Editing Second Epistle of John

{{Short description|Book of the New Testament}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
[[File:End of 1 John and beginning of 2 John in Sinaiticus.jpg|thumb|The end of [[1 John]], continuing on to 2 John 1:1–7 in [[Codex Sinaiticus]] ({{Circa|AD 350}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aland |first=Kurt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2pYDsAhUOxAC |title=The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism |last2=Aland |first2=Barbara |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.]] |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-8028-4098-1 |edition=2nd |location=Grand Rapids, MI |pages=159 |language=en |translator-last=Rhodes |translator-first=Erroll F. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005232815/https://books.google.com/books?id=2pYDsAhUOxAC |archive-date=October 5, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]
{{Books of the New Testament}}
{{John}}

The '''Second Epistle of John'''{{Efn|The book is sometimes called the '''Second Letter of John''', or simply '''2 John'''<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HiPouAEACAAJ |title=ESV Pew Bible |publisher=Crossway |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4335-6343-0 |location=Wheaton, IL |pages=1025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603093159/https://www.google.com/books/edition/ESV_Pew_Bible_Black/HiPouAEACAAJ |archive-date=June 3, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> (which is also its most common form of abbreviation).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bible Book Abbreviations |url=https://www.logos.com/bible-book-abbreviations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421100743/https://www.logos.com/bible-book-abbreviations |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |access-date=April 21, 2022 |website=Logos Bible Software}}</ref>}} is a book of the [[New Testament]] attributed to [[John the Evangelist]], traditionally thought to be the author of the other two epistles of John, and the [[Gospel of John]] (though this is disputed).  Most modern scholars believe this is not [[John the Apostle]], but in general there is no consensus as to the identity of this person or group. (See [[Authorship of the Johannine works]].)

== Composition ==
[[File:Uncial 0232 recto.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Manuscript of the New Testament with the text of the Second Epistle of John 1-5 (5th or 6th century)]]
The language of this epistle is remarkably similar to [[3 John]]. It is therefore suggested by a few that a single author composed both of these letters. The traditional view contends that all the letters are by the hand of [[John the Apostle]], and the linguistic structure, special vocabulary, and polemical issues all lend toward this theory.<ref>John Painter, ''1, 2, and 3 John (Sacra Pagina)'', Volume 18 of Sacra Pagina, Liturgical Press, 2008. pp. 57–59</ref>

Also significant is the clear warning against paying heed to those who say that Jesus was not a flesh-and-blood figure: "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh." This establishes that, from the time the epistle was first written, there were those who had [[docetism|docetic]] [[Christology|Christologies]], believing that the human person of Jesus was actually pure spirit or not come at all.<ref>[[James Leslie Houlden]], ''Johannine epistles'', Black's New Testament commentaries, Edition 2, Continuum International Publishing Group, 1994.  pp. 139–40</ref>

Alternatively, the letter's acknowledgment and rejection of [[Gnosticism|gnostic]] theology may reveal a later date of authorship than [[Chalcedonian Christianity|orthodox Christianity]] claims. This can not be assured by a simple study of the context. Gnosticism's beginnings and its relationship to Christianity are poorly dated, due to an insufficient corpus of literature relating the first interactions between the two religions. It vehemently condemns such anti-corporeal attitudes, which also indicates that those taking such unorthodox positions were either sufficiently vocal, persuasive, or numerous enough to warrant rebuttal in this form. Adherents of gnosticism were most numerous during the second and third centuries.<ref>Cf. [[Bart D. Ehrman]]. ''Lost Christianities''. Oxford University press, 2003, pp. 116–26</ref>

==Interpretation of "The Lady"==

The text is addressed "to the elect lady" and her children ({{Langx|el|ἐκλεκτῇ κυρίᾳ|eklektē kyria}}; some interpretations translate this phrase as "elder lady," "a very special woman," "chosen lady," "dear Lady" etc.), and closes with the words, "The children of thy elect sister greet thee." The person addressed is commended for her piety, and is warned against false teachers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biblehub.com/nrsvce/2_john/1.htm|title=2 John 1 New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition|website=biblehub.com}}</ref>

The lady has often been seen as a metaphor for the church, the church being the body of believers as a whole and as local congregations.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Burton|first= Ernest DeWitt|author-link=Ernest DeWitt Burton|year=1896|title=The Epistles of John|journal=The Biblical World|volume=7|issue=5|pages=368–69|jstor=3140373}}</ref> The children would be members of that local congregation. The writer also includes a greeting from another church in the final verse, "The children of thy elect sister greet thee." The term ''the elect'' (ἐκλεκτοί, ''eklektoi'') was a fairly common term for those who believe in the gospel and follow Christ.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.thebereancall.org/content/october-2013-classic| title = ''thebereancall.org''}}</ref><ref>''Did Christ Die Only for the Elect?: A Treatise on the extent of Christ's Atonement'' {{ISBN|1-57910-135-6}} pp. 113–114</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/all-women-bible/Elect-Lady| title = ''biblegateway.com''}}</ref> Scholar [[Amos Wilder]] supports this view, saying the content of the epistle itself shows it was addressed to the church as a whole rather than a single person.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilder|first=Amos|author-link=Amos Wilder|editor-last=Harmon|editor-first=Nolan|title=The Interpreter's Bible|volume=12|page=303|chapter=II John: Exegesis}}</ref>

Another interpretation holds that the letter is addressed to a specific individual. [[Athanasius]] proposed<ref name="net">{{cite book |title=New English Translation |page=2 John |url=https://bible.org/download/netbible/ondemand/bybook/2jo.pdf}}</ref> that Kyria, the Greek word used here which means lady,<ref>{{cite web |title=κυρίᾳ |url=https://biblehub.com/greek/kyria_2959.htm |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> was actually a name. The [[Young's Literal Translation]] of the Bible translates it this way.<ref>{{cite web |title=2 John 1 YLT |url=https://biblehub.com/ylt/2_john/1.htm |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> It is also possible it refers to an individual but simply does not use her name.<ref name="net"/> One theory is that the letter refers to [[Mary, mother of Jesus]]; Jesus had entrusted his "beloved disciple" with Mary's life when Jesus was on the cross ([[Gospel of John|John]] 19:26–27). The children would thus refer to the [[brothers of Jesus]]: [[James, brother of Jesus|James]], [[Joses]], [[Simon, brother of Jesus|Simon]] and [[Jude, brother of Jesus|Jude]], and the sister to Mary's sister mentioned in {{bibleverse||John|19:25}}. Mary was likewise never referred to by name in John's gospel. Such an interpretation would assume a much earlier date of composition than modern scholars have suggested.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/was-mary-magdalene-wife-of-jesus-was-mary-magdalene-a-prostitute/| title = ''biblicalarchaeology.org''| date = 25 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://bible-truth.org/JohnChapter11.html| title = ''bible-truth.org''}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Authorship of the Johannine works]]
* {{section link|Textual variants in the New Testament|Second Epistle of John}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

* {{eastons|title=John, Second Epistle of}}

==External links==
{{wikisource|2 John}}
Online translations of the Second Epistle of John:
* [http://www.gospelhall.org/bible/bible.php?passage=2John+1 ''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org]
* [http://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/2Jo/2Jo001.html KJV]
* [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2john&version=31; NIV]
* {{librivox book | dtitle=Bible: 2 John| stitle=Bible NT 2 John}} Various versions

Online articles on the Second Epistle of John:
* [http://www.kretzmannproject.org/EP_MINOR/2JO.htm The Second General Epistle of John from Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100707193125/http://www.wlsessays.net/node/1759 An Exegesis of 2 John 7–11 by Mark A. Paustian]

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{{s-ttl|title=<small>[[New Testament]]</small><br>[[Books of the Bible]]}}
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{{Second Epistle of John}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Epistle of John}}
[[Category:Second Epistle of John| ]]
[[Category:2nd-century Christian texts]]
[[Category:New Testament books|John 2]]
[[Category:Christian anti-Gnosticism]]
[[Category:Catholic epistles|John2]]
[[Category:Johannine literature]]
[[Category:Women in the New Testament|Elect lady]]
[[Category:Antilegomena]]