“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (John 14:27). The Hebrew Roots of the Concept of שָׁלוֹם in the Fourth Gospel
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21906/rbl.3782Keywords:
John 14:27, šālôm, peace, Gospel of John, Johannine theology, Paraclete, wisdom, eschatologyAbstract
This article examines Jn 14:27 in light of the Hebrew roots of the concept of šālôm in the Fourth Gospel. Through a philological and semantic study of the root √šlm in Semitic languages and in the Hebrew Bible, the author demonstrates that Johannine peace goes beyond the absence of conflict and expresses wholeness, integrity, and fullness of life in Jesus. In Johannine theology, peace becomes a sapiential, Christological, and eschatological reality connected with the presence of Christ and the Paraclete in the life of believers.
References
Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (F. W. Danker, Ed.; 3rd ed.). University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226028958.001.0001
Brown, R. E. (2008). The Gospel according to John (XIII–XXI): Introduction, translation, and notes. Yale University Press. https://doi.org/10.5040/9780300262025
Bruce, F. F. (1961). The book of Zechariah and the Passion narrative. Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 43(2), 336–353. https://doi.org/10.7227/BJRL.43.2.4
Clines, D. J. A. (Ed.). (1998). The dictionary of classical Hebrew: Vol. 8. Sin–Taw. Sheffield Phoenix Press.
Cyril of Alexandria. (1885). Commentary on the Gospel according to S. John (T. Randell, Trans.; Vol. 2). Walter Smith.
del Olmo Lete, G., & Sanmartín, J. (2004). A dictionary of the Ugaritic language in the alphabetic tradition: Vol. 1. ʾ(a/i/u)–k (W. G. E. Watson, Ed. & Trans.; 2nd rev. ed.). Brill.
Dettwiler, A. (1995). Die Gegenwart des Erhöhten: Eine exegetische Studie zu den johanneischen Abschiedsreden (Joh 13,31–16,33) unter besonderer Berücksichtigung ihres Relecture-Charakters. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. https://doi.org/10.13109/9783666538520
Gelb, I. J., Landsberger, B., Oppenheim, A. L., & Reiner, E. (Eds.). (1964). The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (Vol. 1, Pt. 1). Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago; J. J. Augustin Verlagsbuchhandlung.
Josephus. (1927). The Jewish war (H. St. J. Thackeray, Trans.). Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/DLCL.josephus-jewish_war.1927
Kaefer, J. P. (1984). Les discours d’adieu en Jn 13:31–17:26: Rédaction et théologie. Novum Testamentum, 26(3), 253–282. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853684X00383
Kľuska, B. (2009). Teologické posolstvo rozlúčkovej reči Ježiša v Jn 13–17 vo svetle analýzy jej literárneho žánru. Studia Biblica Slovaca, 1(2), 116–145. https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsISXA6292
Koehler, L., Baumgartner, W., & Stamm, J. J. (2000). The Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon of the Old Testament (M. E. J. Richardson, Ed. & Trans.). Brill.
Lémonon, J.-P. (2020). Pour lire l’évangile selon saint Jean. Éditions du Cerf.
Leslau, W. (1987). Comparative dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic): Geʿez–English / English–Geʿez, with an index of the Semitic roots. Otto Harrassowitz.
Manns, F. (2003). L’Évangile de Jean et la sagesse. Franciscan Printing Press.
Moloney, F. J. (1998). Glory not dishonor: Reading John 13–21. Fortress Press.
Montanari, F. (2013). Vocabolario della lingua greca (3rd ed.). Loescher Editore.
Mpevo Mpolo, A. (2018). Découpage du quatrième évangile selon la critique structurelle: La succession des étapes prescrites peut-elle faire quelque différence ? Theoforum, 48(1–2), 273–308. https://doi.org/10.2143/TF.48.1.3286639
Ntumba Kapambu, V. (2021). Un emploi pneumatologique du terme « Paraclet » en Jn 14–16. RAT, 5(1–2), 29–49.
Pierri, R. (2020). Lessico del Nuovo Testamento per radici (2nd ed.). Edizioni Terra Santa.
Porsch, F. (1998). Evangelium sv. Jana (J. Veselá, Trans.). Karmelitánské nakladatelství.
Reymond, P. (1991). Dictionnaire d’hébreu et d’araméen bibliques. Éditions du Cerf; Société biblique française.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2026 Jean-Glory Mukwama Luwala
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License
that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. - Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
