Hellen Mardaga, «The Use and Meaning of e)kei=noj in Jn 19,35.», Vol. 20 (2007) 67-80
The demonstrative pronoun e)kei=noj occurs in the parenthesis of Jn 19,35, a verse which is important in discussions concerning the authorship of the fourth gospel. In general e)kei=noj is considered characteristic of John’s style, but there is no consensus among exegetes with regard to meaning of e)kei=noj in 19,35. Up to four different interpretations have been proposed for the pronoun in the present context. The author proposes a fifth possibility: e)kei=noj in Jn 19,35 resumes au)tou= in the preceding construction au)tou= e)stin h( marturi/a. The beloved disciple is ‘the one who sees’ and who subsequently bears witness to what he has seen.
68 Hellen Mardaga
an important part in discussions concerning the authorship of the gos-
pel, since it is one of the verses in which the author testifies about himself
(cfr. 1,14; 21,24)3. We are not entering into the discussion concerning the
authorship4, but we will rather concentrate on the use and meaning of
á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος in Jn 19,35:
καὶ ὠἑωÏακὼς μεμαÏÏ„á½»Ïηκεν, καὶ ἀληθινὴ αá½Ï„οῦ á¼ÏƒÏ„ιν ἡ μαÏÏ„Ï…Ïία,
καὶ á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος οἶδεν ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγει, ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς πιστεύ[σ]ητε.
With regard to the interpretation of the pronoun in this verse, there
is no general consensus among exegetes. In exegetical literature á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος
in Jn 19,35 is understood in four different ways: (1) á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος refers to
God or Christ; (2) á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος indicates the eyewitness (ὠἑωÏακώς), being
the author (the evangelist or redactor); (3) á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος is the soldier from Jn
19,34; (4) á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος denotes the beloved disciple and á½€ ἑωÏακώς designates
the soldier.
In this contribution we will propose an additional fifth possibility,
namely that á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος in Jn 19,35 is resuming αá½Ï„οῦ in the preceding
construction αá½Ï„οῦ (á¼ÏƒÏ„ιν ἡ μαÏÏ„Ï…Ïία). The beloved disciple is “the one
who sees†(ὠἑωÏακώς) and who subsequently bears witness to what he
has seen (αá½Ï„οῦ …á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος).
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The afore-mentioned theses explain the use of á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος in Jn 19,35 as
follows:
(1) á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος refers to God or Christ. Authors who defend this interpre-
tation assume that á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος in Jn 19,35 denotes God or Christ, a witness
to whom the speaker appeals5. The phrase á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος οἶδεν ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγει
Hintergrund des Neuen Testaments und des zeitgenössischen hellenistischen Schrifttums
(Freiburg-Göttingen 1991) esp. 63-162, 209-75; W. Schenk, Kommentiertes Lexicon zum
vierten evangelium (New York-Ontario-Wales 1993) 313-14.
The same goes for the discussion about the Aramaic origin of the fourth gospel. De-
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fenders of the Aramaic origin study the use of the pronouns but at present little attention
is given to this issue.
This contribution is based on the thesis I wrote to obtain a Master’s degree in Theol-
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ogy, entitled: “Het gebruik en de betekenis van á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος in Joh, 19,35†(Onderzoeksscriptie
tot verkrijging van de graad van Licentiaat in de Godgeleerdheid, Promoter: G. Van Belle;
Leuven 2002). I thank Professor G. Van Belle for providing me the necessary documents,
which facilitated my research.
E.A. Abbott, Johannine Grammar (Diatessarica 6; London 1906) 141-142; J. Ross,
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á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος, ET 17 (1905-1906) 287: “That in Jn 19,35 ‘He knoweth that he saith true’ á¼ÎºÎµá¿–νος
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