Introduction

The Gospel of John was written to persuade people to believe in Jesus (20:30–31). The opening verses declare that Jesus is God, stressing his unique relationship with God the Father. The book focuses on seven of Jesus’ signs (miracles), to show his divinity. Jesus called people to believe in him, promising eternal life. He proved he could give life by raising Lazarus (ch. 11) and by his own death and resurrection. John features Christ’s seven “I am” statements, his encounters with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman, his Upper Room teachings and washing of the disciples’ feet (chs. 13–16), and his high priestly prayer (ch. 17). It includes the most well-known summary of the gospel (3:16). The author was probably the apostle John, writing about a.d. 85.

The Word Became Flesh

1 aIn the beginning was bthe Word, and cthe Word was with God, and dthe Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 eAll things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 fIn him was life,1 and gthe life was the light of men. 5 hThe light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man isent from God, whose name was jJohn. 7He came as a kwitness, to bear witness about the light, lthat all might believe through him. 8 mHe was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 nThe true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet othe world did not know him. 11 He came to phis own,2 and qhis own people3 rdid not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, swho believed in his name, the gave the right uto become vchildren of God, 13 who wwere born, xnot of blood ynor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And zthe Word abecame flesh and bdwelt among us, cand we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son4 from the Father, full of dgrace and etruth. 15 (fJohn bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, g‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from hhis fullness we have all received, igrace upon grace.5 17 For jthe law was given through Moses; kgrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 lNo one has ever seen God; mthe only God,6 who is at the Father’s side,7 nhe has made him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 And this is the otestimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, p“Who are you?” 20 qHe confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? rAre you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you sthe Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am tthe voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight8 the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, u“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, v“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even whe who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Behold, the Lamb of God

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, xthe Lamb of God, who ytakes away the sin zof the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, a‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but bfor this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John cbore witness: d“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and eit remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but fhe who sent me to baptize gwith water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, hthis is he who baptizes gwith the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son9 of God.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, ithe Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, j“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, k“Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.10 40 lOne of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus11 was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found mthe Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of nJohn. You shall be called oCephas” (which means pPeter12).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 qThe next day Jesus decided rto go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now sPhilip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found tNathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom uMoses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus vof Nazareth, wthe son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, x“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, yan Israelite indeed, zin whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How ado you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, b“Rabbi, cyou are the Son of God! You are the dKing of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,13 you will see eheaven opened, and fthe angels of God ascending and descending on gthe Son of Man.”

Bibliography

Collins, John J. Daniel: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.

Cooper, Alan. “Divine Names and Epithets in the Ugaritic Texts.” Pages 334–500 in Ras Shamra Parallels: The Texts from Ugarit and the Hebrew Bible 3. Edited by Stan Rummel. Roma: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, 1981.

Emerton, J.A. “What Light Has Ugaritic Shed on Hebrew?” Pages 53–69 in Ugarit and the Bible. Edited by George J. Brooke, Adrian H.W. Curtis, and John F. Healey. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 1994.

Kapelrud, Arvid S. Baal in the Ras Shamra Texts. Copenhagen: G.E.C. Gad, 1952.

Loewenstamm, S.E. “Grenzgebiete ugaritischer Sprach—und Stilvergleichung: Hebraisch des Zweiten Tempels, Mittelhebraisch, Griechisch.” Ugarit-Forschugen 3 (1971): 93–100.

Longman, Tremper, III. “The Divine Warrior: The New Testament use of an Old Testament Motif.” Westminster Theological Journal 44 (1982): 291–308.

Moran, W.L. “Some Remarks on the Song of Moses.” Biblica 43 (1962): 317–27.

Mowinckel, Sigmund. “Drive andor Ride in O.T.” Vetus Testamentum 12 (1962): 278–99.

Pardee, Dennis. “The Baʿlu Myth.” Pages 237–83 in Context of Scripture 1. Edited by William W. Hallo. Leiden: Brill, 1997.

Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1955.

———. The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969.

Rahmouni, Aicha. Divine Eithets in the Ugaritic Alphabetic Texts. Handbuch der Orientalistik. Leiden: Brill, 2008.

Scott, R.B.Y. “Behold, He Cometh with Clouds.” New Testament Studies 5 (1959): 127–32.

Weinfeld, Moshe. “ ‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds.’ ” Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Studies 5 (1973): 422–26.

Koowon Kim

Right Hand References to the right hand in Scripture refer either literally to most people’s dominant hand or metaphorically to prominence and strength. In patriarchal blessings, the preferred blessing was given with the right hand (Gen 48:17–20). To speak of someone’s right hand is to speak of their power (Exod 15:6, 12; Pss 18:35; 20:6; 63:8; 98:1). Oaths are also accompanied by a raised right hand (Isa 62:8; Rev 10:5–6). To sit at someone’s right hand is to sit in the place of honor (Psa 45:9; 80:16; 110:1; Acts 2:33; Heb 1:3). When Jesus returns, believers will be placed at His right side (Matt 25:31–33).

In contrast, sitting at someone’s left side sometimes metaphorically indicates the place of disfavor (Matt 25:41).

Righteousness (Hebrew צדק, tsdq;, צְדָקָה, tsedaqah;, צַדִּיק, tsaddiq; Greek δικαιοσύνη, dikaiosynē, δίκαιος, dikaios). The quality, state, and characteristic of being in the right.

The English word “righteousness” refers to the quality of being righteous or in the right and is cognate to “just,” “justness,” and “justice.” In biblical usage, “righteousness” possesses ethical, forensic, salvific, and socioreligious connotations, depending on the context. Generally speaking, in relation to God, “righteousness” can refer to a divine attribute or to a divine activity, while in relation to human subjects, “righteousness” primarily denotes a legal and social status or a moral state.

Righteousness in the Jewish World

Understanding righteousness in its Jewish context requires the examination of key words in the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, and early Judaism.

Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew words tsdq, tsedaqah, and tsdyq are ordinarily translated as “righteous” or “just,” as they pertain to doing right or being just. Scholars debate whether the underlying root concept means adherence to a norm, or right relationship. On the former, we read in Jer 4:2 about an oracle where Israel is urged to confess “in truth, in justice, and in righteousness” that Yahweh will bless the nations, and “righteousness” here is defined by the norms of truth telling and performing justice. For the latter, we might consider Gen 38:26, where Judah declares that Tamar “is more righteous than I” because, despite her deception of Judah where “she played the whore” (Gen 38:24), Tamar found a way around her father-in-law’s recalcitrance so she could fulfill her social obligations to produce an heir for her deceased husband. It is probably better not to play off normativity and relational notions of righteousness against each other. That is because while it is a linguistic mistake to try to attribute to tsdq any single Grundbegriff (i.e., overarching concept), it would appear that tsdq is associated with a web of concepts related to normativity and legitimacy, yet it is social and covenantal relationships that provide the norm itself.

In the Hebrew Bible, righteousness is often attributed to key figures for their upright and just behavior. For example, Noah “was a righteous man, without defect in his generations” (Gen 6:9; compare Gen 7:1). God chose Abraham so that he would “command his children and his household after him that they will keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice” (Gen 18:19). Abraham pleaded with God not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if 10 righteous men could be found (Gen 18:22–33). Jacob claimed that he showed “righteousness” in his dealings with Laban (Gen 30:33), and Judah had to admit that Tamar was “more righteous” because she raised up seed for her late husband (Gen 38:26). In Psalm 1, sinners cannot stand in the congregation of the righteous, and the Lord knows the way of the righteous (Psa 1:5–6). The book of Proverbs/ attests the close correlation of righteousness with justice. For example, Proverbs 12 says, “The thoughts of the righteous are just” (Prov 12:5; compare Prov 20:7; 29:7). Ezekiel refers to a righteous person as one who does justice (מִשְׁפָּט, mishpat) and righteousness (tsedaqah; Ezek 18:5).

In addition, the standard of the law code given to Israel determines the meaning of righteousness. The Israelites are admonished to protect the integrity of those who are innocent and righteous (Exod 23:7–8; Deut 1:16), and Israel “shall be [righteous]” if they do all that God commands (Deut 6:25). The connection between righteousness and law observance is underscored by Ezekiel: “And if a man is righteous and does justice and righteousness, and on the mountains he does not eat and he does not lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and the wife of his neighbor he does not defile and he does not approach a woman of menstruation, and he oppresses no one and he returns a pledge for his loan and he commits no robbery and he gives his bread to the hungry and he covers a naked person with a garment, and he does not charge interest and he takes no usury, and he holds back his hand from injustice and he executes a judgment of fairness between persons, and in my statutes he goes about and my regulations he keeps, performing faithfully—then he is righteous, and certainly he will live” (Ezek 18:5–9).

The underlying rationale for human righteousness is that God is righteous (e.g., Pss 11:7; 119:137; 129:4; 145:17; Jer 12:1; Dan 9:14). Similarly, the Israelites should not acquit the wicked, since God does not do so (e.g., Exod 23:7; Job 10:14–15; Isa 5:23; Mic 6:11; compare Sirach 42:2). Consequently, in many places in the Hebrew Bible, righteousness has a strong forensic character and pertains to executing justice in the court of law and ensuring right treatment of persons in social frameworks (Lev 19:15; Deut 1:16–17; 16:18–20; 25:1).

The Hebrew Bible depicts righteousness not only as a divine quality but as a divine action. The Song of Moses eulogizes God’s saving action in the exodus, noting that “all his ways are just; he is a faithful God, and without injustice; righteous and upright is he” (Deut 32:4). The judges Deborah and Barak sing about the “righteous deeds of Yahweh” after the defeat of the Canaanite king Jabin (Judg 5:11). The prophet Samuel testified against King Saul by recounting to him “all the deeds of justice of Yahweh that he performed with both you and your ancestors” (1 Sam 12:7). The link between God’s righteous character and his righteous actions stems from his commitment as ruler of the universe to execute justice for the world, including the monarchy, the Israelites, and the nations. Abraham pleads to God to deliver the righteous in Sodom by asking, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?” (Gen 18:25). Jeremiah rehearses God’s claim that “I am Yahweh, showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth” (Jer 9:24). The psalmist writes similarly: “Yahweh sits enthroned forever. He has established his throne for judgment. And he will judge the world with righteousness. He will judge the peoples with equity” (Psa 9:7–8). Isaiah announces: “For as the earth produces its sprout, and as a garden makes its plants sprout, so the Lord Yahweh will make righteousness sprout, and praise before all the nations” (Isa 61:11; compare Isa 62:2). God ultimately intends to flood the world with justice and put the nations and all of creation to rights.

God’s just reign over his creation also includes establishing Israel in the right. For example, the psalmist praises God’s reign over Israel by declaring, “You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob” (Psa 99:4). God in his righteousness could prosecute the curses of the covenant by contending against Israel on account of its unrighteousness (see Isa 1:21; 5:7; Amos 5:21–24). Yet at the same time, God chooses to deliver Israel from judgment as a display of his righteousness, which is why “righteousness” can also be correlated with God’s salvation, vindication, mercy, and faithfulness (Pss 7:10–11; 36:5–6; 71:15–16; 96:13; 143:1, 11; Isa 45:8; 46:12–13; 56:1; Jer 51:10; Dan 9:18; Mic 7:9; Hos 2:19; Zech 8:8). Similarly, one of the penitential psalms reads, “Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation; then my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness” (Psa 51:14). Isaiah also correlates righteousness with salvation: “My righteousness is near; my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples … my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will not be broken to pieces” (Isa 51:5–6).

At the same time, the Hebrew Bible speaks of God establishing right for both the nations and Israel: “Yahweh has made known his salvation; to the eyes of the nations he has revealed his righteousness. He has remembered his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God … Yahweh, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity” (Psa 98:2–3, 9).

The dual nature of God’s righteousness in the Old Testament, then, is that it includes both His judgment against human wickedness and His faithfulness to deliver His covenant people from wickedness.