Peter W. Ensor on The Authenticity of John 12.24

The following article is now on-line in PDF. Visit the latest additions page for the link:

Peter W. Ensor, "The Authenticity of John 12.24," The Evangelical Quarterly 74.2 (Apr.-June 2002): 99-107.

My thanks to Dr Ensor for his kind permission to reproduce his article.

Simon Valentine on the Johannine Prologue

The following article is now on-line in PDF:

Simon Ross Valentine, "The Johannine Prologue-A Microcosm of the Gospel," The Evangelical Quarterly 68.4 (Oct.-Dec. 1996): 291-304.

Where were the nail-prints in Jesus’ hands - in his wrists or his palms?

This question was raised last Saturday during a day conference on biblical archaeology at Tyndale House in Cambridge. Put simply the problem was stated as follows:

Crucifixion normally involved nailing the victim to a horizontal beam through the wrist between the radius and the ulna (the two bones of the forearm). The nail was then firmly trapped by the carpals from ripping out of the hand between the fingers. If the victim were nailed through the palm of the hand the weight of the suspended body would simply cause the nail to pull through the flesh between the metacarpals (see here for an illustration of the bones involved). That much seems clear. However, in John 20:27 Jesus commands Thomas to:

“…See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” [Italics mine]

Surely, the argument goes, if the nail marks where in Jesus’ wrists then he would have told Thomas to look there for them and not in his hands?

Solution

I think the answer to the problem is fairly straightforward, once we look at the Greek text. The Greek word for hand – χειρ – which is used twice in the passage cited above means “A hand or any relevant portion of the hands, including, for example, the fingers.” (Nida & Louw, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, Vol. 1, p. 98.). The question is whether the word “hand” in Greek also included the wrist. The word “wrist” or “wrists” appears only in Acts 12:7 in the NIV New Testament. In the Old Testament it appears twice in the Genesis 38:27 & 30, in Jeremiah 40:4 and Ezekiel 13:18. In Acts 12:7 and in the Septuagint of the OT verses the “wrist” is a translation of χειρ. So, it would seem that “wrist” was included within the semantic range of χειρ and so the problem seems to be solved. John 20:27 could quite accurately be translated: “…See my wrists. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Nida & Louw note that there is a precedent for using a specific body part in place of the general term “hand”. Luke 15:22 reads “…Put a ring on his χειρ…” χειρ here is to be translated finger, not hand.

Howard C. Bigg on the The State of the Q Hypothesis in 1988

The following article is now available on-line in PDF:

Howard C. Bigg, "The Present State of the Q Hypothesis," Vox Evangelica 18 (1988): 63-73.

This should prove useful to anyone studying Gospel origins.

F.F. Bruce on the Use of the Book of Zechariah in the Passion Narrative

The following article is now online in PDF:

F.F. Bruce, "The Book of Zechariah and the Passion Narrative," Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 43 (March 1961): 336-353.

Quotatle quote (I love the characteristic understatement here):

Even so, one may well hesitate to go so far as to find an echo of Zechariah ix-xiv in his statement that the high priest’s slave whom Peter wounded at Jesus’ arrest was called Malchus (John xviii. 10). It has been suggested in one of the most important studies of the Fourth Gospel to appear in recent years that John called the slave Malchus to show that the narrative of the arrest fulfilled Zechariah xi. 6, “I will cause men to fall each into the hand of his neighbour, and each into the hand of his king (malkô)”. But there is a basic appropriateness about John’s other allusions to Zechariah ix-xiv which is lacking here; no one fell into Malchus’ hand, and why, of all the people present, should the high priest’s slave be chosen to fulfil the prophecy about a “king”? It is more likely that the Evangelist tells us that the slave’s name was Malchus because he happened to know that Malchus, in fact, was his name.

F.F. Bruce on the Fourth Gospel in "recent" Interpretation

The following article is now on-line in PDF:

F.F. Bruce, "The Fourth Gospel in Recent Interpretation," Terminal Letter of the Theological Students' Fellowship (Spring 1958): 2-6.

"Recent" is a relative term in this case, but I still found much of the material of interest. My thanks to UCCF for their kind permission to reproduce it on-line.

F.F. Bruce on the Fourth Evangelist

The following article is now available on-line in PDF:

F.F. Bruce, "Some Notes on the Fourth Evangelist," The Evangelical Quarterly 16 (1944): 101-109.

F.F. Bruce examines what light the evidence of the early church throws on the authorship of the Gospel of John.

Vox Evangelica Volume 7 (1971) now on-line

The following articles are now available in PDF:

F.F. Bruce, "Some Thoughts on Paul and Paulinism," Vox Evangelica 7 (1971): 5-16.

H. Dermot McDonald, "The Idea of Immortality," Vox Evangelica 7 (1971): 17-38.

David R. Carnegie, "The Kerygma in the Fourth Gospel," Vox Evangelica 7 (1971): 39-74.

In this extensive article David Carnegie explores the meaning a content of the Kerygma. He concludes:

This study suggests two major conclusions. In the first place, it seems impossible to deny that the Primitive Kerygma has exerted a profound influence on the Fourth Gospel. Again and again we have observed how the great developed themes of the Gospel may be traced back to the earliest preaching. We may therefore stress the claim that the really significant background to the Fourth Gospel must be sought in the earliest Christianity. Arising from this we may affirm that the real contribution of the Gospel is not to innovate nor to correct, but to enrich the content of already existing ideas. The strong link with primitive Christianity also increases the confidence with which we can assert Apostolic connection with it, if not actual authorship.

The second major point is that we have seen that the Fourth Gospel develops and enriches the original concepts along lines that are primarily Biblical and Jewish. The Fourth Gospel does not, therefore, represent a development along lines foreign to the original proclamation.

Since it has been consistently argued that the influence of Hellenism and Gnosticism is marginal (if that), it should be added that this does not mean that the writer did not present his material in such a way as would be intelligible to those of such outlooks. The intention of this study has rather been to stress how at every vital point the writer reveals his affinity to be firmly with the primitive preaching. It is surely part of the wonder of this Gospel that, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the writer has presented a message capable of reaching the mind of the Hellenist or Gnostic which was nevertheless entirely true to the earliest preaching of the Gospel.

Harold H. Rowdon, "Theological Education in Historical Perspective," Vox Evangelica 7 (1971): 75-87.

Vox Evangelica Volume 5 (1967) now on-line

The following articles are now available in PDF:

Geoffrey W. Grogan, "The Experience of Salvation in the Old and New Testamentx," Vox Evangelica 5 (1967): 4-26.

I don't know of many articles on this subject, so this should be useful.

H. Dermot McDonald, "The Idea of Creation in Historical Perspective," Vox Evangelica 5 (1967): 27-48.

I wish I had know about this article when I did my research on the early church's doctrine of creation.

Harold W. Rowdon, "Edinburgh 1910, Evangelicals and the Ecumentical Movement," Vox Evangelica 5 (1967): 49-71.

This is a very interesting article for those studying the history of evangelicalism, missions and the ecumenical movement.

Donald Guthrie, "The Importance of Signs in the Fourth Gospel," Vox Evangelica 5 (1967): 72-83.

Review articles:

H. Dermot McDonald, "John Hick's Evil and the God of Love, MacMillan," Vox Evangelica 5 (1967): 84-87.

Geoffrey W. Grogan, "H. Richard Niebuhr's Schleiermacher on Christ and Religion, S.C.M.," Vox Evangelica 5 (1967): 88-91.

J. Clement Connell, "Jesus of Nazareth, Savious and Lord (edited by Carl F. Henry), Eerdmans," Vox Evangelica 5 (1967): 92-96.