Specifics of the dialogues in the Gospel of John the example of the dialogue with the Samaritan woman

Krystian Ziaja

Wydział Teologiczny UO

Abstract

An original feature of the style of the Fourth Gospel are dialogues in which Jesus introduces the content of his teaching. The dialogues represent the majority of the content of John‘s Gospel (60%). Among the so-called large dialogues are texts: 3,1-21 (Dialogue with Nicodemus); 4,5-42 (Dialogue with the Samaritan; 5,16-47 (Jesus power of God); 6,22-59 (Eucharistic speech); 7,1-8,59 (Jesus working in Jerusalem in the octave of the Feast of Tabernacles); 9,1-39 (The Healing of a Blind Born); 10,1-18 (The Good Shepherd); 10,22-39 (Christ One with the Father); 11,17-27 (Jesus Dialogue with Martha); 12,20-39 (The Time of the Son of Man); 13,1-17,26 (The Farewell Speech - in it the dialogues with Thomas, Philip, Judas, not Iscariot, with the disciples). The characteristic feature of the dialogues of the fourth Gospel is misunderstandings in the relation of Jesus – listener. When Jesus says a sentence, the listeners do not understand his intention and they do not understand the meaning of Jesus‘ statement. Only in another part of the dialogue, in which the dialogue becomes a monologue, does Jesus reveal the true meaning of his statement. In the article the dialogue with the Samaritan J 4,1-26 was analysed according to the following structure:
The characteristics of the dialogue partner and information about the place and time (J 4,19);
Jesus These (J 4:10); the misunderstanding of Jesus‘ statement (J 4:11-12);
Jesus explanation (J 4:13-14);
the misunderstanding of Jesus‘ explanation (J 4:15);
further explanations (J 4,16-26);
the dialogue partner disappears, the dialogue merges into Jesus‘ speech (J 4:27-42).

Keywords:

Jesus, Gospel of John, dialogues, Samaritan woman