Discovery BoxPsalms 59:3-4
Context59:3 For look, they wait to ambush me; 1
powerful men stalk 2 me,
but not because I have rebelled or sinned, O Lord. 3
59:4 Though I have done nothing wrong, 4 they are anxious to attack. 5
Spring into action and help me! Take notice of me! 6
John 19:6
Context19:6 When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify 7 him! Crucify him!” 8 Pilate said, 9 “You take him and crucify him! 10 Certainly 11 I find no reason for an accusation 12 against him!”
John 19:1
Context19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged severely. 13
John 2:22-23
Context2:22 So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture 14 and the saying 15 that Jesus had spoken.
2:23 Now while Jesus 16 was in Jerusalem 17 at the feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing. 18
[59:3] 2 tn The Hebrew verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 56:8.
[59:3] 3 sn The point is that the psalmist’s enemies have no justifiable reason for attacking him. He has neither rebelled or sinned against the
[59:4] 4 tn Heb “without sin.”
[59:4] 5 tn Heb “they run and they are determined.”
[59:4] 6 tn Heb “arise to meet me and see.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to meet; to encounter”) here carries the nuance of “to help.”
[19:6] 7 sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman statesman and orator Cicero (106-43
[19:6] 8 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from context.
[19:6] 9 tn Grk “said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated because they are unnecessary in contemporary English style.
[19:6] 10 sn How are Pilate’s words “You take him and crucify him” to be understood? Was he offering a serious alternative to the priests who wanted Jesus crucified? Was he offering them an exception to the statement in 18:31 that the Jewish authorities did not have the power to carry out a death penalty? Although a few scholars have suggested that the situation was at this point so far out of Pilate’s control that he really was telling the high priests they could go ahead and crucify a man he had found to be innocent, this seems unlikely. It is far more likely that Pilate’s statement should be understood as one of frustration and perhaps sarcasm. This seems to be supported by the context, for the Jewish authorities make no attempt at this point to seize Jesus and crucify him. Rather they continue to pester Pilate to order the crucifixion.
[19:6] 11 tn On this use of γάρ (gar) used in exclamations and strong affirmations, see BDAG 190 s.v. γάρ 3.
[19:6] 12 tn Or “find no basis for an accusation”; Grk “find no cause.”
[19:1] 13 tn Or “had him flogged,” or (traditional), “scourged him.” The verb should be read as causative. Pilate ordered Jesus to be flogged. A Roman governor would not carry out such a sentence in person. BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1. states, “If J refers to the ‘verberatio’ given those condemned to death (TMommsen, Röm. Strafrecht 1899, 938f; Jos., Bell. 2, 308; 5, 449), it is odd that Pilate subsequently claims no cause for action (vs. 6); but if the latter statement refers only to the penalty of crucifixion, μ. vs. 1 may be equivalent to παιδεύω (q.v. 2bγ) in Lk 23:16, 22 (for μ. of a non-capital offense PFlor I, 61, 61 [85ad]=Mitt-Wilck. II/2, 80 II, 61).”
[2:22] 14 sn They believed the scripture is probably an anaphoric reference to Ps 69:9 (69:10 LXX), quoted in John 2:17 above. Presumably the disciples did not remember Ps 69:9 on the spot, but it was a later insight.
[2:22] 15 tn Or “statement”; Grk “word.”
[2:23] 16 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:23] 17 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[2:23] 18 sn Because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing. The issue here is not whether their faith was genuine or not, but what its object was. These individuals, after seeing the miracles, believed Jesus to be the Messiah. They most likely saw in him a political-eschatological figure of some sort. That does not, however, mean that their concept of “Messiah” was the same as Jesus’ own, or the author’s.
