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The central aim of Water as an Image of the Spirit in the Johannine Literature is to propose two sets of indicators that can be used to assess the symbolic reference of water imagery in the Johannine literature. The first set, comprised of five indicators, can be used to decide whether a given instance of water imagery in the Johannine literature represents the Spirit. The other set, comprised of six indicators, can be used to determine whether a given instance of water imagery has a symbolic meaning instead of or in addition to its literal meaning. The validity of these indicators is demonstrated by applying them to six disputed water passages (1 John 5:6-8; Rev. 22:1-2; John 3:5, 4:10-14, 6:35, and 19:34). The author draws on narrative and exegetical methodologies to stage new claims that will incite further debate and discussion regarding the role of water imagery-and symbolic devices more broadly-in the Johannine texts.
List of contents
Foreword - Preface - Acknowledgments - Abbreviations - Introduction - Water Passages in Johannine Literature - Johannine Water Imagery in Ancient and Recent Writers - A Survey of Water Imagery in the Old Testament and Ancient Jewish Writings - Symbolism in Johannine Literature - Identifying Exegetically Significant Indicators Relating to Johannine Water Imagery - Exegesis of the Six Disputed Water Passages - Summary and Conclusion - Bibliography - Index.
About the author
Seung-In Song received his PhD from Gateway Seminary in Ontario, California. He teaches at Chongshin University in Seoul, South Korea. His publications include the article "Seeing Johannine Last Meal as a Covenant Meal (John 13 and Exodus 24)" in Biblica (2019).
Report
"Whereas scholars often identify Johannine water imagery as symbolic of the Holy Spirit, Seung-In Song not only resists this assumption but derives a rubric for determining its suitability. He categorizes texts which clearly affirm this imagery to derive a method by which disputed texts can be examined. This, alongside a carefully derived definition of 'symbolism' and attention to Old Testament parallels, equips Song to identify with greater clarity where Johannine water imagery is symbolic of the Holy Spirit and where it is not." Daniel M. Gurtner, Ernest and Mildred Hogan Professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
