Discovery BoxJohn 19:20 
Context19:20 Thus many of the Jewish residents of Jerusalem 1 read this notice, 2 because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the notice was written in Aramaic, 3 Latin, and Greek.
John 19:23
Context19:23 Now when the soldiers crucified 4 Jesus, they took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier, 5 and the tunic 6 remained. (Now the tunic 7 was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.) 8
1 tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem in general. See also the note on the phrase Jewish religious leaders” in v. 7.
map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
2 tn Or “this inscription.”
3 tn Grk “in Hebrew.”
4 sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.
5 sn Four shares, one for each soldier. The Gospel of John is the only one to specify the number of soldiers involved in the crucifixion. This was a quaternion, a squad of four soldiers. It was accepted Roman practice for the soldiers who performed a crucifixion to divide the possessions of the person executed among themselves.
6 tn Or “shirt” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, citwn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a ‘tunic’ was any more than they would be familiar with a ‘chiton.’ On the other hand, attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “Shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.
7 tn Or “shirt” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). See the note on the same word earlier in this verse.
8 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
