A Literary and Theological Case for the "Unbeloved" Reading in John 10:29.

BIBLE. Gospels; BIBLICAL figures; BIBLICAL criticism; OLD Testament; JESUS Christ

John 10:29 is a place where text-critical and literary-theological decisions intersect in a complex way. Literary-theological reasoning has driven many interpreters not to choose the ὃ ... μεῖζον reading, while the NA editors have preferred this reading for text-critical reasons. The purpose of this study is not to offer a definitive answer to the text-critical question itself. Rather, I aim to explore the neglected possibilities of how one could make sense of the ὃ ... μεῖζον reading--an option unbeloved by several interpreters for literarytheological reasons--in light of literary and theological characteristics of the Fourth Gospel. The central question of the article is, What noun does the enigmatic neuter singular relative pronoun ὅ ("that which") refer to? The examination of five candidates for the referent demonstrates that the Father's name makes the best sense of the phrase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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