Exodus 4:22

4:22 You must say ¹  to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says ²  the Lord, “Israel is my son, my firstborn, ³ 

Isaiah 63:16

63:16 For you are our father,

though Abraham does not know us

and Israel does not recognize us.

You, Lord, are our father;

you have been called our protector from ancient times. ⁴ 

Luke 15:18-20

15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned ⁵  against heaven ⁶  and against ⁷  you. 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me ⁸  like one of your hired workers.”’ 15:20 So ⁹  he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home ¹⁰  his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; ¹¹  he ran and hugged ¹²  his son ¹³  and kissed him.

John 8:41

8:41 You people ¹⁴  are doing the deeds of your father.”

Then ¹⁵  they said to Jesus, ¹⁶  “We were not born as a result of immorality! ¹⁷  We have only one Father, God himself.”

Romans 8:15

8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, ¹⁸  but you received the Spirit of adoption, ¹⁹  by whom ²⁰  we cry, “Abba, Father.”

Galatians 3:26

3:26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. ²¹ 

Galatians 4:6

4:6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls ²²  “Abba! ²³  Father!”

Galatians 4:1

4:1 Now I mean that the heir, as long as he is a minor, ²⁴  is no different from a slave, though he is the owner ²⁵  of everything.

Galatians 3:1

Justification by Law or by Faith?

3:1 You ²⁶  foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell ²⁷  on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed ²⁸  as crucified!

[4:22]  ¹ tn The sequence of the instruction from God uses the perfect tense with vav (ו), following the preceding imperfects.

[4:22]  ² tn The instantaneous use of the perfect tense fits well with the prophetic announcement of what Yahweh said or says. It shows that the words given to the prophet are still binding.

[4:22]  ³ sn The metaphor uses the word “son” in its connotation of a political dependent, as it was used in ancient documents to describe what was intended to be a loyal relationship with well-known privileges and responsibilities, like that between a good father and son. The word can mean a literal son, a descendant, a chosen king (and so, the Messiah), a disciple (in Proverbs), and here, a nation subject to God. If the people of Israel were God’s “son,” then they should serve him and not Pharaoh. Malachi reminds people that the Law said “a son honors his father,” and so God asked, “If I am a father, where is my honor?” (Mal 1:6).

[63:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “our protector [or “redeemer”] from antiquity [is] your name.”

[15:18]  ⁵ sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”

[15:18]  ⁶ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.

[15:18]  ⁷ tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”

[15:19]  ⁸ tn Or “make me.” Here is a sign of total humility.

[15:20]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the son’s decision to return home. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[15:20]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “a long way off from [home].” The word “home” is implied (L&N 85.16).

[15:20]  ¹¹ tn Or “felt great affection for him,” “felt great pity for him.”

[15:20]  ¹² tn Grk “he fell on his neck,” an idiom for showing special affection for someone by throwing one’s arms around them. The picture is of the father hanging on the son’s neck in welcome.

[15:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:41]  ¹⁴ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:41]  ¹⁵ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (א B L W 070 it sy^s,p co) lack the conjunction here, while the earliest witnesses along with many others read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì^66,75 C D Θ Ψ 0250 ˹³ 33 Ï). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the combined testimony of two early papyri for the conjunction is impressive, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 52). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA²⁷ has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:41]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:41]  ¹⁷ sn We were not born as a result of immorality! is ironic, because Jesus’ opponents implied that it was not themselves but Jesus who had been born as a result of immoral behavior. This shows they did not know Jesus’ true origin and were not aware of the supernatural events surrounding his birth. The author does not even bother to refute the opponents’ suggestion but lets it stand, assuming his readers will know the true story.

[8:15]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “slavery again to fear.”

[8:15]  ¹⁹ tn The Greek term υἱοθεσία (Juioqesia) was originally a legal technical term for adoption as a son with full rights of inheritance. BDAG 1024 s.v. notes, “a legal t.t. of ‘adoption’ of children, in our lit., i.e. in Paul, only in a transferred sense of a transcendent filial relationship between God and humans (with the legal aspect, not gender specificity, as major semantic component).”

[8:15]  ²⁰ tn Or “in that.”

[3:26]  ²¹ tn Or “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

[4:6]  ²² tn Grk “calling.” The participle is neuter indicating that the Spirit is the one who calls.

[4:6]  ²³ tn The term “Abba” is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic אַבָּא (’abba’), literally meaning “my father” but taken over simply as “father,” used in prayer and in the family circle, and later taken over by the early Greek-speaking Christians (BDAG 1 s.v. ἀββα).

[4:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “a small child.” The Greek term νήπιος (nhpios) refers to a young child, no longer a helpless infant but probably not more than three or four years old (L&N 9.43). The point in context, though, is that this child is too young to take any responsibility for the management of his assets.

[4:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “master” or “lord” (κύριος, kurios).

[3:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “O” (an interjection used both in address and emotion). In context the following section is highly charged emotionally.

[3:1]  ²⁷ tn Or “deceived”; the verb βασκαίνω (baskainw) can be understood literally here in the sense of bewitching by black magic, but could also be understood figuratively to refer to an act of deception (see L&N 53.98 and 88.159).

[3:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “publicly placarded,” “set forth in a public proclamation” (BDAG 867 s.v. προγράφω 2).