7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus 6 before and who was one of the rulers, 7 said, 8 7:51 “Our law doesn’t condemn 9 a man unless it first hears from him and learns 10 what he is doing, does it?” 11 7:52 They replied, 12 “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? 13 Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet 14 comes from Galilee!”
19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders 15 ), 16 asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate 17 gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. 18 19:39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus 19 at night, 20 accompanied Joseph, 21 carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes 22 weighing about seventy-five pounds. 23 19:40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, 24 in strips of linen cloth 25 according to Jewish burial customs. 26 19:41 Now at the place where Jesus 27 was crucified 28 there was a garden, 29 and in the garden 30 was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried. 31 19:42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of preparation 32 and the tomb was nearby, 33 they placed Jesus’ body there.
1 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Or “to the council of the Areopagus.” See also the term in v. 22.
3 sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).
4 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have they?”).
5 tn Grk “crowd.” “Rabble” is a good translation here because the remark by the Pharisees is so derogatory.
6 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Grk “who was one of them”; the referent (the rulers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Grk “said to them.”
9 tn Grk “judge.”
10 tn Grk “knows.”
11 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does it?”).
12 tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”
13 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).
14 tc At least one early and important ms (Ì66*) places the article before “prophet” (ὁ προφήτης, Jo profhths), making this a reference to the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut 18:15.
15 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees (see John 12:42). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.
16 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
17 tn Grk “And Pilate.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
18 tn Grk “took away his body.”
19 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 sn See John 3:1-21.
21 tn Grk “came”; the words “accompanied Joseph” are not in the Greek text but are supplied for clarity.
22 sn Aloes refers to an aromatic resin from a plant similar to a lily, used for embalming a corpse.
23 sn The Roman pound (λίτρα, litra) weighed twelve ounces or 325 grams. Thus 100 Roman pounds would be about 32.5 kilograms or 75 pounds.
24 tn On this term see BDAG 140-41 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.
25 tn The Fourth Gospel uses ὀθονίοις (oqonioi") to describe the wrappings, and this has caused a good deal of debate, since it appears to contradict the synoptic accounts which mention a σινδών (sindwn), a large single piece of linen cloth. If one understands ὀθονίοις to refer to smaller strips of cloth, like bandages, there would be a difference, but diminutive forms have often lost their diminutive force in Koine Greek (BDF §111.3), so there may not be any difference.
26 tn Grk “cloth as is the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial.”
27 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28 sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.
29 tn Or “an orchard.”
30 tn Or “orchard.”
31 tn Grk “been placed.”
32 sn The day of preparation was the day before the Sabbath when everything had to be prepared for it, as no work could be done on the Sabbath.
33 sn The tomb was nearby. The Passover and the Sabbath would begin at 6 p.m., so those who had come to prepare and bury the body could not afford to waste time.