The use of Moses traditions in the Gospel of John : a contribution to John's use of the Old Testament (original) (raw)

This thesis investigates the ways in which Moses traditions are used in the Gospel of John. The term "Moses traditions" is meant to refer to the stories connected with the person of Moses in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Later developments of these traditions are taken into account, if they are relevant to John's use of Moses traditions. The study addresses three areas of concern: First, the literary context and narrative significance of each instance of a use of a Moses tradition in John's Gospel is investigated. Secondly, the probability of the suggested links to the Old Testament Vorlagen is assessed. It is argued that in many cases the identification of a suggested link cannot be strictly separated from the interpretation of the link. Thirdly, the theological significance of each suggested link is presented. It is argued that the most significant theological inference from the use of Moses traditions in John is the sociological function of the ch...