“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” What exactly do these words mean? Some argue that John is hinting at concepts related to Greek philosophy, but is this really the case? What are the Jewish Targums and how do these ancient texts helps us to better understand the meaning of John’s prologue? On this episode, Shane talks with John Ronning, author of The Jewish Targums and John’s Logos Theology.
Click here for detailed notes related to this episode (including quotes from Philo of Alexandria, and the Aramaic Targums.
SHOW NOTES
Books
The Jewish Targums & John’s Logos Theology, John Ronning
Targum Isaiah, Jonathan ben Uziel
The Messiah of the Targums, Michael B. Shepherd
The Jewish Gospels, Daniel Boyarin
The Angel of the Lord, Foreman & Van Dorn
Journeys with Jesus, Dennis Johnson
The Son of Man in Early Jewish Literature, Richard Bauckham
A Handbook on the Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith, Craig Evans
A Handbook on the Jewish Roots of the Gospels, Craig Evans
The Jewish Annotated New Testament, Daniel Boyarin & others
The Works of Philo, Philo of Alexandria
Articles
The “I Am” Sayings in John, John Ronning
The Targum of Isaiah and the Johannine Literature, John Ronning
When Yahweh Became Flesh And Dwelt Among Us, John Ronning
High & Lifted Up: The Son of Man in John’s Gospel, John Ronning
Finding Christ in All of Scripture, Shane Rosenthal
The Bethlehem Prophecy: An Exploration of Micah 5:2, Shane Rosenthal
Authenticating the Fourth Gospel, Shane Rosenthal
The Identity of the Beloved Disciple, Shane Rosenthal
A New Argument for John’s Identity, Shane Rosenthal
Notes for Episode #75, Shane Rosenthal
Audio
Jewish Views of the Messiah, Humble Skeptic #38 with Daniel Boyarin
The Angel of Yahweh, Humble Skeptic #70 with Foreman & Van Dorn
Were Jews Expecting a Divine Messiah?, WHI #1243 with Craig Evans
Were Jews Expecting a Suffering Messiah? Humble Skeptic #47
Jacob’s Ladder, Humble Skeptic #63 with Richard Bauckham and others
Babylon, Humble Skeptic Episode #66
Decoding the Prophecies of Daniel, Humble Skeptic #68
The Messiah’s Redemptive Mission, Humble Skeptic #72
Signs of the Messiah, Humble Skeptic # 74 with Andreas Köstenberger
Which John Wrote John? Humble Skeptic #50
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Jewish Views of The Messiah
Daniel Boyarin is a professor of Talmudic Culture at U.C. Berkeley who argues that many Jews before the time of Jesus were expecting a divine-human Messiah who would suffer on behalf of his people. T…
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