Readings for Lent and Easter

Footnotes

1. John 19:38 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.
2. John 19:38 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
3. John 19:38 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.
4. John 19:38 tn Grk “took away his body.”
5. John 19:39 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6. John 19:39 sn See John 3:1-21.
7. John 19:39 tn Grk “came”; the words “accompanied Joseph” are not in the Greek text but are supplied for clarity.
8. John 19:39 sn Aloes refers to an aromatic resin from a plant similar to a lily, used for embalming a corpse.
9. John 19:39 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.
10. John 19:40 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.
11. John 19:40 tn The Fourth Gospel uses ὀθονίοις (othoniois) 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 (sindōn), 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. Also, Luke uses both terms to refer to the wrappings, which suggests they are interchangeable in some contexts at least (Luke 23:53; 24:12).
12. John 19:40 tn Grk “cloth as is the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial.”
13. John 19:41 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14. John 19:41 sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.
15. John 19:41 tn Or “an orchard.”
16. John 19:41 tn Or “orchard.”
17. John 19:41 tn Grk “been placed.”
18. John 19:42 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. John 19:42 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.