Discovery BoxIsaiah 2:3
Context2:3 many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple of the God of Jacob,
so 1 he can teach us his requirements, 2
and 3 we can follow his standards.” 4
For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; 5
the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. 6
Micah 4:2
Context4:2 Many nations will come, saying,
“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple 7 of Jacob’s God,
so he can teach us his commands 8
and we can live by his laws.” 9
For Zion will be the source of instruction;
the Lord’s teachings will proceed from Jerusalem. 10
Zechariah 3:10
Context3:10 In that day,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘everyone will invite his friend to fellowship under his vine and under his fig tree.’” 11
Zechariah 8:20-23
Context8:20 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘It will someday come to pass that people – residents of many cities – will come. 8:21 The inhabitants of one will go to another and say, “Let’s go up at once to ask the favor of the Lord, to seek the Lord who rules over all. Indeed, I’ll go with you.”’ 8:22 Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord who rules over all and to ask his favor. 8:23 The Lord who rules over all says, ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will grasp hold of – indeed, grab – the robe of one Jew and say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” 12
Matthew 9:9-10
Context9:9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. 13 “Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him. 9:10 As 14 Jesus 15 was having a meal 16 in Matthew’s 17 house, many tax collectors 18 and sinners came and ate with Jesus and his disciples.
Mark 5:19-20
Context5:19 But 19 Jesus 20 did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, “Go to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, 21 that he had mercy on you.” 5:20 So 22 he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis 23 what Jesus had done for him, 24 and all were amazed.
Luke 5:29
Context5:29 Then 25 Levi gave a great banquet 26 in his house for Jesus, 27 and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting 28 at the table with them.
John 1:41-49
Context1:41 He first 29 found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” 30 (which is translated Christ). 31 1:42 Andrew brought Simon 32 to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. 33 You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). 34
1:43 On the next day Jesus 35 wanted to set out for Galilee. 36 He 37 found Philip and said 38 to him, “Follow me.” 1:44 (Now Philip was from Bethsaida, 39 the town of 40 Andrew and Peter.) 1:45 Philip found Nathanael 41 and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also 42 wrote about – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 1:46 Nathanael 43 replied, 44 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” 45 Philip replied, 46 “Come and see.”
1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, 47 “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 1:48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, 49 “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, 50 I saw you.” 1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king 51 of Israel!” 52
John 4:28-29
Context4:28 Then the woman left her water jar, went off into the town and said to the people, 53 4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, 54 can he?” 55
John 1:1-3
Context1:1 In the beginning 56 was the Word, and the Word was with God, 57 and the Word was fully God. 58 1:2 The Word 59 was with God in the beginning. 1:3 All things were created 60 by him, and apart from him not one thing was created 61 that has been created. 62
[2:3] 1 tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).
[2:3] 2 tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.
[2:3] 3 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.
[2:3] 4 tn Heb “walk in his ways.”
[2:3] 5 tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”
[2:3] 6 tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
[4:2] 9 tn Heb “and we can walk in his paths.”
[4:2] 10 tn Heb “instruction [or, “law”] will go out from Zion, and the word of the
[3:10] 11 tn Heb “under the vine and under the fig tree,” with the Hebrew article used twice as a possessive pronoun (cf. NASB “his”). Some English translations render this as second person rather than third (NRSV “your vine”; cf. also NAB, NCV, TEV).
[8:23] 12 sn This scene of universal and overwhelming attraction of the nations to Israel’s God finds initial fulfillment in the establishment of the church (Acts 2:5-11) but ultimate completion in the messianic age (Isa 45:14, 24; 60:14; Zech 14:16-21).
[9:9] 13 tn While “tax office” is sometimes given as a translation for τελώνιον (telwnion, so L&N 57.183), this could give the modern reader a false impression of an indoor office with all its associated furnishings.
[9:10] 14 tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
[9:10] 15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[9:10] 16 tn Grk “was reclining at table.”
[9:10] 17 tn Grk “in the house.” The Greek article is used here in a context that implies possession, and the referent of the implied possessive pronoun (Matthew) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:10] 18 sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.
[5:19] 19 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
[5:19] 20 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:19] 21 sn Jesus instructs the man to declare what the Lord has done for him, in contrast to the usual instructions (e.g., 1:44; 5:43) to remain silent. Here in Gentile territory Jesus allowed more open discussion of his ministry. D. L. Bock (Luke [BECNT], 1:781) suggests that with few Jewish religious representatives present, there would be less danger of misunderstanding Jesus’ ministry as political.
[5:20] 22 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate the conclusion of the episode in the narrative.
[5:20] 23 sn The Decapolis refers to a league of towns (originally consisting of ten; the Greek name literally means “ten towns”) whose region (except for Scythopolis) lay across the Jordan River.
[5:20] 24 sn Note that the man could not separate what God had done from the one through whom God had done it (what Jesus had done for him). This man was called to witness to God’s goodness at home.
[5:29] 25 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[5:29] 26 sn A great banquet refers to an elaborate meal. Many of the events in Luke take place in the context of meal fellowship: 7:36-50; 9:12-17; 10:38-42; 11:37-54; 14:1-24; 22:7-38; 24:29-32, 41-43.
[5:29] 27 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:29] 28 tn Grk “reclining.” This term reflects the normal practice in 1st century Jewish culture of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position. Since it is foreign to most modern readers, the translation “sitting” has been substituted.
[1:41] 29 tc Most witnesses (א* L Ws Ï) read πρῶτος (prwtos) here instead of πρῶτον (prwton). The former reading would be a predicate adjective and suggest that Andrew “was the first” person to proselytize another regarding Jesus. The reading preferred, however, is the neuter πρῶτον, used as an adverb (BDAG 893 s.v. πρῶτος 1.a.β.), and it suggests that the first thing that Andrew did was to proselytize Peter. The evidence for this reading is early and weighty: Ì66,75 א2 A B Θ Ψ 083 Ë1,13 892 al lat.
[1:41] 30 sn Naturally part of Andrew’s concept of the Messiah would have been learned from John the Baptist (v. 40). However, there were a number of different messianic expectations in 1st century Palestine (see the note on “Who are you?” in v. 19), and it would be wrong to assume that what Andrew meant here is the same thing the author means in the purpose statement at the end of the Fourth Gospel, 20:31. The issue here is not whether the disciples’ initial faith in Jesus as Messiah was genuine or not, but whether their concept of who Jesus was grew and developed progressively as they spent time following him, until finally after his resurrection it is affirmed in the climactic statement of John’s Gospel, the affirmation of Thomas in 20:28.
[1:41] 31 tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”
[1:42] 32 tn Grk “He brought him”; both referents (Andrew, Simon) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:42] 33 tc The reading “Simon, son of John” is well attested in Ì66,75,106 א B* L 33 pc it co. The majority of
[1:42] 34 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The change of name from Simon to Cephas is indicative of the future role he will play. Only John among the gospel writers gives the Greek transliteration (Κηφᾶς, Khfas) of Simon’s new name, Qéphâ (which is Galilean Aramaic). Neither Πέτρος (Petros) in Greek nor Qéphâ in Aramaic is a normal proper name; it is more like a nickname.
[1:43] 35 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Jesus is best taken as the subject of εὑρίσκει (Jeuriskei), since Peter would scarcely have wanted to go to Galilee.
[1:43] 36 sn No explanation is given for why Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee, but probably he wanted to go to the wedding at Cana (about a two day trip).
[1:43] 37 tn Grk “and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[1:43] 38 tn Grk “and Jesus said.”
[1:44] 39 sn Although the author thought of the town as in Galilee (12:21), Bethsaida technically was in Gaulanitis (Philip the Tetrarch’s territory) across from Herod’s Galilee. There may have been two places called Bethsaida, or this may merely reflect popular imprecision – locally it was considered part of Galilee, even though it was just east of the Jordan river. This territory was heavily Gentile (which may explain why Andrew and Philip both have Gentile names).
[1:44] 40 tn Probably ἀπό (apo) indicates “originally from” in the sense of birthplace rather than current residence; Mark 1:21, 29 seems to locate the home of Andrew and Peter at Capernaum. The entire remark (v. 44) amounts to a parenthetical comment by the author.
[1:45] 41 sn Nathanael is traditionally identified with Bartholomew (although John never describes him as such). He appears here after Philip, while in all lists of the twelve except in Acts 1:13, Bartholomew follows Philip. Also, the Aramaic Bar-tolmai means “son of Tolmai,” the surname; the man almost certainly had another name.
[1:45] 42 tn “Also” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
[1:46] 43 tn Grk “And Nathanael.”
[1:46] 44 tn Grk “said to him.”
[1:46] 45 sn Can anything good come out of Nazareth? may be a local proverb expressing jealousy among the towns.
[1:46] 46 tn Grk “And Philip said to him.”
[1:47] 47 tn Grk “said about him.”
[1:48] 49 tn Grk “answered and said to him.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “replied.”
[1:48] 50 sn Many have speculated about what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree. Meditating on the Messiah who was to come? A good possibility, since the fig tree was used as shade for teaching or studying by the later rabbis (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 5:11). Also, the fig tree was symbolic for messianic peace and plenty (Mic 4:4, Zech 3:10.)
[1:49] 51 tn Although βασιλεύς (basileus) lacks the article it is definite due to contextual and syntactical considerations. See ExSyn 263.
[1:49] 52 sn Nathanael’s confession – You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel – is best understood as a confession of Jesus’ messiahship. It has strong allusions to Ps 2:6-7, a well-known messianic psalm. What Nathanael’s exact understanding was at this point is hard to determine, but “son of God” was a designation for the Davidic king in the OT, and Nathanael parallels it with King of Israel here.
[4:28] 53 tn The term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) used here can mean either “people” (when used generically) or “men” (though there is a more specific term in Greek for adult males, ανήρ [anhr]). Thus the woman could have been speaking either (1) to all the people or (2) to the male leaders of the city as their representatives. However, most recent English translations regard the former as more likely and render the word “people” here.
[4:29] 54 tn Grk “the Christ” (both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). Although the Greek text reads χριστός (cristos) here, it is more consistent based on 4:25 (where Μεσσίας [Messias] is the lead term and is qualified by χριστός) to translate χριστός as “Messiah” here.
[4:29] 55 tn The use of μήτι (mhti) normally presupposes a negative answer. This should not be taken as an indication that the woman did not believe, however. It may well be an example of “reverse psychology,” designed to gain a hearing for her testimony among those whose doubts about her background would obviate her claims.
[1:1] 56 sn In the beginning. The search for the basic “stuff” out of which things are made was the earliest one in Greek philosophy. It was attended by the related question of “What is the process by which the secondary things came out of the primary one (or ones)?,” or in Aristotelian terminology, “What is the ‘beginning’ (same Greek word as beginning, John 1:1) and what is the origin of the things that are made?” In the New Testament the word usually has a temporal sense, but even BDAG 138 s.v. ἀρχή 3 lists a major category of meaning as “the first cause.” For John, the words “In the beginning” are most likely a conscious allusion to the opening words of Genesis – “In the beginning.” Other concepts which occur prominently in Gen 1 are also found in John’s prologue: “life” (1:4) “light” (1:4) and “darkness” (1:5). Gen 1 describes the first (physical) creation; John 1 describes the new (spiritual) creation. But this is not to play off a false dichotomy between “physical” and “spiritual”; the first creation was both physical and spiritual. The new creation is really a re-creation, of the spiritual (first) but also the physical. (In spite of the common understanding of John’s “spiritual” emphasis, the “physical” re-creation should not be overlooked; this occurs in John 2 with the changing of water into wine, in John 11 with the resurrection of Lazarus, and the emphasis of John 20-21 on the aftermath of Jesus’ own resurrection.)
[1:1] 57 tn The preposition πρός (pros) implies not just proximity, but intimate personal relationship. M. Dods stated, “Πρός …means more than μετά or παρά, and is regularly employed in expressing the presence of one person with another” (“The Gospel of St. John,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament, 1:684). See also Mark 6:3, Matt 13:56, Mark 9:19, Gal 1:18, 2 John 12.
[1:1] 58 tn Or “and what God was the Word was.” Colwell’s Rule is often invoked to support the translation of θεός (qeos) as definite (“God”) rather than indefinite (“a god”) here. However, Colwell’s Rule merely permits, but does not demand, that a predicate nominative ahead of an equative verb be translated as definite rather than indefinite. Furthermore, Colwell’s Rule did not deal with a third possibility, that the anarthrous predicate noun may have more of a qualitative nuance when placed ahead of the verb. A definite meaning for the term is reflected in the traditional rendering “the word was God.” From a technical standpoint, though, it is preferable to see a qualitative aspect to anarthrous θεός in John 1:1c (ExSyn 266-69). Translations like the NEB, REB, and Moffatt are helpful in capturing the sense in John 1:1c, that the Word was fully deity in essence (just as much God as God the Father). However, in contemporary English “the Word was divine” (Moffatt) does not quite catch the meaning since “divine” as a descriptive term is not used in contemporary English exclusively of God. The translation “what God was the Word was” is perhaps the most nuanced rendering, conveying that everything God was in essence, the Word was too. This points to unity of essence between the Father and the Son without equating the persons. However, in surveying a number of native speakers of English, some of whom had formal theological training and some of whom did not, the editors concluded that the fine distinctions indicated by “what God was the Word was” would not be understood by many contemporary readers. Thus the translation “the Word was fully God” was chosen because it is more likely to convey the meaning to the average English reader that the Logos (which “became flesh and took up residence among us” in John 1:14 and is thereafter identified in the Fourth Gospel as Jesus) is one in essence with God the Father. The previous phrase, “the Word was with God,” shows that the Logos is distinct in person from God the Father.
[1:2] 59 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the Word) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:3] 60 tn Or “made”; Grk “came into existence.”
[1:3] 61 tn Or “made”; Grk “nothing came into existence.”
[1:3] 62 tc There is a major punctuation problem here: Should this relative clause go with v. 3 or v. 4? The earliest
