Proverbs 1:5

1:5 (Let the wise also ¹  hear ²  and gain ³  instruction,

and let the discerning ⁴  acquire ⁵  guidance! ⁶ )

Proverbs 9:9

9:9 Give instruction ⁷  to a wise person, ⁸  and he will become wiser still;

teach ⁹  a righteous person and he will add to his ¹⁰  learning.

Jeremiah 2:21

2:21 I planted you in the land

like a special vine of the very best stock.

Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine

that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes? ¹¹ 

John 1:45-49

1:45 Philip found Nathanael ¹²  and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also ¹³  wrote about – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 1:46 Nathanael ¹⁴  replied, ¹⁵  “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” ¹⁶  Philip replied, ¹⁷  “Come and see.”

1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, ¹⁸  “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ¹⁹  1:48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, ²⁰  “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, ²¹  I saw you.” 1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king ²²  of Israel!” ²³ 

[1:5]  ¹ tn The term “also” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[1:5]  ² tn The verb יִשְׁמַע (yishma’) functions as a jussive of advice or counsel (“Let him hear!”) rather than a customary imperfect (“he will hear”). The jussive is supported by the parallelism with the following Hiphil jussive וְיוֹסֶף (vÿyosef, “Let him add!”).

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “add.”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn The Niphal substantival participle נָבוֹן (navon, “discerning”), rather than the noun, is used to describe a person who is habitually characterized by discernment. 1:5 forms a striking contrast to 1:4 – there was the simpleton and the youth, here the wise and discerning. Both need this book.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn The Hiphil verb וְיוֹסֶף (vÿyosef) is a jussive rather than an imperfect as the final short vowel (segol) and accent on the first syllable shows (BDB 415 s.v. יָסַף Hiph).

[1:5]  ⁶ tn The noun תַּחְבֻּלָה (takhbulah, “direction; counsel”) refers to moral guidance (BDB 287 s.v.). It is related to חֹבֵל (khovel, “sailor”), חִבֵּל (khibel, “mast”) and חֶבֶל (khevel, “rope; cord”), so BDB suggests it originally meant directing a ship by pulling ropes on the mast. It is used in a concrete sense of God directing the path of clouds (Job 37:12) and in a figurative sense of moral guidance (Prov 11:14; 20:18; 24:6). Here it refers to the ability to steer a right course through life (A. Cohen, Proverbs, 2).

[9:9]  ⁷ tn The noun “instruction” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation.

[9:9]  ⁸ sn The parallelism shows what Proverbs will repeatedly stress, that the wise person is the righteous person.

[9:9]  ⁹ tn The Hiphil verb normally means “to cause to know, make known”; but here the context suggests “to teach” (so many English versions).

[9:9]  ¹⁰ tn The term “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for the sake of smoothness and clarity.

[2:21]  ¹¹ tc Heb “I planted you as a choice vine, all of it true seed. How then have you turned into a putrid thing to me, a strange [or wild] vine.” The question expresses surprise and consternation. The translation is based on a redivision of the Hebrew words סוּרֵי הַגֶּפֶן (sure haggefen) into סוֹרִיָּה גֶּפֶן (soriyyah gefen) and the recognition of a hapax legomenon סוֹרִיָּה (soriyyah) meaning “putrid, stinking thing.” See HALOT 707 s.v. סוֹרִי.

[1:45]  ¹² sn Nathanael is traditionally identified with Bartholomew (although John never describes him as such). He appears here after Philip, while in all lists of the twelve except in Acts 1:13, Bartholomew follows Philip. Also, the Aramaic Bar-tolmai means “son of Tolmai,” the surname; the man almost certainly had another name.

[1:45]  ¹³ tn “Also” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[1:46]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And Nathanael.”

[1:46]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “said to him.”

[1:46]  ¹⁶ sn Can anything good come out of Nazareth? may be a local proverb expressing jealousy among the towns.

[1:46]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And Philip said to him.”

[1:47]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “said about him.”

[1:47]  ¹⁹ tn Or “treachery.”

[1:48]  ²⁰ tn Grk “answered and said to him.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “replied.”

[1:48]  ²¹ sn Many have speculated about what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree. Meditating on the Messiah who was to come? A good possibility, since the fig tree was used as shade for teaching or studying by the later rabbis (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 5:11). Also, the fig tree was symbolic for messianic peace and plenty (Mic 4:4, Zech 3:10.)

[1:49]  ²² tn Although βασιλεύς (basileus) lacks the article it is definite due to contextual and syntactical considerations. See ExSyn 263.

[1:49]  ²³ sn Nathanael’s confession – You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel – is best understood as a confession of Jesus’ messiahship. It has strong allusions to Ps 2:6-7, a well-known messianic psalm. What Nathanael’s exact understanding was at this point is hard to determine, but “son of God” was a designation for the Davidic king in the OT, and Nathanael parallels it with King of Israel here.