Discovery BoxJohn 7:1
Context7:1 After this 1 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. 2 He 3 stayed out of Judea 4 because the Jewish leaders 5 wanted 6 to kill him.
John 7:1-53
Context7:1 After this 7 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. 8 He 9 stayed out of Judea 10 because the Jewish leaders 11 wanted 12 to kill him. 7:2 Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles 13 was near. 14 7:3 So Jesus’ brothers 15 advised him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing. 16 7:4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself 17 does anything in secret. 18 If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 7:5 (For not even his own brothers believed in him.) 19
7:6 So Jesus replied, 20 “My time 21 has not yet arrived, 22 but you are ready at any opportunity! 23 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil. 7:8 You go up 24 to the feast yourselves. I am not going up to this feast 25 because my time 26 has not yet fully arrived.” 27 7:9 When he had said this, he remained in Galilee.
7:10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then Jesus 28 himself also went up, not openly but in secret. 7:11 So the Jewish leaders 29 were looking for him at the feast, asking, “Where is he?” 30 7:12 There was 31 a lot of grumbling 32 about him among the crowds. 33 Some were saying, “He is a good man,” but others, “He deceives the common people.” 34 7:13 However, no one spoke openly about him for fear of the Jewish leaders. 35
7:14 When the feast was half over, Jesus went up to the temple courts 36 and began to teach. 37 7:15 Then the Jewish leaders 38 were astonished 39 and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?” 40 7:16 So Jesus replied, 41 “My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me. 42 7:17 If anyone wants to do God’s will, 43 he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority. 44 7:18 The person who speaks on his own authority 45 desires 46 to receive honor 47 for himself; the one who desires 48 the honor 49 of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, 50 and there is no unrighteousness in him. 7:19 Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps 51 the law! Why do you want 52 to kill me?”
7:20 The crowd 53 answered, “You’re possessed by a demon! 54 Who is trying to kill you?” 55 7:21 Jesus replied, 56 “I performed one miracle 57 and you are all amazed. 58 7:22 However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision 59 (not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child 60 on the Sabbath. 7:23 But if a male child 61 is circumcised 62 on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken, 63 why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well 64 on the Sabbath? 7:24 Do not judge according to external appearance, 65 but judge with proper 66 judgment.”
7:25 Then some of the residents of Jerusalem 67 began to say, “Isn’t this the man 68 they are trying 69 to kill? 7:26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly, 70 and they are saying nothing to him. 71 Do the rulers really know that this man 72 is the Christ? 73 7:27 But we know where this man 74 comes from. 75 Whenever the Christ 76 comes, no one will know where he comes from.” 77
7:28 Then Jesus, while teaching in the temple courts, 78 cried out, 79 “You both know me and know where I come from! 80 And I have not come on my own initiative, 81 but the one who sent me 82 is true. You do not know him, 83 7:29 but 84 I know him, because I have come from him 85 and he 86 sent me.”
7:30 So then they tried to seize Jesus, 87 but no one laid a hand on him, because his time 88 had not yet come. 7:31 Yet many of the crowd 89 believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ 90 comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?” 91
7:32 The Pharisees 92 heard the crowd 93 murmuring these things about Jesus, 94 so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers 95 to arrest him. 96 7:33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you for only a little while longer, 97 and then 98 I am going to the one who sent me. 7:34 You will look for me 99 but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.”
7:35 Then the Jewish leaders 100 said to one another, “Where is he 101 going to go that we cannot find him? 102 He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed 103 among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? 104 7:36 What did he mean by saying, 105 ‘You will look for me 106 but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
7:37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, 107 Jesus stood up and shouted out, 108 “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 7:38 let the one who believes in me drink. 109 Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him 110 will flow rivers of living water.’” 111 7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, 112 because Jesus was not yet glorified.) 113
7:40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd 114 began to say, “This really 115 is the Prophet!” 116 7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ!” 117 But still others said, “No, 118 for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? 119 7:42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant 120 of David 121 and comes from Bethlehem, 122 the village where David lived?” 123 7:43 So there was a division in the crowd 124 because of Jesus. 125 7:44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. 126
7:45 Then the officers 127 returned 128 to the chief priests and Pharisees, 129 who said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?” 130 7:46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 7:47 Then the Pharisees answered, 131 “You haven’t been deceived too, have you? 132 7:48 None of the rulers 133 or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they? 134 7:49 But this rabble 135 who do not know the law are accursed!”
7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus 136 before and who was one of the rulers, 137 said, 138 7:51 “Our law doesn’t condemn 139 a man unless it first hears from him and learns 140 what he is doing, does it?” 141 7:52 They replied, 142 “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? 143 Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet 144 comes from Galilee!”
[7:1] 1 sn Again, the transition is indicated by the imprecise temporal indicator After this. Clearly, though, the author has left out much of the events of Jesus’ ministry, because chap. 6 took place near the Passover (6:4). This would have been the Passover between winter/spring of
[7:1] 2 tn Grk “Jesus was traveling around in Galilee.”
[7:1] 3 tn Grk “For he.” Here γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated.
[7:1] 4 tn Grk “he did not want to travel around in Judea.”
[7:1] 5 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase should be restricted to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents.
[7:1] 6 tn Grk “were seeking.”
[7:1] 7 sn Again, the transition is indicated by the imprecise temporal indicator After this. Clearly, though, the author has left out much of the events of Jesus’ ministry, because chap. 6 took place near the Passover (6:4). This would have been the Passover between winter/spring of
[7:1] 8 tn Grk “Jesus was traveling around in Galilee.”
[7:1] 9 tn Grk “For he.” Here γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated.
[7:1] 10 tn Grk “he did not want to travel around in Judea.”
[7:1] 11 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase should be restricted to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents.
[7:1] 12 tn Grk “were seeking.”
[7:2] 13 tn Or “feast of the Tents” (the feast where people lived in tents or shelters, which was celebrated in the autumn after harvest). John’s use of σκηνοπηγία (skhnophgia) for the feast of Tabernacles constitutes the only use of this term in the New Testament.
[7:2] 14 sn Since the present verse places these incidents at the feast of Tabernacles (
[7:3] 19 tn Grk “his brothers.”
[7:3] 20 tn Grk “your deeds that you are doing.”
[7:4] 25 tn Or “seeks to be well known.”
[7:4] 26 sn No one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret means, in effect: “if you’re going to perform signs to authenticate yourself as Messiah, you should do them at Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem is where mainstream Jewish apocalyptic tradition held that Messiah would appear.)
[7:5] 31 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[7:6] 37 tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them.”
[7:6] 38 tn Or “my opportunity.”
[7:6] 39 tn Or “is not yet here.”
[7:6] 40 tn Grk “your time is always ready.”
[7:8] 43 sn One always speaks of “going up” to Jerusalem in Jewish idiom, even though in western thought it is more common to speak of south as “down” (Jerusalem lies south of Galilee). The reason for the idiom is that Jerusalem was identified with Mount Zion in the OT, so that altitude was the issue.
[7:8] 44 tc Most
[7:8] 45 tn Although the word is καιρός (kairos) here, it parallels John’s use of ὥρα (Jwra) elsewhere as a reference to the time appointed for Jesus by the Father – the time of his return to the Father, characterized by his death, resurrection, and ascension (glorification). In the Johannine literature, synonyms are often interchanged for no apparent reason other than stylistic variation.
[7:8] 46 tn Or “my time has not yet come to an end” (a possible hint of Jesus’ death at Jerusalem); Grk “my time is not yet fulfilled.”
[7:10] 49 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:11] 55 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.
[7:11] 56 tn Grk “Where is that one?”
[7:12] 61 tn Grk “And there was.”
[7:12] 62 tn Or “complaining.”
[7:12] 63 tn Or “among the common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in the previous verse).
[7:13] 67 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.
[7:14] 73 tn Grk “to the temple.”
[7:14] 74 tn Or “started teaching.” An ingressive sense for the imperfect verb (“began to teach” or “started teaching”) fits well here, since the context implies that Jesus did not start his teaching at the beginning of the festival, but began when it was about half over.
[7:15] 79 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.
[7:15] 80 tn Or “began to be astonished.” This imperfect verb could also be translated ingressively (“began to be astonished”), but for English stylistic reasons it is rendered as a simple past.
[7:15] 81 tn Grk “How does this man know learning since he has not been taught?” The implication here is not that Jesus never went to school (in all probability he did attend a local synagogue school while a youth), but that he was not the disciple of a particular rabbi and had not had formal or advanced instruction under a recognized rabbi (compare Acts 4:13 where a similar charge is made against Peter and John; see also Paul’s comment in Acts 22:3).
[7:16] 85 tn Grk “So Jesus answered and said to them.”
[7:16] 86 tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.
[7:17] 92 tn Grk “or whether I speak from myself.”
[7:18] 97 tn Grk “who speaks from himself.”
[7:18] 99 tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”
[7:18] 101 tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”
[7:18] 102 tn Or “is truthful”; Grk “is true.”
[7:19] 103 tn Or “accomplishes”; Grk “does.”
[7:20] 109 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in 7:15).
[7:20] 110 tn Grk “You have a demon!”
[7:20] 111 tn Grk “Who is seeking to kill you?”
[7:21] 115 tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”
[7:21] 116 tn Grk “I did one deed.”
[7:21] 117 sn The “one miracle” that caused them all to be amazed was the last previous public miracle in Jerusalem recorded by the author, the healing of the paralyzed man in John 5:1-9 on the Sabbath. (The synoptic gospels record other Sabbath healings, but John does not mention them.)
[7:22] 121 tn Grk “gave you circumcision.”
[7:22] 122 tn Grk “a man.” While the text literally reads “circumcise a man” in actual fact the practice of circumcising male infants on the eighth day after birth (see Phil 3:5) is primarily what is in view here.
[7:23] 127 tn Grk “a man.” See the note on “male child” in the previous verse.
[7:23] 128 tn Grk “receives circumcision.”
[7:23] 129 sn If a male child is circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken. The Rabbis counted 248 parts to a man’s body. In the Talmud (b. Yoma 85b) R. Eleazar ben Azariah (ca.
[7:23] 130 tn Or “made an entire man well.”
[7:24] 133 tn Or “based on sight.”
[7:24] 134 tn Or “honest”; Grk “righteous.”
[7:25] 139 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[7:25] 140 tn Grk “Is it not this one.”
[7:26] 145 tn Or “speaking openly.”
[7:26] 146 sn They are saying nothing to him. Some people who had heard Jesus were so impressed with his teaching that they began to infer from the inactivity of the opposing Jewish leaders a tacit acknowledgment of Jesus’ claims.
[7:26] 148 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:27] 152 sn We know where this man comes from. The author apparently did not consider this objection worth answering. The true facts about Jesus’ origins were readily available for any reader who didn’t know already. Here is an instance where the author assumes knowledge about Jesus that is independent from the material he records.
[7:27] 153 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:27] 154 sn The view of these people regarding the Messiah that no one will know where he comes from reflects the idea that the origin of the Messiah is a mystery. In the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 97a) Rabbi Zera taught: “Three come unawares: Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” Apparently OT prophetic passages like Mal 3:1 and Dan 9:25 were interpreted by some as indicating a sudden appearance of Messiah. It appears that this was not a universal view: The scribes summoned by Herod at the coming of the Magi in Matt 2 knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. It is important to remember that Jewish messianic expectations in the early 1st century were not monolithic.
[7:28] 157 tn Grk “the temple.”
[7:28] 158 tn Grk “Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying.”
[7:28] 159 sn You both know me and know where I come from! Jesus’ response while teaching in the temple is difficult – it appears to concede too much understanding to his opponents. It is best to take the words as irony: “So you know me and know where I am from, do you?” On the physical, literal level, they did know where he was from: Nazareth of Galilee (at least they thought they knew). But on another deeper (spiritual) level, they did not: He came from heaven, from the Father. Jesus insisted that he has not come on his own initiative (cf. 5:37), but at the bidding of the Father who sent him.
[7:28] 160 tn Grk “And I have not come from myself.”
[7:28] 161 tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.
[7:28] 162 tn Grk “the one who sent me is true, whom you do not know.”
[7:29] 163 tn Although the conjunction “but” is not in the Greek text, the contrast is implied (an omitted conjunction is called asyndeton).
[7:29] 164 tn The preposition παρά (para) followed by the genitive has the local sense preserved and can be used of one person sending another. This does not necessarily imply origin in essence or eternal generation.
[7:29] 165 tn Grk “and that one.”
[7:30] 169 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:31] 175 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).
[7:31] 176 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:31] 177 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “will he?”).
[7:32] 181 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[7:32] 182 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the Pharisees).
[7:32] 183 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:32] 184 tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing “police” duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (see K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).
[7:32] 185 tn Grk “to seize him.” In the context of a deliberate attempt by the servants of the chief priests and Pharisees to detain Jesus, the English verb “arrest” conveys the point more effectively.
[7:33] 187 tn Grk “Yet a little I am with you.”
[7:33] 188 tn The word “then” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
[7:35] 199 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase is understood to refer to the Jewish authorities or leaders, since the Jewish leaders are mentioned in this context both before and after the present verse (7:32, 45).
[7:35] 201 tn Grk “will not find him.”
[7:35] 202 sn The Jewish people dispersed (Grk “He is not going to the Diaspora”). The Greek term diaspora (“dispersion”) originally meant those Jews not living in Palestine, but dispersed or scattered among the Gentiles.
[7:35] 203 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “is he?”).
[7:36] 205 tn Grk “What is this word that he said.”
[7:37] 211 sn There is a problem with the identification of this reference to the last day of the feast, the greatest day: It appears from Deut 16:13 that the feast went for seven days. Lev 23:36, however, makes it plain that there was an eighth day, though it was mentioned separately from the seven. It is not completely clear whether the seventh or eighth day was the climax of the feast, called here by the author the “last great day of the feast.” Since according to the Mishnah (m. Sukkah 4.1) the ceremonies with water and lights did not continue after the seventh day, it seems more probable that this is the day the author mentions.
[7:37] 212 tn Grk “Jesus stood up and cried out, saying.”
[7:38] 217 tn An alternate way of punctuating the Greek text of vv. 37-38 results in this translation: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, just as the scripture says, ‘From within him will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38 has been the subject of considerable scholarly debate. Certainly Jesus picks up on the literal water used in the ceremony and uses it figuratively. But what does the figure mean? According to popular understanding, it refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the believer. There is some difficulty in locating an OT text which speaks of rivers of water flowing from within such a person, but Isa 58:11 is often suggested: “The
[7:38] 218 tn Or “out of the innermost part of his person”; Grk “out of his belly.”
[7:38] 219 sn An OT quotation whose source is difficult to determine; Isa 44:3, 55:1, 58:11, and Zech 14:8 have all been suggested.
[7:39] 223 tn Grk “for the Spirit was not yet.” Although only B and a handful of other NT
[7:39] 224 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[7:40] 229 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).
[7:40] 231 sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.
[7:41] 235 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:41] 236 tn An initial negative reply (“No”) is suggested by the causal or explanatory γάρ (gar) which begins the clause.
[7:41] 237 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does he?”).
[7:42] 241 tn Grk “is from the seed” (an idiom for human descent).
[7:42] 242 sn An allusion to Ps 89:4.
[7:42] 243 sn An allusion to Mic 5:2.
[7:42] 244 tn Grk “the village where David was.”
[7:43] 247 tn Or “among the common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).
[7:43] 248 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:44] 253 sn Compare John 7:30 regarding the attempt to seize Jesus.
[7:45] 259 tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin, their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing ‘police’ duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (See K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).
[7:45] 261 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[7:45] 262 tn Grk “Why did you not bring him?” The words “back with you” are implied.
[7:47] 265 tn Grk “answered them.”
[7:47] 266 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have you?”).
[7:48] 271 sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).
[7:48] 272 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have they?”).
[7:49] 277 tn Grk “crowd.” “Rabble” is a good translation here because the remark by the Pharisees is so derogatory.
[7:50] 283 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:50] 284 tn Grk “who was one of them”; the referent (the rulers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:50] 285 tn Grk “said to them.”
[7:51] 291 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does it?”).
[7:52] 295 tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”
[7:52] 296 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).
[7:52] 297 tc At least one early and important ms (Ì66*) places the article before “prophet” (ὁ προφήτης, Jo profhths), making this a reference to the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut 18:15.
[7:53] 301 tc This entire section, 7:53-8:11, traditionally known as the pericope adulterae, is not contained in the earliest and best
