Language Studies

Aramaic Thoughts

Idioms in the Bible - Part 12

There are places in Lamsa’s Idioms in the Bible where the reader wishes for more explanation instead of the simple, terse statement of Lamsa’s view of the figure. This is the case, for example, in regard to John 1:48. In that place, Jesus said to Nathanael, "When you were under the fig tree, I saw you." This line Lamsa interprets as an idiom meaning, "I have known you always." If this is an idiom, it is an extremely obscure one. The Greek has been literally rendered by the English versions, including the more paraphrastic versions such as the New Living Translation. The Syriac version also renders the Greek literally.

In the Old Testament, "fig tree" is sometimes used in a summary sense to refer to one’s home. We see this, for example, in 1Kgs 4:25. There, the reign of Solomon is depicted as a time of peace, during which "every man [lived] under his vine and under his fig tree." The fig tree is in the rabbinic literature sometimes considered a place for prayer and meditation (see Lightfoot, Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica, vol. 3, pp. 246-47). There has been much scholarly discussion on the significance of the phrase, but as Raymond Brown said after considering several possibilities, "We are far from exhausting the suggestions, all of which are pure speculation" (The Gospel According to John, vol. 1, p. 83). In the end, D. A. Carson’s comment is perhaps the most useful, "John’s chief point here is Jesus’ supernatural knowledge, not Nathanael’s activity" (The Gospel According to John, p. 161). There is no evidence in any of the relevant literature that the reference to the fig tree is intended in any way but literal. Hence, it is not an idiom, and to read it as such is to misread it.

In John 1:51 Jesus said, "You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." Lamsa lists this as an idiom meaning "understanding between God and man; reconciliation." Here, the clause is not an idiom, but rather an allusion to Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28. From this reference, the chief idea is not so much reconciliation, but communication. It is Christ himself whom they will come to see as the connection between heaven and earth. In the gospel, John is at pains to point out that this is not a simple connection, but is for the purpose of communication, that Jesus is making known the Father. See also John 14:9. It is not to be denied that Jesus effects reconciliation between God and man, but that is not the point of Jesus’ allusion to Jacob’s dream.

It may be useful at this point to remind ourselves of what an idiom actually is, so that we don’t misidentify them. It is an expression whose meaning cannot be derived from adding together the meanings of its distinct elements. Jesus’ reference to Jacob’s dream is quite understandable on its own as the sum of its component parts, so it does not qualify as an idiom.

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