John 8:39

8:39 They answered him, 1  “Abraham is our father!” 2  Jesus replied, 3  “If you are 4  Abraham’s children, you would be doing 5  the deeds of Abraham.

John 8:53

8:53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are you? 6  And the prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?”

John 8:56

8:56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed 7  to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.” 8 

1 tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

2 tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”

3 tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

4 tc Although most mss (C W Θ Ψ 0250 Ë1,13 33 Ï) have the imperfect ἦτε (hte, “you were”) here, making this sentence a proper second class condition, the harder reading, ἐστε (este, “you are”), is found in the better witnesses (Ì66,75 א B D L 070 pc lat).

5 tc Some important mss (Ì66 B* [700]) have the present imperative ποιεῖτε (poieite) here: “If you are Abraham’s children, then do,” while many others (א2 C K L N Δ Ψ Ë1,13 33 565 579 892 pm) add the contingent particle ἄν (an) to ἐποιεῖτε (epoieite) making it a more proper second class condition by Attic standards. The simple ἐποιεῖτε without the ἄν is the hardest reading, and is found in some excellent witnesses (Ì75 א* B2 D W Γ Θ 070 0250 1424 pm).

tn Or “you would do.”

6 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).

7 tn Or “rejoiced greatly.”

8 tn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement that the patriarch Abraham “saw” his day and rejoiced? The use of past tenses would seem to refer to something that occurred during the patriarch’s lifetime. Genesis Rabbah 44:25ff, (cf. 59:6) states that Rabbi Akiba, in a debate with Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, held that Abraham had been shown not this world only but the world to come (this would include the days of the Messiah). More realistically, it is likely that Gen 22:13-15 lies behind Jesus’ words. This passage, known to rabbis as the Akedah (“Binding”), tells of Abraham finding the ram which will replace his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice – an occasion of certain rejoicing.