John 7:39-41

7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, ¹  because Jesus was not yet glorified.) ² 

Differing Opinions About Jesus

7:40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd ³  began to say, “This really ⁴  is the Prophet!” ⁵  7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ!” ⁶  But still others said, “No, ⁷  for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ⁸ 

¹ tn Grk “for the Spirit was not yet.” Although only B and a handful of other NT mss supply the participle δεδομένον (dedomenon), this is followed in the translation to avoid misunderstanding by the modern English reader that prior to this time the Spirit did not exist. John’s phrase is expressed from a human standpoint and has nothing to do with the preexistence of the third Person of the Godhead. The meaning is that the era of the Holy Spirit had not yet arrived; the Spirit was not as yet at work in a way he later would be because Jesus had not yet returned to his Father. Cf. also Acts 19:2.

² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

³ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).

⁴ tn Or “truly.”

⁵ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.

⁶ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

⁷ tn An initial negative reply (“No”) is suggested by the causal or explanatory γάρ (gar) which begins the clause.

⁸ 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 he?”).