EX hAIMATWN (John 1:13)
Eric S. Weiss
eweiss at gte.net
Sat Jan 22 00:14:51 EST 2000
This may be totally off-base, but earlier tonight I was at our local used
bookstore, and in the Jewish books section of the religious section was a
book called, I believe, THE HOLY LETTERS. It is a translation of an
anonymous work, thought to be authored by Nachmanides (middle ages?). It
deals with the sexual relationship in marriage. Hebrew, with English
translation on facing pages. As I glanced through it, I "think" my eyes
caught something about the nature of the child being related to any
mingling with the woman's blood, or depending on the time of the month in
which intercourse was had. The jacket cover mentioned something about
Kaballistic interpretations, etc., but - and I'm making a wild guess here,
since I just skimmed the book briefly - it's possible the book's subject
matter is based on or includes longstanding Talmudic teachings. Which means
it might be a source of information for ancient Jewish views that might
shed light on the issues raised in this question. If I can and remember to
do so, I may get back to the store and, if the book is still there, see if
there is some such relevant information.
- Eric Weiss eweiss at gte.net
On 01/21/00, " John Barach <jbarach at telusplanet.net>" wrote:
> B-Greekers:
>
> The plural hAIMATWN in John 1:13 has been the subject of some discussion
> in the commentaries. Recently, I was reading P. H. R. van Houwelingen's
> recent commentary, _Johannes: Het evangelie van het Woord_ (Kampen: Kok,
> 1997).
>
> He thinks John 1:13 is listing "three phases of the process of human
> propagation" in reverse order:
>
> -- the intercourse between man and woman (literally:
> "bloods" [Dutch: bloedstromen], used to
> designate sexual intercourse as blood-contact.
> -- the sexual urge of two people (literally: "the will
> of the flesh," used to designate human libido.
> -- the masculine initiative for sexual intercourse
> (literally, "the will of the man," used to
> designate the man as the one who takes the
> initiative within the marriage (p. 50).
>
> Van Houwelingen says that "detailed documentation" can be found in S.
> van Tilborg's _Imaginative Love in John_ (Leiden, 1993) -- a book I
> don't have (of course).
>
> I'd appreciate your evaluation of this position (and/or substantiation,
> especially if you've read the relevant section in Van Tilborg).
>
> Regards,
>
> John
>
>
> %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
> John Barach (403) 317-1950
> Pastor, Trinity Reformed Church (URCNA)
> 113 Stafford Blvd. N.
> Lethbridge, AB
> T1H 6E3
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