirst and the last\u201d claim that accompanies the divine \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in Isaiah and Revelation, the last of which accompanies, \u201cI am the Alpha and the Omega\u201d (Rev 1:8; 21:6; 22:13).
\nGiven this possibility, it is important first to verify that there are indeed twenty-two sayings, since others might count them differently. If we just count \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 spoken by Jesus, or in words of Jesus quoted by his hearers, there are actually twenty-three occurrences (John 4:26; 6:20, 35, 41, 48, 51; 8:12, 18, 24, 28, 58; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1, 5; 18:5, 6, 8). But the second-to-last of these (18:6) is just a reiteration of 18:5 rather than a truly separate saying, the two verses being counted together as the twenty-first.
\nSomeone might object to this, \u201cBut John 6:41 is also a quote of an earlier saying, so if you do not count John 18:6 separately you should not count John 6:41 separately. This leaves twenty-one sayings rather than twenty-two.\u201d I count John 6:41 because it is not a quote of the previous \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 saying (v. 35), but at best may be a conflation of vv. 35 and 38:<\/p>\n
\nI am he, the bread of life.
\nV. 38
\nI have come down from heaven.
\nV. 41
\nAt this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, \u201cI am he, the bread that came down from heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nBy speaking of categories, I do not mean to suggest that the \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings could be divided up neatly and each one put into one or the other of the three different categories describing the person and work of Christ. Some scholars have observed that a number of these sayings are double entendres, and I have suggested that John 1:47\u201351 is a triple entendre. What I mean by three categories, then, is that when the saying was heard by those listening to Jesus or read by later readers, it will immediately suggest to a biblically literate person (one familiar with the OT, especially the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings) that Jesus either is speaking either as divine (like various OT sayings in the MT and in the Targums), or is claiming to be a certain human being (the Son of Man, the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth), or is representing himself as the way to the Father, to heaven, or to eternal life. Further reflection on the sayings and their contexts, however, may suggest double and triple entendres, just as is the case in John 1:47\u201351. Together all of this suggests simply that the \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings of Jesus are the \u201cI am he\u201d of the Son. Those in the first category could be spoken also by the Father and the Holy Spirit, but those in the second and third categories are unique to the Son. They should be considered not separately, however, but together as they appear in the Gospel. Together they tell us what it means that Jesus is the Messiah: he is fully God, he is a real man, and he is the way to the Father. He is the divine Messiah, and the Way who is divine.
\nAre we justified in basing these three categories on John 1:47\u201351, a passage that does not contain an \u201cI am he\u201d saying? Even if one acknowledges the triple perspective of John 1:47\u201351, it could nevertheless be mere coincidence that the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings can be categorized in the same way. A couple of observations will strengthen the probability that John did indeed intend us to recognize these three categories. The first is that, as mentioned before, John 1:47\u201351 is paradigmatic to the Gospel in certain ways. It contains the first Son of Man saying, which we saw alludes to both Ps 8 and to the figure of Jacob at Bethel. We noted that Jacob\u2019s journey when he stopped at Bethel provides a paradigm for the work of Christ: Jacob left his father\u2019s house on a twofold mission, to save his life and to get a wife, after which he would return in peace to his father\u2019s house, all with the help of the divine Word, according to the Targums. Jesus left his Father\u2019s house (the divine Word became flesh) to save Jacob\u2019s (eternal) life, and to win a bride for himself (the church), so that in Jesus the twofold mission of Jacob becomes one and the same. So it would not be surprising if this passage also gave us a key to interpreting the \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings of Jesus. We could add to this observation the fact that the first of these sayings occurs when Jesus meets a woman at a well, evoking the theme found in Gen 29 (see ch. 6, Introduction and The Woman at the Well in the OT), where Jacob met his bride-to-be at a well.
\nA second observation is that there is in fact an indirect connection between John 1:47\u201351 and the divine \u201cI am he.\u201d In both Tg. Neof. and Tg. Ps.-J. (also CTg. E) Gen 31:13, the angel of the LORD says to Jacob in Haran, \u201cI am he, the God who was revealed to you at Bethel.\u201d This statement seems to point back to Gen 28:10\u201321, which Tg. Neof. and Tg. Ps.-J. (as well as both Frg. Tg. traditions) narrate as a divine revelation based on the fact that \u201cthe Word desired to speak with him\u201d at Bethel.<\/p>\n
\nDivine: The echo of Isa 52:6 has already been noted: \u201cTherefore, my people will know my name. In that day (they will know) that I am he, the one who is speaking, here am I.\u201d Targum Isaiah 52:6 reads, \u201cTherefore my name shall be exalted among the peoples; therefore in that time you shall know that it is I who speak, and my Word endures.\u201d David Mark Ball notes that the two levels of meaning in John 4:26 result in two levels of irony. The first level of meaning, that Jesus is the Messiah, is there for all to see. The irony is that the Samaritan woman has been talking about the Messiah to the Messiah himself without knowing it. The second level of meaning depends on a knowledge of the connection between John 4:26 and Isa 52:6, and the irony is that the reader who is unaware of this connection, though ahead of the Samaritan woman in already understanding that Jesus is the Messiah, may nevertheless be like the Samaritan woman in not knowing the depth of who it is that she is talking to. Such a theme is made explicit in the Lord\u2019s words to Philip in John 14:9 and in my opinion reflects one of John\u2019s burdens as he observes the church in its second or third generation. John addresses members who have been raised as Christians, who are familiar with the stories of Jesus from the Synoptic Gospels, and would acknowledge that Jesus is the promised Messiah, yet do not know who Jesus really is. Some may be teachers in the church who, like Nicodemus, are unregenerate; some may be leaders in the church who, like the Jews who persecuted Jesus, excommunicate true brethren (cf. 3 John 9\u201310). In line with this burden, it is lamentable to see how rarely the connection between John 4:26 and Isa 52:6 has been recognized in commentaries and Bible translations.
\n\u201cMy name\u201d in Isa 52:6 refers to the Tetragrammaton, to which \u201cI am he\u201d also refers. This verse is a prediction that at some future point, God\u2019s people will know this name. The observation that Israel has known this name from the beginning could be seen as a difficulty, which Tg. Isa. resolves by modifying the prediction to read \u201cmy name will be exalted among the peoples.\u201d The Targum also renders \u201chere I am\u201d with \u201cmy Word endures,\u201d which may have relevance to John 4:26. That John 4:26 is spoken to the Samaritan woman, who represents a broader definition of \u201cmy people\u201d (as noted in ch. 6) that foreshadows a largely Gentile church, could indicate that Isa 52:6 is fulfilled by people who have not previously known God\u2019s name (Gentiles) coming to know it and to be his people. Another possibility is that in the person and work of Jesus Christ in the days of his flesh, there was an extended proclamation of the divine name, much as when the LORD came down on Mt. Sinai and passed before Moses, proclaiming his name, describing his attributes, \u201cfull of grace and truth,\u201d etc., at which time, according to the Pal. Tgs., Moses saw the glory of the Word (Dibbera\/Dibbura; Exod 33:23). The ministry of Jesus is an extended fulfillment of Exod 33:19: \u201cI will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you.\u2026\u201d As discussed in ch. 3, the mission of Jesus is described in John 17:6, 26 as making known the Father\u2019s name (YHWH), which is also his own name given him by the Father (17:11\u201312). Since Isa 52:6 is the last \u201cI am he\u201d saying of Isaiah, and John 4:26 (which is dependent on Isa 52:6) is the first \u201cI am he\u201d saying in John, we can see that in revealing the name and character of God in the flesh, Jesus is basically picking up where he left off in Isaiah.
\nWe have seen, and will see in more detail, that a number of the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in John depend on the divine \u201cI am he\u201d of Isa 43:10, and John 4:26 is unique in depending on Isa 52:6. However, there is also an indirect connection between John 4:26 and Tg. Isa. 43:10, because Tg. Isa. 43:10 mentions the Messiah:<\/p>\n
\nThe divine dimension to \u201cI am he\u201d in John 4:26 is also brought out by considering Exod 17, where the divine bridegroom, so to speak, met Israel at a miraculous well. In ch. 6, we took note of the reading of Tg. Neof., where the divine Word stood in readiness by the rock which, when stuck by his servant Moses, poured out water for his people. In John 4, the Word and servant come together in the Word who became flesh.
\nMeans: In the context, Jesus is the one who gives living water that wells up to eternal life (vv. 10, 14). The giving of water, we saw, was actually the bridegroom\u2019s role (Gen 29; Exod 2; Exod 17), and the giving of gifts was what Abraham\u2019s servant did; Jesus\u2019 giving of water parallels the servant\u2019s giving of gifts in Gen 24:22. To bring out the dimension of means one would need to identify Jesus more specifically as the source of the water. This is actually accomplished not here but in John 19:34: \u201cOne of the soldiers pierced Jesus\u2019 side with a spear, and out came blood and water.\u201d Above (ch. 6) we noted the reading of Tg. Ps.-J. Num 20:11, which says that the first time Moses struck the rock, it dripped blood; the second time, abundant water flowed forth. Perhaps, then, John recorded the flow of blood and water because he saw it as pointing to the identification of Jesus not just as the giver of the living water of which he spoke to the Samaritan woman, but also as the source of that water.
\nIf we accept that John 4 alludes to Exod 17, where we see the divine bridegroom and his servant Moses at the rock from which water came forth, then we can see in the Gospel the three perspectives come together in the person of Christ: the divine bridegroom, the servant, and the rock. Or if we look at Tg. Neof. Exod 17, where we have God and his Word, his servant (Moses), and the rock, in John 4 we have corresponding to this scene the Father and the Son, who is divine bridegroom, servant, and source of life-giving water.<\/p>\n
\nDivine: In the previous chapter I presented reasons for relating this saying to the divine \u201cI am he\u201d saying in Isa 43:10. In 43:1, the LORD says to Israel, \u201cDo not be afraid.\u201d In 43:2, he says he will be with them when they pass through the waters, which is what the disciples were doing at the time John 6:20 is spoken. In Isa 43:3, he says he is their savior. In 43:5, he says, \u201cDo not fear, for I am with you.\u201d Finally, there is the \u201cI am he\u201d saying of 43:10, which is of great significance to other \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings in John. Targum Isaiah 43:2 takes God\u2019s promise of being with his people when they cross through the waters to refer back to the crossing of the Red Sea. When Israel crossed the sea, it was dark, with a strong wind blowing, as in John 6:16\u201321. Several Pal. Tg. Exod 14 passages point to the help of the divine Word in Israel\u2019s sea crossing (see ch. 2, p. 53, no. 13). Targum Isaiah 43:2 says, \u201cMy Word was your help\u201d (in crossing the sea), and v. 5 says, \u201cMy Word will be your help\u201d (referring to the future). Thus biblical history is being repeated with the divine Word helping the disciples cross the sea.
\nPsalm 77:19 says that God\u2019s way was in the sea (i.e., the Red Sea) and his footprints were not evident, and Ps 107:4\u201330 describes sailors being saved from stormy waters by the LORD and brought safely to their destination, all in a context of the LORD filling the hungry with good things. These passages pertain to the previous and next episodes in John.
\nMeans: The dimension of means is brought out in the detail that when Jesus enters the boat, immediately they reach the other side (John 6:21). As we have observed previously, John uses words found also in the Prologue to give us a literal picture of Jesus coming to (v. 17) his own, of his own receiving him (v. 21), and of his own being helped to their destination. The disciples\u2019 act of receiving Jesus into the boat and reaching the other side reminds us of John 1:11\u201312: he came to his own and they did not receive him, but to those who did receive him, he gave the right to become children of God and thus to receive eternal life.<\/p>\n
\nMeans: The predicates of \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 in these passages are \u201cthe bread of life\u201d (vv. 35, 48), \u201cthe bread that came down from heaven\u201d (v. 41), and \u201cthe living bread that came down from heaven\u201d (v. 58). These \u201cI am he\u201d sayings most obviously fit the category of means. Using the metaphor of bread, they describe Jesus as the means to eternal life. The manna in the wilderness enabled men to live only a few years longer, but by eating of this bread, one may live forever. This bread also \u201ccame down\u201d from heaven, as in Exod 16. In the MT of Exod 16:4, the verb \u201ccause to rain\u201d is used, but the Targums use the verb \u201cbring down,\u201d so that the language in John of bread that came down from heaven (6:35, 48, 58) is closer to Exod 16:4 in the Targums than it is to the MT. In MT Exod 16:15, Moses answers the question \u201cWhat is it?\u201d (the question from which the manna was named) by saying, \u201cIt is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.\u201d Targum Neofiti [mg.] says that the manna \u201cis by the Word of the LORD for you as food.\u201d In John 6, the situation is altered so that the divine Word becomes the food, the flesh which the Father and he give for the life of the world (vv. 32, 51). A jar of manna was kept in the holy of holies, the place where the Word spoke to Moses; in the incarnation, the Word leaves the holy of holies, so to speak, and becomes a new kind of manna to give life to his people.
\nDivine: The manna began in Exod 16. The Pal. Tgs. Exod 16:12 say, \u201cAt twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall eat bread, and you shall know that I am he, the LORD your God.\u201d This \u201cI am he\u201d is spoken by the divine Word according to Tg. Neof. [mg.] v. 11. The Logos title given by John to Jesus also brings out the divine aspect, since, as mentioned above, the people\u2019s complaint against Jesus is like the complaint against the Word of the LORD in the Targums.
\nWe earlier made mention of the fact that Jesus\u2019 statement, \u201cI have come down from heaven\u201d (John 6:38), is a divine statement based on its OT background (ch. 4); the manna came down from the sky, Jesus came down from the divine dwelling place, as in OT times. We also noted (ch. 8) that the \u201ccome(s) to me\u201d language in this chapter (vv. 35, 37 [2x], 44, 45, 65) has its basis in the divine invitation \u201ccome to me\u201d and \u201ceat what is good\u201d of Isa 55:1\u20133. If \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 in these passages is meant to represent the spoken Aramaic \u201cI am he,\u201d then we can note that \u201cI am he\u201d is also associated with life in the world to come in Tg. Neof. Deut 32:39: \u201cI, I in my Word, am he.\u2026 I am he \u2026 who brings to life the dead in the world to come.\u201d This Word has become flesh, John tells us, and Jesus tells us in John 6:51, \u201cThis bread which I shall give for the life of the world, is my flesh,\u201d or, in terms of John 1:14, this bread is the Word who became flesh for the life of the world. Targum Neofiti Deut 32:40 says, \u201cI live and exist in my Word forever,\u201d and Jesus says, \u201cI am the living bread\u201d (v. 51) and \u201cJust as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father \u2026\u201d (v. 57). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Deut 32:43 says, \u201cBy his Word he will make atonement for the sins of his land and of his people,\u201d which may be echoed in Jesus\u2019 identification with \u201cthe bread of God, which gives life to the world\u201d (John 6:33). The \u201cbread of life\u201d is thus \u201cthe Word of life,\u201d that is, the Word who gives life. This is what John calls Jesus in 1 John 1:1, and he goes on, using targumic language associated with the Word in Tg. Ps.-J. Deut 32:39, to say that this life was \u201crevealed\u201d (1 John 1:2). Taken together, these parallels indicate that the fourfold \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 of John 6 can be indirectly linked to the divine \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of Pal. Tgs. Deut 32:39.
\nHuman: As always when Jesus spoke, the human aspect was obvious to the people: \u201cIs this not Jesus, son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?\u201d (John 6:42). After saying \u201cI have come down from heaven,\u201d Jesus goes on to say \u201cnot to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me\u201d (v. 38). This is again servant language, and could recall the figure of the Servant of the LORD of Isaiah who, though he dies, sees his offspring (Isa 53:9\u201310). Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man, the progenitor of this offspring (see ch. 4), in 6:27, 53, and 62.
\nThe human aspect is brought out also by OT analogy: Moses was the miracle worker who gave bread in the wilderness. The Jews asked Jesus, \u201cWhat sign do you perform, so that we might believe?\u201d (John 6:30), and they go on to suggest that he offer them something like manna. It is interesting, though, that it is Philip, not Jesus, who is Moses-like in his unbelief when Jesus tests him (John 6:5\u20137; cf. Num 11:13, 21\u201322).<\/p>\n
\nIn John 8:18 (\u201cI am he, the one who testifies concerning myself\u201d) the human interpretation seems most obvious in light of the context, in which Jesus says, \u201cthe testimony of two men is true\u201d (v. 17). And in v. 28 (\u201cWhen you lift up the Son of Man, then you shall know that I am he\u201d) \u201cI am he\u201d obviously points back to \u201cthe Son of Man.\u201d
\nOne could also say that the words of Jesus throughout this chapter (as well as chs. 7 and 9) identify him as the Servant of the LORD promised in Isaiah:<\/p>\n
\nJohn
\nSent by the Father
\n48:16
\n7:16, 18, 28\u201329, 33; 8:16, 18, 26, 29, 42; 9:4
\nTaught by the Father
\n50:4\u20135
\n7:16; 8:26, 28, 38, 40
\nA teacher with disciples
\n50:4
\n7:14\u201317; 8:12, 31
\nLight of the world
\n42:6; 49:6 (cf. 9:2)
\n8:12; 9:5
\nOpens blind eyes
\n42:7; 49:6
\n9:1\u201341 (esp. 39)
\nSets prisoners free
\n42:7; 49:9
\n8:32\u201336
\nCannot be convicted of sin
\n50:8; 53:9
\n8:46
\nHonors and pleases the Father
\n53:10
\n8:29
\nHonored, glorified by the Father
\n42:1; 49:5; 52:13
\n8:54
\nDishonored by Israel
\n49:7; 53:3
\n7:19\u201320; 8:37, 40, 48\u201349, 52, 59
\nIsrael blind, deaf (unbelieving)
\n42:16, 19
\n8:43, 45\u201347; 9:41
\nCame for judgment
\n42:1, 3\u20134
\n9:39<\/p>\n
\nSimilarly, \u201cI am he, the one who testifies concerning myself\u201d (John 8:18) can be seen as a divine claim, since in the OT divine \u201cI am he\u201d sayings, God is testifying concerning himself that he is the one true God and that all other gods are false. Deuteronomy 32 is a prophetic testimony to the apostasy of Israel, which, when it comes true, will prove that \u201cI am he\u201d (v. 39). The \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in Isaiah function in a similar way. Like the OT \u201cI am he\u201d contexts, Jesus here predicts apostasy (see below on 8:28).
\nOne might respond that the \u201cI am he\u201d of Isaiah is the \u201cI am he\u201d of the Father, since part of the divine testimony in that context is \u201cBehold, my servant\u201d (Isa 42:1), which must represent the Father speaking about the Son, not the Son speaking about himself. Thus, in the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of Isaiah, it must be the Father testifying concerning himself, not the Son. Indeed, Jesus\u2019 statement that \u201cthe Father testifies concerning me\u201d could refer not only to the miracles that the Father gave the Son to perform, but also to the Father\u2019s testimony concerning the Son found in the book of Isaiah that, for example, he would open blind eyes (obviously relevant to John 9). I would grant this point, but also point out that we see in John that the Son shares the divine \u201cI am he\u201d of the Father; what the Son sees the Father doing, he does (John 8:38; 10:37), and so the Son also testifies concerning himself. From OT to NT there is a progression in revelation, though this is already hinted at in Isaiah in the divine names given to the Messiah (9:6) and the description of the servant as \u201chigh and lifted up\u201d (52:13), the same way God is described elsewhere (6:1; 33:10; 57:15), in contrast to men who are high and lifted up with pride and idolatry (Isa 2:12\u201317).
\nThere are also some suggestive passages in the Targums that speak of the divine Word as a witness. The people ask Jeremiah whether they should go to Egypt or stay in Judah after Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem, and they promise to obey the word of the LORD through Jeremiah: \u201cMay the Word of the LORD be among us as a true and faithful witness, if we do not act according to every word in which the LORD your God has sent you to us, whether good or evil; we will receive the Word of the LORD our God before whom we are sending you, so that it will be well for us when we receive the Word of the LORD our God\u201d (Tg. Jer. 42:5\u20136). As it turned out, they did not receive the Word of the LORD, but went to Egypt in rebellion and, ironically, the divine Word did appear among them as a true and faithful witness when the Word became flesh hundreds of years later, and again they did not receive him (John 1:11).
\nMicah 1:2 says, \u201cLet the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the LORD from his holy temple. For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.\u201d The Targum says, \u201cLet the Word of the LORD God be a witness against you,\u201d and for the next phrase a textual variant says, \u201cthe Word of the LORD from his holy temple.\u201d In the next verse, the idea of the LORD coming and descending is changed in both cases to the idea of the LORD being revealed: \u201cFor behold, the LORD is being revealed from the place of the house of his Shekinah, and he will be revealed and will tread upon the strongholds of the earth.\u201d One could easily imagine a Palestinian version of this verse speaking of the divine Word being revealed, but even without such a reading in v. 3, v. 2 as it is in Tg. Jon. could be viewed as another \u201cCaiaphas (i.e., unwitting) prophecy,\u201d fulfilled in the Word becoming flesh and being revealed as a witness against his people in the earthly temple, where so much of the dialogue in John\u2019s Gospel takes place (including ch. 8).<\/p>\n
\nJohn 8:25\u201326
\nFrom the beginning I have not spoken in secret.\u2026 And now, the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.
\n(I said to you) in the beginning that which I am also speaking to you (now) [\u03a4\u1f74\u03bd \u1f00\u03c1\u03c7\u1f74\u03bd \u1f45 \u03c4\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03bb\u03b1\u03bb\u1ff6 \u1f51\u03bc\u1fd6\u03bd].\u2026 He who sent me is true.<\/p>\n
\nWhether or not John 8:25 is meant to recall the revelation of the divine name at the burning bush, an allusion in the previous verse to the divine \u201cI am he\u201d of Isa 43:10 is frequently noted and was discussed in ch. 8. There it was also noted that vv. 24 and 28 together give a nice parallel to the \u201cknow and believe\u201d of Isa 43:10. The allusion to Isa 43:10 was not immediately obvious, no doubt because the Jews were stuck on the expectation of an answer to a different question, \u201cAre you the Messiah?\u201d; but the echo of Isa 43:10 should be obvious upon reflection, especially since we have the advantage of John\u2019s opening statement, that the Word was in the beginning with God and was God. The reference to \u201cthe beginning\u201d in John 8:25 might also be meant to allude to Isa 43:10, not the MT but the Targum, which reproduces MT \u201cI am he,\u201d then interprets \u201cbefore me was no god formed\u201d as \u201cI am he who is from the beginning\u201d (a claim also found at Tg. Isa. 44:6 and 48:12).
\nIn John 8:28, Jesus says: \u201cWhen you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he.\u201d Here \u201cI am he\u201d seems simply to point back to \u201cthe Son of Man,\u201d just as in 4:26 it seems to simply point back to \u201cthe Messiah.\u201d As J. H. Bernard noted, in 8:28 \u201cI am he\u201d could refer back to \u201cthe Son of Man\u201d or could be used as in 8:24, \u201cthe phrase being then identical with the self-designation of Yahweh in the Prophets, \u05d0\u05b2\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d0.\u2026 On either interpretation, the style of the sentence is that of Divine proclamations\u201d (referring to Ezek 11:10). As confirmation that the style of John 8:28 \u201cis that of Divine proclamations,\u201d the sequence \u03b3\u03bd\u03ce\u03c3\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5 \u1f45\u03c4\u03b9 \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce from v. 28 occurs eight times in the LXX (sometimes also followed by \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9), the MT equivalent of which is always followed by \u201cYHWH\u201d or \u201cYHWH your God\u201d (Exod 6:7; 10:2; 16:12; Ezek 13:23; 36:11; 37:6, 13, 14). In NASB, the expression \u201cyou\/they might\/may\/will\/shall know that I am\u201d occurs eighty-one times, always spoken by the LORD in the OT (seventy-eight times, sixty-three of which are in Ezekiel), Christ in the NT. The other NT occurrences (besides John 8:28) are also spoken by Jesus in John\u2019s writings: John 14:20 (\u201con that day you shall know that I am in my Father\u201d) and Rev 2:23 (\u201cthe churches will know that I am he who searches [\u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 \u1f41 \u1f10\u03c1\u03b1\u03c5\u03bd\u1ff6\u03bd] the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds\u201d), which is based on Jer 17:10 (\u201cI, the LORD, search the heart. I test the mind. Even to give to each man according to his ways\u201d).
\nWe can also compare John 8:28 to similar sayings of Tg. Neof., where eight times in Exodus the LORD says, \u201cyou\/they will know that I am he, the LORD,\u201d usually spoken by the divine Word (as in John 8:28), as indicated by the marginal glosses (marked by square brackets):<\/p>\n
\nAnd the [Word of the] LORD spoke with Moses and said to him, \u201cI am he, the LORD.\u2026 And my Word will be to you a redeemer God and you will know that I am he, the LORD your God who redeemed and brought you out from beneath the yoke of the servitude of the Egyptians.\u201d (also CTg. D)
\nTg. Neof. Exod 7:1, 5
\nAnd the [Word of the] LORD said to Moses, \u201c\u2026 And the Egyptians will know that I am he, the LORD, when I set the plagues of my punishment upon Egypt.\u201d (MT: \u201cwhen I stretch out my hand against Egypt\u201d; cf. John 21:18)
\nTg. Neof. Exod 7:17
\nAnd the [Word of the] LORD said, \u201cIn this you will know that I am he, the LORD: behold, I strike the waters of the river with the staff that is in my hand and they shall be turned into blood\u201d (also CTg. D, except not spoken by the divine Word; cf. John 2:11; 8:28)
\nTg. Neof. Exod 8:20\u201322
\nThus says the [Word of the] LORD, \u201c\u2026 I will do signs and wonders \u2026 so that you may know that I am he, the Lord, whose Word dwells [the glory of whose Shekinah dwells] within the land.\u201d
\nTg. Neof. Exod 10:2
\nAnd the [Word of the] LORD said to Moses, \u201c\u2026 and you will know that I am he, the LORD.\u201d
\nTg. Neof. Exod 14:1, 4
\nAnd the [Word of the] LORD spoke with Moses, saying \u201c\u2026 and the Egyptians will know that I am he, the LORD.\u201d (likewise Exod 14:15, 18)
\nTg. Neof. Exod 16:12
\nAnd the [Word of the] LORD spoke with Moses, saying \u201c\u2026 and in the morning you shall be filled with bread, and you shall know that I am he, the LORD your God.\u201d (cf. John 6:35, 48: \u201cI am he, the bread of life\u201d; 6:41: \u201cI am he, the bread that came down from heaven\u201d; 6:51: \u201cI am he, the living bread that came down from heaven\u201d)
\nTg. Neof. Exod 29:43, 45\u201346
\n\u201cAnd my Word will meet the children of Israel there (= at the tabernacle, in context).\u2026 And I shall make my Shekinah dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and my Word will be for them a redeeming God. And they shall know that I am he, the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that the glory of my Shekinah might dwell among them. I am he, the LORD their God.\u201d (cf. John 8, where Israel meets the Word at the temple and hears him say, \u201cThen you shall know that I am he,\u201d referring to when he accomplishes his people\u2019s redemption).<\/p>\n
\nIn the passages listed above, \u201cI am he\u201d is also found in Tg. Ps.-J. Exod 7:5; 14:4; 29:46, and the LXX has \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 in Exod 7:5; 14:4; 16:12; 29:46.
\nJohn 8:58 is often related directly to Exod 3:14, where the Hebrew is often interpreted \u201cI am who I am\u201d and the LXX translates with \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9. Such a connection would explain why the Jews took up stones. But as I argued in ch. 3, Exod 3:14 is better understood as \u201cI will be who I have been,\u201d and \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 in John is more likely to be related to the divine \u201cI am he\u201d of Deut 32:39 and Isaiah as well as the additional \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in the Pal. Tgs. We noted there as well that John 8:24, 28, 58 could be related to Tg. Ps.-J. Deut 32:39, seen as fulfilled at the Feast of Booths, as the divine Word is revealed to redeem his people and says, in effect, \u201cI am YHWH\u201d through the past, present, and future \u201cI am he\u201d reference of these three verses. Like John 8:28, John 8:58 has additional points of reference in the Targums. Firstly, there are references to Abraham added to Tg. Isa. among the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings found there. Secondly, there are many \u201cI am he\u201d sayings in the Pal. Tgs. involving Abraham and the divine Word, which, if Jesus\u2019 listeners were accustomed to hearing them recited in the synagogue, would be further reason for taking this verse as a claim to being the God of Abraham, and would explain John\u2019s motivation for identifying Jesus as the divine Word. For example, Tg. Isa. 43:12 reads: \u201cI declared to Abraham your father what was about to come. I saved you from Egypt, just as I swore to him between the pieces \u2026\u201d This is immediately followed by the second \u201cI am he\u201d saying of this chapter (third in the Targum of this chapter): \u201cand also from eternity I am he.\u201d Likewise, Tg. Isa. 48:15 says, \u201cI, even I, by my Word decreed a covenant with Abraham your father and exalted him.\u201d This comes just three verses after the \u201cI am he\u201d saying of 48:12, which in the Targum reads, \u201cI am he, I am he who is from the beginning,\u201d as in Tg. Isa. 43:10.
\nBoth of these passages might explain what Jesus meant by \u201cAbraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad\u201d (John 8:56), which leads to the claim of 8:58. What is the \u201cday\u201d of Christ the Word? Targum Isaiah 43:12 refers to the covenant of Gen 15, a foreshadowing of the passing through the Red Sea, an OT \u201cDay of the LORD\u201d; and Tg. Isa. 48:15 speaks of God in his Word making a covenant with Abraham. Fragment Targum V Exod 12:42 identifies the second of the four nights of remembrance as reminiscent of the time \u201cwhen the Word of the LORD was revealed upon Abraham between the pieces,\u201d that is, the event of Gen 15. (The passage in Frg. Tg. V goes on to conflate this night with Gen 17, the promise of the birth of Isaac). Thus Abraham saw the Day of the LORD, the day of redemption from Egypt. Genesis 15 does not say that Abraham was glad to see this earlier day, but there is no reason to doubt that this was the case.
\nSeveral other passages from Tg. Neof. connect the divine Word with an \u201cI am he\u201d saying to or about Abraham:<\/p>\n
\nWhen Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Word of the LORD was revealed to Abram, and he said to him, \u201cI am he, the God of Heaven.\u201d
\nTg. Neof. Gen 26:24
\nAnd the [Word of the] LORD was revealed to him that night, and he said, \u201c am he, the God of Abraham your father.\u201d
\nTg. Neof. Exod 3:4\u20136
\nThe Word of the LORD called to him from the midst of the thorn bush, \u2026 and he said \u201cI am he, the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.\u201d And Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look on the glory of the Shekinah of the LORD.
\nTg. Neof. Exod 6:2\u20133
\nAnd the [Word of the] LORD spoke with Moses and said to him, \u201cI am he, the LORD. And I was revealed in my Word to Abraham. (also CTg. D)<\/i><\/p>\n
\nNow we can mention the additional fact that there is a connection between Deut 32:39 and the Feast of Booths (the setting for all the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of John 8) for the simple reason that the book of Deuteronomy was to be read every seven years at the Feast of Booths (Deut 31:10\u201313). The initial recitation of the song is also connected to the succession of Moses by Joshua, the namesake of Jesus. Deuteronomy 31 has the following structure:<\/p>\n
\nIntroduction: There is a discussion of both divine and human leadership; Joshua is to succeed Moses so that Israel will not be like sheep without a shepherd (cf. Matt 9:36; Mark 6:34); the LORD will go before Joshua and be with him (Targums: the Word of the LORD will be his help).
\nvv. 9\u201313
\nA Future assemblies: The law is to be safeguarded by the ministers who carry the ark and read it publicly every seven years at the Feast of Booths, so that coming generations will learn to fear the LORD.
\nv. 14
\nB Joshua is presented for commissioning.
\nvv. 15\u201322
\nC The Song of Moses is to be learned and sung so that this prediction of apostasy will stand as a witness against future generations.
\nv. 23
\nB\u2032 Joshua is commissioned.
\nvv. 24\u201329
\nA\u2032 Present assembly: The law is put in the ark as a witness against Israel; the assembly will hear the song.<\/p>\n
\nB\/B\u2032 is of interest in light of what we have observed above about Jesus\u2019 human namesake. Joshua represents human leadership under the LORD; in Jesus we have leadership that is both divine and human.
\nIn C it is ironic to observe that where the MT of Deut 31:15 says that the LORD appeared to Moses and Joshua and told Moses of the apostasy of the nation after his death, Tg. Neof. says that the Word of the LORD was revealed (Tg. Ps.-J.: \u201cthe glory of his Shekinah\u201d) and said these things. In John 8:28, the Word who became flesh predicts the ultimate apostasy, the ultimate rejection of the Word of the LORD: \u201cWhen you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he.\u201d Thus in both Deut 32 and John 8, the fulfillment of the prediction of the apostasy of Israel proves Jesus\u2019 claim that \u201cI am he.\u201d The Tgs. Neof. and Ps.-J. Deut 31:17 speak of the withdrawal of the Shekinah as a result of Israel\u2019s disobedience; Tg. Neof. Deut 31:18 says, \u201cI in my Word shall hide the face of my good pleasure,\u201d and in v. 27 Moses says, \u201cWhile I am still alive with you this day, you have refused to follow the Word of the LORD, so how much more after my death!\u201d Again we see the appropriateness of a targumic background to the Logos title and a specific fulfillment (when the Word became flesh) of this general prediction of Israel\u2019s failure to follow the divine Word after the death of Moses. In a manner reminiscent of the prophecy of Caiaphas, Tg. Neof. is unwittingly worded in a way that is particularly applicable to the time when the Word became flesh. \u201cHow much more\u201d did they refuse to follow the divine Word then? As foretold at the feast in John 8:28, they crucified him!
\nThe content of the song itself is also of interest in light of John 8. The Jews could appeal to Deut 32 for their claim, \u201cWe have one Father, God\u201d (John 8:41), but Jesus could also appeal to Deut 32 for his claim that they are not children of God (8:42\u201347). On the one hand, Moses says or implies that Israelites are the children of God in Deut 32:6 (\u201cIs he not your Father, who created you?\u201d), v. 8 (Jacob\u2019s household of seventy, matching the seventy nations of Gen 10, is called the children of God), v. 18 (God begot them), v. 19 (they are \u201chis sons and daughters\u201d), and v. 20 (they are \u201csons\u201d). On the other hand, v. 5 says that since \u201cthey have acted corruptly toward him, they are not his children (because of) their defect; a perverse and crooked generation.\u201d Jesus\u2019 statement that \u201cYou are of your father the devil\u201d (John 8:44) is probably based on the example of Cain as the first example of the offspring of the serpent, whose deeds they imitate when they take up stones to stone him (8:59). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Deut 32:32\u201333 makes a similar point: \u201cTheir thoughts are evil like the poison of venomous snakes \u2026 like the venom of adders, so they are cruel.\u201d There is a clear link between this earlier incident and the issue raised in John\u2019s Prologue as to who are the true children of God.
\nMoses and Joshua gave the first recitation of this song to Israel (Deut 32:44); now Jesus, the NT counterpart of Joshua, teaches the substance of the song at the feast, and, as the divine Word who has become flesh, quotes the divine \u201cI am he\u201d as prophesied in Tg. Ps.-J. Deut 32:39. In Tg. Neof., both the divine Word and Moses his servant predict the apostasy of Israel, and here at the feast the divine Word who has become a servant predicts the ultimate apostasy, the lifting up of the Son of Man (John 8:28).
\nMeans: The category of means, while not at the forefront in the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of this chapter, is brought out in John 8:12, 24. In saying that he is the light of the world whom believers may follow (v. 12), a certain destination is in view, to which Jesus promises to bring them. In the wilderness, that destination was the promised land, and analogous to that in the present age is heaven and eternal life. Similarly, in v. 24 Jesus warns of the consequences of not believing \u201cthat I am he,\u201d i.e., they will die in their sins. Conversely, this verse shows that believing in Jesus is the way to life.<\/p>\n
\nHuman: The other two \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 sayings (vv. 11, 14: \u201cI am he, the good shepherd\u201d) constitute a claim to be a particular human. Evans catalogued the parallels between John 10 and the OT expressions of human leaders as shepherds. The two primary background passages are Num 27:15\u201323, concerning Joshua as the successor needed to answer the prayer of Moses that the LORD\u2019s people not be as sheep without a shepherd (v. 17, echoed in Matt 9:36; Mark 6:34), and Ezek 34, where the LORD promises to raise up \u201cDavid my Servant\u201d (vv. 23\u201324) to be their shepherd (in contrast to the religious leaders of Judah condemned in that chapter), to feed them, and to be prince among them. It seems clear, then, this is another \u201cI am he\u201d claim to be the Messiah.
\nDivine: Evans claims that the fact that many passages depict God himself as Israel\u2019s shepherd \u201ccould have significance for the Johannine image, when it is remembered that in the Prologue the logos has been identified as God.\u201d Ezekiel 34 is one of those places, for in addition to promising to raise up David as their shepherd, God says, \u201cI myself will search for my sheep \u2026 care for my sheep \u2026 feed my sheep \u2026 make them lie down,\u201d etc. (vv. 11\u201322). Targum Ezek. 34:11 explicitly says, \u201cBehold, I am about to reveal myself, and I will search \u2026\u201d (also v. 20). Based on analogy with Tg. Onq. and the Pal. Tgs., where a passage in Tg. Onq. might speak of God revealing himself and a corresponding Pal. Tg. passage might speak of his Word being revealed (or of God being revealed in his Word; e.g., compare Tgs. Onq. and Neof. Exod 3:8), we may speculate that a Pal. Tg. of Ezek 34:11 might have read something like, \u201cBehold, I will be revealed in my Word, and search \u2026\u201d In such a hypothetical Targum passage, the shepherds would be both the eschatological David (i.e., the Messiah) and the divine Word, who are actually one when \u201cthe Word became flesh.\u201d
\nThe MT of Ezek 34:30 reads, \u201cThen they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them\u201d (Tg.: \u201cmy Word is their help\u201d). The divine shepherd described in these verses of Ezek 34 illuminates the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand as John describes it. Besides the general idea of divine feeding, \u201cI will make them lie down\u201d (Ezek 34:15) can be compared to John 6:10: \u201cHave the people recline.\u201d The same verse says that \u201cthere was much grass in that place,\u201d an incidental detail that may have significance as explained by Tg. Ps. 23. Psalm 23 is no doubt the best known passage depicting the LORD as shepherd. Interestingly, Tg. Ps. 23:1 looks back to the LORD\u2019s wilderness provision for his people (as does John 6), speaks of grass, and looks to future provision along the same lines: \u201cThe LORD fed his people in the wilderness.\u2026 In a place of thirst he makes me dwell in pleasant grass.\u2026 He will restore my soul with manna.\u201d
\nThe briefer passage Mic 2:12\u201313 should also be mentioned, because here there is mention of the sheep in the fold as well as the pasture, and going through the gate with the divine King going before them:<\/p>\n
\nI will surely assemble the remnant of Israel.
\nI will put them together like sheep in the fold,
\nlike a flock in the midst of its pasture, people will throng.
\nThe one breaking through goes up before them,
\nthey break through and pass through the gate and go out by it.
\nAnd their king passes through before them,
\nthe LORD at their head.<\/p>\n
\nAs we saw in ch. 8, Jesus in John 10 also makes a claim that, while not utilizing the expression \u201cI am he,\u201d is based on two OT passages which contain the divine \u201cI am he,\u201d namely, Deut 32:39 and Isa 43:13; in both of these God says, \u201cThere is no one who delivers from my hand.\u201d \u201cDelivers\u201d is Hebrew \u05d4\u05b4\u05e6\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dc, which has the literal meaning \u201csnatch away.\u201d \u201cNo one shall snatch them out of my hand\u201d (John 10:28) may thus be derived from these two key \u201cI am he\u201d passages that are so important to understanding the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of John 8.
\nThe immediate contexts of Deut 32:39 and Isa 43:13 have nothing to suggest the imagery of God as shepherd and his people as sheep. But Ps 95:7 could be seen as a bridge between the shepherd\/sheep figure and the statements that \u201cno one shall snatch them out of my hand\u201d from Deut 32:39 and Isa 43:13:<\/p>\n
\nFor we are his people, the flock of his pasture, the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice (Tg.: \u201cif you receive his Word\u201d). (Ps 95:7).
\nNo one shall snatch them (my sheep) out of my hand. (John 10:28, based on Deut 32:39; Isa 43:13)<\/p>\n
\nHuman: Martha testifies to the human category in answer to the Lord\u2019s question, \u201cDo you believe this?\u201d \u201cYes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, even he who comes into the world\u201d (11:27). The humanity of Jesus is also perhaps no better demonstrated than in v. 35, \u201cJesus wept,\u201d though in view of the deity of Christ we should perhaps also think of Ps 116:15, \u201cPrecious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.\u201d
\nDivine: For the divine category, our attention should again be called to Tg. Neof. and Frg. Tg. V Deut 32:39: \u201cSee now that I, I in my Word, am he, and there is no other God besides me. I am he who puts to death the living in this world, and brings to life the dead in the world to come.\u201d Again we note that the MT of Deut 32:39 is not in itself a very likely background to John 11:25, but the Pal. Tg. readings have two features that the MT does not have that make such a connection more plausible: (1) the MT\u2019s \u201cI make alive\u201d is interpreted eschatologically; (2) \u201cI am he\u201d is rendered \u201cI in my Word am he.\u201d A third relevant factor is the clause in John 10:28, \u201cNo one can snatch from my hand,\u201d which agrees with the literal meaning of the Hebrew of Deut 32:39 (and Isa 43:13) and also has application to eternal life, as in the Targum of Deut 32:39.
\nTargum Isaiah 26:19, addressed to God, uses the second person equivalent of \u201cI am he\u201d: \u201cYou are he [\u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05d5\u05d0] who makes alive the dead, you raise the bones of their bodies.\u201d The previous verse is of interest in light of Martha\u2019s confession of Jesus as \u201che who comes into the world\u201d: \u201cThose who reside in the world have not brought deliverance to the earth, and they have not done wonders, neither will they be able to do so.\u201d Yet though he has come into the world, Jesus does not really belong to the category of \u201cthose who reside in the world\u201d (and who therefore cannot do miracles), as this \u201cI am he, the resurrection and the life\u201d claim and its fulfillment make clear.
\nTargum Pseudo-Jonathan Exod 13:17 expands on the MT\u2019s statement that the LORD did not lead the Israelites from Egypt by the way of the land of the Philistines, lest the people fear when they see war, explaining that 200,000 Ephraimites had left Egypt thirty years before the time for the exodus and consequently were slain in battle by the Philistines. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan goes on to say, \u201cThese were the dry bones which the Word of the LORD brought to life by the hand of Ezekiel the prophet in the valley of Dura. If they had seen that (i.e., all the slain), they would have been afraid, and returned to Egypt.\u201d Targum Ezekiel 37 has no mention of the divine Word in connection with this raising from the dead, though one could imagine a Palestinian Targum version of Ezek 37:13, based on analogies from Exodus noted above: \u201cAnd you shall know that I am he, the LORD, when I in my Word open your graves and raise you up from the midst of your graves, O my people\u201d (cf. Tg. Neof. Exod 8:22: \u201cThat you may know that I am he, the LORD, whose Word dwells in the land\u201d). The raisings accomplished by Jesus in the Synoptics do not involve the opening of the graves and so could not be so readily related to Ezek 37 as the raising of Lazarus.<\/p>\n
\nDivine: John 13:19 is another \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 saying that echoes the wording of Isa 43:10:<\/p>\n
\nJohn 13:19
\n\u201cYou are my witnesses,\u201d declares the LORD, \u201cand my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, and there will be none after me.\u201d
\nFrom now on, I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he.<\/p>\n
\nAt the same time, there is a striking contrast between the predictions of Isa 43 and its context and the prediction of John 13:18. In Isaiah, the LORD is predicting what he will do in the future, in raising up Cyrus to set his people free from the Babylonian captivity and in sending the Servant of the LORD to redeem his people from sin. In John 13, however, Jesus is predicting that the fate of a human will befall him, as he uses the words of David from Ps 41 to apply to what will soon be his own fate, betrayal. The foot washing incident that precedes this prediction also graphically portrays Jesus as servant, reinforcing the human category. The category of means is also brought out in that event, as Jesus says, \u201cUnless I wash you, you have no part in me\u201d (v. 8).
\nMeans: John 14:6, \u201cI am he, the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me,\u201d clearly belongs to the category of means. As we have seen, the near context in which this claim is made shows Jesus as both man (Servant of the LORD) and God. \u201cBelieve in God, believe also in me\u201d (v. 1) can be related both to Exod 14:31 (Israel \u201cbelieved in the LORD, and in his servant Moses\u201d) and to Deut 1:32\u201333 (Israel \u201cdid not believe in the LORD [Tg. Neof.: in the name of the Word of the LORD] your God, who goes before you on your way, to search out [Targums: prepare] a place for you\u201d).
\nHuman: In connection with John 15:1, 5, three OT passages are of special interest. Interpreters often cite Ps 80 first in this respect. The psalm describes Israel as a vine taken from Egypt and planted in Canaan, whose branches spread out to the borders of the promised land (v. 11). But the vineyard walls have been broken down, foreigners pluck its fruit, and in a general plea for restoration the psalmist in effect asks God to be their vinedresser again: \u201cLook down from heaven and see; have regard for this vine, the stalk that your right hand planted, and the son whom you strengthened for yourself\u201d (vv. 14\u201315). While \u201cson\u201d here seems to be a personification of the nation, Tg. Ps. interprets it as the Messiah. Verse 17 seems to be a plea specifically for the restoration of the Davidic king, with parallelism between \u201cman\u201d and \u201cson of man\u201d possibly inspired by Ps 8 and David\u2019s role as heir to the theme of the new Adam: \u201cLet your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you strengthened for yourself.\u201d There are several parallels with John 15:1\u20138: (1) God is viewed as vinedresser. (2) The figure speaks of Israel as both vine and branches (the same words are used in John 15 and the LXX) and refers to fruit from the vine. (3) Targum Psalms 80:11 translates \u05e7\u05b8\u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05e8 both literally as \u201cbranches\u201d (\u05e9\u05c1\u05d1\u05e9\u05c1\u05d4) and figuratively as \u201cdisciples\u201d (\u05ea\u05dc\u05de\u05d9\u05d3, which can also mean \u201cscholars\u201d), and it translates \u201cshoots\u201d (which can also mean \u201cnursling\u201d) with the Aramaic cognate that means \u201cchildren\u201d (which Jesus called the disciples in 13:33): \u201cYou made branches grow, you sent out her (Jerusalem\u2019s) disciples to the Great Sea, and her children to the river Euphrates.\u201d The previous verse indicates that the disciples are connected to the academies of Jerusalem. Yet the disciples of Jesus were considered \u201cunlearned\u201d (the opposite of \u05ea\u05dc\u05de\u05d9\u05d3) by the graduates of such academies (Acts 4:13). Jesus says that it is by bearing fruit (as branches do), rather than getting credentials, that his followers would prove to be his disciples (John 15:8). (4) The fate of the branches that do not remain in Jesus is to be burned (v. 6), which is the fate suffered by both vine and branches in Ps 80:16. (5) The psalm has a dual focus on the nation and on the king in its petition for restoration. Another way of maintaining this dual focus would be to say that the vine is the king (Jesus) and the branches the nation (the church). In the case of Jesus as the true vine, the issue is not the success of the vine, which is not in doubt. \u201cThe \u2018vine\u2019 in this mashal is hardly in any danger of judgment as in the Old Testament texts.\u201d Nor is there doubt that the vine will spread and \u201cfill the whole world with its fruit\u201d (Isa 27:6). The issue Jesus addresses is that of the success of those who profess to be his disciples, the fate of the individual branches. The vine in Ps 80 is Israel, and Israel is the name of the Servant of the LORD in Isa 49:3. Israel was the progenitor of the nominal people of God; Jesus \u201cthe Son of Man\u201d is the true progenitor of the true people of God (see ch. 4). (6) Psalm 80:4 asks, \u201cHow long will you be angry with the prayer of your people?\u201d Jesus twice specifies that by remaining in the vine, his followers may ask in his name and their prayers will be answered (John 15:7, 16).
\nIn Jer 2:20\u201323, Israel is likewise depicted as a vine planted after the exodus, but it has been transformed into a foreign, unclean vine. Here the specific connection to John 15 is the idea of cleansing from unfaithfulness: \u201cThough you wash yourself with lye \u2026 the stain of your guilt is before me.\u2026 How can you say, \u2018I am not unclean, I have not gone after the Baals\u2019?\u201d (Jer 2:22\u201323). Jesus tells his disciples that they are already clean because of the word he has spoken, and that the Father prunes (lit., \u201ccleans\u201d) branches that bear fruit. One of the concerns of Jesus in the upper room discourse and in his prayer of consecration is that the disciples not go after the \u201cBaals\u201d (or in NT language, \u201cthe world\u201d; John 14:27; 16:33; 17:14\u201316). Another possible connection between these two passages is that in Jer 2:21, the vine was said to be planted of \u201cseed of faithfulness\u201d (or, truth: \u05d0\u05b1\u05de\u05b6\u05ea), in the LXX, \u201centirely true\u201d (\u1f00\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b9\u03bd\u03cc\u03c2), and Jesus calls himself the true (\u1f00\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b9\u03bd\u03cc\u03c2) vine (John 15:1). Targum Jeremiah 2:21 paraphrases, \u201call of you were doers of the truth,\u201d to which Hayward compares John 3:21 and 1 John 1:6 (\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u1f00\u03bb\u03ae\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd).
\nEzekiel 17 is a parable about a vine planted by Nebuchadnezzar after he had taken king Jehoiachin captive to Babylon and installed Zedekiah in his place. Like Ps 80, it speaks of both vine and branches (for which the LXX has the same words as John 15), and in this case the vine is king Zedekiah and his officials are the branches. Nebuchadnezzar took \u201csome of the seed of the land\u201d and planted it (Ezek 17:5), which is interpreted as the installation of Zedekiah as king (v. 13), and this seed became a low, spreading vine, whose branches turned toward Nebuchadnezzar (v. 6); that is, Judah under Zedekiah was for a while a loyal vassal state, as Israel was originally supposed to be towards God. Judah was meant to live in this humbled state as a penalty for their unfaithfulness (v. 14), a situation in which the Jews found themselves again under the Romans. But then they rebelled, as Zedekiah looked to Egypt for help: \u201cand behold, this vine bent its roots toward (Pharaoh) and shot forth its branches toward him \u2026 that he might water it\u201d (v. 7). God considers Zedekiah\u2019s treachery against Nebuchadnezzar, the breaking of his covenant and violation of his sworn oath of allegiance (vv. 13, 16, 18), to be treachery against God (vv. 19\u201320). The branches spreading toward Pharaoh (v. 7) seem to be interpreted as Zedekiah sending envoys to Pharaoh (v. 15), which again makes Zedekiah the vine, and his men the branches. Zedekiah is the false vine, not accepting God as his Father (who put Nebuchadnezzar over him as \u201cvinedresser\u201d), and his \u201cbranches\u201d likewise defect to Egypt. Zedekiah is a vine that will be uprooted and will dry up (vv. 9\u201310; cf. John 15:6). Zedekiah certainly could not be considered the answer to the psalmist\u2019s plea, \u201cLet your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you strengthened for yourself\u201d (Ps 80:17). Jesus is the true vine, and acknowledges, \u201cmy Father is the vinedresser.\u201d In Jer 23:6, the LORD gives the Messiah the name \u201cThe LORD our righteousness,\u201d a play on the name Zedekiah (the LORD is my righteousness); that is, the Messiah is the true Zedekiah. He is the true vine, and his disciples, the branches, must remain in him and not go towards Egypt (the world) for water.
\nMeans: The category of means is suggested in v. 3, \u201cYou are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.\u201d
\nDivine: We noted in ch. 7 that Jesus speaks as the divine lawgiver in vv. 10, 12, 14, and 17. In addition, the idea of vine branches being removed as an act of divine judgment may also be found in Jer 5:10\u201312:<\/p>\n
\nDivine: Yet, as Ball notes, these \u201cI am he\u201d sayings are directly related to that of John 13:19, since they mark the fulfillment of the prediction of betrayal by which the disciples would \u201cknow that I am he.\u201d Thus while the surface meaning of \u201cI am he\u201d in these verses seems merely to identify Jesus as a particular man, the connection to John 13:19 shows him to be YHWH, who proves himself by predicting the future. Ball comments, \u201cThe threefold repetition of \u1f10\u03b3\u03ce \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 [including John\u2019s repetition in v. 6] emphasizes the importance of the expression.\u201d
\nThe other indication that there is something extraordinary in these words is that \u201cwhen he said \u2018I am he,\u2019 they (the soldiers) drew back and fell to the ground\u201d (v. 6). Interpreters note that this incident is another demonstration that Jesus went willingly to the cross, giving himself up for his people, and such significance would be sufficient reason for John\u2019s mentioning it. However, the sequence, \u201cthey drew back and fell to the ground\u201d agrees with something David wrote about the fate of his enemies as a consequence of the presence of God: \u201cWhen my enemies turn back, they will stumble and perish at your presence\u201d (Ps 9:3). In the upper room, Jesus described his friends as those who keep his commandments, who love one another, and who remain in him. Judas has left him, breaking this great command of love, and thus falls under the category of enemy, as do those to whom he is betraying Jesus. Jesus described Judas as one who has perished (John 17:12), and John reminds us of this in 18:9. The fact that the arresting officials draw back and fall to the ground at the \u201cI am he\u201d thus indicates, when read against the backdrop of Ps 9:3, the presence of the LORD. In David\u2019s experience, the presence of the LORD refers to the LORD\u2019s personal intervention on his behalf. Targum Psalms 9:7 has David say, \u201cAs for the Word of the LORD, his seat is in the highest heavens forever; he has established his throne for judgment.\u201d But from heaven the LORD could help David only temporally, against temporal enemies. To save David (and all believers) forever, the Word of the LORD came down from his throne and became a man, to face his enemies personally, as David did. At the saying \u201cI am he,\u201d spoken by the Word who became flesh, they turned back and stumbled, though they thought they had come to make him perish. Once Jesus ultimately prevails, Psalm 9:7, as interpreted by the Targum (though in a deeper sense than that intended by the targumist) will be true again: \u201cThe Word of the LORD sits enthroned forever\u201d (at the right hand of the Father).
\nWe can also look at this incident from the perspective of the disciples. Christ\u2019s enemies are also the enemies of the disciples (John 15:18\u201319). They experienced deliverance, much as David writes about in Ps 9:3, because of the presence of the LORD among them. Also recall the prayer of Moses as embellished in Tg. Ps.-J. Num 10:35: \u201cLet the Word of the LORD be now revealed in the power of your anger, and let the enemies of your people (e.g., the disciples) be scattered, and let those who hate them not have a foot to stand on before you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nTargum Neofiti and Frg. Tg. V Deut 32:39 are of particular interest because they add reference to the divine Word to this important \u201cI am he\u201d language: \u201cI in my Word am he.\u201d Since this verse goes on to say, \u201cthere is no god besides me,\u201d it is clear that in calling Jesus the Word as a way of stressing the full deity of the Son, John is not advocating belief in another god; rather, he is advocating the notion that Jesus is One with the Father. Further, accepting that the Logos title has the targumic divine Word as background allows us to make a clear connection between the Prologue, where John calls Jesus the Word, and the body of the Gospel, where Jesus repeatedly makes the divine claim \u201cI am he.\u201d The dozens of \u201cI am he\u201d sayings added in the Pal. Tgs. to the Pentateuch provide many additional potential conceptual parallels with the \u201cI am he\u201d sayings of Jesus in John and should therefore be taken into account in any study undertaken of the Johannine \u201cI am he\u201d sayings.<\/p>\n
\nInterpreters tend to focus on two features of Judaism in explanation: (1) the principle of unwitting (or unconscious) prophecy was accepted in Judaism, and (2) the high priest was believed to have prophetic powers. Brown explains:<\/p>\n
\nBernard noted that the idea of the high priest\u2019s prophetic powers could be grounded in the OT:<\/p>\n
\nStrack-Billerbeck 2:546 refers to b. So\u1e6dah 12b, where there are two alleged examples of unwitting prophecy by Pharaoh\u2019s daughter. According to R. Jochanan, when she said \u201cOf the Hebrew children is this\u201d (Exod 2:6) \u201cshe unwittingly prophesied that \u2018this\u2019 one will fall [into the river] but no other will fall.\u201d This was a prophecy \u201cbecause on that day the decree to drown the males was rescinded.\u201d According to R. Chama b. Chanina on Exod 2:9, \u201cShe prophesied without knowing what she prophesied\u2014Heliki [\u2018take away\u2019]\u2014behold what is thine [ha shaliki].\u201d Substantively, there is little here that is similar to the prophecy of Caiaphas (the second generates two differently-pronounced Aramaic words out of a single Hebrew word).
\nMekilta to Exod 15:17 makes unwitting prophecy common to true prophets as well, saying that of all the prophets, only Moses and Isaiah knew what they prophesied. The verse says, \u201cYou will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance.\u201d That it says \u201cthem,\u201d not \u201cus,\u201d \u201cteaches that they prophesied and knew not what they prophesied\u201d (b. Baba Batra 119b). That is, they unwittingly prophesied that they themselves would not enter the land, but their children would. Rashi disagreed, saying the wording is due to Moses\u2019 foreknowledge that they would not enter.
\nGenesis 22:8 could be viewed as an example of unwitting prophecy by Abraham: \u201cGod will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.\u201d Perhaps one could also point to the threat Pharaoh made to Moses, \u201cIn the day you see my face you shall die,\u201d to which Moses responds, \u201cRightly you have spoken! I will never see your face again\u201d (Exod 10:28\u201329). Likewise Caiaphas speaks \u201crightly,\u201d but the true meaning is quite different from what he intends. In this respect, the prophecy of Caiaphas lacks the foreknowledge said to be possessed by other high priests, in which they did know what they were foreseeing.
\nThese examples show us that that it is not necessary to refer to the Targums in order to suggest a plausible reason for John\u2019s interest in the unwitting prophecy of Caiaphas. Nevertheless, when one reads the Targums in light of John\u2019s identification of Jesus as the divine Word, it appears that there are a number of rather striking unwitting prophecies, analogous to that of Caiaphas in four distinct ways: (1) The meaning, according to a Christian reading of the Targum passage, is quite different from that intended by the authors. We may safely assume that in speaking of the divine Word, the targumist never intended to refer to the expected Messiah. (2) There is some expectation that the source is capable of such prophetic speaking. Above we noted this expectation in the case of the high priest. Likewise, the targumists seemed to have a \u201cquasi-prophetic status\u201d as they attempted to speak the word of God to their own generation. (3) The source may be considered hostile to the Christian teaching of the incarnation of Christ. In the case of Caiaphas, this is obvious. In the case of the Targums, we take note again that the very theological\/philosophical mind-set that led to the appropriation of the concept of the divine Word seems to have arisen out of a need to avoid or downplay the idea of the immanence of God and anthropomorphic representations of God, which would presumably be hostile to the idea of the incarnation, as an ultimate expression of immanence, the ultimate anthropomorphism. In ch. 1 we noted McIvor\u2019s statement that the targumist worked to ensure that God remains \u201chigh and lifted up,\u201d and for that reason he avoided translating Isa 52:13 to the effect that the Servant of the LORD was also \u201chigh and lifted up.\u201d Similarly, Keener noted that in translating Isa 9:6, the targumist reworded the passage \u201cto avoid the idea that the royal child is God\u201d and \u201cdeliberately alter[ed] the grammar to distinguish the Davidic king from the Mighty God.\u201d (4) Just as Caiaphas was not \u201ca prophet like Moses,\u201d and thus could not be counted upon to speak for God on other occasions, likewise, a recognition of the phenomenon of unwitting prophecy in the Targums need not lead to the conclusion that the Targums are inspired in the same sense as the Scriptures they are meant to explain, in the sense that they are completely reliable in their interpretations or teachings.<\/p>\n
\nIn Deut 9:23, Moses looks back at this rebellion and says, \u201cYou did not believe him or listen to his voice.\u201d The way the Targums render this is distinctly reminiscent of John 1:11\u201312: \u201cYou did not believe in the holy name of the Word of the LORD\u201d (Tg. Neof.) and \u201cyou did not receive his Word\u201d (Tgs. Onq. and Ps.-J.).<\/p>\n
\nAfter the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem by the Romans, observant Jews would ask the same question posed in the time of Jeremiah: \u201cWhy is the land ruined?\u201d (Jer 9:12), to which the answer must be the same, \u201cThey did not listen to my voice\u201d (9:13), which the targumist has rendered, perhaps quasi-prophetically, as, \u201cthey did not receive my Word.\u201d In Deut 31:17, God says that the people will conclude after experiencing God\u2019s judgments, \u201cIs it not because my God is not in my midst that these disasters have come upon us?\u201d to which God says, \u201cI will surely hide my face on that day on account of all the evil they have done\u201d (v. 18). In Tgs. Onq. and Ps.-J., they conclude that these disasters have come upon them because \u201cthe Shekinah of my God\u201d (Tg. Neof.: \u201cthe glory of the LORD\u2019s Shekinah\u201d) is not in their midst. In Tg. Neof., this future was revealed when \u201cthe Word of the LORD was revealed in the tent\u201d (31:15), and \u201cthe Word of the LORD spoke to Moses\u201d (v. 16 [mg.]); v. 18 says, \u201cI, in my Word, will hide the face of my good pleasure from them in that day.\u201d The Targum prediction that the LORD\u2019s people will conclude that the Shekinah has departed from them can be related to the tradition preserved in the Talmud, which we have noted several times, that the regular miracles indicating the presence of the Shekinah in Israel ceased forty years prior to the destruction of Jerusalem.
\nOf course, John would not only be interested in explaining the reason for the disasters experienced by his fellow Jews, but would want to point them to the remedy, which is also how the curse section in Lev 26 ends: \u201cBut if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, their treachery with which they acted treacherously against me, and (how) they walked in hostility to me, \u2026 then I will remember my covenant with Jacob,\u201d etc. (vv. 40\u201342). The rendering in Tg. Ps.-J. makes the passage more specifically applicable to the time John is writing, identifying Jesus as the divine Word: \u201cBut if in the time of their distress they confess their sins, and the sins of their fathers, their falseness with which they acted falsely against my Word, \u2026 then I will remember with mercy the covenant which I made with Jacob in Bethel\u201d (cf. Pal. Tgs. Gen 28:10, in which \u201cthe Word\u201d [Dibbura\/Dibbera] desired to speak with Jacob at Bethel).<\/p>\n
\nA parallel may exist between the wilderness situation and that which existed between the crucifixion of Jesus and the Jewish rebellion against Rome. In the Olivet discourse, which predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, there was an implicit warning against fighting the Romans (Luke 21:20\u201321), just as Jeremiah had warned against fighting the Babylonians. Targum Neofiti Num 14:42 could be applied to the first-century situation, especially if the belief was current that the Shekinah had departed from the temple: \u201cDo not go up, for the glory of the Shekinah of the LORD does not rest upon you, lest you be struck down before your enemies.\u2026 You shall fall by the sword because you have turned back from (following) the Word of the LORD.\u201d Thus the MT of Num 14:42 specifically addressed the situation in the wilderness, but later interpreters could use it to address the situation of the first century by analogy. The Targum wording makes such an application easier, and, one could argue, was providentially so ordered by God in the same manner as was the unwitting prophecy of Caiaphas.<\/p>\n
\nThe Targum goes on to say that the priests and the scribes (MT: \u201cprophets\u201d) and all the people seized Jeremiah and demanded that he be put to death (vv. 7\u20139). The priests and the scribes went to the officials to have the sentence carried out, and Jeremiah\u2019s defense was that \u201cthe LORD sent me\u201d (v. 12). He then repeats his call for the people to \u201creceive the Word of the LORD your God\u201d (v. 13) and warns them that if they kill him, they will bring innocent blood upon Jerusalem and its inhabitants (vv. 14\u201315).
\nThe officials and the people then say to the priests and the scribes that Jeremiah does not deserve to die, and Jeremiah is spared. That \u201cthe people\u201d are said to be both in favor of (vv. 7\u20138) and against (v. 16) Jeremiah\u2019s execution indicates a division of the people, not a change of mind, since v. 24 again has \u201cthe people\u201d in favor of his execution.
\nMuch of John\u2019s Gospel consists of temple sermons by Jesus, and it is not difficult to see Jeremiah\u2019s history repeating itself in the Gospels, with a more serious rejection of the Word of God: (1) The religious leadership in both cases takes the initiative to seize God\u2019s prophet and hand him over for execution. John specifically quotes the high priest Caiaphas as calling for Jesus\u2019 death. (2) The secular power judges the prophet as unworthy of the death penalty. In the case of Jeremiah, it is Jewish officials who save his life. In the case of Jesus, it is a pagan Roman who recognizes his innocence, but who is unwilling to stand up against a united Jewish leadership calling for his death. (3) The people, in both cases, are divided, a theme that John mentions on several occasions (John 7:12, 40\u201344; 9:16; 10:19\u201321). (4) Jeremiah\u2019s defense is that the LORD sent him (Jer 26:12, 15); Jesus\u2019 defense is that the Father has sent him (see John 3:34; 5:36, 38; 6:29, 38, 57; 7:29; 8:42; 10:36; 11:42; 17:3, 8, 18, 21, 23, 25; 20:21). (5) The issue of innocent blood and the consequences for Jerusalem occur in both episodes: \u201cOnly know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring (the guilt of) innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and on its inhabitants; for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing\u201d (Jer 26:15). Jeremiah\u2019s warning would apply to the judicial execution of any innocent man, not just a prophet (or the Messiah), according to Deut 21:1\u20139, which also warns that the same consequences would result from the failure to execute a known murderer such as Barabbas (Matt 27:25; Luke 23:19; Acts 3:14).
\nIf one recognizes the targumic background to the Logos title, then one can see in the ministry of Jesus a re-enactment of the temple sermon of Jeremiah, except that the Word (whom Israel must receive) has become flesh (a real man such as Jeremiah, yet without sin).<\/p>\n
\nOther passages connected with the Song of Moses are suggestive of the NT situation. Deuteronomy 31:21 says that when Israel experiences calamities, \u201cthis song will testify before them as a witness\u201d (because it predicts the apostasy which leads to those calamities). Ironically, the targumist\u2019s alterations make this an even more poignant witness. In Tg. Neof. Deut 31:27, Moses exclaims, \u201cWhile I am still alive you have refused to follow the Word of the LORD; how much more after my death!\u201d The ultimate fulfillment of that statement could easily have been understood by early Christians as occurring in the events that followed the revelation of the Word of the LORD, Jesus Christ, to redeem his people: they will put him to death, and he will be followed by only a remnant of faithful disciples.<\/p>\n
\nAgain we cite Tg. Mic. 1:2\u20133: \u201cLet the Word of the LORD God be a witness against you, the {Word of the} LORD from his holy temple; for the LORD will be revealed from the place of the house of his Shekinah\u201d (discussed in ch. 9 with respect to John 8:18). While the context of the Targum passage relates to OT times, mentioning the transgressions of Israel in Samaria (as well as those of Judah in Jerusalem), the wording would be especially applicable when the Word became flesh and testified against his people from the temple.<\/p>\n
\nCaiaphas, as an instigator of the arrest of Jesus, was particularly involved in fulfilling the targumic injunction to draw near to the divine Word, though its fulfillment actually took place before his father-in-law, Annas (John 18:13), who had heard Jesus give the divine apologia for why they should believe his \u201cI am he.\u201d Ironically, the man who said to others, \u201cYou know nothing at all,\u201d was quite unaware of his involvement. Perhaps this incident in particular led John to notice that there were Targum passages analogous to the statement of Caiaphas that it was expedient for them that one person die for the nation.<\/p>\n
\nFrom John\u2019s perspective, one might argue that since the Jews had not responded to the miracles as in Pal. Tgs. Exod 15:18, recognizing Jesus as their redeemer king, setting a crown of anointing on his head, Pilate nevertheless on behalf of God the Father set the crown of anointing upon his head and declared him to be king. Yet they responded as their fathers had done in the days of Isaiah, by crying out, \u201cAway with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nIn Deut 30, after predicting the eventual exile of Israel, Moses addressed the post-exilic situation, the same situation from which John writes his gospel. If Israel turns to the LORD and obeys him with a whole heart and soul, the LORD will regather them as his people and bless them (vv. 1\u201310). In Tg. Onq., the condition is \u201cif you receive his Word with your whole heart and your whole soul\u201d (v. 2), \u201cYou will again receive the Word of the LORD \u2026 the LORD (Tg. Ps.-J., \u201cthe Word of the LORD\u201d) will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers because you receive the Word of the LORD your God to observe his commandments\u201d (vv. 8\u201310). By calling Jesus the divine Word, and by speaking of those who did not receive this Word (John 1:11), writing from an historical perspective in which the consequences of not receiving the divine Word would have been well understood, John gives a Christian interpretation to the words later codified by the school of Akiba, just as he has given a Christian interpretation to the unwitting prophecy of Caiaphas. Akiba, of course, went in a different direction, encouraging another rebellion against Rome, which led to another exile. John\u2019s apologetic would have influenced a remnant at best, the size of which is today unknown.
\nToday the Targums are little known. The Aramaic-speaking, Targum-conscious audience of the first century no longer exists. Does this mean that the apologetic based on unwitting Targum prophecies is just a historical curiosity? In answer, I would say that my study of the Targums has convinced me that in order to appreciate more fully the meaning of John\u2019s Gospel, both Jew and Gentile need to be familiar with the Targums, for the simple reason that so many points of interpretation in John seem to hinge on them. John must have expected Aramaic-speaking Jewish Christians to help their Gentile brothers in understanding the Jewish background to the Gospel, in order to grasp its full meaning. This means that John\u2019s appeal to these unwitting prophecies was intended not just for first-century Aramaic-speaking Jews, but also for Gentiles. By extension, the same holds true today. Such unwitting prophecies are part of understanding the Gospel, which means that they serve as both a testimony and a warning to the largely Gentile church. Perhaps we could say that they were a witness to the emerging Gentile church in second and third generation Christianity and in subsequent generations. The Targum rendering of the OT helps us see how the OT warnings to Israel apply to the church. The consequences of not receiving the divine Word will be equally serious for the largely Gentile church. Indeed, the letters to the churches in Asia Minor in Rev 2\u20133 anticipate such consequences.<\/p>\n
\nWe will look at two types of passages, which may or may not overlap. In one type, the message \u201cthe Word became flesh\u201d comes through by both human and divine OT typology that is reinforced by Targum reference to the divine Word (e.g., Matt 11:27\u201328\u2014one of the texts referred to above by Hendriksen). A second type occurs where there may not be any human typology involved, but where an OT background text used in a way that suggests that Jesus is YHWH has a corresponding Targum text that refers to the divine Word. Such a text in and of itself may not suggest \u201cthe Word became flesh,\u201d but since in the NT there is always the assumption that Jesus is a real man, the \u201cbecame flesh\u201d portion may be fairly implied (e.g., the baptism of Jesus as related in the Synoptics). Texts cited here are not meant to be exhaustive, but rather representative; they show that other NT writers, had they wished, could also have written \u201cthe Word became flesh\u201d for the benefit of their readers who were familiar with the Targums.<\/p>\n
\nI would answer this by appealing to the fact that Jesus\u2019 baptism in the Jordan is typologically related to Israel\u2019s crossing of the Red Sea (see \u201cJesus in the Footsteps of Joshua and David\u201d in ch. 5 above), which in turn is related to Israel\u2019s crossing of the Jordan. The ark had not yet been made at the crossing of the sea; the LORD\u2019s presence was manifested in the pillar of fire and cloud, and some Targum texts speak of the divine Word in that pillar (see ch. 2, p. 53, nos. 12 and 13). But in the crossing of the Jordan, the LORD\u2019s presence is indicated by the location of the ark, so in terms of Tg. Ps.-J. Num 7:89, the divine Word would have been present over the ark in the Jordan River as Israel crossed over.
\nA second typological argument concerns the succession of Moses by Joshua, and the succession of Elijah by Elisha, both of which took place when God began to magnify the successor at the Jordan River (Josh 3\u20134; 2 Kgs 3). This pattern is repeated in the succession of John the Baptist by Jesus at the Jordan when the Father magnifies the Son at his baptism. The Spirit of God descending upon Jesus suggests how much greater he is than John; he is not just another great human successor (like Joshua or Elisha), but is the divine Word. The \u201cbecame flesh\u201d portion of the message is not as explicit as it is in the prologue to the Gospel of John, but it is nevertheless implied in the OT background of the Father\u2019s statement following Jesus\u2019 baptism that \u201cthis is my Son,\u201d suggesting that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the son of David.<\/p>\n
\nAs we have seen, the Pal. Tgs. of the Pentateuch of Exod 33\u201334 describe this incident as Moses seeing \u201cthe glory of the Word\u201d on Mt. Sinai. Yet Jesus is also a man like Moses, going up to the mountain where his appearance is changed and his face shines (Matt 17:2; Exod 34:29\u201335).
\nJohn does not give an account of the transfiguration, although if one reads the Synoptics before reading John\u2019s Prologue, one might think that \u201cwe saw his glory\u201d referred to the transfiguration. In calling Jesus the Word, John helps his readers to read the Synoptics with greater understanding, enabling them to have the same experience as the eyewitnesses to the transfiguration, that they might become \u201cfully awake\u201d and thus \u201csee his glory\u201d (Luke 9:32).<\/p>\n
\nSince Jesus is asleep in the boat during the storm in which the disciples fear for their lives, interpreters naturally wonder if we are to understand this in light of Jonah\u2019s similar experience. We have mentioned previously that the twofold mission of Jacob journeying (Gen 28) provides a paradigm for the ministry of Jesus and that the words of Jesus in John 1:51 invite us to see this paradigm. The same applies when Jesus comments that \u201csomething greater than Jonah is here\u201d (Matt 12:41; Luke 11:32). That is, Jonah\u2019s experience in the great fish is recapitulated in Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection (Matt 12:40) as a sign to the present generation. If we combine this human parallel with the fact that Jesus stills the storm, which is what God did in the book of Jonah, we have the same message as conveyed by \u201cthe Word became flesh,\u201d that is, that Jesus is both God and man.
\nNeither the onset of the storm nor its stilling as experienced by Jonah is ascribed to the divine Word in Tg. Jonah. But in Tg. Ps. 107:23\u201324, the sailors who go in ships are interpreted as the sailors of Jonah who saw God\u2019s wonders, and v. 25 says \u201cthe Word of the LORD\u201d raised a storm and gale, with waves lifted high, and v. 29 (like the MT) says that the LORD silenced the storm, reminding us of Mark 4:39, \u201cBe silent! Be quiet!\u201d Such passages suggest how a first-century Palestinian Targum of Jonah might have ascribed the sending and\/or stilling of the storm experienced by Jonah to the divine Word.
\nTargum Jonah 2:6 takes Jonah\u2019s mention of sea weeds (\u05e1\u05d5\u05bc\u05e3) wrapped around him as an indication that his experience took place in the Red Sea: \u201cThe Red Sea was suspended above my head.\u201d Targum Psalms 114:3, speaking of Israel\u2019s crossing of the Red Sea, says that when the Word of the LORD was revealed at the sea, the sea saw this and turned back. This rich OT background provides an answer for the question of the disciples, \u201cWhat kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?\u201d (Matt 8:27; Mark 4:41; Luke 8:25). Targum Jonah 3:5 says that at the preaching of Jonah in Nineveh, \u201cthe people believed in the Word of the LORD.\u201d Those who heard \u201cthe one greater than Jonah\u201d (Matt 12:41), the divine Word who who had become flesh and stirred up and stilled the sea, had an even greater cause to trust in the one who could save Jonah (and them) from their sins.<\/p>\n
\nThe claim to be greater than Solomon might remind us that there was someone in OT times who also claimed to be greater than Solomon\u2014Solomon\u2019s son Rehoboam. The Lord\u2019s words in Matt 11:28\u201330 appear as a contrast to the proud, foolish boaster Rehoboam. Israel came to Rehoboam at Shechem, weary and seeking rest from the hard service of Solomon. In response, he said that he would add to their yoke, because \u201cmy little finger is thicker than my father\u2019s loins\u201d (1 Kgs 12:10; 2 Chr 10:10). In making this claim, he was in effect saying, \u201cI am greater than my father Solomon, and I will prove it by adding to your yoke.\u201d Rehoboam was arrogant in heart; Jesus is humble in heart. Rehoboam said in effect, \u201cno rest, more burdens, I will add to your yoke\u201d; Jesus in contrast said, \u201cyou shall find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.\u201d The older wise men who advised Solomon gave very good advice to Rehoboam: become a servant for just one day; please them by kindly granting their request; speak good words to them; then they will serve you forever (1 Kgs 12:7; 2 Chr 10:7). But Rehoboam was unwilling to become a servant even for a single day, and as a consequence of his \u201cwalking in the counsel of the wicked\u201d (Ps 1:1), he lost most of his kingdom. In contrast, the Son of God humbled himself to come into the world as a servant to his people. Jesus was not just a servant for one day, but for his whole life on earth, ultimately going to the cross so that his followers might find eternal rest. The sufferings of Jesus, which were his service to Israel, included being scourged (Matt 20:19; Mark 10:34; Luke 18:33; John 19:1), which is of relevance to the account of Rehoboam in the Targum, which has him say to Israel, \u201cMy father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scourges\u201d (\u05de\u05e8\u05d2\u05e0\u05d9\u05df; vv. 11, 14). Rehoboam was unwilling even to \u201cspeak good words\u201d to Israel. Jesus spoke very good words indeed, words that have brought rest to those who responded in faith.
\nThus the human typology clearly shows Jesus as \u201cflesh,\u201d namely, the true son of David in contrast to the false son, Rehoboam. But a divine typology can also be expounded, especially with help from the Targums. The most obvious evidence for this (and presumably the reason Hendriksen referred to this passage in the quote above, despite the fact that the relevant text is v. 29, not vv. 27\u201328), is that the promise, \u201cyou shall find rest for your souls,\u201d is what God says to Israel in Jer 6:16. Two earlier passages in Jeremiah speak of Israel\u2019s yoke in a way that is suggestive of the Lord\u2019s words in Matt 11:29\u201330. In Jer 2:20, the LORD says to Israel, \u201cLong ago I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds, but you said, \u2018I will not serve.\u2019 \u201d The LORD took away the hard yoke of servitude to the Egyptians and gave them the easy yoke of his law, which should lead to rest in the promised land. Although \u201cyoke\u201d is not used here of Israel\u2019s service which is due to God, it is used in this way a few chapters later, along with the same words for \u201cbreak,\u201d \u201ctear,\u201d and \u201cbonds\u201d:<\/p>\n
\nFurther, the \u201ccome to me\u201d of Matt 11:28 can also be related to the divine \u201ccome to me\u201d of Isa 55:3, which we saw was so important to understanding the words of Jesus in John 5\u20137. Recall that in Tg. Isa. 55:1, \u201ccome to the waters\u201d becomes \u201ccome and learn,\u201d and \u201ccome buy and eat\u201d becomes \u201ccome, hear, and learn,\u201d which is also the rendering of \u201ccome buy wine and milk.\u201d We saw in ch. 8 that in John 6:45, Jesus seems to have utilized this interpretation: \u201cEveryone who has heard from the Father and learned, comes to me\u201d (spoken just after Jesus quotes Isa 54:13). Likewise, Matt 11:28\u201329, \u201cCome to me, \u2026 and learn from me,\u201d could be based on this Targum interpretation. Recall that the Targum goes on to say, \u201creceive my Word diligently\u201d (for Isa 55:2 [MT]: \u201clisten carefully to me\u201d) and \u201creceive my Word\u201d (for 55:3 [MT]: \u201ccome to me\u201d).
\nThe promise, \u201cI will give you rest,\u201d could also be a quote from OT divine speech, though not so obviously as \u201cYou shall find rest for your souls.\u201d For this is what God promised Moses: \u201cMy presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest\u201d (Exod 33:14). In Tg. Onq., this reads \u201cMy Shekinah will go with you, and I will give you rest.\u201d<\/p>\n