2025/07/01 by Mateusz Kusio · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Biblical Studies and Interpretation #Historical and Linguistic Studies #Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s0028688524000420
crossref issued 2025/07/01 · crossref published 2025/07/01 · crossref published-print 2025/07/01 · openalex publication_date 2025/07/01 · crossref published-online 2026/03/23 · crossref created 2026/03/23 · openalex created_date 2026/03/24 · crossref deposited 2026/05/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30
Abstract The article argues that the reference to the fig tree under which Jesus claims to have seen Nathanael (John 1.48) has not been satisfactorily discussed by previous critical interpreters. Instead, the tree should be understood against the backdrop of Second Temple and later Jewish and Christian exegetical discussions about what species the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil exactly was. After tracing these debates in ancient and early medieval sources, including iconography, the argument moves on to show the interpretative possibilities created by this proposal. The conclusion makes a case for understanding the Fourth Gospel as an inherently open work which invites the audience to actively participate in a variety of exegetical discourses, and whose author function builds its authority through polysemy.