John 11:17-19

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. John 11:17 tn Grk “Then when.”
2. John 11:17 tn Grk “came.”
3. John 11:17 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Lazarus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4. John 11:17 tn Grk “he had already had four days in the tomb” (an idiom).sn There is no description of the journey itself. The author simply states that when Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days already. He had died some time before this but probably not very long (cf. Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:6, 10 who were buried immediately after they died, as was the common practice of the time). There is some later evidence (early 3rd century) of a rabbinic belief that the soul hovered near the body of the deceased for three days, hoping to be able to return to the body. But on the fourth day it saw the beginning of decomposition and finally departed (Leviticus Rabbah 18.1). If this belief is as old as the 1st century, it might suggest the significance of the four days: After this time, resurrection would be a first-order miracle, an unequivocal demonstration of the power of God. It is not certain if the tradition is this early, but it is suggestive. Certainly the author does not appear to attach any symbolic significance to the four days in the narrative.
5. John 11:18 tn Or “three kilometers”; Grk “fifteen stades” (a stade as a unit of linear measure is about 607 feet or 185 meters).
6. John 11:19 tn Or “many of the Judeans” (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e); Grk “many of the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding area in general (those who had been friends or relatives of Lazarus or his sisters would mainly be in view) since the Jewish religious authorities (“the chief priests and the Pharisees”) are specifically mentioned as a separate group in John 11:46-47. See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 8.
7. John 11:19 tn Or “to comfort them” or “to offer them sympathy.”
8. John 11:19 tn Grk “to comfort them concerning their brother”; the words “loss of” are not in the Greek text but are implied.sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.