Keep Yourselves from Idols: A New Look at 1 John

Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 233 Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002. Pp. 280. Hardcover. $115.00. ISBN 0826460518. Jan van der Watt University of Pretoria Pretoria, South Africa 0043 Keep yourselves from idols is not only the t itle of this book, but also the last words of 1 John (5:21). Griffith focuses on the question of the reference of idols in this last verse. As he understands the letter, the closural strategy of the letter, culminating in the reference to idols in 5.21, provides a herm eneutical key (1) for understanding the main issues in this letter, that is, the christological and ethical issues. He suggests that he will provide a new approach with new solutions to these main issuesthus the second part of his title. He tries to show that 1 John is the product of a continuing debate between Jews and Jewish-Christians over whether Jesus was the Messiah, at a time when some Jewish-Christians belonging to Johannine Christianity had reverted to Judaism (1). This locates this letter firmly within a Judaistic background. Therefore, 1 John should be read as a primarily pastoral rather than a polemical letter, since it endeavors to prevent further apostasy among Johannine Christians. This is done through strengthening the cohesion and identity of these Christians by calling on them to maintain their confession that Jesus is the Messiah, to strengthen their cohesion through mutual love, and to avoid idols. In order to argue his point, Griffith to a certain extent reads this letter backwards, by asking what is intended by the reference to the idols in 5:21. He argues that the ending is inspired by idol polemics in the LXX, with parallels in the Hellenistic Jewish literature of that period. The word eidolon is used as polemical term within the Jewish opposition to idolatry, especially referring to pagan images. It is further argued that the author of 1 John knows this polemic well and that understanding of this phenomenon is essential for interpreting the ending of 1 John. [Full Review]

Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 233 Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002. Pp. 280. Hardcover. $115.00. ISBN 0826460518. Colleen Conway Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ 07079 The new look offered by this reworked Kings College dissertation comes through a focus on the ending of 1 John, especially the warning against idols in 5:21. Griffith argues that the closure strategy of the letter provides a hermeneutical key to unlock the Sitz im Leben for 1 John. According to Griffith, the final admonition should be understood within a Jewish matrix that used such rhetoric to reinforce community identity. This insight is extended to the letter as a whole: its discourse is intended to strengthen community identity and boundaries. For this reason, 1 John is better viewed as a pastoral rather than polemical writing. On this latter point, Griffiths dependence on his advisor, Judith Lieu, is especially apparent. The argument unfolds in nine chapters. After introducing the topic in chapter 1, Griffith proceeds with a history of interpretation of 1 John 5:21 in the second chapter. Here he critiques the imprecision of typical definitions of the idols in 5:21, especially when the term is defined as false ideas or false teaching about God. Instead, he defines eidolon in a more literal and practical sense as a physical representation of a deity, usually used as an object of worship (14). Still, Griffith disagrees with readings that view the reference to idols in 5:21 as a warning against pagan worship per se, since nothing in the letter has anticipated such an admonition. Instead, metaphoric use of the term in 1 QS 2.11, 17 reveals both the terms versatil ity and its use in the context of intra-Jewish dispute. Dissatisfaction with traditional interpretations of eidolon in 5:21 leads to the third chapter, in which Griffith explores the meaning and background of the term in detail. [Full Review]