¹ tc Several witnesses, two of which are quite ancient (Ì^66,75 L N ˹ 33 565 892 1241 al lat), have ὡς (Jws, “like”) before φραγέλλιον (fragellion, “whip”). A decision based on external evidence would be difficult to make because the shorter reading also has excellent witnesses, as well as the majority, on its side (א A B Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï co). Internal evidence, though, leans toward the shorter reading. Scribes tended to add to the text, and the addition of ὡς here clearly softens the assertion of the evangelist: Instead of making a whip of cords, Jesus made “[something] like a whip of cords.”

² tn Grk “the temple.”

³ sn Because of the imperial Roman portraits they carried, Roman denarii and Attic drachmas were not permitted to be used in paying the half-shekel temple-tax (the Jews considered the portraits idolatrous). The money changers exchanged these coins for legal Tyrian coinage at a small profit.

⁴ tn Grk “a man.” See the note on “male child” in the previous verse.

⁵ tn Grk “receives circumcision.”

⁶ sn If a male child is circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken. The Rabbis counted 248 parts to a man’s body. In the Talmud (b. Yoma 85b) R. Eleazar ben Azariah (ca. a.d. 100) states: “If circumcision, which attaches to one only of the 248 members of the human body, suspends the Sabbath, how much more shall the saving of the whole body suspend the Sabbath?” So absolutely binding did rabbinic Judaism regard the command of Lev 12:3 to circumcise on the eighth day, that in the Mishnah m. Shabbat 18.3; 19.1, 2; and m. Nedarim 3.11 all hold that the command to circumcise overrides the command to observe the Sabbath.

⁷ tn Or “made an entire man well.”

⁸ tn Grk “That one answered.”

⁹ tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency).

¹⁰ tn Grk “and smeared.” Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when obvious from the context.

¹¹ tn Grk “said to me.”

¹² tn Or “and I gained my sight.”

¹³ tn The translation “will continue to make it known” is proposed by R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:773).

¹⁴ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

¹⁵ tn That is, the “guards of the chief priests” as distinguished from the household slaves of Annas.

¹⁶ tn Grk “because it was cold, and they were warming themselves.”

¹⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

¹⁸ sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.

¹⁹ 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.

²⁰ 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.

²¹ 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.

²² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.