Discovery BoxJohn 10:39-41
Context10:39 Then 1 they attempted 2 again to seize him, but he escaped their clutches. 3
10:40 Jesus 4 went back across the Jordan River 5 again to the place where John 6 had been baptizing at an earlier time, 7 and he stayed there. 10:41 Many 8 came to him and began to say, “John 9 performed 10 no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this man 11 was true!”
[10:39] 1 tc It is difficult to decide between ἐζήτουν οὖν (ezhtoun oun, “then they were seeking”; Ì66 א A L W Ψ Ë1,13 33 pm lat), ἐζήτουν δέ (ezhtoun de, “now they were seeking”; Ì45 and a few versional witnesses), καὶ ἐζήτουν (kai ezhtoun, “and they were seeking”; D), and ἐζήτουν (Ì75vid B Γ Θ 700 pm). Externally, the most viable readings are ἐζήτουν οὖν and ἐζήτουν. Transcriptionally, the οὖν could have dropped out via haplography since the verb ends in the same three letters. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain the readings with δέ or καί if ἐζήτουν οὖν is original; such readings would more likely have arisen from the simple ἐζήτουν. Intrinsically, John is fond of οὖν, using it some 200 times. Further, this Gospel begins relatively few sentences without some conjunction. The minimal support for the δέ and καί readings suggests that they arose either from the lone verb reading (which would thus be prior to their respective Vorlagen but not necessarily the earliest reading) or through carelessness on the part of the scribes. Indeed, the ancestors of Ì45 and D may have committed haplography, leaving later scribes in the chain to guess at the conjunction needed. In sum, the best reading appears to be ἐζήτουν οὖν.
[10:39] 2 tn Grk “they were seeking.”
[10:39] 3 tn Grk “he departed out of their hand.”
[10:40] 4 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:40] 5 tn The word “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
[10:40] 6 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
[10:41] 8 tn Grk “And many.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
