3:31 Then 1 Jesus’ 2 mother and his brothers 3 came. Standing 4 outside, they sent word to him, to summon him.
1 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 sn The issue of whether Jesus had brothers (siblings) has had a long history in the church. Epiphanius, in the 4th century, argued that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no offspring other than Jesus. Others argued that these brothers were really cousins. Nothing in the text suggests any of this. See also John 7:3.
4 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
5 tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.
6 sn It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife. This was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left marriages to enter into this union.