ABSTRACT
Over the past decade Johannine scholarship has displayed a marked renewal of interest in the reception of the Jewish Scriptures in the Gospel of John. Both the textual form and function of its explicit quotations, and the ubiquitous scriptural allusions and echoes in the gospel’s narratives and discourses, have been subjected to close scrutiny in an attempt to plumb the depths of John’s engagement with Scripture. The rediscovery of the gospel’s scriptural heritage has been accompanied by a growing recognition that its use of quotations, themes and motifs drawn from Scripture cannot be considered in isolation from the broader context of Jewish exegetical activity in the late Second Temple period. 1 Placing John’s Gospel within this context can cast significant light on its preference for certain scriptural texts, on its use of particular exegetical methods and techniques, and on the author’s familiarity with the ways in which the original texts were being interpreted several centuries after their composition.
