Joshua 7:11-12

7:11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment! ¹  They have taken some of the riches; ²  they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions. ³  7:12 The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. ⁴  I will no longer be with you, ⁵  unless you destroy what has contaminated you. ⁶ 

Joshua 7:2

7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho ⁷  to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel ⁸ ) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai.

Joshua 5:1

5:1 When all the Amorite kings on the west side of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites while they ⁹  crossed, they lost their courage and could not even breathe for fear of the Israelites. ¹⁰ 

Malachi 1:14

1:14 “There will be harsh condemnation for the hypocrite who has a valuable male animal in his flock but vows and sacrifices something inferior to the Lord. For I am a great king,” ¹¹  says the Lord who rules over all, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”

Malachi 3:8-9

3:8 Can a person rob ¹²  God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions! ¹³  3:9 You are bound for judgment ¹⁴  because you are robbing me – this whole nation is guilty. ¹⁵ 

John 12:6

12:6 (Now Judas ¹⁶  said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box, ¹⁷  he used to steal what was put into it.) ¹⁸ 

John 12:1

Jesus’ Anointing

12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he ¹⁹  had raised from the dead.

John 6:10

6:10 Jesus said, “Have ²⁰  the people sit down.” (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.) ²¹  So the men ²²  sat down, about five thousand in number.

John 6:2

6:2 A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick.

John 2:14-15

2:14 ²³ He found in the temple courts ²⁴  those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables. ²⁵  2:15 So he made a whip of cords ²⁶  and drove them all out of the temple courts, ²⁷  with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers ²⁸  and overturned their tables.

[7:11]  ¹ tn Heb “They have violated my covenant which I commanded them.”

[7:11]  ² tn Heb “what was set apart [to the Lord].”

[7:11]  ³ tn Heb “and also they have stolen, and also they have lied, and also they have placed [them] among their items.”

[7:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “they turn [the] back before their enemies because they are set apart [to destruction by the Lord].”

[7:12]  ⁵ tn The second person pronoun is plural in Hebrew, indicating these words are addressed to the entire nation.

[7:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”

[7:2]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[7:2]  ⁸ map For the location of Bethel see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[5:1]  ⁹ tc Another textual tradition has, “while we crossed.”

[5:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their heart[s] melted and there was no longer in them breathe because of the sons of Israel.”

[1:14]  ¹¹ sn The epithet great king was used to describe the Hittite rulers on their covenant documents and so, in the covenant ideology of Malachi, is an apt description of the Lord.

[3:8]  ¹² tc The LXX presupposes an underlying Hebrew text of עָקַב (’aqav, “deceive”), a metathesis of קָבַע (qava’, “rob”), in all four uses of the verb here (vv. 8-9). The intent probably is to soften the impact of “robbing” God, but the language of the passage is intentionally bold and there is no reason to go against the reading of the MT (which is followed here by most English versions).

[3:8]  ¹³ sn The tithes and contributions mentioned here are probably those used to sustain the Levites (see Num 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).

[3:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “cursed with a curse” that is, “under a curse” (so NIV, NLT, CEV).

[3:9]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase “is guilty” is not present in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

[12:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:6]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “a thief, and having the money box.” Dividing the single Greek sentence improves the English style.

[12:6]  ¹⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. This is one of the indications in the gospels that Judas was of bad character before the betrayal of Jesus. John states that he was a thief and had responsibility for the finances of the group. More than being simply a derogatory note about Judas’ character, the inclusion of the note at this particular point in the narrative may be intended to link the frustrated greed of Judas here with his subsequent decision to betray Jesus for money. The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark seem to indicate that after this incident Judas went away immediately and made his deal with the Jewish authorities to deliver up Jesus. Losing out on one source of sordid gain, he immediately went out and set up another.

[12:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “whom Jesus,” but a repetition of the proper name (Jesus) here would be redundant in the English clause structure, so the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.

[6:10]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Make.”

[6:10]  ²¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author (suggesting an eyewitness recollection).

[6:10]  ²² tn Here “men” has been used in the translation because the following number, 5,000, probably included only adult males (see the parallel in Matt 14:21).

[2:14]  ²³ sn John 2:14-22. Does John’s account of the temple cleansing describe the same event as the synoptic gospels describe, or a separate event? The other accounts of the cleansing of the temple are Matt 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; and Luke 19:45-46. None are as long as the Johannine account. The fullest of the synoptic accounts is Mark’s. John’s account differs from Mark’s in the mention of sheep and oxen, the mention of the whip of cords, the Greek word κερματιστῆς (kermatisths) for money changer (the synoptics use κολλυβιστῆς [kollubisths], which John mentions in 2:15), the scattering of the coins (2:15), and the command by Jesus, “Take these things away from here!” The word for overturned in John is ἀναστρεφω (anastrefw), while Matthew and Mark use καταστρεφω (katastrefw; Luke does not mention the moneychangers at all). The synoptics all mention that Jesus quoted Isa 56:7 followed by Jer 7:11. John mentions no citation of scripture at all, but says that later the disciples remembered Ps 69:9. John does not mention, as does Mark, Jesus’ prohibition on carrying things through the temple (i.e., using it for a shortcut). But the most important difference is one of time: In John the cleansing appears as the first great public act of Jesus’ ministry, while in the synoptics it is virtually the last. The most common solution of the problem, which has been endlessly discussed among NT scholars, is to say there was only one cleansing, and that it took place, as the synoptics record it, at the end of Jesus’ ministry. In the synoptics it appears to be the event that finalized the opposition of the high priest, and precipitated the arrest of Jesus. According to this view, John’s placing of the event at the opening of Jesus’ ministry is due to his general approach; it was fitting ‘theologically’ for Jesus to open his ministry this way, so this is the way John records it. Some have overstated the case for one cleansing and John’s placing of it at the opening of Jesus’ public ministry, however. For example W. Barclay stated: “John, as someone has said, is more interested in the truth than in the facts. He was not interested to tell men when Jesus cleansed the Temple; he was supremely interested in telling men that Jesus did cleanse the Temple” (John [DSBS], 94). But this is not the impression one gets by a reading of John’s Gospel: The evangelist seems to go out of his way to give details and facts, including notes of time and place. To argue as Barclay does that John is interested in truth apart from the facts is to set up a false dichotomy. Why should one have to assume, in any case, that there could have been only one cleansing of the temple? This account in John is found in a large section of nonsynoptic material. Apart from the work of John the Baptist – and even this is markedly different from the references in the synoptics – nothing else in the first five chapters of John’s Gospel is found in any of the synoptics. It is certainly not impossible that John took one isolated episode from the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly ministry and inserted it into his own narrative in a place which seemed appropriate according to his purposes. But in view of the differences between John and the synoptics, in both wording and content, as well as setting and time, it is at least possible that the event in question actually occurred twice (unless one begins with the presupposition that the Fourth Gospel is nonhistorical anyway). In support of two separate cleansings of the temple, it has been suggested that Jesus’ actions on this occasion were not permanent in their result, and after (probably) 3 years the status quo in the temple courts had returned to normal. And at this time early in Jesus’ ministry, he was virtually unknown. Such an action as he took on this occasion would have created a stir, and evoked the response John records in 2:18-22, but that is probably about all, especially if Jesus’ actions met with approval among part of the populace. But later in Jesus’ ministry, when he was well-known, and vigorously opposed by the high-priestly party in Jerusalem, his actions might have brought forth another, harsher response. It thus appears possible to argue for two separate cleansings of the temple as well as a single one relocated by John to suit his own purposes. Which then is more probable? On the whole, more has been made of the differences between John’s account and the synoptic accounts than perhaps should have been. After all, the synoptic accounts also differ considerably from one another, yet few scholars would be willing to posit four cleansings of the temple as an explanation for this. While it is certainly possible that the author did not intend by his positioning of the temple cleansing to correct the synoptics’ timing of the event, but to highlight its significance for the course of Jesus’ ministry, it still appears somewhat more probable that John has placed the event he records in the approximate period of Jesus’ public ministry in which it did occur, that is, within the first year or so of Jesus’ public ministry. The statement of the Jewish authorities recorded by the author (this temple has been under construction for forty-six years) would tend to support an earlier rather than a later date for the temple cleansing described by John, since 46 years from the beginning of construction on Herod’s temple in ca. 19 b.c. (the date varies somewhat in different sources) would be around a.d. 27. This is not conclusive proof, however.

[2:14]  ²⁴ tn Grk “in the temple.”

[2:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “the money changers sitting”; the words “at tables” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[2:15]  ²⁶ tc Several witnesses, two of which are quite ancient (Ì^66,75 L N ˹ 33 565 892 1241 al lat), have ὡς (Jws, “like”) before φραγέλλιον (fragellion, “whip”). A decision based on external evidence would be difficult to make because the shorter reading also has excellent witnesses, as well as the majority, on its side (א A B Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï co). Internal evidence, though, leans toward the shorter reading. Scribes tended to add to the text, and the addition of ὡς here clearly softens the assertion of the evangelist: Instead of making a whip of cords, Jesus made “[something] like a whip of cords.”

[2:15]  ²⁷ tn Grk “the temple.”

[2:15]  ²⁸ sn Because of the imperial Roman portraits they carried, Roman denarii and Attic drachmas were not permitted to be used in paying the half-shekel temple-tax (the Jews considered the portraits idolatrous). The money changers exchanged these coins for legal Tyrian coinage at a small profit.