Yohanes 14:15

Teaching on the Holy Spirit

14:15 “If you love me, you will obey ¹  my commandments. ² 

Yohanes 14:23-24

14:23 Jesus replied, ³  “If anyone loves me, he will obey ⁴  my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him. ⁵  14:24 The person who does not love me does not obey ⁶  my words. And the word ⁷  you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

Yohanes 15:14

15:14 You are my friends ⁸  if you do what I command you.

Kejadian 26:3-5

26:3 Stay ⁹  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ¹⁰  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ¹¹  and I will fulfill ¹²  the solemn promise I made ¹³  to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ¹⁴  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ¹⁵  26:5 All this will come to pass ¹⁶  because Abraham obeyed me ¹⁷  and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” ¹⁸ 

Ulangan 10:12-13

An Exhortation to Love Both God and People

10:12 Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to revere him, ¹⁹  to obey all his commandments, ²⁰  to love him, to serve him ²¹  with all your mind and being, ²²  10:13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and statutes that I am giving ²³  you today for your own good?

Ulangan 11:13

11:13 Now, if you pay close attention ²⁴  to my commandments that I am giving you today and love ²⁵  the Lord your God and serve him with all your mind and being, ²⁶ 

Ulangan 30:6-8

30:6 The Lord your God will also cleanse ²⁷  your heart and the hearts of your descendants ²⁸  so that you may love him ²⁹  with all your mind and being and so that you may live. 30:7 Then the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hate you and persecute you. 30:8 You will return and obey the Lord, keeping all his commandments I am giving ³⁰  you today.

Mazmur 119:4-6

119:4 You demand that your precepts

be carefully kept. ³¹ 

119:5 If only I were predisposed ³² 

to keep your statutes!

119:6 Then I would not be ashamed,

if ³³  I were focused on ³⁴  all your commands.

Yeremia 31:31

31:31 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, ³⁵  “when I will make a new covenant ³⁶  with the people of Israel and Judah. ³⁷ 

Yeremia 31:33-34

31:33 “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel ³⁸  after I plant them back in the land,” ³⁹  says the Lord. ⁴⁰  “I will ⁴¹  put my law within them ⁴²  and write it on their hearts and minds. ⁴³  I will be their God and they will be my people. ⁴⁴ 

31:34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. ⁴⁵  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” ⁴⁶  says the Lord. “For ⁴⁷  I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

Yehezkiel 36:25-27

36:25 I will sprinkle you with pure water ⁴⁸  and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. 36:26 I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone ⁴⁹  from your body and give you a heart of flesh. ⁵⁰  36:27 I will put my Spirit within you; ⁵¹  I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes ⁵²  and carefully observe my regulations. ⁵³ 

Lukas 11:28

11:28 But he replied, ⁵⁴  “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey ⁵⁵  it!”

Lukas 11:2

11:2 So he said to them, “When you pray, ⁵⁶  say:

Father, ⁵⁷  may your name be honored; ⁵⁸ 

may your kingdom come. ⁵⁹ 

Kolose 1:14-15

1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁶⁰  the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ⁶¹ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ⁶²  over all creation, ⁶³ 

Yakobus 2:23-24

2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” ⁶⁴  and he was called God’s friend. ⁶⁵  2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Yakobus 2:1

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ⁶⁶  do not show prejudice ⁶⁷  if you possess faith ⁶⁸  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ⁶⁹ 

Yohanes 2:5

2:5 His mother told the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.” ⁷⁰ 

Yohanes 3:18-24

3:18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. ⁷¹  The one who does not believe has been condemned ⁷²  already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only ⁷³  Son of God. 3:19 Now this is the basis for judging: ⁷⁴  that the light has come into the world and people ⁷⁵  loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 3:20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 3:21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God. ⁷⁶ 

Further Testimony About Jesus by John the Baptist

3:22 After this, ⁷⁷  Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing. 3:23 John ⁷⁸  was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, ⁷⁹  because water was plentiful there, and people were coming ⁸⁰  to him ⁸¹  and being baptized. 3:24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.) ⁸² 

Yohanes 5:3

5:3 A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways.

Yohanes 5:2

5:2 Now there is ⁸³  in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate ⁸⁴  a pool called Bethzatha ⁸⁵  in Aramaic, ⁸⁶  which has five covered walkways. ⁸⁷ 

Yohanes 1:6

1:6 A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. ⁸⁸ 

Wahyu 22:14

22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access ⁸⁹  to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates.

[14:15]  ¹ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:15]  ² sn Jesus’ statement If you love me, you will obey my commandments provides the transition between the promises of answered prayer which Jesus makes to his disciples in vv. 13-14 and the promise of the Holy Spirit which is introduced in v. 16. Obedience is the proof of genuine love.

[14:23]  ³ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[14:23]  ⁴ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “we will come to him and will make our dwelling place with him.” The context here is individual rather than corporate indwelling, so the masculine singular pronoun has been retained throughout v. 23. It is important to note, however, that the pronoun is used generically here and refers equally to men, women, and children.

[14:24]  ⁶ tn Or “does not keep.”

[14:24]  ⁷ tn Or “the message.”

[15:14]  ⁸ sn This verse really explains John 15:10 in another way. Those who keep Jesus’ commandments are called his friends, those friends for whom he lays down his life (v. 13). It is possible to understand this verse as referring to a smaller group within Christianity as a whole, perhaps only the apostles who were present when Jesus spoke these words. Some have supported this by comparing it to the small group of associates and advisers to the Roman Emperor who were called “Friends of the Emperor.” Others would see these words as addressed only to those Christians who as disciples were obedient to Jesus. In either case the result would be to create a sort of “inner circle” of Christians who are more privileged than mere “believers” or average Christians. In context, it seems clear that Jesus’ words must be addressed to all true Christians, not just some narrower category of believers, because Jesus’ sacrificial death, which is his act of love toward his friends (v. 13) applies to all Christians equally (cf. John 13:1).

[26:3]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.

[26:3]  ¹⁰ tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.

[26:3]  sn I will be with you and I will bless you. The promise of divine presence is a promise to intervene to protect and to bless.

[26:3]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[26:3]  sn To you and to your descendants. The Abrahamic blessing will pass to Isaac. Everything included in that blessing will now belong to the son, and in turn will be passed on to his sons. But there is a contingency involved: If they are to enjoy the full blessings, they will have to obey the word of the Lord. And so obedience is enjoined here with the example of how well Abraham obeyed.

[26:3]  ¹² tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.

[26:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”

[26:3]  sn The solemn promise I made. See Gen 15:18-20; 22:16-18.

[26:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[26:5]  ¹⁶ tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[26:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “listened to my voice.”

[26:5]  ¹⁸ sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.

[10:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 10:4.

[10:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to walk in all his ways” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “follow his ways exactly”; NLT “to live according to his will.”

[10:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 10:4.

[10:12]  ²² tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being”; NCV “with your whole being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.

[10:13]  ²³ tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB, NRSV). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.

[11:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “if hearing, you will hear.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute to emphasize the verbal idea. The translation renders this emphasis with the word “close.”

[11:13]  ²⁵ tn Again, the Hebrew term אָהַב (’ahav) draws attention to the reciprocation of divine love as a condition or sign of covenant loyalty (cf. Deut 6:5).

[11:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.

[30:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “circumcise” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “will give you and your descendents obedient hearts.” See note on the word “cleanse” in Deut 10:16.

[30:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).

[30:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I now enjoin on you.”

[119:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”

[119:5]  ³² tn Heb “if only my ways were established.”

[119:6]  ³³ tn Or “when.”

[119:6]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I gaze at.”

[31:31]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:31]  ³⁶ tn Or “a renewed covenant” (also in vv. 22-23).

[31:31]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”

[31:33]  ³⁸ tn Heb “with the house of Israel.” All commentators agree that the term here refers to both the whole nation which was divided into the house of Israel and the house of Judah in v. 30.

[31:33]  ³⁹ tn Heb “after those days.” Commentators are generally agreed that this refers to the return from exile and the repopulation of the land referred to in vv. 27-28 and not to something subsequent to the time mentioned in v. 30. This is the sequencing that is also presupposed in other new covenant passages such as Deut 30:1-6; Ezek 11:17-20; 36:24-28.

[31:33]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:33]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days:’ says the Lord, ‘I will….’” The sentence has been reworded and restructured to avoid the awkwardness of the original style.

[31:33]  ⁴² tn Heb “in their inward parts.” The Hebrew word here refers to the seat of the thoughts, emotions, and decisions (Jer 9:8 [9:7 HT]). It is essentially synonymous with “heart” in Hebrew psychological terms.

[31:33]  ⁴³ tn The words “and minds” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation to bring the English psychology more into line with the Hebrew where the “heart” is the center both of knowing/thinking/reflecting and deciding/willing.

[31:33]  sn Two contexts are relevant for understanding this statement. First is the context of the first or old covenant which was characterized by a law written on stone tablets (e.g., Exod 32:15-16; 34:1, 28; Deut 4:13; 5:22; 9:10) or in a “book” or “scroll” (Deut 31:9-13) which could be lost (cf. 2 Kgs 22:8), forgotten (Hos 4:6), ignored (Jer 6:19; Amos 4:2), or altered (Jer 8:8). Second is the context of the repeated fault that Jeremiah has found with their stubborn (3:17; 7:24; 9:14; 11:8; 13:10; 16:12; 18:12; 23:17), uncircumcised (4:4; 9:26), and desperately wicked hearts (4:4; 17:9). Radical changes were necessary to get the people to obey the law from the heart and not just pay superficial or lip service to it (3:10; 12:2). Deut 30:1-6; Ezek 11:17-20; 36:24-28 speak of these radical changes. The Lord will remove the “foreskin” of their heart and give them a circumcised heart, or take away their “stony” heart and give them a new heart. With this heart they will be able to obey his laws, statutes, ordinances, and commands (Deut 30:8; Ezek 11:20; 36:27). The new covenant does not entail a new law; it is the same law that Jeremiah has repeatedly accused them of rejecting or ignoring (6:19; 9:13; 16:11; 26:4; 44:10). What does change is their inner commitment to keep it. Jeremiah has already referred to this in Jer 24:7 and will refer to it again in Jer 32:39.

[31:33]  ⁴⁴ sn Compare Jer 24:7; 30:22; 31:1 and see the study note on 30:2.

[31:34]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “teach…, saying, ‘Know the Lord.’” The indirect quote has been chosen for stylistic reasons, i.e., to better parallel the following line.

[31:34]  sn As mentioned in the translator’s note on 9:3 (9:2 HT) “knowing” God in covenant contexts like this involves more than just an awareness of who he is (9:23 [9:22 HT]). It involves an acknowledgment of his sovereignty and whole hearted commitment to obedience to him. This is perhaps best seen in the parallelisms in Hos 4:1; 6:6 where “the knowledge of God” is parallel with faithfulness and steadfast love and in the context of Hos 4 refers to obedience to the Lord’s commands.

[31:34]  ⁴⁶ sn This statement should be understood against the background of Jer 8:8-9 where class distinctions were drawn and certain people were considered to have more awareness and responsibility for knowing the law and also Jer 5:1-5 and 9:3-9 where the sinfulness of Israel was seen to be universal across these class distinctions and no trust was to be placed in friends, neighbors, or relatives because all without distinction had cast off God’s yoke (i.e., refused to submit themselves to his authority).

[31:34]  ⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this clause refers to more than just the preceding clause (i.e., that all will know the Lord) but to all of vv. 31-34a (See BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.c).

[36:25]  ⁴⁸ sn The Lord here uses a metaphor from the realm of ritual purification. For the use of water in ritual cleansing, see Exod 30:19-20; Lev 14:51; Num 19:18; Heb 10:22.

[36:26]  ⁴⁹ sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is stubborn and unresponsive (see 1 Sam 25:37). In Rabbinic literature a “stone” was associated with an evil inclination (b. Sukkah 52a).

[36:26]  ⁵⁰ sn That is, a heart which symbolizes a will that is responsive and obedient to God.

[36:27]  ⁵¹ tn Or “in the midst of you.” The word “you” is plural.

[36:27]  ⁵² tn Heb “and I will do that which in my statutes you will walk.” The awkward syntax (verb “to do, act” + accusative sign + relative clause + prepositional phrase + second person verb) is unique, though Eccl 3:14 contains a similar construction. In the last line of that verse we read that “God acts so that (relative pronoun) they fear before him.” However, unlike Ezek 36:27, the statement has no accusative sign before the relative pronoun.

[36:27]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and my laws you will guard and you will do them.” Jer 31:31-34 is parallel to this passage.

[11:28]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “said.”

[11:28]  ⁵⁵ sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.

[11:2]  ⁵⁶ sn When you pray. What follows, although traditionally known as the Lord’s prayer, is really the disciples’ prayer. It represents how they are to approach God, by acknowledging his uniqueness and their need for his provision and protection.

[11:2]  ⁵⁷ tc Most mss, including later majority (A C D W Θ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33^vid Ï it), add ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς (Jhmwn Jo en toi" oujranoi", “our [Father] in heaven”) here. This makes the prayer begin like the version in Matt 6:9. The shorter version is read by Ì⁷⁵ א B (L: + ἡμῶν) 1 700 pc as well as some versions and fathers. Given this more weighty external evidence, combined with the scribal tendency to harmonize Gospel parallels, the shorter reading is preferred.

[11:2]  sn God is addressed in terms of intimacy (Father). The original Semitic term here was probably Abba. The term is a little unusual in a personal prayer, especially as it lacks qualification. It is not the exact equivalent of “Daddy” (as is sometimes popularly suggested), but it does suggest a close, familial relationship.

[11:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “hallowed be your name.”

[11:2]  ⁵⁹ tc Most mss (א A C D W Θ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33^vid Ï it) read at the end of the verse “may your will be done on earth as [it is] in heaven,” making this version parallel to Matt 6:10. The shorter reading is found, however, in weighty mss (Ì⁷⁵ B L pc), and cannot be easily explained as arising from the longer reading.

[11:2]  sn Your kingdom come represents the hope for the full manifestation of God’s promised rule.

[1:14]  ⁶⁰ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.

[1:15]  ⁶¹ sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:15]  ⁶² tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ⁶³ tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.

[2:23]  ⁶⁴ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[2:23]  ⁶⁵ sn An allusion to 2 Chr 20:7; Isa 41:8; 51:2; Dan 3:35 (LXX), in which Abraham is called God’s “beloved.”

[2:1]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:1]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “partiality.”

[2:1]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

[2:1]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:5]  ⁷⁰ tn The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[3:18]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ⁷² tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ⁷³ tn See the note on the term “one and only” in 3:16.

[3:19]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “this is the reason for God judging,” or “this is how judgment works.”

[3:19]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “and men,” but in a generic sense, referring to people of both genders (as “everyone” in v. 20 makes clear).

[3:21]  ⁷⁶ sn John 3:16-21 provides an introduction to the (so-called) “realized” eschatology of the Fourth Gospel: Judgment has come; eternal life may be possessed now, in the present life, as well as in the future. The terminology “realized eschatology” was originally coined by E. Haenchen and used by J. Jeremias in discussion with C. H. Dodd, but is now characteristically used to describe Dodd’s own formulation. See L. Goppelt, Theology of the New Testament, 1:54, note 10, and R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:cxvii-cxviii) for further discussion. Especially important to note is the element of choice portrayed in John’s Gospel. If there is a twofold reaction to Jesus in John’s Gospel, it should be emphasized that that reaction is very much dependent on a person’s choice, a choice that is influenced by his way of life, whether his deeds are wicked or are done in God (John 3:20-21). For John there is virtually no trace of determinism at the surface. Only when one looks beneath the surface does one find statements like “no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

[3:22]  ⁷⁷ tn This section is related loosely to the preceding by μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta). This constitutes an indefinite temporal reference; the intervening time is not specified.

[3:23]  ⁷⁸ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[3:23]  ⁷⁹ tn The precise locations of Αἰνών (Ainwn) and Σαλείμ (Saleim) are unknown. Three possibilities are suggested: (1) In Perea, which is in Transjordan (cf. 1:28). Perea is just across the river from Judea. (2) In the northern Jordan Valley, on the west bank some 8 miles [13 km] south of Scythopolis. But with the Jordan River so close, the reference to abundant water (3:23) seems superfluous. (3) Thus Samaria has been suggested. 4 miles (6.6 km) east of Shechem is a town called Salim, and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Salim lies modern Ainun. In the general vicinity are many springs. Because of the meanings of the names (Αἰνών = “springs” in Aramaic and Σαλείμ = Salem, “peace”) some have attempted to allegorize here that John the Baptist is near salvation. Obviously there is no need for this. It is far more probable that the author has in mind real places, even if their locations cannot be determined with certainty.

[3:23]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “people were continually coming.”

[3:23]  ⁸¹ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[3:24]  ⁸² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[5:2]  ⁸³ tn Regarding the use of the present tense ἐστιν (estin) and its implications for the dating of the Gospel of John, see the article by D. B. Wallace, “John 5,2 and the Date of the Fourth Gospel,” Bib 71 (1990): 177-205.

[5:2]  ⁸⁴ tn The site of the miracle is also something of a problem: προβατικῇ (probatikh) is usually taken as a reference to the Sheep Gate near the temple. Some (R. E. Brown and others) would place the word κολυμβήθρα (kolumbhqra) with προβατικῇ to read “in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Pool, there is (another pool) with the Hebrew name.” This would imply that there is reference to two pools in the context rather than only one. This does not seem necessary (although it is a grammatical possibility). The gender of the words does not help since both are feminine (as is the participle ἐπιλεγομένη [epilegomenh]). Note however that Brown’s suggestion would require a feminine word to be supplied (for the participle ἐπιλεγομένη to modify). The traditional understanding of the phrase as a reference to the Sheep Gate near the temple appears more probably correct.

[5:2]  ⁸⁵ tc Some mss (א [L] 33 it) read Bethzatha, while others read Bethsaida (Ì^[66],75 B T W^s [Ψ] pc vg); codex D has Belzetha. A lot of controversy has surrounded the name of the pool itself: The reading of the Byzantine (or majority) text (A C Θ 078 Ë^1,13 Ï), Bethesda, has been virtually discarded by scholars in favor of what is thought to be the more primitive Bethzatha, even though many recent translations continue to employ Bethesda, the traditional reading. The latter is attested by Josephus as the name of a quarter of the city near the northeast corner of the temple area. He reports that the Syrian Legate Cestius burned this suburb in his attack on Jerusalem in October a.d. 68 (J. W. 2.19.4 [2.530]). However, there is some new archaeological evidence for this problem. 3Q15 (Copper Scroll) from Qumran seems to indicate that in the general area of the temple, on the eastern hill of Jerusalem, a treasure was buried in Bet áEsdatayin, in the pool at the entrance to the smaller basin. The name of the region or pool itself seems then to have been Bet ᾿Esda, “house of the flowing.” It appears with the dual ending in the scroll because there were two basins. Bethesda seems to be an accurate Greek rendition of the name, while J. T. Milik suggests Bethzatha is a rendition of the Aramaic intensive plural Bet áEsdata (DJDJ 3, 271). As for the text of John 5:2, the fundamental problems with the Bethesda reading are that it looks motivated (with an edifying Semitic etymology, meaning “House of Mercy” [TCGNT 178]), and is minimally attested. Apart from the Copper Scroll, the evidence for Bethesda is almost entirely shut up to the Byzantine text (C being the most notable exception, but it often has Byzantine encroachments). On the one hand, this argues the Byzantine reading here had ancient, semitic roots; on the other hand, since both readings are attested as historically accurate, a decision has to be based on the better witnesses. The fact that there are multiple readings here suggests that the original was not well understood. Which reading best explains the rise of the others? It seems that Bethzatha is the best choice.

[5:2]  sn On the location of the pool called Bethzatha, the double-pool of St. Anne is the probable site, and has been excavated; the pools were trapezoidal in shape, 165 ft (49.5 m) wide at one end, 220 ft (66 m) wide at the other, and 315 ft (94.5 m) long, divided by a central partition. There were colonnades (rows of columns) on all 4 sides and on the partition, thus forming the five covered walkways mentioned in John 5:2. Stairways at the corners permitted descent to the pool.

[5:2]  ⁸⁶ tn Grk “in Hebrew.”

[5:2]  ⁸⁷ tn Or “porticoes,” or “colonnades”; Grk “stoas.”

[5:2]  sn The pool had five porticoes. These were covered walkways formed by rows of columns supporting a roof and open on the side facing the pool. People could stand, sit, or walk on these colonnaded porches, protected from the weather and the heat of the sun.

[1:6]  ⁸⁸ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[22:14]  ⁸⁹ tn Grk “so that there will be to them authority over the tree of life.”