Yan Ma | Tyndale University (original) (raw)

Brill, 2024

This book introduces a new methodological framework based on the theory of Systemic Functional Li... more This book introduces a new methodological framework based on the theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics which can examine the linguistic features of the New Testament text. By applying a two-step discourse analysis model that includes a functional-semantic analysis and a rhetorical-relational analysis, this book argues that the twenty-eight occurrences of “I am” in Jesus’ utterances throughout the Gospel of John reinforce John’s portrayal of Jesus’ divinity. In the light of John’s construing of Jesus’ divinity, this new analysis of the Johannine “I am” phrases demonstrates how Johannine Christology is expressed through the narrative of John’s Gospel with various textual characteristics.

Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals by Yan Ma

Journal of Biblical Text Research, 2024

John 7:53–8:11, the pericope of the woman caught in adultery, is a well-known text-critical issue... more John 7:53–8:11, the pericope of the woman caught in adultery, is a well-known text-critical issue in the New Testament. The originality of this pericope as part of John’s Gospel has long been investigated by biblical scholars. Most contemporary biblical scholars argue against the pericope of the woman caught in adultery as an original composition of John’s Gospel. NA28 and UBSGNT5 both identify John 7:53–8:11 not only as a later addition to the original Greek text by placing double square brackets around the passage but also as a nonsignificant variant for textual reconstruction by providing a negative apparatus and assigning the A rating in the apparatus. Almost all translations indicate John 7:53–8:11 to be a non-original text through various means. Recent commentaries on John’s Gospel generally deny the possibility of John 7:53–8:11 being an original part. On the other hand, some textual critics still hold to the Johannine originality of John 7:53–8:11 and offer various textual evidence. However, the extant studies of both views only focus on whether John 7:53–8:11 can fit into the broader context of John’s Gospel but fail to examine the stylistic continuity of the pericope with its co-text. According to the principle of modern linguistics, it is the co-text of John 7:53–8:11, as its immediate linguistic context, that serves as the primary determinant for the Johannine authenticity of the pericope. This paper conducts a text-critical analysis on John 7:53–8:11, adopting reasoned eclecticism to evaluate both external and internal evidence and paying particular attention to whether the pericope demonstrates the stylistic continuity with its co-text. Based on this analysis, the paper argues that John 7:53–8:11 has no canonical authority. Since this text-critical analysis is conducted for the purpose of reconstructing the original Greek text of the New Testament, this paper proposes that John 7:53–8:11 should be removed from the text of John’s Gospel in the Greek New Testament and modern translations. As the non-canonical text, the pericope remaining in its usual place interrupts the Tabernacles discourse in John’s Gospel and will mislead contemporary readers. Given the fact that John 7:53–8:11 has been included in the New Testament for such a long history, the pericope can be placed in a footnote at the end of the Gospel with the textual note indicating its non-Johannine originality.

Teaching Theology & Religion, 2024

Learning style theories suggest that individual learners may have different ways of learning and ... more Learning style theories suggest that individual learners may have different ways of learning and will probably learn better with their preferred learning methods. Educators in almost all fields are increasingly aware of the importance of adopting learning style approaches, which requires instructors to understand the diverse learning styles of students and adapt their teaching strategies to accommodate various learning styles. Given the existence of diverse learning styles, it is impossible to have any single correct way to learn or to teach. However, instructors can provide students with a beneficial and rewarding learning experience by accommodating various learning styles. As the research in the field of learning styles testifies, students will benefit from learning style approaches that are properly adopted. In various areas of Christian education, Christian instructors are also able to make use of learning style approaches to facilitate the learning process of their students.

Biblical and Ancient Greek Linguistics, 2023

Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST), which was originally developed by William C. Mann and Sandra A... more Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST), which was originally developed by William C. Mann and Sandra A. Thompson as a functional theory to describe the text structure of written discourse, has been further advanced and incorporated into Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) by Christian M. I. M. Matthiessen. This study aims to introduce this new method to New Testament discourse analysis by integrating the features of New Testament Greek. This study also demonstrates the application of RST by conducting a rhetorical-relational analysis on John 8:31-59 to verify that RST can serve as an effective tool for New Testament interpretation and will offer new insights relevant to New Testament studies.

Filología Neotestamentaria, 2023

A variant-unit with four different readings is found in John 18:5. Both NA28 and UBSGNT5 have the... more A variant-unit with four different readings is found in John 18:5. Both NA28 and UBSGNT5 have the reading λέγει αὐτοῖς ἐγώ εἰμι in the text and indicate three other different readings in the apparatus. However, this paper argues that both the external and internal evidence support λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐγώ εἰμι as a stronger variant than λέγει αὐτοῖς ἐγώ εἰμι, based on a text-critical analysis. Therefore, the reading λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐγώ εἰμι is closest to the original Greek text of John 18:5 and should be selected in the New Testament text by NA28 and UBSGNT5.

Jian Dao, 2022

Discourse analysis has recently become an important interpretive approach in the field of biblica... more Discourse analysis has recently become an important interpretive approach in the field of biblical studies. Various models of discourse analysis have been constructed and applied to interpret the biblical text. The discourse analysis model developed by Robert E. Longacre has been widely adopted to understand the Hebrew narrative and has a significant influence on the discourse analysis of the Old Testament. This paper proposes to remodel Longacre's approach for the interpretation of the Greek New Testament. I will reconstruct Longacre's discourse analysis model by integrating all essential elements in the Greek language system as well as demonstrate the application of this reconstructed model by adopting it to form the discourse structure of John's Gospel and to conduct a discourse analysis on John 13:1–30 within this discourse structure. In this way, I will verify that the reconstructed model of Longacre's approach, which provides a linguistic framework for the exploration of the Greek narrative, can serve as an effective and important tool for the New Testament interpretation. This
discourse analysis model fully assesses the linguistic features of the New Testament text and will offer new insights into the existing research of New Testament studies.

Book Reviews by Yan Ma

Society of Biblical Literature, 2024

John 11-21: A Handbook on the Greek Text, by Lidija Novakovic, is part of the Baylor Handbook on ... more John 11-21: A Handbook on the Greek Text, by Lidija Novakovic, is part of the Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament (BHGNT) series, which aims to guide readers through each word, phrase, and verse of the Greek New Testament text. The BHGNT series pays close attention to the Greek text of the New Testament itself rather than the theological meaning and/or historical issues, as most traditional commentaries do. Each handbook provides a verse-by-verse treatment of the Greek New Testament text by explaining the syntax of the text, offering lexical semantic analysis, and engaging important text-critical issues that have a significant bearing on the interpretation of the Greek text. In each handbook, the author selectively interacts with secondary literature. As for the issues with significant debate, the author provides a representative sample of scholars for each view. As an accessible, comprehensive, and convenient reference tool, the BHGNT series is intended to serve as supplements to commentary proper.

Brill, 2024

This book introduces a new methodological framework based on the theory of Systemic Functional Li... more This book introduces a new methodological framework based on the theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics which can examine the linguistic features of the New Testament text. By applying a two-step discourse analysis model that includes a functional-semantic analysis and a rhetorical-relational analysis, this book argues that the twenty-eight occurrences of “I am” in Jesus’ utterances throughout the Gospel of John reinforce John’s portrayal of Jesus’ divinity. In the light of John’s construing of Jesus’ divinity, this new analysis of the Johannine “I am” phrases demonstrates how Johannine Christology is expressed through the narrative of John’s Gospel with various textual characteristics.

Journal of Biblical Text Research, 2024

John 7:53–8:11, the pericope of the woman caught in adultery, is a well-known text-critical issue... more John 7:53–8:11, the pericope of the woman caught in adultery, is a well-known text-critical issue in the New Testament. The originality of this pericope as part of John’s Gospel has long been investigated by biblical scholars. Most contemporary biblical scholars argue against the pericope of the woman caught in adultery as an original composition of John’s Gospel. NA28 and UBSGNT5 both identify John 7:53–8:11 not only as a later addition to the original Greek text by placing double square brackets around the passage but also as a nonsignificant variant for textual reconstruction by providing a negative apparatus and assigning the A rating in the apparatus. Almost all translations indicate John 7:53–8:11 to be a non-original text through various means. Recent commentaries on John’s Gospel generally deny the possibility of John 7:53–8:11 being an original part. On the other hand, some textual critics still hold to the Johannine originality of John 7:53–8:11 and offer various textual evidence. However, the extant studies of both views only focus on whether John 7:53–8:11 can fit into the broader context of John’s Gospel but fail to examine the stylistic continuity of the pericope with its co-text. According to the principle of modern linguistics, it is the co-text of John 7:53–8:11, as its immediate linguistic context, that serves as the primary determinant for the Johannine authenticity of the pericope. This paper conducts a text-critical analysis on John 7:53–8:11, adopting reasoned eclecticism to evaluate both external and internal evidence and paying particular attention to whether the pericope demonstrates the stylistic continuity with its co-text. Based on this analysis, the paper argues that John 7:53–8:11 has no canonical authority. Since this text-critical analysis is conducted for the purpose of reconstructing the original Greek text of the New Testament, this paper proposes that John 7:53–8:11 should be removed from the text of John’s Gospel in the Greek New Testament and modern translations. As the non-canonical text, the pericope remaining in its usual place interrupts the Tabernacles discourse in John’s Gospel and will mislead contemporary readers. Given the fact that John 7:53–8:11 has been included in the New Testament for such a long history, the pericope can be placed in a footnote at the end of the Gospel with the textual note indicating its non-Johannine originality.

Teaching Theology & Religion, 2024

Learning style theories suggest that individual learners may have different ways of learning and ... more Learning style theories suggest that individual learners may have different ways of learning and will probably learn better with their preferred learning methods. Educators in almost all fields are increasingly aware of the importance of adopting learning style approaches, which requires instructors to understand the diverse learning styles of students and adapt their teaching strategies to accommodate various learning styles. Given the existence of diverse learning styles, it is impossible to have any single correct way to learn or to teach. However, instructors can provide students with a beneficial and rewarding learning experience by accommodating various learning styles. As the research in the field of learning styles testifies, students will benefit from learning style approaches that are properly adopted. In various areas of Christian education, Christian instructors are also able to make use of learning style approaches to facilitate the learning process of their students.

Biblical and Ancient Greek Linguistics, 2023

Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST), which was originally developed by William C. Mann and Sandra A... more Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST), which was originally developed by William C. Mann and Sandra A. Thompson as a functional theory to describe the text structure of written discourse, has been further advanced and incorporated into Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) by Christian M. I. M. Matthiessen. This study aims to introduce this new method to New Testament discourse analysis by integrating the features of New Testament Greek. This study also demonstrates the application of RST by conducting a rhetorical-relational analysis on John 8:31-59 to verify that RST can serve as an effective tool for New Testament interpretation and will offer new insights relevant to New Testament studies.

Filología Neotestamentaria, 2023

A variant-unit with four different readings is found in John 18:5. Both NA28 and UBSGNT5 have the... more A variant-unit with four different readings is found in John 18:5. Both NA28 and UBSGNT5 have the reading λέγει αὐτοῖς ἐγώ εἰμι in the text and indicate three other different readings in the apparatus. However, this paper argues that both the external and internal evidence support λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐγώ εἰμι as a stronger variant than λέγει αὐτοῖς ἐγώ εἰμι, based on a text-critical analysis. Therefore, the reading λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐγώ εἰμι is closest to the original Greek text of John 18:5 and should be selected in the New Testament text by NA28 and UBSGNT5.

Jian Dao, 2022

Discourse analysis has recently become an important interpretive approach in the field of biblica... more Discourse analysis has recently become an important interpretive approach in the field of biblical studies. Various models of discourse analysis have been constructed and applied to interpret the biblical text. The discourse analysis model developed by Robert E. Longacre has been widely adopted to understand the Hebrew narrative and has a significant influence on the discourse analysis of the Old Testament. This paper proposes to remodel Longacre's approach for the interpretation of the Greek New Testament. I will reconstruct Longacre's discourse analysis model by integrating all essential elements in the Greek language system as well as demonstrate the application of this reconstructed model by adopting it to form the discourse structure of John's Gospel and to conduct a discourse analysis on John 13:1–30 within this discourse structure. In this way, I will verify that the reconstructed model of Longacre's approach, which provides a linguistic framework for the exploration of the Greek narrative, can serve as an effective and important tool for the New Testament interpretation. This
discourse analysis model fully assesses the linguistic features of the New Testament text and will offer new insights into the existing research of New Testament studies.

Society of Biblical Literature, 2024

John 11-21: A Handbook on the Greek Text, by Lidija Novakovic, is part of the Baylor Handbook on ... more John 11-21: A Handbook on the Greek Text, by Lidija Novakovic, is part of the Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament (BHGNT) series, which aims to guide readers through each word, phrase, and verse of the Greek New Testament text. The BHGNT series pays close attention to the Greek text of the New Testament itself rather than the theological meaning and/or historical issues, as most traditional commentaries do. Each handbook provides a verse-by-verse treatment of the Greek New Testament text by explaining the syntax of the text, offering lexical semantic analysis, and engaging important text-critical issues that have a significant bearing on the interpretation of the Greek text. In each handbook, the author selectively interacts with secondary literature. As for the issues with significant debate, the author provides a representative sample of scholars for each view. As an accessible, comprehensive, and convenient reference tool, the BHGNT series is intended to serve as supplements to commentary proper.