John 7:28-30

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. John 7:28 tn Grk “the temple.”
2. John 7:28 tn Grk “Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying.”
3. John 7:28 sn You both know me and know where I come from! Jesus’ response while teaching in the temple is difficult—it appears to concede too much understanding to his opponents. It is best to take the words as irony: “So you know me and know where I am from, do you?” On the physical, literal level, they did know where he was from: Nazareth of Galilee (at least they thought they knew). But on another deeper (spiritual) level, they did not: He came from heaven, from the Father. Jesus insisted that he has not come on his own initiative (cf. 5:37), but at the bidding of the Father who sent him.
4. John 7:28 tn Grk “And I have not come from myself.”
5. John 7:28 tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.
6. John 7:28 tn Grk “the one who sent me is true, whom you do not know.”
7. John 7:29 tn Although the conjunction “but” is not in the Greek text, the contrast is implied (an omitted conjunction is called asyndeton).
8. John 7:29 tn The preposition παρά (para) followed by the genitive has the local sense preserved and can be used of one person sending another. This does not necessarily imply origin in essence or eternal generation.
9. John 7:29 tn Grk “and that one.”
10. John 7:30 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.sn Here the response is on the part of the crowd, who tried to seize Jesus. This is apparently distinct from the attempted arrest by the authorities mentioned in 7:32.
11. John 7:30 tn Grk “his hour.”