Matthew 27:59-60

27:59 Joseph ¹  took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ²  27:60 and placed it ³  in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. ⁴  Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance ⁵  of the tomb and went away.

Luke 23:53

23:53 Then ⁶  he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, ⁷  and placed it ⁸  in a tomb cut out of the rock, ⁹  where no one had yet been buried. ¹⁰ 

John 19:38-42

Jesus’ Burial

19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders ¹¹ ), ¹²  asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate ¹³  gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. ¹⁴  19:39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus ¹⁵  at night, ¹⁶  accompanied Joseph, ¹⁷  carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes ¹⁸  weighing about seventy-five pounds. ¹⁹  19:40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, ²⁰  in strips of linen cloth ²¹  according to Jewish burial customs. ²²  19:41 Now at the place where Jesus ²³  was crucified ²⁴  there was a garden, ²⁵  and in the garden ²⁶  was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried. ²⁷  19:42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of preparation ²⁸  and the tomb was nearby, ²⁹  they placed Jesus’ body there.

[27:59]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:59]  ² tn The term σινδών (sindwn) can refer to a linen cloth used either for clothing or for burial.

[27:60]  ³ tc ‡ αὐτό (auto, “it”) is found after ἔθηκεν (eqhken, “placed”) in the majority of witnesses, including many important ones, though it seems to be motivated by a need for clarification and cannot therefore easily explain the rise of the shorter reading (which is read by א L Θ Ë¹³ 33 892 pc). Regardless of which reading is original (though with a slight preference for the shorter reading), English style requires the pronoun. NA²⁷ includes αὐτό here, no doubt due to the overwhelming external attestation.

[27:60]  ⁴ tn That is, cut or carved into an outcropping of natural rock, resulting in a cave-like structure (see L&N 19.25).

[27:60]  ⁵ tn Or “to the door,” “against the door.”

[23:53]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:53]  ⁷ tn The term σινδών (sindwn) can refer to a linen cloth used either for clothing or for burial.

[23:53]  ⁸ tn In the Greek text this pronoun (αὐτόν, auton) is masculine, while the previous one (αὐτό, auto) is neuter, referring to the body.

[23:53]  ⁹ tn That is, cut or carved into an outcropping of natural rock, resulting in a cave-like structure (see L&N 19.26).

[23:53]  ¹⁰ tc Codex Bezae (D), with some support from 070, one Itala ms, and the Sahidic version, adds the words, “And after he [Jesus] was laid [in the tomb], he [Joseph of Arimathea] put a stone over the tomb which scarcely twenty men could roll.” Although this addition is certainly not part of the original text of Luke, it does show how interested the early scribes were in the details of the burial and may even reflect a very primitive tradition. Matt 27:60 and Mark 15:46 record the positioning of a large stone at the door of the tomb.

[19:38]  ¹¹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees (see John 12:42). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

[19:38]  ¹² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[19:38]  ¹³ tn Grk “And Pilate.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:38]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “took away his body.”

[19:39]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:39]  ¹⁶ sn See John 3:1-21.

[19:39]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “came”; the words “accompanied Joseph” are not in the Greek text but are supplied for clarity.

[19:39]  ¹⁸ sn Aloes refers to an aromatic resin from a plant similar to a lily, used for embalming a corpse.

[19:39]  ¹⁹ sn The Roman pound (λίτρα, litra) weighed twelve ounces or 325 grams. Thus 100 Roman pounds would be about 32.5 kilograms or 75 pounds.

[19:40]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Grk “cloth as is the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial.”

[19:41]  ²³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:41]  ²⁴ sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.

[19:41]  ²⁵ tn Or “an orchard.”

[19:41]  ²⁶ tn Or “orchard.”

[19:41]  ²⁷ tn Grk “been placed.”

[19:42]  ²⁸ sn The day of preparation was the day before the Sabbath when everything had to be prepared for it, as no work could be done on the Sabbath.

[19:42]  ²⁹ sn The tomb was nearby. The Passover and the Sabbath would begin at 6 p.m., so those who had come to prepare and bury the body could not afford to waste time.