I think this is essentially right--that it's the instrumental dative with
that EN which is increasingly used with instrumental dative in Koine, and
especially in Semitizing Koine (wasn't it argued last week that this usage
seems to have been influenced by the Hebrew preposition B' in LXX
versions?). The question is whether "truthfully" is quite the best English
for EN ALHQEIAi. I don't have Brown's commentary ready to hand with me at
home here, but I seem to recollect that he had an interesting discussion on
the phrase at the end of Jn 1:14, PLHRHS CARITOS KAI ALHQEIAS. As I recall,
he wanted to associate ALHQEIA there somehow with Heb. AMUNAH and
understand it as meaning "steadfastness," "trustworthiness"--and moreover
to understand the two nouns joined by the KAI as a hendiadys, so that the
phrase meant something like "full of trustworthy graciousness." If the same
kind of reasoning should be applied to Jn 4:23, then EN PNEUMATI KAI
ALHQEIAi might mean something like "with a sure spirituality," i.e., with a
spirituality which is unwavering in its endeavor, to use the Spinozistic
phrase "to persevere in being what it is" (perseverarein suo esse).
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/