12:37 Although Jesus 18 had performed 19 so many miraculous signs before them, they still refused to believe in him, 12:38 so that the word 20 of Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled. He said, 21 “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord 22 been revealed?” 23 12:39 For this reason they could not believe, 24 because again Isaiah said,
1 tn The Hebrew text has simply “he,” making it a bit unclear whether Jeroboam or Ahijah is the subject, but in the Hebrew word order Ahijah is the nearer antecedent, and this is followed by the present translation.
2 tn Heb “and Ahijah grabbed the new robe that was on him.”
3 tn The words “I am taking the kingdom from him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
4 tc This is the reading of the MT; the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate read “he has.”
5 tn Heb “walked in my ways.”
6 tn Heb “by doing what is right in my eyes, my rules and my regulations, like David his father.”
7 tn Heb “and I will give it to you, ten tribes.”
8 tn Heb “give.”
9 tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty. Because this imagery is unfamiliar to the modern reader, the translation “so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me” has been used.
10 tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there.”
11 tn Heb “take.”
12 tn Heb “If you obey.” In the Hebrew text v. 38 is actually one long conditional sentence, which has been broken into two parts in the translation for stylistic purposes.
13 tn Heb “walk in my ways.”
14 tn Heb “do what is right in my eyes.”
15 tn Heb “I will build for you a permanent house, like I built for David.”
16 sn Because of this. Reference is made to the idolatry mentioned earlier.
17 tn Heb “but not all the days.”
18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 tn Or “done.”
20 tn Or “message.”
21 tn Grk “who said.”
22 tn “The arm of the Lord” is an idiom for “God’s great power” (as exemplified through Jesus’ miraculous signs). This response of unbelief is interpreted by the author as a fulfillment of the prophetic words of Isaiah (Isa 53:1). The phrase ὁ βραχίων κυρίου (Jo braciwn kuriou) is a figurative reference to God’s activity and power which has been revealed in the sign-miracles which Jesus has performed (compare the previous verse).
23 sn A quotation from Isa 53:1.
24 sn The author explicitly states here that Jesus’ Jewish opponents could not believe, and quotes Isa 6:10 to show that God had in fact blinded their eyes and hardened their heart. This OT passage was used elsewhere in the NT to explain Jewish unbelief: Paul’s final words in Acts (28:26-27) are a quotation of this same passage, which he uses to explain why the Jewish people have not accepted the gospel he has preached. A similar passage (Isa 29:10) is quoted in a similar context in Rom 11:8.
25 tn Grk “but choose by lot” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent, “throw dice,” was chosen here because of its association with gambling.
26 tn Grk “to see whose it will be.”
27 tn The words “This took place” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
28 tn Grk “cast lots.” See the note on “throw dice” earlier in the verse.
29 sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.
30 tn Grk “with him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 tn Grk “broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him.”
32 sn If it was obvious to the soldiers that the victim was already dead it is difficult to see why one of them would try to inflict a wound. The Greek verb pierced (νύσσω, nussw) can indicate anything from a slight prod to a mortal wound. Probably one of the soldiers gave an exploratory stab to see if the body would jerk. If not, he was really dead. This thrust was hard enough to penetrate the side, since the author states that blood and water flowed out immediately.
33 sn How is the reference to the blood and water that flowed out from Jesus’ side to be understood? This is probably to be connected with the statements in 1 John 5:6-8. In both passages water, blood, and testimony are mentioned. The Spirit is also mentioned in 1 John 5:7 as the source of the testimony, while here the testimony comes from one of the disciples (19:35). The connection between the Spirit and the living water with Jesus’ statement of thirst just before he died in the preceding context has already been noted (see 19:28). For the author, the water which flowed out of Jesus’ side was a symbolic reference to the Holy Spirit who could now be given because Jesus was now glorified (cf. 7:39); Jesus had now departed and returned to that glory which he had with the Father before the creation of the world (cf. 17:5). The mention of blood recalls the motif of the Passover lamb as a sacrificial victim. Later references to sacrificial procedures in the Mishnah appear to support this: m. Pesahim 5:3 and 5:5 state that the blood of the sacrificial animal should not be allowed to congeal but should flow forth freely at the instant of death so that it could be used for sprinkling; m. Tamid 4:2 actually specifies that the priest is to pierce the heart of the sacrificial victim and cause the blood to come forth.
34 tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
35 tn Grk “and that one.”
36 sn A parenthetical note by the author.
37 sn A quotation from Exod 12:46, Num 9:12, and Ps 34:20. A number of different OT passages lie behind this quotation: Exod 12:10 LXX, Exod 12:46, Num 9:12, or Ps 34:20. Of these, the first is the closest in form to the quotation here. The first three are all more likely candidates than the last, since the first three all deal with descriptions of the Passover lamb.