Structure of 1 John, again

Structure of 1 John, again December 28, 2007

Malcolm Coombes (http://www.bct.edu.au/Arche/Coombes.pdf) notes that John clusters words together, often in threes, throughout his first epistle. “Teach,” for instance, occurs only three times in the letter, all in 1 John 2:26-27. John uses “devil” “only four times: three times in the subunit 3:7–8 and once in the adjacent subunit 3:9–10. Similarly the adjective [ alethinos ] (‘true’) is used only four times in 1 John, three of which are used repetitively in subunit 5:20–21. The use of three forms of [ gennao ] (‘bear’) in the subunit 5:1 illustrates a deliberate play on words, especially as the author could have written such a sentence differently.” Grammatical structures are also repeated, often in threes as well. 1:6-7 uses en to with darkness, then light, then darkness again. And “if we say” is used three times in 1:6-10, interspersed with other conditional clauses.

Coombes also notes John’s use of “hook” words that conclude a unit and anticipate the next: “In almost every subunit there is a word which connects with the next subunit i.e. it is repeated in the next subunit. Sometimes this link word (or words) is used as the key of the next unit.” 2:7–8 ends with “light,” which becomes the theme of the following verses.

Coombes uses these features to tease out a structure from the epistle. For instance, he sees 1 John 4:1-18 divided into several small unites: 1-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-16, 17-18. Each uses a key word or phrase three times (“spirit from God,” “from God,” love, God, abide, perfect) and each unit ends with a key word taken up in the subsequent section (world, “from God,” love, God, remain, etc.).

Keywords play several functions. They give the main idea of the unit, and help hold the unit together thematically. The significance of the keywords is not static. Themes develop within the unit (he cites the contrast of dikaios and diabolos , neatly alliterative, in 3:7-8). Repetition of keywords might also emphasize the point of the passage. The repetition of “true” in 5:20-21 “highlights the message of the true God and the Son – a message which the author wishes to emphasise in the whole book against the falsehood of the deceivers. The repetition of “true” also works to contrast with ‘idols’ in v21, the latter being associated with falsehood. Thus, using the keyword and idea, the highlighted sense of the ‘true God’ contrasts well with ‘idols’ and combines the two verses together to form an appropriate and emphatic conclusion to the book.” These keywords thus help create a “flow” throughout the book; the small units are not disconnected but knitted together.

Subunits don’t always flow easily into the next, and these breaks indicate the seams for the larger units of the text: “For example 2:9–11 has no link with the next subunit 2:12–14. The breaks between subunits where there is no link, or only a weak link, indicate a break between units at a higher level. Thus, using the above example, it is proposed that there is a section break between 2:11 and 2:12. Similarly there is a section break between 2:17 and 2:18 (‘live forever’ in 2:17 links only weakly with ‘last hour’ in 2:18). There is only a weak link between 3:24 and 4:1 suggesting a new unit beginning in Chapter 4.”

These larger units are also linked by keywords: “one becomes aware of dominant words (often the keywords or link words of the subunits) which run a train of thought throughout the unit. For example, while some form of [ phanero ] (“reveal”) is a common key word and link word in 2:28–3:10, it is not used as such in all subunits (i.e. not in 3:9–10). Nevertheless some similar form of the word does appear in every subunit (the adjective [ phaneros ] occurs in 3:9–10) and so some form of [ phaner -] becomes a key word for the entire unit. Indeed this threading of some form of faner- throughout illustrates the advantage of such a analysis for understanding the development of meaning. In every subunit in 2:28–3:10 the word is highlighted in some way in the rhetorical structure.”

In this section, the theme of appearance brings together the more disparate material: “In Christ’s appearing we may have confidence and not be ashamed, as, when we are God’s children, we are like him. Our being like him means that we are righteous and so the world doesn’t know us because it didn’t know him. There is sinning and unrighteousness, yet Christ appeared to take away sins and to undo the work of the devil. Thus one is born of God, and not of the devil, and through the appearing Christ, the children are like him in his appearance – it is then apparent they act righteously (i.e. in love).”

Working from these premises, Coombes arrives at the following overall scheme:

1) 1:1–4(5) Witness and Proclamation of the Word of Life
2) 1:5(6)–2:2 Sin, Truth and the Work of the Son
3) 2:3–2:11 The Word of Truth and Light from the Beginning
4) 2:12–2:17 The Reasons for Writing
5) 2:18–2:27 The Deception from the Truth
6) 2:28–3:10 Sin and Origins (Children of God)
7) 3:11–3:18 Message of Love from the Beginning, Loving Brother/Sister
8) 3:19–3:24 Knowing We Are Children of Truth, Keeping the Commands, Believing
9) 4:1–4:6 Origins From God or the World, Truth or Deception
10) 4:7–12 Knowing God and Love
11) 4:13–21 The Command to Love Because of God’s Love
12) 5:1–5:5 Qualities of Being a Child of God
13) 5:6–5:12 The True Witness of the Son and Believing
14) 5:13(14)-21 Knowing the Truth and Life

Ultimately, he groups these 14 unites into four sections:

Prologue, 1:1-4 (5)

Word of Truth, 1:5-2:27

Knowing Love and Divine Origins, 2:28-5:5

Believing in the Son for Eternal Life, 5:6-21


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