DeConick A.D

143
JOHN AND THE DARK COSMOS
The Apostolic Catholics complain bitterly about the literal translation
of this verse, arguing that although the verse might literally say this, it
cannot be true, because the Christian scripture cannot contain such blasphemy.
So they read it against its actual grammar, dropping the preposition
and reading it “You are of your father the devil.” When they discuss
it in their own literary works, they prefer to paraphrase it as “You are sons
of the devil,” rather than quoting the actual Greek.
What is going on with this startling passage in the fourth Gospel? The
early debate over the interpretation of this verse suggests that the Gnostic
reading is the oldest, if not the original, whereas the Apostolic Catholic
understanding of this verse came late to the game, to tame and domesticate
it. The Apostolic Catholic understanding alters the textual fabric
of the Gospel and dismisses what the verse actually says, because in their
opinion what the literal words denoted simply could not be true.
Origen, one of the earliest Apostolic Catholic interpreters of this verse,
admits that the literal reading says that “the devil has a father,” and the
Jews appear to be from this father. Yet Origen goes on to explain that it
is better to read the text “from the father, the devil,” even though this
reading would be clearer if the preposition of in the Greek were erased
(Origen, Commentary on John 20.172).
In fact, some scribes felt the same. In at least two manuscripts of the
Gospel of John (Codex Cyprius and the Old Syriac version), the preposition
was eliminated by scribes who were certain that the Gospel could not
be making reference to the devil’s father.
The primacy of the Gnostic reading is further supported by the context
of the verse, which delineates between the God of the Jews and Jesus’
Father. In the larger passage surrounding this verse, Jesus is presented by
the author of the Gospel in a debate with some Jews over his identity. In
this narrative, Jesus is described as the light and life of the world (John
8:12). He claims to have come from above, having descended into the
world (8:23). His Jewish opponents are confused about his identity and
the identity of the Father he keeps talking about. Jesus responds in this
passage by telling his opponents that they know neither himself nor his
Father (8:19). He goes on to contrast the Father he has been talking about
with the Father the Jews follow (8:38).
His Jewish opponents are naturally confused by this and reason that
Jesus must be referring to Abraham. But Jesus says that if they were truly