John 1:13

1:13 – children not born ¹  by human parents ²  or by human desire ³  or a husband’s ⁴  decision, ⁵  but by God.

John 1:49

1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king ⁶  of Israel!” ⁷ 

John 6:33

6:33 For the bread of God is the one who ⁸  comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

John 11:40

11:40 Jesus responded, ⁹  “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?”

John 11:52

11:52 and not for the Jewish nation ¹⁰  only, ¹¹  but to gather together ¹²  into one the children of God who are scattered.) ¹³ 

[1:13]  ¹ tn The Greek term translated “born” here also involves conception.

[1:13]  ² tn Grk “of blood(s).” The plural αἱμάτων (Jaimatwn) has seemed a problem to many interpreters. At least some sources in antiquity imply that blood was thought of as being important in the development of the fetus during its time in the womb: thus Wis 7:1: “in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh, within the period of 10 months, compacted with blood, from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.” In John 1:13, the plural αἱμάτων may imply the action of both parents. It may also refer to the “genetic” contribution of both parents, and so be equivalent to “human descent” (see BDAG 26 s.v. αἷμα 1.a). E. C. Hoskyns thinks John could not have used the singular here because Christians are in fact ‘begotten’ by the blood of Christ (The Fourth Gospel, 143), although the context would seem to make it clear that the blood in question is something other than the blood of Christ.

[1:13]  ³ tn Or “of the will of the flesh.” The phrase οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός (oude ek qelhmato" sarko") is more clearly a reference to sexual desire, but it should be noted that σάρξ (sarx) in John does not convey the evil sense common in Pauline usage. For John it refers to the physical nature in its weakness rather than in its sinfulness. There is no clearer confirmation of this than the immediately following verse, where the λόγος (logos) became σάρξ.

[1:13]  ⁴ tn Or “man’s.”

[1:13]  ⁵ tn The third phrase, οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός (oude ek qelhmato" andros), means much the same as the second one. The word here (ἀνηρ, anhr) is often used for a husband, resulting in the translation “or a husband’s decision,” or more generally, “or of any human volition whatsoever.” L. Morris may be right when he sees here an emphasis directed at the Jewish pride in race and patriarchal ancestry, although such a specific reference is difficult to prove (John [NICNT], 101).

[1:49]  ⁶ tn Although βασιλεύς (basileus) lacks the article it is definite due to contextual and syntactical considerations. See ExSyn 263.

[1:49]  ⁷ 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.

[6:33]  ¹¹ tn Or “he who.”

[11:40]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”

[11:52]  ²¹ tn See the note on the word “nation” in the previous verse.

[11:52]  ²² sn The author in his comment expands the prophecy to include the Gentiles (not for the Jewish nation only), a confirmation that the Fourth Gospel was directed, at least partly, to a Gentile audience. There are echoes of Pauline concepts here (particularly Eph 2:11-22) in the stress on the unity of Jew and Gentile.

[11:52]  ²³ tn Grk “that he might gather together.”

[11:52]  ²⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.