The alternation of the words for “love” in John 21:15-17 is a long-standing puzzle that has defied solution. It is suggested in this note that ἀγαπῶ and φιλῶ carry a slight difference of “formality” as a result of their history and that this can account for the interplay.
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For survey and discussion see L. Morris, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971) 871-873; G. Friedrich, ed. and G.W. Bromiley, trans., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964-1976) 9:134-135 (Stählin); R.E. Brown, The Gospel According to John: Introduction, Translation and Notes (Anchor; 2 vols.; Garden City: Doubleday, 1966-1970) 2:1102-1103. I am grateful to Trevor Evans for reading this paper and offering helpful comments.
Argued with many exx. in L. Morris, Studies in the Fourth Gospel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969) 293-319. In this passage: βόσκε τὰ ἀρνία µου (15), ποίµαινε τὰ πρόβατά µου (16), βόσκε τὰ πρόβατά µου (17); οἶδας, γινώσκεις (17).
R. Joly, Le vocabulaire chrétien de l’amour est-il original? (Brussels: Presses Universitaires de Bruxelles, 1969) 10-29. Cf. S.P. Swinn, “ἀγαπᾶν in the Septuagint,” in T. Muraoka, ed., Melbourne Symposium on Septuagint Lexicography (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990) 49-81; M. Silva, Biblical Words and Their Meaning: An Introduction to Lexical Semantics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983) 96-97.
Joly, Le vocabulaire, 27-29. Most are in the epistolary closing formula ἀσπάζοµαι / ἀσπάζου τοὺς φιλοῦντας ἡµᾶς / σε, attested from i ad onwards. Examples: POxy 17.2148.12 (27 ad); OClaud 1.146.7 (100-120 ad); PMich 3.221.19 (296 ad). Also formulaic is the cliché οἶδα πῶς / ὅτι µε φιλεῖς, in PCol 10.279.13 (iii ad) etc. Joly (29) notes some “formules religieuses” with φιλῶ.
Joly, Le vocabulaire, 11, 16, 18, 30. The pairing is found in John 12:25; 15:19.
On formality cf. J.A.L. Lee, “Some Features of the Speech of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel,” NovT 27 (1985) 1-26, esp. 7, 10.
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The alternation of the words for “love” in John 21:15-17 is a long-standing puzzle that has defied solution. It is suggested in this note that ἀγαπῶ and φιλῶ carry a slight difference of “formality” as a result of their history and that this can account for the interplay.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 524 | 99 | 14 |
Full Text Views | 308 | 9 | 1 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 203 | 31 | 3 |