The Fourth Gospel as a textual field of meaning

Abstract

The Fourth Gospel is a textual field of meaning and it reinforces pressure on readers to differentiate appearance from intended meaning. No single interpretation can claim to have said the last word on the meaning of the Fourth Gospel’s use of language, which may be considered as the most striking characteristic of this Gospel. The whole network of the Johannine literary devices and vocabulary is an expression of the Fourth Gospel’s theological message and brings dissimilarities into dramatic play with the aim of ensuring Jesus’ identity and to bond the reader with him.