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And "Bearing Witness" in the Legal Settings of the Pentateuch and the Gospel of John: an Intertextual Study

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And Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2017 "Witness" And "Bearing Witness" In The Legal Settings Of The Pentateuch And The Gospel Of John: An Intertextual Study Franklin A. Marti Andrews University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Biblical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Marti, Franklin A., ""Witness" And "Bearing Witness" In The Legal Settings Of The Pentateuch And The Gospel Of John: An Intertextual Study" (2017). Dissertations. 1639. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/1639 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT “WITNESS” AND “BEARING WITNESS” IN THE LEGAL SETTINGS OF THE PENTATEUCH AND THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: AN INTERTEXTUAL STUDY by Franklin A. Marti Adviser: Jiří Moskala ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: “WITNESS” AND “BEARING WITNESS” IN THE LEGAL SETTINGS OF THE PENTATEUCH AND THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: AN INTERTEXTUAL STUDY Name of researcher: Franklin A. Marti Name and degrees of faculty adviser: Jiří Moskala, Th.D., Ph.D. Date completed: May 2017 This dissertation studies the words “witness” and “to bear witness” in the Pentateuch and in the Gospel of John, and at the same time presents an intertextual connection between these books. The study begins with an introduction in which I present the background and statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, the delimitations and the methodology. Following the introduction chapter 1 deals with the review of the literature from ANE documents to ancient Jewish interpretation. I conclude that even though the Code of Hammurabi and the Hittite treaties are documents with different purposes, they reflect a similar feature: gods are called to be witnesses and judges between the Great King and his vassals. These gods are summoned to bring blessings or inflict curses, depending on the obedience or disobedience of the vassal. In relation to ancient Jewish literature, the members of the Qumran community believe that they are the faithful remnant of Israel with whom God has established his covenant and those who are living under his blessings while all Jews living outside the community are living under curses (Deut 28). Philo, on his part, is well acquainted with the topic of more than one witness for a just judgment (Deut 17:6; 19:15). Josephus debates the reliability of women’s testimonies in court, and the Talmud establishes the punishment that has to be inflicted on false witnesses. Chapter 2 shows modern scholars’ arguments about the witness motif in the Old Testament from Hermann Gunkel to Paul J. N. Lawrence, and in the Gospel of John from Théo Preiss to Andrew T. Lincoln. This chapter verifies that most scholars agree to the relation of the witness motif in the Old Testament with treaties of second millennium BC, and that the witness motif in the Gospel of John is connected to the Old Testament through judicial language. עֵד Chapter 3 examines exegetically the Pentateuchal passages in which the word and its cognates appear, and tests their connection with the Code of Hammurabi, and ANE treaties. Chapter 4 is an analysis of the words “witness” and “bearing witness” in the Gospel of John, and identifies that many of the stories of this Gospel are built on the judicial language of the Pentateuch in order to show testimonies about Jesus, either in favor of him or against him. The Gospel of John uses this motif to demonstrate that Jesus is righteous and true, and the Son of God. Likewise, Jesus’s judgment is similar to him (righteous and true). In this manner, his identity and origin are settled. Chapter 5 surveys the many passages of the Gospel of John that are infused with Pentateuchal language in order to demonstrate that the Evangelist wants to show, from the beginning of his Gospel, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God who fulfills the promises of the Pentateuch. The conclusion is a summary of the main points of this investigation in which I also offer its main implications for biblical studies and further research. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary “WITNESS” AND “BEARING WITNESS” IN THE LEGAL SETTINGS OF THE PENTATEUCH AND THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: AN INTERTEXTUAL STUDY A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Theology by Franklin A. Marti May 2017 Copyright by Franklin A. Marti 2017 © All Rights Reserved “WITNESS” AND “BEARING WITNESS” IN THE LEGAL SETTINGS OF THE PENTATEUCH AND THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: AN INTERTEXTUAL STUDY A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Theology by Franklin A. Marti APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: ___________________________________ ______________________________ Faculty Adviser Director, Ph.D./Th.D. Program Jiří Moskala Tom Shepherd Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Exegesis ___________________________________ ______________________________ Richard M. Davidson Dean SDA Theological Seminary J. N. Andrews Professor of Old Testament Jiří Moskala Interpretation ___________________________________ ______________________________ Tom Shepherd Date approved Professor of New Testament To the memory of my mother Juana Bautista Santana (1927-2014) who inspired me to study though she never went to school To my beloved wife Marina who gave me time to finish this dissertation without regret To Frankel, my playful boy who always asks me for more fun ַו ִּי ְק ָ ָ֣רא ַ֠ ַי ְע ֵבץ ֵלאֹל ֵֵ֙הי ִּי ְש ָר ֵֵ֜אל ֵלא ֹ֗ מר ִּאם־ ָב ֵֵ֙רְך ְת ָב ֲר ֵֵ֜כ ִּני ְו ִּה ְר ִּ ִּ֤בי ָת ֶאת־ ְגבּו ִּלֵ֙י וְהָיְתִָּ֤היָדְךֵ֙ עִּמִִּּ֔ יוְעָשִּ ִׂ֥יתָמֵרָעָ ָ֖ה לְבִּ ָ֣ לְתִּ י עָצְבִּ ִּ֑ י וַיָבִֵׂ֥אאֱֹלהִּ ָ֖ים אִֵׂ֥ ת אֲשֶ ר־שָאָָֽ ל׃ εἰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαμβάνομεν, ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ θεοῦ μείζων ἐστίν I prefer to fall into the hands of God while I am filthy, impure, and unclean than into the hands of men, being clean, pure, and holy (My paraphrase of 2 Sam 24:14) iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................. x INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Background of the Problem ......................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................. 7 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................... 8 Delimitations ................................................................................................ 8 Methodology ................................................................................................ 8 Definition of Terms ...................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1. REVIEW OF ANCIENT LITERATURE .............................................. 12 “Witness” and “Bearing Witness” in ANE Literature ..................... 12 The Code of Hammurabi (18th Century BC) ...................... 12 Mesopotamian Legal Documents (15th Century BC) ......... 15 Treaty Between Niqmepa of Alalakh and Ir-dim of Tunip (15th Century BC) .................................................... 16 Hittite Treaties ..................................................................... 18 Suppiluliumas and Kurtiwaza (14th Century BC) ............................................................... 19 Suppiluliumas and Aziras (14th Century BC) ......... 20 Mursilis and Duppi-Tessub (Mid-14th Century BC) ............................................................... 21 Ramses Meri-Amon of Egypt and Hattusilis of Hatti (1280 BC) ............................................ 22 Akkadian Treaty from Assyria ............................................. 24 Ashurnirari V of Assyria and Mati’ilu of Arpad (755-745 BC) ............................................... 24 The Vassal-Treaties of Esarhaddon (7th Century BC) ............................................................... 26 Summary .......................................................................................... 27 “Witness” and “Bearing Witness” in Ancient Jewish Interpretation of the Pentateuch ........................................... 30 iv Qumran (c. 2nd Century BC-c. 1st Century AD) ................ 30 Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC-c. AD 50) ............................ 39 Flavius Josephus (c. 37-c. 100) ............................................ 40 Talmud (AD 200-500) ......................................................... 42 Summary .............................................................................. 42 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE IN MODERN RESEARCH .......... 45 In the Old Testament ........................................................................ 45 Hermann Gunkel (1909-1913) ............................................. 45 G. Ernest Wright (1950, 1962) ............................................ 47 George E. Mendenhall (1954) .............................................
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