Abstract
Biblical scholars have given diverse explanations for the Lamb of God metaphor in John 6 1:29 and 36. Most scholars are of the opinion that ‘amnos’ refers to the Passover lamb. 7 This explanation is not obvious from the context of the Fourth Gospel. To understand the 8 metaphor lamb or ‘amnos’ of God, one should understand the transferable meaning of the 9 figure or image. In this comparison only the vehicle, namely lamb, is given. What and 10 who the lamb is stay open. It can be anything within the limits of the other story elements 11 that have the same qualities of a lamb. To uncover the communicative dynamics of the 12 metaphor, the exegete must have insight into the meaning and function of the original 13 metaphor. Rhetoric provides a clue for the interpretation of the metaphor, namely that it 14 is a Lamb of God. Within the perikope other rhetorical clues like antithesis and varietas 15 are also provided. These clues are important but do not explain the image of the lamb. In 16 this study these problems will be considered via another medium, namely Hellenistic art 17 and images and their penetration into Judaism and Christianity during the first centuries 18 CE. Hellenistic and biblical images will be used to give an alternative interpretation of 19 the metaphor of the Lamb of God.