“Woman, what have I to do with thee?” (John 2:4) - on the question of the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary

The article provides an understanding of the Gospel verse John 2:4 specifically, as well as the plot of the marriage in Cana of Galilee in general. The focus of attention is the phrase addressed by Jesus Christ to the Mother: “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” This phrase, which is the Greek construction τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί, is problematic from the point of view of its New Testament usage. It is these words, according to the synoptic Gospels, that sound in the mouths of demon-possessed people, to whom Christ approaches. The problem is further exacerbated by the expression “woman” (γύναι), addressed to the Virgin Mary. The article presents patristic opinions on this issue, the general content of which is a negative understanding of the words of Christ as a reproach to the Theotokos, with certain accents. In addition, examples of the use of such expressions in the general biblical context are considered. The analysis of Old Testament examples of the expression under study allowed, first, to classify the Greek construction τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί to the category of Semitisms and to rethink its meaning; secondly, to expand the meaning of the Greek γύναι. Also, various translations into Russian are analyzed for the purpose of transmitting the studied Gospel passage and searching for possible alternative meanings. The generalization of the results helped reveal the original semantic content of the phrase, which logically and typologically connects (brings together) two gospel stories - the marriage in Cana and Calvary.