Intertextuality Pair

John 20:22 → Genesis 2:7

Allusion

Later text

John 20:22BSB

When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Earlier text

Genesis 2:7BSB

Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
+ 2 more earlier texts

Earlier text

1 Kings 17:21BSB

Then he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”

Earlier text

Ezekiel 37:9BSB

Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!”

Significance

Jesus' act of breathing on disciples and saying "Receive the Holy Spirit" in 20:22 best understood as symbolic promise of impending gift of Spirit, not actual giving of it fifty days later at Pentecost (cf. Acts 2; see Carson). Theological antecedent clearly is Genesis 2:7, where LXX has exact same verb form as in John 20:22 (see also 1 Kings 17:21; Ezekiel 37:9; Wisdom of Solomon 15:11). There in Genesis God breathes his Spirit into Adam at creation, constituting him as living being. Analogously, in instance of "new creation" theme (Morris; Barrett; Brown; Keener), Jesus' breathing on disciples constitutes them as new messianic community in anticipation of outpouring of Spirit subsequent to his ascension.

Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Allusion
Connection Method(s)
Typology + Longitudinal Theme

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