10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, 5 the one who does not enter the sheepfold 6 by the door, 7 but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
1:14 Now 8 the Word became flesh 9 and took up residence 10 among us. We 11 saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, 12 full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.
1 tn Grk “slipped in.”
2 tn Or “trespass.”
3 tn That is, “to slaughter” (in reference to animals).
4 tn That is, more than one would normally expect or anticipate.
5 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
6 sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulh] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).
7 tn Or “entrance.”
8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic, the incarnation of the Word. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.
9 tn This looks at the Word incarnate in humility and weakness; the word σάρξ (sarx) does not carry overtones of sinfulness here as it frequently does in Pauline usage. See also John 3:6.
10 tn Grk “and tabernacled.”
11 tn Grk “and we saw.”
12 tn Or “of the unique one.” Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clem. 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant., 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God, Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).