Luke 9:7-9

Herod’s Confusion about Jesus

9:7 Now Herod ¹  the tetrarch ²  heard about everything that was happening, and he was thoroughly perplexed, ³  because some people were saying that John ⁴  had been raised from the dead, 9:8 while others were saying that Elijah ⁵  had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had risen. ⁶  9:9 Herod said, “I had John ⁷  beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” So Herod wanted to learn about Jesus. ⁸ 

John 4:46-53

Healing the Royal Official’s Son

4:46 Now he came again to Cana ⁹  in Galilee where he had made the water wine. ¹⁰  In ¹¹  Capernaum ¹²  there was a certain royal official ¹³  whose son was sick. 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him ¹⁴  to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. 4:48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people ¹⁵  see signs and wonders you will never believe!” ¹⁶  4:49 “Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my child dies.” 4:50 Jesus told him, “Go home; ¹⁷  your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and set off for home. ¹⁸ 

4:51 While he was on his way down, ¹⁹  his slaves ²⁰  met him and told him that his son was going to live. 4:52 So he asked them the time ²¹  when his condition began to improve, ²²  and ²³  they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon ²⁴  the fever left him.” 4:53 Then the father realized that it was the very time ²⁵  Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he himself believed along with his entire household.

Acts 13:1

The Church at Antioch Commissions Barnabas and Saul

13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: ²⁶  Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, ²⁷  Lucius the Cyrenian, ²⁸  Manaen (a close friend of Herod ²⁹  the tetrarch ³⁰  from childhood ³¹ ) and Saul.

Philippians 4:22

4:22 All the saints greet you, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.

[9:7]  ¹ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.

[9:7]  ² sn See the note on tetrarch in 3:1.

[9:7]  ³ tn Or “was very confused.” See L&N 32.10 where this verse is given as an example of the usage.

[9:7]  ⁴ sn John refers to John the Baptist, whom Herod had beheaded (v. 9).

[9:8]  ⁵ sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.

[9:8]  ⁶ sn The phrase had risen could be understood to mean “had been resurrected,” but this is only a possible option, not a necessary one, since the phrase could merely mean that a figure had appeared on the scene who mirrored an earlier historical figure. The three options of vv. 7-8 will be repeated in v. 19.

[9:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “John I beheaded”; John’s name is in emphatic position in the Greek text. The verb is causative, since Herod would not have personally carried out the execution.

[9:9]  ⁸ tn The expression ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν αὐτόν (ezhtei idein auton, “was seeking to see him”) probably indicates that Herod, for curiosity’s sake or more likely for evil purposes, wanted to get to know Jesus, i.e., who he was and what he was doing. See I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 357. Herod finally got his wish in Luke 23:6-12, with inconclusive results from his point of view.

[4:46]  ⁹ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[4:46]  ¹⁰ sn See John 2:1-11.

[4:46]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And in.”

[4:46]  ¹² sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

[4:46]  ¹³ tn Although βασιλικός (basiliko") has often been translated “nobleman” it is almost certainly refers here to a servant of Herod, tetrarch of Galilee (who in the NT is called a king, Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29). Capernaum was a border town, so doubtless there were many administrative officials in residence there.

[4:47]  ¹⁴ tn The direct object of ἠρώτα (hrwta) is supplied from context. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[4:48]  ¹⁵ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than the royal official alone).

[4:48]  ¹⁶ tn Or “you never believe.” The verb πιστεύσητε (pisteushte) is aorist subjunctive and may have either nuance.

[4:50]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Go”; the word “home” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[4:50]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and left.” The words “for home” are implied by the following verse.

[4:51]  ¹⁹ sn While he was on his way down. Going to Capernaum from Cana, one must go east across the Galilean hills and then descend to the Sea of Galilee. The 20 mi (33 km) journey could not be made in a single day. The use of the description on his way down shows the author was familiar with Palestinian geography.

[4:51]  ²⁰ tn Traditionally, “servants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[4:52]  ²¹ tn Grk “the hour.”

[4:52]  ²² tn BDAG 558 s.v. κομψότερον translates the idiom κομψότερον ἔχειν (komyoteron ecein) as “begin to improve.”

[4:52]  ²³ tn The second οὖν (oun) in 4:52 has been translated as “and” to improve English style by avoiding redundancy.

[4:52]  ²⁴ tn Grk “at the seventh hour.”

[4:53]  ²⁵ tn Grk “at that hour.”

[13:1]  ²⁶ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

[13:1]  ²⁷ sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”

[13:1]  ²⁸ sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.

[13:1]  ²⁹ sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4 b.c. to a.d. 39, who had John the Baptist beheaded, and who is mentioned a number of times in the gospels.

[13:1]  ³⁰ tn Or “the governor.”

[13:1]  ³¹ tn Or “(a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch).” The meaning “close friend from childhood” is given by L&N 34.15, but the word can also mean “foster brother” (L&N 10.51). BDAG 976 s.v. σύντροφας states, “pert. to being brought up with someone, either as a foster-brother or as a companion/friend,” which covers both alternatives. Context does not given enough information to be certain which is the case here, although many modern translations prefer the meaning “close friend from childhood.”