“Hoi Ioudaioi” Revisited

A group referred to as “hoi ioudaioi” plays a major role in the Gospel of John, primarily though not exclusively as Jesus’ major antagonists and opponents. At first glance, the appropriate translation of this term might seem obvious: “hoi ioudaioi” are clearly “the Jews,” who were a definable and well-known group in both Judea and the Diaspora in the late first century, to which the Fourth Gospel is usually dated. Nevertheless, there has been an ongoing debate as to whether “the Jews” is in fact the best translation, given its usage in the Gospel and, more generally, the nomenclature in the first century. This paper will a) engage in a critical analysis of the debate, with particular attention to the most recent contributions by scholars such as Mason, Schwartz, Cohen, and Runesson, b) offer its own solution, and c) consider what is at stake for our understanding of “hoi ioudaioi” in the narrative and theology of the Fourth Gospel.