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Glite Dictionary
I John

I John

9.6
The first of three short letters in the New Testament written by John the Apostle
  • proper noun
  • Literature
translation icon : Primera carta de Juan
  • In many church services, passages from I John are frequently read.

Examples

  • The letters in I John provide valuable insights into early Christian teachings.

  • Biblical scholars often discuss themes found in I John during their lectures.

  • Do you understand me,John?

    Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)

Synonyms

First Epistle of John
vsI John
8.1

A short letter in the Christian Bible about love and faith

is identified by its position and authorship rather than by themes

Surface Forms

I John main

Morphology

I + John

The form 'I John' uses a Roman numeral convention meaning 'First John' (the First Epistle), which is a bibliographic/title convention rather than a compositional meaning of the words 'I' + 'John'. A B1 learner who knows 'John' and the pronoun 'I' would likely misinterpret it (e.g. 'I, John') and would not derive 'first epistle' from the constituents without prior exposure to this convention, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

I John comes from old church lists where the letter 'I' stood for 'first'. So I John means the first of three short 'letters' by John in the 'New Testament'.