感官動詞在約翰福音的神蹟敘事中之功能／王觀惠
王觀惠
撮要
本文的目的是要探討一個在研究約翰福音的神蹟敘事時，為學者所忽視的 議題，就是將感官動詞的使用視為是一個修辭技巧，其目的是要增進神蹟的說服力。在希臘修辭學中，訴諸感官是一個常用的修辭技巧。這技巧的使用是為要透過激發讀者的想像力，將所描述的事件生動的帶到讀者的眼前，並藉此增進這些描述的說服力。本文主張約翰訴諸他的讀者的感官想像力，好讓他們「似乎」身歷其境，見證神蹟的發生，並可以因此相信耶穌的身分就是彌賽亞—神的兒子。耶穌的神蹟可以視為在法庭場景中的呈堂證據，用來確認耶穌的身分及證明耶穌的清白。神蹟在此是作為說服的工具，而感官動詞則扮演了重要的角色。本文使用耶穌行的第一個神蹟作為範例，說明當約翰在記載耶穌的神蹟敘事時，他如何訴諸感官動詞的說服力。
ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to present an issue which is neglected by Johannine scholars when discussing the signs of Jesus, namely, the use of sense perception as rhetorical device to enhance the persuasive power of the signs. The appeal to sense perception is a common technique in Greek rhetoric. It is used to bring the events vividly before the eyes of the readers through imagination and thus enhances the persuasive power of the description. This paper argues that John appeals to sense perception to evoke his reader’s sensual imagination, so that they can seem to experience the event happening and thus be persuaded to believe Jesus’ identity as Messiah, the Son of God. The signs of Jesus, as a whole, are used as evidence presented in the court to confirm the identity of Jesus and also to prove the innocence of Jesus. In both cases, the signs are instruments of persuasion where sense perception plays a significant role. The first sign narrative is used as an example to show that it is indeed this persuasive power of sense perception that John appeals to when narrating the signs of Jesus.
原載於《建道學刊》47期（2017年1月），頁 43-60。
