Themes, Lexemes, and “Mnemes”

Samuel L. Voo examines composite allusions to the Jewish scriptures in the Gospel of John and compares these to similar phenomena in late Second Temple Jewish literature. Composite allusions are defined in this study as allusions clustered together in a single literary unit that are best interpreted together. To analyze such allusions, the author develops a three-fold method integrating literary analysis, Jewish catchword exegesis, and insights from studies in ancient media culture. He examines six passages from Jewish literature (from the Hodayot, the Damascus Document, and the LXX), and four passages in the Fourth Gospel (12:37?-40; 1:29; 7:37-39; 15:1-11). The author argues that the composite features across all of these passages function on the basis of common lexemes, common themes, and orally-derived metonymy.