Jews in the Fourth Gospel

"The Jews" in the Fourth Gospel
by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.

Introduction:
We need to reflect carefully on one of the most difficult problems in the interpretation of John. This Gospel is often considered "anti-Semitic" because it contains some very harsh statements directed against "the Jews." It has also unfortunately been used (or misused) to justify some very anti-Semitic opinions and actions. However, recent scholarship looks more carefully at the exact meaning and referents of the original Greek words.

Terminology:
The term Ioudai=oj (Ioudaios) occurs 71 times in the Fourth Gospel, all but four of which are plural Ioudai/oi (Ioudaioi):

1:19	4:22	7:2	9:18	11:36	18:31	19:19
2:6	5:1	7:11	9:22 (twice)	11:45	18:33	19:20
2:13	5:10	7:13	10:19	11:54	18:35 (sg.)	19:21 (3x)
2:18	5:15	7:15	10:24	11:55	18:36	19:31
2:20	5:16	7:35	10:31	12:9	18:38	19:38
3:1	5:18	8:22	10:33	12:11	18:39	19:40
3:22 (sg.)	6:4	8:31	11:8	13:33	19:3	19:42
3:25 (sg.)	6:41	8:48	11:19	18:12	19:7	20:19
4:9 (sg.)	6:52	8:52	11:31	18:14	19:12
4:9	7:1	8:57	11:33	18:20	19:14

The word Ioudai/a (Ioudaia, the geographical area of "Judea") also occurs six times: John 4:3, 47, 54; 7:1,3; 11:7

Referents:
However, in different passages, )Ioudai=oi (Ioudaioi) seems to refer to three different groups of people:

A) specifically and only to the "Jewish leaders and authorities," rather than to the people as a whole;
B) only or mainly to the people living in the geographical territory of Judea, that is, "the Judeans";
C) to all members (or some or any in general) of the ethnic/religious group of people still called "Jews" today.

Moreover, we must be careful to read this Gospel on at least two different historical levels, that of Jesus himself (late 20's) and that of the Johannine community (80's or 90's). Close investigation shows that some statements are anachronistic in the mouths of Jesus and/or his opponents in the early first century, but instead reflect more accurately the circumstance of the end of the first century.

We should also recognize that not all of these verses are harshly negative, but some say very positive things about the Ioudaioi, while others could be classified as "neutral" statements. Some say nice things about "the Jews" and/or the Jewish religion, some simply give factual information, while others do betray harsh/hostile attitudes.

Thus, reading each of these verses (and the surrounding passages), we should ask which of the above groups is most likely being referred to in each case, and whether the reference is positive, negative, or neutral. To do this, one should consider whether the verse still says the same thing if in place of the word "Jews/Ioudaioi" we substitute the phrases: A) "the Jewish leaders and authorities"; or B) "the Judeans" or "people living in the territory of Judea"; or C) "any or all religious and ethnic Jews."

Examples:
First example, John 1:19 - "This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?'" - If we try substituting the underlined word here with the English translation, "all religious and ethnic Jews," the passage does not really make sense, since the average person or the people as a whole would not have had the authority to send priests and Levites on investigating missions; so option C) does not fit. Similarly, even though Jerusalem is in Judea, it is not really "all people living in the territory of Judea" who send the priests and Levites, so choice B) is also out. However, substituting with "the Jewish leaders and authorities" makes good sense in this verse, so 1:19 belongs in the list under category A).

Second example, when the phrase "King of the Jews" comes up, its political connotations suggest that it does not just mean "King of the Jewish authorities," nor "King of the religious Jews living anywhere," but rather, "King of the people of Judea"; so here the best option is category B). Note that the six uses of the related term "Judea" (clearly referring to the geographical region), obviously belong in this category.

Third example, John 2:6 refers to the "Jewish rites of purification." (Caution: here English uses an adjective "Jewish" to translate the original Greek phrase meaning "of the Jews," just like in 7:2, 18:12, and 19:42). Does this really mean A) "purification rites of the Jewish leaders," or B) "purification rites of the people of Judea," or C) "purification rites of all religious/ ethnic Jews" in general? Clearly, option C) makes the most sense.

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