John 2:4

2:4 Jesus replied, ¹  “Woman, ²  why are you saying this to me? ³  My time ⁴  has not yet come.”

John 4:7

4:7 A Samaritan woman ⁵  came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water ⁶  to drink.”

John 4:13

4:13 Jesus replied, ⁷  “Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty ⁸  again.

John 8:10

8:10 Jesus stood up straight ⁹  and said to her, “Woman, ¹⁰  where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

John 11:40

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

John 12:30

12:30 Jesus said, ¹²  “This voice has not come for my benefit ¹³  but for yours.

John 15:12

15:12 My commandment is this – to love one another just as I have loved you. ¹⁴ 

John 20:16

20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She ¹⁵  turned and said to him in Aramaic, ¹⁶  “Rabboni” ¹⁷  (which means Teacher). ¹⁸ 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Grk “and Jesus said to her.”

[2:4]  ² sn The term Woman is Jesus’ normal, polite way of addressing women (Matt 15:28, Luke 13:12; John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:15). But it is unusual for a son to address his mother with this term. The custom in both Hebrew (or Aramaic) and Greek would be for a son to use a qualifying adjective or title. Is there significance in Jesus’ use here? It probably indicates that a new relationship existed between Jesus and his mother once he had embarked on his public ministry. He was no longer or primarily only her son, but the “Son of Man.” This is also suggested by the use of the same term in 19:26 in the scene at the cross, where the beloved disciple is “given” to Mary as her “new” son.

[2:4]  ³ tn Grk “Woman, what to me and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί, γύναι (ti emoi kai soi, gunai) is Semitic in origin. The equivalent Hebrew expression in the Old Testament had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). Option (1) implies hostility, while option (2) implies merely disengagement. Mere disengagement is almost certainly to be understood here as better fitting the context (although some of the Greek Fathers took the remark as a rebuke to Mary, such a rebuke is unlikely).

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “my hour” (referring to the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and return to the Father).

[4:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “a woman from Samaria.” According to BDAG 912 s.v. Σαμάρεια, the prepositional phrase is to be translated as a simple attributive: “γυνὴ ἐκ τῆς Σαμαρείας a Samaritan woman J 4:7.”

[4:7]  ⁶ tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).

[4:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “answered and said to her.”

[4:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “will thirst.”

[8:10]  ¹³ tn Or “straightened up.”

[8:10]  ¹⁴ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[11:40]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”

[12:30]  ²¹ tn Grk “Jesus answered and said.”

[12:30]  ²² tn Or “for my sake.”

[15:12]  ²⁵ sn Now the reference to the commandments (plural) in 15:10 have been reduced to a singular commandment: The disciples are to love one another, just as Jesus has loved them. This is the ‘new commandment’ of John 13:34, and it is repeated in 15:17. The disciples’ love for one another is compared to Jesus’ love for them. How has Jesus shown his love for the disciples? This was illustrated in 13:1-20 in the washing of the disciples’ feet, introduced by the statement in 13:1 that Jesus loved them “to the end.” In context this constitutes a reference to Jesus’ self-sacrificial death on the cross on their behalf; the love they are to have for one another is so great that it must include a self-sacrificial willingness to die for one another if necessary. This is exactly what Jesus is discussing here, because he introduces the theme of his sacrificial death in the following verse. In John 10:18 and 14:31 Jesus spoke of his death on the cross as a commandment he had received from his Father, which also links the idea of commandment and love as they are linked here. One final note: It is not just the degree or intensity of the disciples’ love for one another that Jesus is referring to when he introduces by comparison his own death on the cross (that they must love one another enough to die for one another) but the very means of expressing that love: It is to express itself in self-sacrifice for one another, sacrifice up to the point of death, which is what Jesus himself did on the cross (cf. 1 John 3:16).

[20:16]  ²⁹ tn Grk “That one.”

[20:16]  ³⁰ tn Grk “in Hebrew.”

[20:16]  ³¹ sn The Aramaic Rabboni means “my teacher” (a title of respect).

[20:16]  ³² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.