The Gospel of John : a Roman legal and rhetorical perspective.

This thesis represents an experiment in which the Fourth Gospel is analysed for
functional similarities with the precepts of the classical rhetorical handbooks and
illuminated at points by reference to Roman law.
After exploring the possibility of an Ephesian provenance, the feasibility of
examining the Gospel against the backdrop of the classical forensic rhetoric that
pervaded such a cosmopolitan milieu is argued in the introduction. Further, the use of
legal themes and motifs within the Fourth Gospel are amongst features that make the
Gospel a favourable subject for such an analysis. Functional correspondencesb etween
the structure of the Gospel and that of ancient legal speeches are designated a primary
interest.
Subsequent chapters, analogous to structural elements of a legal speech, include
examination of John 1: 1-15 as a prologue and 1: 16-18 as an ipsius causae statement of
the case. The witness motif, signs, Scriptural allusions, and logical arguments in 1: 19-
12: 50 represent the type of evidence present in the probatio or proof portions of
forensic orations. The farewell discourses (13-17) may be akin to a digression while the
presentation of proof is resumed at the point of Jesus' arrest. Verses 20: 30-21: 25
conform to conventions for perorations. In addition, Roman laws and procedures
involving women as witnesses and the distribution of inheritances illuminate various
pericopes.
The conclusion shows that there is some support for the hypothesis that the
Gospel was crafted in a way that reflects the modes and structure of forensic
argumentation in Greco-Roman culture. The implications of such a structure would be
threefold: 1) the Gospel has been carefully and intentionally composed 2) the
distinctiveness of the Fourth Gospel compared to the Synoptics may be due to
similarities with forensic rhetoric 3) the Gospel may be read from the perspective of a
Roman legal context.