4:16 Now 1 Jesus 2 came to Nazareth, 3 where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue 4 on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. 5 He 6 stood up to read, 7
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 sn Nazareth was Jesus’ hometown (which is why he is known as Jesus of Nazareth) about 20 miles (30 km) southwest from Capernaum.
map For location see Map1-D3; Map2-C2; Map3-D5; Map4-C1; Map5-G3.
4 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
5 tn Grk “according to his custom.”
6 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
7 sn In normative Judaism of the period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present. See the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2. First came the law, then the prophets, then someone was asked to speak on the texts. Normally one stood up to read out of respect for the scriptures, and then sat down (v. 20) to expound them.
8 tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
9 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
10 sn The term translated watched…closely is emotive, since it carries negative connotations. It means they were watching him out of the corner of their eye or spying on him.
11 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text; Jesus’ opponents anticipated he would do this.
13 sn The background for this is the view that only if life was endangered should one attempt to heal on the Sabbath (see the Mishnah, m. Shabbat 6.3; 12.1; 18.3; 19.2; m. Yoma 8.6).
14 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
15 sn With the use of the plural pronoun (“you”), Jesus addressed not just the leaders but the crowd with his question to challenge what the leadership was doing. There is irony as well. As Jesus sought to restore on the Sabbath (but improperly according to the leaders’ complaints) the leaders were seeking to destroy, which surely is wrong. The implied critique recalls the OT: Isa 1:1-17; 58:6-14.
16 tn Grk “answered him and said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been shortened to “answered him.”
17 tn Grk “from the manger [feeding trough],” but by metonymy of part for whole this can be rendered “stall.”
18 sn The charge here is hypocrisy, but it is only part one of the response. Various ancient laws detail what was allowed with cattle; see Mishnah, m. Shabbat 5; CD 11:5-6.
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
20 tc Here “son,” found in Ì45,75 (A) B W Ï, is the preferred reading. The other reading, “donkey” (found in א K L Ψ Ë1,13 33 579 892 1241 2542 al lat bo), looks like an assimilation to Luke 13:15 and Deut 22:4; Isa 32:20, and was perhaps motivated by an attempt to soften the unusual collocation of “son” and “ox.” The Western ms D differs from all others and reads “sheep.”