05_Biblica_Do_Layout 1 08/07/13 12:57 Pagina 425 05_B 425 peri. o[lou tou/ ko,smou Johannine attitude toward or definition of sins or sinfulness. The only place is verse 2b where the peri,-clause implies “our sins”. Yet this is not readily linked with ko,smoj; and it is difficult to make a syntactic reference to “the sins” in peri. o[lou tou/ ko,smou in 2d be- cause of the absence of tw/n 41. At best peri. o[lou tou/ ko,smou should be rendered as “concerning the whole world”. Secondly, when we examine the occurrences of a`marti,a in 1 John (reference above), the result is striking. Wherever a`marti,a occurs, absolutely or in reference to other verbs, it is never employed with an implication or reference to ko,smoj. This seems to be in direct con- trast to John 1,29 (cf. 16,8), in which John the Baptist proclaims that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. How- ever, two important matters are to be kept in mind here. On the one hand, we are dealing with issues directly related to 2d 42. On the other, in a recent study on John 1,29 (cf. 1,35-36), R. Bieringer offers important observations, namely: (1) “o` avmno.j tou/ qeou/ [ist] eine Parallele von o` ui`o.j tou/ qeou/”; and (2) “Der Ausdruck o` avmno.j tou/ qeou/ bezieht sich nicht unmittelbar auf den Tod Jesu” 43. These observations are important for several reasons: (a) the context of John 1,29 does not speak of the death of Jesus; (b) the sentence, “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (cf. John 1,29)”, is not necessarily identical with the statement that Jesus Christ the Paraclete (1 John 2,1d) is the expiation (i`lasmo,j; Cf. WESTCOTT, Epistles of John, 45; PLUMMER, Epistles of John, 36; and 41 ROBERTSON, Grammar, 441, 1199. See n. 2. In addition, John elsewhere in his Epistle uses similar expressions with the article to make a clear parallel between two nouns (i.e., 3,12; cf. 2,13.14.15.16; 4,2.3.4; 5,8; John 5,36; Heb 7,27; 9,7). While 1 John and the Fourth Gospel arguably belong to the same literary 42 genre, there is every reason to allow for sharp differences and distinctions. See R.E. BROWN, “The Relationship to the Fourth Gospel Shared by the Au- thor of 1 John and by His Opponents”, Text and Interpretation. Studies in the New Testament Presented to Matthew Black (Cambridge 1979) 57-68; U.C. VON WAHLDE, The Johannine Commandments. 1 John and the Struggle for the Johannine Tradition (New York 1990). R. BIERINGER, “Das Lamm Gottes, das die Sünde der Welt hinwegnimmt 43 (Joh 1,29): Eine Kontextorientierte und redaktionsgeschichtliche Untersu- chung auf dem Hintergrund der Passatradition als Deutung des Todes Jesu im Johannesevangelium”, The Death of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel (ed. G. VAN BELLE) (BETL 200; Leuven 2007) 199-232, esp. 230-232. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2013 - Tutti i diritti riservati