From: Ben Crick (ben.crick@argonet.co.uk)
Date: Sat Mar 28 1998 - 23:14:31 EST
On Fri 27 Mar 98 (17:53:44), questioning1@yahoo.com wrote:
>ÊJohn consistently weaves the concept of DOXA throughout his Gospel. In
>ÊJohn 1:14, John writes: THN DOXAN AUTOU DOXAN hWS MONOGENOUS.
>Ê
>ÊLater, we read: KAI NUN DOXASON ME SU PATER PARA SEAUTW TH DOXH hE
>ÊEICON. (John 17:5)
>Ê
>ÊMy question is, where in the Gospel does John bring the idea of DOXA to
>Êa climax?
Dear Edgar,
I feel more at home with this type of discussion, rather than the abstruse
(to me) areas of textilinguistics, aspect and Aktionsart!
1. The Hebrew sense:
DOXA is the GNT equivalent of KaBhoWDh, or KeBhoDh-YHWH, the Glory of the
LORD. Root KBD indicates weight, gravity, worth, or grandeur; hence Glory.
God's Glory is manifested by his glorious acts in Redemption (Exodus), and
in the SheKhiNaH cloud in the Wilderness, the Tabernacle and the Temple.
"Wherever two or three sit together and meditate upon the Law, there is the
SheKhiNaH among them" (PiRQeY 'aBoTh; compare Matthew 18:20).
In 1 Enoch, DOXA is predicated of the Messiah.
In John, we find it in the Hebrew sense in 1:14, 2:11, 11:40, 12:28-29, 41.
Jesus' glory is manifested in connection with the wedding at Cana; the
Raising of Lazarus; and the events surrounding the Crucifixion.
2. The Greek sense:
DOXA in Greek means opinion; reputation; honour. "I receive not glory from
men" (5:41) has this sense. So also in "He that speaketh from himself
seeketh his own glory" (7:18). Sometimes it is ambivalent: "How can ye
believe, which receive glory one of another, and the glory thar cometh from
the only God ye seek not" (5:44).
3. The Johannine sense:
John's Gospel lacks a Transfiguration narrative; but 1:14 already conjoins
DOXA and SKHNOW; the SheKhiNaH in the Tabernacle of flesh, 2:21.
John looks back to DOXA: the Incarnation is God's SheKhiNah amongst men,
1:14. The Crucifixion is also a manifestation of DOXA: "I have both
glorified [my name] and will glorify it again" 12:28; "Now is the Son of
Man glorified, and God is glorified in him; and God shall glorify him in
himself, and straightway shall he glorify him" 12:31.
The Glory of God tabernacles in the hearts of men through the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit, 14:16-18, etc.
The climax of DOXA is Christ's return to the Glory which he enjoyed with the
Father before all things, 17:5. His saints will partake in this, 17:22-24.
Its outworking is in Revelation 5:12-13; 7:12; 15:8; 19:1; 21:11, 23.
No doubt others will say what they think...
-- Revd Ben Crick, BA CF <ben.crick@argonet.co.uk> 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK) http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm
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