Job 29:3

29:3 when ¹  he caused ²  his lamp ³ 

to shine upon my head,

and by his light

I walked ⁴  through darkness; ⁵ 

Psalms 97:11

97:11 The godly bask in the light;

the morally upright experience joy. ⁶ 

Psalms 112:4

112:4 In the darkness a light ⁷  shines for the godly,

for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. ⁸ 

Proverbs 4:18

4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light, ⁹ 

growing brighter and brighter ¹⁰  until full day. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 30:21

30:21 You ¹²  will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,

“This is the correct ¹³  way, walk in it,”

whether you are heading to the right or the left.

Malachi 4:2

4:2 But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication ¹⁴  will rise with healing wings, ¹⁵  and you will skip about ¹⁶  like calves released from the stall.

John 8:12

Jesus as the Light of the World

8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, ¹⁷  “I am the light of the world. ¹⁸  The one who follows me will never ¹⁹  walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

[29:3]  ¹ tn This clause is in apposition to the preceding (see GKC 426 §131.o). It offers a clarification.

[29:3]  ² tn The form בְּהִלּוֹ (bÿhillo) is unusual; it should be parsed as a Hiphil infinitive construct with the elision of the ה (he). The proper spelling would have been with a ַ (patakh) under the preposition, reflecting הַהִלּוֹ (hahillo). If it were Qal, it would just mean “when his light shone.”

[29:3]  ³ sn Lamp and light are symbols of God’s blessings of life and all the prosperous and good things it includes.

[29:3]  ⁴ tn Here too the imperfect verb is customary – it describes action that was continuous, but in a past time.

[29:3]  ⁵ tn The accusative (“darkness”) is here an adverbial accusative of place, namely, “in the darkness,” or because he was successfully led by God’s light, “through the darkness” (see GKC 374 §118.h).

[97:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “Light is planted for the godly, and for the upright of heart joy.” The translation assumes an emendation of זָרַע (zara’, “planted”) to זָרַח (zara’, “shines”) which collocates more naturally with “light.” “Light” here symbolizes the joy (note the following line) that accompanies deliverance and the outpouring of divine favor.

[112:4]  ⁷ tn In this context “light” symbolizes divine blessing in its various forms (see v. 2), including material prosperity and stability.

[112:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “merciful and compassionate and just.” The Hebrew text has three singular adjectives, which are probably substantival and in apposition to the “godly” (which is plural, however). By switching to the singular, the psalmist focuses on each individual member of the group known as the “godly.” Note how vv. 5-9, like vv. 1-2a, use the singular to describe the representative godly individual who typifies the whole group.

[4:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “like light of brightness.” This construction is an attributive genitive: “bright light.” The word “light” (אוֹר, ’or) refers to the early morning light or the dawn (BDB 21 s.v.). The point of the simile is that the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is illumined, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe – the opposite of what darkness represents.

[4:18]  ¹⁰ tn The construction uses the Qal active participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) in a metaphorical sense to add the idea of continuance or continually to the participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh). Here the path was growing light, but the added participle signifies continually.

[4:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “until the day is established.” This expression refers to the coming of the full day or the time of high noon.

[30:21]  ¹² tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[30:21]  ¹³ tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[4:2]  ¹⁴ tn Here the Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah), usually translated “righteousness” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT; cf. NAB “justice”), has been rendered as “vindication” because it is the vindication of God’s people that is in view in the context. Cf. BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 6; “righteousness as vindicated, justification, salvation, etc.”

[4:2]  ¹⁵ sn The point of the metaphor of healing wings is unclear. The sun seems to be compared to a bird. Perhaps the sun’s “wings” are its warm rays. “Healing” may refer to a reversal of the injury done by evildoers (see Mal 3:5).

[4:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you will go out and skip about.”

[8:12]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Then again Jesus spoke to them saying.”

[8:12]  ¹⁸ sn The theory proposed by F. J. A. Hort (The New Testament in the Original Greek, vol. 2, Introduction; Appendix, 87-88), that the backdrop of 8:12 is the lighting of the candelabra in the court of women, may offer a plausible setting to the proclamation by Jesus that he is the light of the world. The last time that Jesus spoke in the narrative (assuming 7:53-8:11 is not part of the original text, as the textual evidence suggests) is in 7:38, where he was speaking to a crowd of pilgrims in the temple area. This is where he is found in the present verse, and he may be addressing the crowd again. Jesus’ remark has to be seen in view of both the prologue (John 1:4, 5) and the end of the discourse with Nicodemus (John 3:19-21). The coming of Jesus into the world provokes judgment: A choosing up of sides becomes necessary. The one who comes to the light, that is, who follows Jesus, will not walk in the darkness. The one who refuses to come, will walk in the darkness. In this contrast, there are only two alternatives. So it is with a person’s decision about Jesus. Furthermore, this serves as in implicit indictment of Jesus’ opponents, who still walk in the darkness, because they refuse to come to him. This sets up the contrast in chap. 9 between the man born blind, who receives both physical and spiritual sight, and the Pharisees (John 9:13, 15, 16) who have physical sight but remain in spiritual darkness.

[8:12]  ¹⁹ tn The double negative οὐ μή (ou mh) is emphatic in 1st century Hellenistic Greek.