John 19:39-42

19:39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus ¹  at night, ²  accompanied Joseph, ³  carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes ⁴  weighing about seventy-five pounds. ⁵  19:40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, ⁶  in strips of linen cloth ⁷  according to Jewish burial customs. ⁸  19:41 Now at the place where Jesus ⁹  was crucified ¹⁰  there was a garden, ¹¹  and in the garden ¹²  was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried. ¹³  19:42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of preparation ¹⁴  and the tomb was nearby, ¹⁵  they placed Jesus’ body there.

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¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² sn See John 3:1-21.

³ tn Grk “came”; the words “accompanied Joseph” are not in the Greek text but are supplied for clarity.

⁴ sn Aloes refers to an aromatic resin from a plant similar to a lily, used for embalming a corpse.

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn The Fourth Gospel uses ὀθονίοις (oqonioi") 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 (sindwn), 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.

⁸ tn Grk “cloth as is the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial.”

⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.

¹¹ tn Or “an orchard.”

¹² tn Or “orchard.”

¹³ tn Grk “been placed.”

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ 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.