The idea
Pitre does not argue the point on his own authority. First the datum: 'We have no other examples of a Jewish man addressing his own mother this way.' Then the witnesses: a Protestant scholar says the translation 'woman' in no way implies 'rudeness or hostility on the part of Jesus'; Raymond Brown says 'John thinks of Mary against the background of Genesis 3… Mary is the New Eve'; John Dominic Crossan says that 'implicit in the title woman is that her full destiny is to be the woman of Genesis 3:15.' The address is respectful, unparalleled, and deliberate.
Key verses
- John 2:4 — 'Woman, what have I to do with thee?'
- John 19:26 — 'Woman, behold thy son.'
- Genesis 2:23 — 'she shall be called Woman' — the unfallen woman's only name.
The connection
| Old Testament root | New Testament fulfilment | |
|---|---|---|
| 'The woman' of Genesis 2–3 | → | 'Woman' at Cana and the cross |
What sounded like a rebuke turns out to be a title. That a Catholic priest, a Protestant commentator and the co-founder of the Jesus Seminar read it the same way is Pitre's point: the New Eve reading of 'Woman' is not sectarian.
Sources
- Modern scholars Pitre cites — Raymond Brown; John Dominic Crossan (pp 31–32)