Imagery in the Gospel of John

The Gospel of John is well-known for its wealth and depth of figurative language, metaphors and symbols. These articles, written by some of the leading scholars in Johannine exegesis and particularly in the debate on Johannine imagery, utilize a broad variety of methods of interpretation. The authors provide an in-depth discussion of the variety of terms and forms of figurative speech and explore the conceptual and traditio-historical background of central motifs. Some of the most prominent Johannine images (lamb, king, bread, shepherd, vine, eating and drinking and others) are discussed with regard to their literary design and theological meaning. The collection aims at opening up paths in the tangled thicket of John's figurative world, it amply demonstrates the close relationship between the different metaphors and images in the Fourth Gospel and opens the view to the inter-relatedness of its theological themes.

Geboren 1962; 1996 Promotion; 1998 Habilitation; seit 2010 Professor für Neues Testament an der Universität Zürich. Born 1952; emeritus professor of the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands). Born 1968; 1999 Dr. theol. from the University of Heidelberg; 2003 Habilitation from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University München; currently Professor of New Testament and Ethics at the Johannes Gutenberg-University in Mainz, Germany and research associate at the Department of Old and New Testament Studies of the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. ist Wiss. Mitarbeiterin am Lehrstuhl für Biblische Theologie der Universität Bielefeld.