Free The Jewish Annotated New Testament by Amy-Jill Levine

suggesting direct knowledge of the city and surroundings. The Gospel refers to the Sabbath and Passover as well as to the Feast of Tabernacles (5.1) and Hanukkah (10.22). It explains ritual hand-washing before meals (2.6), a comment that supports the hypothesis, mentioned earlier, that at least some of the Gospel’s intended audience is not of Jewish origin. Most strikingly, the Gospel alludes to a broad range of Jewish ideas. For example, in Jn 6, often called the Bread of Life discourse (6.25–71), it employs argument similar to later rabbinic midrashic traditions. In 5.17, Jesus responds to the Jews’ accusations that he breaks the Sabbath by asserting: “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” This response recalls the discussion by the Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, Philo of Alexandria (ca. 20 BCE–50 CE) on the question of whether God works on the Sabbath ( Cher . 86–890; Leg. all . 1.5–6). The same issue is discussed in rabbinic literature, e.g., Ex. Rab . 11.10; 30.9; though this text in its present form postdates the Gospel of John by several centuries, it may reflect traditions that were already present in the first century. The Gospel’s prologue applies concepts associated with Lady Wisdom in Prov 8.22–31 and Sir 24 to “the Word” (incarnated in Jesus); the Word is portrayed as preexistent and instrumental in the creation of the world. And like Lady Wisdom, the Word is instructed to take on flesh and dwell in the world (1.14; cf. Sir 24.8).
    John and Jewish sources
    Despite the striking parallels between John and Hellenistic Jewish sources such as the Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and the works of Philo, there is no evidence of John’s direct knowledge and use of these sources. Rather, the similarities reflect ideas that were “in the air” in Asia Minor, where the final version of the Gospel may have been written. The parallels to rabbinic literature also do not reveal any dependence or direct knowledge of rabbinic texts, all of which are dated to a period at least two centuries after the completion of the Gospel. For this reason, John’s similarities to some rabbinic traditions and his use of similar exegetical methods do not demonstrate dependence but rather help to establish the existence in the first century of beliefs, practices, or methods that may otherwise be known only from much later Jewish texts. John is therefore a source for the antiquity of some rabbinic traditions, not the other way around.
    The most important, and the only documentable, textual sources used by John’s Gospel are the Jewish scriptures, most likely in a Greek translation. The Gospel includes numerous quotations and allusions to the Pentateuch (Torah) and prophetic literature, as well as the writings (see annotations for examples). Important biblical figures, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jacob, are mentioned. More subtly, certain biblical narratives form the basis of several of the major discourses. The figure of Lady Wisdom, and her association with God and with creation is a major feature of the prologue (Jn 1.1–18; Prov 8; Sir 24; Wis 10; cf. Philo, On the Creation ). The Abraham cycle (Gen 12–36) underlies Jn 8.31–59, especially the contrast between Ishmael and Isaac (Gen 16 and 21; cf. Jn 8.34–35), Abraham’s hospitality to three angelic visitors (Gen 18; cf. Jn 8.39–44), and the tradition that Abraham was given a vision of the future times and heavenly worlds (Gen 15.17–20; cf. T. Abr .; Jn 8:53–58). The story of the Exodus from Egypt is evoked throughout Jn 6.
    At the same time, it must be stressed that the Gospel also alludes to non-Jewish practices and ideas. The notion of the Logos as a creative power in the world is a feature not only of Jewish wisdom literature but also of Greek philosophy, e.g., in the work of Heraclitus, Aristotle, and the Stoics. John 6 refers not only to the book of Exodus but also to Greco-Roman mystery cults and perhaps even Roman accusations against