Thread by @JamesBejon

THREAD: Robert Alter and the NT.

A few threads ago, I discussed Alter’s identification of key ‘type-scenes’ in OT narratives (linked below).

academia.edu/40157894/

Here, I want to apply Alter’s betrothal type-scene to (what Alter would deem) a foreign context, viz. John 4,

i.e., ‘the woman at the well’.

For Alter, the classic components of the betrothal type-scene are as follows:

:: a bridegroom travels to a foreign land, where he encounters a girl/girls (na ‘arah) at a well;

:: someone--either the man or the girl--draws water from the well,

at which point the girl(s) rush(es) home to bring news of the stranger’s arrival to her kinsmen;

:: and, finally, the stranger is invited to the girl’s home, where he is fed, and a marriage is arranged between the stranger and the girl.

These, in Alter’s view, are the key components of the betrothal type-scene,

which Alter qualifies with two important remarks.

First, not all of them need be--or are--explicitly present in each instance of the betrothal type-scene;

on the contrary, authors routinely and deliberately omit/rework key elements of the scene in order to tailor it to their particular purposes.

What is important to note, therefore, is not the generic ‘template’, but each scene’s points of departure from it,

i.e., each scene’s particular *twist*.

Second, while the components of the betrothal scene are stipulated by convention, they have not lost their individual significance.

For instance, the foreign land reflects a sense of *adventure* in the bridegroom;

the well depicts the girl’s fertility;

the withdrawal of water from it depicts the connection/bond made between the girl and the stranger;

and so on.

All well and good, one might say. But how do these things work in practice?

As a case study, Alter considers the betrothals described in Gen. 24, 29, and Exod. 2, and shows how they can fruitfully be analysed in light of a generic betrothal type-scene.

Scripture’s first/prototypical betrothal scene is found in Gen. 24.

All of the key components are present: the foreign land, the girl at the well, etc.

The twist is the absence of Isaac.

Isaac doesn’t travel to Mesopotamia himself;

instead, Abraham sends a substitute in Isaac’s place, which (Alter says) resonates w. Isaac’s passive character.

In Gen. 22, we encounter Isaac as a bound victim, who is saved by the provision of a substitute.

And, in Gen. 27 (Isaac’s bestowal of his birthright), Isaac is again a largely passive character,

who is merely ‘acted upon’ rather than an instigator of events.

It is Rebekah who takes the initiative and deceives Isaac with a kind of ‘substitute’,

which (Alter says) resonates with the way in which Rebekah takes the initiative in the betrothal scene and draws water for the stranger (rather than vice-versa).

Against the backdrop of a slow and stately type-scene, Rebekah is ‘a continuous whirl of activity’.

Scripture’s next betrothal scene is found in Gen. 29.

Again, all of the main components are present,

but things unfold far more quickly and colloquially than they do in Gen. 24.

Jacob approaches Laban’s men, and swiftly takes control of affairs,

which (Alter says) corresponds to how Jacob is portrayed elsewhere in Genesis.

Jacob is a man who acts quickly and seizes his opportunities in life,

as he does in Gen. 25 and 27.

Noteworthy for a different reason is the *obstacle* to the progression of Gen. 29’s events, namely the stone on the mouth of the well.

The stone, Alter says, depicts Rachel’s closed womb and the barriers Jacob must overcome in order to marry her--

notably, the years of hard labour and Laban’s resistance.

Scripture’s third betrothal scene (which is the last we will consider for now) is found in Exod. 2.

Exod. 2’s betrothal scene is much shorter and more condensed than those of Gen. 24 and 29,

but nonetheless manages to include many if not all of the key components.

We have a foreign land, a well, girls who come to draw water from it, news which is hurriedly taken back to the girls’ father, a meal eaten, and a marriage arranged.

As in Jacob’s case, however,

an obstacle must be overcome, namely a group of shepherds who are present at the well.

The account of Moses’s actions given by the girls is significant:

‘An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds’, they say, ‘and even drew water for us and watered the flock’,

which contains a number of important allusions to Moses’ role in the Biblical narrative.

Just as Moses’ identity/status will be doubted by his own people (cp. 2.14, Num. 16.3, etc.), so here it is not recognised by Jethro’s daughters (who refer to him as ‘an Egyptian’).

Just as Moses must deliver Israel from the hand of an enemy who has recently emerged in Egypt, so here Moses ‘delivers’ Jethro’s daughters from the hand of an unwelcome presence.

And, just as Moses himself has been ‘drawn’ from water...

...and will ‘draw’ his people forth from Egypt through an expanse of water, so Moses is here involved in the withdrawal of water.

As can be seen, then, Alter’s approach to the three betrothal type-scenes discussed above is a fruitful one,

and can fruitfully be applied (I submit) to the case of Jesus’ encounter with ‘the woman at the well’ (cp. John 4), as I will seek to show below.

John 4 contains many of the key components of the betrothal type-scene.

We have a foreign land (Samaria),

a girl at a well,

(a discussion of) water to be drawn forth from it,

news which is carried back to the girl’s people (where it is met with joy),

and an invitation for the stranger (Jesus) to abide with the girl’s kinsmen (cp. 4.39-42).

We can also note specific contact-points with the three OT scenes described above.

Like Abraham’s servant, Jesus is a representative who has come to distribute his master’s riches and inheritance in a foreign land.

Like Jacob, Jesus arrives at the well at midday. (The well also happens to be have been owned and used by Jacob in the past: 4.5-6, 12.)

Like Moses, Jesus sits down beside the well, wearied.

And, like Moses, Jesus is not initially recognised for who he is.

But, importantly, Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well also involves a number of particular twists.

First, while the subject of water is *discussed* in Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well (and hence serves to establish a connection between Jesus and the woman,

as it does in our other type-scenes),

water is never actually drawn forth from the well (cp. 4.28),

since Jesus’ ultimately interest is not in water per se, but in its *spiritual* significance.

Water is merely an illustration.

Jesus has come to offer the woman ‘the water of life’ and the presence of God’s Holy Spirit (4.13-14).

Second, Jesus is not a normal bridegroom.

Earlier in John’s gospel, Jesus has attended a marriage feast, where he has performed the task of ‘the bridegroom’ (2.9),

and is explicitly referred by John the Baptist as ‘the bridegroom’ (3.29).

Yet, just as Jesus is not interested in normal earthly water, so he is not in search of a normal earthly bride (cp. 3.12).

Jesus has descended from heavenly realms in order to prepare a *heavenly* bride for himself (3.13, Rev. 19.7, 21.2).

More precisely, he has come to prepare a collective bride composed not only of Jews, but of Samaritans and Gentiles as well,

which explains the function of the ‘foreign’ backdrop of John 4.

Whereas Abraham’s servant and Jacob travel to a ‘foreign land’ in order to make contact with their kinsmen (and facilitate their task),

Jesus’ presence in a foreign land makes life more difficult for him,

since the Jews do not deal with the Samaritans (4.9).

Yet Jesus’ presence in Samaria depicts (and facilitates) a central aspect of his mission,

since Jesus’ gospel must travel beyond Judah’s borders and must cross the world’s many geographical and cultural boundaries.

The third twist embodied in John’s type-scene is the particular *obstacle* Jesus has to address.

The woman’s obstacle is not (like Rachel) her fertility, symbolised by the stone on the mouth of Laban’s well,

nor (like Zipporah) is it the presence of a hostile third party (cp. the shepherds driven away by Moses);

it is her past and her sin,

and Jesus draws attention to precisely these two things (4.16-18) because they are fundamental to his message.

If Jesus is to have a heavenly bride, then she must first be purified and prepared for marriage,

which is exactly what Jesus has come to do:

to turn his heavenly bride away from what *has* been but should not have been (cp. the woman’s five husbands)...

...and what *is* the case but should not be (‘the man you now have is not your husband’) and instead towards ‘the hour to come’ and ‘the Messiah to come’ (4.23, 25).

In sum, then, the text of John 4 can fruitfully be analysed in light of Alter’s betrothal type-scene.

The points at which John’s type-scene departs from its ‘generic template’ serve to draw attention to precisely those aspects of Jesus’ message which distinguished him from his contemporaries:

first, Jesus’ emphasis on spiritual life rather than physical life,

second, Jesus’ interest in all mankind rather than the Jews alone, and

third, Jesus’ identification of personal sin rather than external circumstances as the central barrier between man and God.

FINAL REFLECTIONS:

The story of ‘the woman at the well’ appears to have been written in light of the very backdrop Alter identifies as implicit/presupposed in the OT’s narratives,

which is a significant notion.

At the very least, it should encourage us:

a] to view John as a man who wrote from within the Jewish culture and mindset rather than as a Hellenist stationed outside of Judah, and

b] to consider the NT’s narratives as more closely integrated with the OT than is customary.

THE END.

P.S. For those interested, a pdf is linked below:

academia.edu/40181445/