The glory-motif in John 17:1-5: an exercise in biblical semantics

Abstract

In John 17:1-5 the noun δόξα occurs once and the verb δόξαζεῖν four times. They are consequently translated as ‘glory’ and ‘glorification’ in various Bible translations. This research is an attempt to determine the various perspectives and possible semantic meanings respectively of these words in order to suggest meaningful alternatives that could be used in a dynamic-equivalent or periphrastic translation. The methodology followed is: first a look at a few lexical meanings, and an investigation of the textual and theological contexts in order to help determine the basic semantic fields of these words, followed by a more detailed examination to aid a more specific interpretation. In the detailed examination the motifs, ἡ αἰώνιος ζωὴ, ἡ ὥρα and τὸ ἔργον τελειώσας play important semantic roles as theological settings from which the various possible semantic meanings of δόξα and δόξαζεῖν are interpreted