John 19:14

19:14 (Now it was the day of preparation ¹  for the Passover, about noon. ² ) ³  Pilate ⁴  said to the Jewish leaders, ⁵  “Look, here is your king!”

John 19:40

19:40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, ⁶  in strips of linen cloth ⁷  according to Jewish burial customs. ⁸ 

[19:14]  ¹ sn The term day of preparation (παρασκευή, paraskeuh) appears in all the gospels as a description of the day on which Jesus died. It could refer to any Friday as the day of preparation for the Sabbath (Saturday), and this is the way the synoptic gospels use the term (Matt 27:62, Mark 15:42, and Luke 23:54). John, however, specifies in addition that this was not only the day of preparation of the Sabbath, but also the day of preparation of the Passover, so that the Sabbath on the following day was the Passover (cf. 19:31).

[19:14]  ² tn Grk “about the sixth hour.”

[19:14]  ³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[19:14]  ⁴ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:14]  ⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin, and their servants (mentioned specifically as “the chief priests and their servants” in John 19:6). See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

[19:40]  ⁶ tn On this term see BDAG 140-41 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.

[19:40]  ⁷ tn The Fourth Gospel uses ὀθονίοις (oqonioi") to describe the wrappings, and this has caused a good deal of debate, since it appears to contradict the synoptic accounts which mention a σινδών (sindwn), a large single piece of linen cloth. If one understands ὀθονίοις to refer to smaller strips of cloth, like bandages, there would be a difference, but diminutive forms have often lost their diminutive force in Koine Greek (BDF §111.3), so there may not be any difference.

[19:40]  ⁸ tn Grk “cloth as is the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial.”