translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: JHN

label: NET translator note

text: Grk “the wadi of the Kidron,” or “the ravine of the Kidron” (a wadi is a stream that flows only during the rainy season and is dry during the dry season).


text: Or “a garden.”


text: Or “often.”


text: Grk “a cohort.” The word σπεῖραν ( speiran ) is a technical term for a Roman cohort, normally a force of 600 men (one tenth of a legion). It was under the command of a χιλίαρχος ( ciliarco" , v. 12 ). Because of the improbability of an entire cohort being sent to arrest a single man, some have suggested that σπεῖραν here refers only to a maniple, a force of 200. But the use of the word here does not necessarily mean the entire cohort was present on this mission, but only that it was the cohort which performed the task (for example, saying the fire department put out the fire does not mean that every fireman belonging to the department was on the scene at the time). These Roman soldiers must have been ordered to accompany the servants of the chief priests and Pharisees by Pilate, since they would have been under the direct command of the Roman prefect or procurator. It is not difficult to understand why Pilate would have been willing to assist the Jewish authorities in such a way. With a huge crowd of pilgrims in Jerusalem for the Passover, the Romans would have been especially nervous about an uprising of some sort. No doubt the chief priests and Pharisees had informed Pilate that this man Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, or in the terms Pilate would understand, king of Israel.


text: The phrase “officers of the chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:32, 45; 18:3, 12, 18, 22; 19:6 . They are different from the Levites who served as “temple police” according to K. H. Rengstorf ( TDNT 8:540). In John 7:32 ff. these officers had made an unsuccessful attempt to arrest Jesus, and perhaps this is part of the reason why their leaders had made sure they were accompanied by Roman soldiers this time. No more mistakes were to be tolerated. sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24 .


text: The words “to the orchard” are not in the Greek text but are repeated from v. 1 for clarity.


text: These were lamps that had some sort of covering to protect them from wind and rain. In earlier usage the word meant “torch” but by NT times it apparently meant a lamp designed to be used outdoors, so “lantern” is a good contemporary English equivalent. sn Mention of the lanterns and torches suggests a detail remembered by one who was an eyewitness, but in connection with the light/darkness motif of John’s Gospel, it is a vivid reminder that it is night; the darkness has come at last (cf. 13:30 ).


text: Grk “knowing all things that were coming upon him.”


text: Grk “Whom do you seek?”


text: Grk “They answered.” sn The author does not state precisely who from the group of soldiers and temple police replied to Jesus at this point. It may have been the commander of the Roman soldiers, although his presence is not explicitly mentioned until 18:12 . It may also have been one of the officers of the chief priests. To the answer given, “Jesus the Nazarene,” Jesus replies “I am [he].”


text: Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Grk “moved back” (but here a fairly rapid movement is implied).


text: Grk “Jesus answered.”


text: Grk “if you are seeking.”


text: The word “men” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The translation uses the word “men” here rather than a more generic word like “people” because in context Jesus referred only to the eleven remaining disciples who were loyal to him and were present at his arrest.


text: The words “He said this” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. There is an ellipsis in the Greek text that must be supplied for the modern English reader at this point.


text: Grk “Of the ones whom you gave me, I did not lose one of them.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to reflect contemporary English style. sn This action of Jesus on behalf of his disciples is interpreted by the author as a fulfillment of Jesus’ own words: “ I have not lost a single one of those whom you gave me .” Here it is Jesus’ own words, rather than the OT scriptures, which are quoted. This same formula will be used by the author again of Jesus’ words in 18:32 , but the verb is used elsewhere in the Fourth Gospel to describe the NT fulfillment of OT passages ( 12:38, 13:18, 15:25, 17:12, 19:24, and 19:36 ). It is a bit difficult to determine the exact referent, since the words of Jesus quoted in this verse are not an exact reproduction of a saying of Jesus elsewhere in John’s Gospel. Although some have identified the saying with John 6:39 , the closest parallel is in 17:12 , where the betrayer, Judas, is specifically excluded. The words quoted here in 18:9 appear to be a free rendition of 17:12 .


text: See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51 .


text: Grk “The cup that the Father has given me to drink, shall I not drink it?” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to reflect contemporary English style. sn Jesus continues with what most would take to be a rhetorical question expecting a positive reply: “ Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me? ” The cup is also mentioned in Gethsemane in the synoptics ( Matt 26:39 , Mark 14:36 , and Luke 22:42 ). In connection with the synoptic accounts it is mentioned in Jesus’ prayer; this occurrence certainly complements the synoptic accounts if Jesus had only shortly before finished praying about this. Only here in the Fourth Gospel is it specifically said that the cup is given to Jesus to drink by the Father, but again this is consistent with the synoptic mention of the cup in Jesus’ prayer: It is the cup of suffering which Jesus is about to undergo.


text: Grk “a cohort” (but since this was a unit of 600 soldiers, a smaller detachment is almost certainly intended).


text: Grk “their chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος ( ciliarco" ) literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militaris , the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.


text: Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι ( Ioudaioi ) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, who were named as “chief priests and Pharisees” in John 18:3 .


text: Or “seized.”


text: Or “bound him.”


text: Grk “up, and brought.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.


text: Or “counseled.”


text: Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, specifically members of the Sanhedrin (see John 11:49-50 ). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12 .


text: The words “them as they brought Jesus to Annas” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify who Peter and the other disciple were following. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.


text: Grk “that disciple.” sn Many have associated this unnamed other disciple with the beloved disciple, that is, John son of Zebedee, mainly because the phrase the other disciple which occurs here is also used to describe the beloved disciple in John 20:2, 3, 4, and 8 . Peter is also closely associated with the beloved disciple in 13:23-26, 20:2-10, 21:7, and 21:20-23 . But other identifications have also been proposed, chiefly because v. 16 states that this disciple who was accompanied by Peter was known to the high priest. As C. K. Barrett ( St. John , 525) points out, the term γνωστός ( gnwstos ) is used in the LXX to refer to a close friend (Ps 54:14 LXX [55:14 ET]). This raises what for some is an insurmountable difficulty in identifying the “other disciple” as John son of Zebedee, since how could the uneducated son of an obscure Galilean fisherman be known to such a powerful and influential family in Jerusalem? E. A. Abbott (as quoted in “Notes of Recent Exposition,” ExpTim 25 [1913/14]: 149-50) proposed that the “other disciple” who accompanied Peter was Judas, since he was the one disciple of whom it is said explicitly (in the synoptic accounts) that he had dealings with the high priest. E. A. Tindall (“Contributions and Comments: John xviii.15,” ExpTim 28 [1916/17]: 283-84) suggested the disciple was Nicodemus, who as a member of the Sanhedrin, would have had access to the high priest’s palace. Both of these suggestions, while ingenious, nevertheless lack support from the text of the Fourth Gospel itself or the synoptic accounts. W. Wuellner ( The Meaning of “ Fishers of Men ” [NTL]) argues that the common attitude concerning the low social status and ignorance of the disciples from Galilee may in fact be a misconception. Zebedee is presented in Mark 1:20 as a man wealthy enough to have hired servants, and Mark 10:35-45 presents both of the sons of Zebedee as concerned about status and prestige. John’s mother appears in the same light in Matt 20:20-28 . Contact with the high priestly family in Jerusalem might not be so unlikely in such circumstances. Others have noted the possibility that John came from a priestly family, some of which is based upon a statement in Eusebius ( Ecclesiastical History 3.31.3) quoting Polycrates that John son of Zebedee was a priest. For further information on possible priestly connections among members of John’s family see L. Morris ( John [NICNT], 752, n. 32). None of this is certain, but on the whole it seems most probable that the disciple who accompanied Peter and gained entry into the courtyard for him was John son of Zebedee.


text: Grk “spoke to the doorkeeper”; her description as a slave girl is taken from the following verse. The noun θυρωρός ( qurwro" ) may be either masculine or feminine, but the article here indicates that it is feminine.


text: Grk “slave girl.” Since the descriptive term “slave girl” was introduced in the translation in the previous verse, it would be redundant to repeat the full expression here.


text: Questions prefaced with μή ( mh ) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).


text: Grk “He said.”


text: That is, the “guards of the chief priests” as distinguished from the household slaves of Annas.


text: Grk “because it was cold, and they were warming themselves.”


text: The introductory phrase “While this was happening” is not in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the translation to clarify the alternation of scenes in the narrative for the modern reader.


text: Grk “Jesus answered him.”


text: Grk “in the temple.”


text: Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people generally, for whom the synagogues and the temple courts in Jerusalem were important public gathering places. See also the note on the phrase “Jewish religious leaders” in v. 12 .


text: Grk “And I.” The conjunction καί ( kai , “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.


text: Grk “Ask those who heard what I said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated since they are redundant in English.


text: Grk “Look, these know what I said.”


text: Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Grk “one of the high priest’s servants standing by gave Jesus a strike, saying.” For the translation of ῥάπισμα ( rJapisma ), see L&N 19.4.


text: Or “something incorrect.”


text: Grk “testify.”


text: Or “incorrect.”


text: Or “still bound.”


text: The words “in the courtyard” are not in the Greek text. They are supplied for the benefit of the modern reader, to link this scene to the preceding one in John 18:15-18 .


text: Grk “That one denied it and said”; the referent of the pronoun (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51 .


text: Or “garden.”


text: This question, prefaced with οὐκ ( ouk ) in Greek, anticipates a positive answer.


text: Grk “to the praetorium.” sn The permanent residence of the Roman governor of Palestine was in Caesarea ( Acts 23:35 ). The governor had a residence in Jerusalem which he normally occupied only during principal feasts or in times of political unrest. The location of this building in Jerusalem is uncertain, but is probably one of two locations: either (1) the fortress or tower of Antonia, on the east hill north of the temple area, which is the traditional location of the Roman praetorium since the 12th century, or (2) the palace of Herod on the west hill near the present Jaffa Gate. According to Philo ( Embassy 38 [299]) Pilate had some golden shields hung there, and according to Josephus ( J. W. 2.14.8 [2.301], 2.15.5 [2.328]) the later Roman governor Florus stayed there.


text: Grk “And they.” The conjunction καί ( kai , “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.


text: Grk “into the praetorium.”


text: Or “charge.”


text: Grk “They answered and said to him.”


text: Grk “this one.”


text: Or “an evildoer”; Grk “one doing evil.”


text: Or “would not have delivered him over.”


text: Grk “Then Pilate said to them.”


text: Or “judge him.” For the translation “pass judgment on him” see R. E. Brown ( John [AB], 2:848).


text: Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin. See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12 .


text: Grk “said to him.”


text: Grk “It is not permitted to us to kill anyone.” sn The historical background behind the statement We cannot legally put anyone to death is difficult to reconstruct. Scholars are divided over whether this statement in the Fourth Gospel accurately reflects the judicial situation between the Jewish authorities and the Romans in 1st century Palestine. It appears that the Roman governor may have given the Jews the power of capital punishment for specific offenses, some of them religious (the death penalty for Gentiles caught trespassing in the inner courts of the temple, for example). It is also pointed out that the Jewish authorities did carry out a number of executions, some of them specifically pertaining to Christians (Stephen, according to Acts 7:58-60 ; and James the Just, who was stoned in the 60s according to Josephus, Ant. 20.9.1 [20.200]). But Stephen’s death may be explained as a result of “mob violence” rather than a formal execution, and as Josephus in the above account goes on to point out, James was executed in the period between two Roman governors, and the high priest at the time was subsequently punished for the action. Two studies by A. N. Sherwin-White ( Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament , 1-47; and “The Trial of Christ,” Historicity and Chronology in the New Testament [SPCKTC], 97-116) have tended to support the accuracy of John’s account. He concluded that the Romans kept very close control of the death penalty for fear that in the hands of rebellious locals such power could be used to eliminate factions favorable or useful to Rome. A province as troublesome as Judea would not have been likely to be made an exception to this.


text: The words “This happened” are not in the Greek text but are implied.


text: Or “making clear.”


text: Grk “Jesus answered.”


text: Grk “saying this from yourself.”


text: Or “your own nation.”


text: Or “delivered you over.”


text: Grk “so that I may not be.”


text: Or “delivered over.”


text: Or “the Jewish leaders”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin. See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12 . In the translation “authorities” was preferred over “leaders” for stylistic reasons.


text: Grk “now.”


text: Or “obeys”; Grk “hears.”


text: Grk “Pilate said.”


text: Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin. See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12 . The term also occurs in v. 31 , where it is clear the Jewish leaders are in view, because they state that they cannot legally carry out an execution. Although it is likely (in view of the synoptic parallels) that the crowd here in 18:38 was made up not just of the Jewish leaders, but of ordinary residents of Jerusalem and pilgrims who were in Jerusalem for the Passover, nevertheless in John’s Gospel Pilate is primarily in dialogue with the leadership of the nation, who are expressly mentioned in 18:35 and 19:6 .


text: Grk “said to them.”


text: Grk “find no cause.”


text: The word “prisoner” is not in the Greek text but is implied.


text: Or “they shouted again,” or “they shouted in turn.” On the difficulty of translating πάλιν ( palin ) see BDAG 753 s.v. 5 . It is simplest in the context of John’s Gospel to understand the phrase to mean “they shouted back” as a reply to Pilate’s question.


text: Grk “this one.”


text: Or “robber.” It is possible that Barabbas was merely a robber or highwayman, but more likely, given the use of the term ληστής ( lhsth" ) in Josephus and other early sources, that he was a guerrilla warrior or revolutionary leader. See both R. E. Brown ( John [AB], 2:857) and K. H. Rengstorf ( TDNT 4:258) for more information. The word λῃστής was used a number of times by Josephus ( J. W. 2.13.2-3 [2.253-254]) to describe the revolutionaries or guerrilla fighters who, from mixed motives of nationalism and greed, kept the rural districts of Judea in constant turmoil.