The Bridegroom Messiah and the People of God: Marriage in the Fourth Gospel (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series)

193 Pages·2007·1.35 MB·English

by  Jocelyn McWhirter

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Many interpreters of the Fourth Gospel detect allusions to biblical
texts about marriage, but none offers a comprehensive analysis of
these proposed allusions or a convincing explanation for their pres-
ence.BuildingontheworkofRichardHaysandDonaldJuel,Jocelyn
McWhirterarguesthatJohnalludestobiblicaltextsaboutmarriagein
order to develop a metaphor for Jesus and how he relates to his
followers. These texts seem to have been interpreted as messianic
prophecies, and applied by John to events in Jesus’ life and death.
McWhirter shows how verbal parallels link John’s evoked marriage
textstoPsalm45aboutGod’sanointedking.Messianicinterpretation
of these texts allows John to use them in portraying Jesus as a
bridegroom-Messiah and depicting Jesus’ relationship with his
followersintermsofmarriage.
JOCELYN MCWHIRTER isanAssistantProfessorofReligiousStud-
iesatAlbionCollegeinAlbion,Michigan.Thisisherfirstbook.
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The Bridegroom Messiah and
the People of God
Marriage in the Fourth Gospel
JOCELYN MCWHIRTER
AlbionCollege
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© Jocelyn McWhirter 2006
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First published in print format 2006
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ISBN-13 978-0-521-86425-1 hardback
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For Jamie and Teddy
te*kna yeouÐ
and inmemory ofDonald Juel
maka*rioioi(cid:1) mZ(cid:1) i(cid:2)do*nteB ka(cid:1)i pisteu*santeB