Discovery BoxJohn 4:52 
Context4:52 So he asked them the time 1 when his condition began to improve, 2 and 3 they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon 4 the fever left him.”
John 6:14
Context6:14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus 5 performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet 6 who is to come into the world.” 7
John 8:9
Context8:9 Now when they heard this, they began to drift away one at a time, starting with the older ones, 8 until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
John 8:19
Context8:19 Then they began asking 9 him, “Who is your father?” Jesus answered, “You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father too.” 10
John 12:13
Context12:13 So they took branches of palm trees 11 and went out to meet him. They began to shout, 12 “Hosanna! 13 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 14 Blessed is 15 the king of Israel!”
1 tn Grk “the hour.”
2 tn BDAG 558 s.v. κομψότερον translates the idiom κομψότερον ἔχειν (komyoteron ecein) as “begin to improve.”
3 tn The second οὖν (oun) in 4:52 has been translated as “and” to improve English style by avoiding redundancy.
4 tn Grk “at the seventh hour.”
5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.
7 sn An allusion to Deut 18:15.
8 tn Or “beginning from the eldest.”
9 tn Grk “Then they were saying to him.” The imperfect verb has been translated with ingressive force here because of the introduction of a new line of questioning by the Pharisees. Jesus had just claimed his Father as a second witness; now his opponents want to know who his father is.
10 sn If you knew me you would know my Father too. Jesus’ reply is based on his identity with the Father (see also John 1:18; 14:9).
11 sn The Mosaic law stated (Lev 23:40) that branches of palm trees were to be used to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. Later on they came to be used to celebrate other feasts as well (1 Macc. 13:51, 2 Macc. 10:7).
12 tn Grk “And they were shouting.” An ingressive force for the imperfect tense (“they began to shout” or “they started shouting”) is natural in this sequence of events. The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) is left untranslated to improve the English style.
13 tn The expression ῾Ωσαννά (Jwsanna, literally in Hebrew, “O Lord, save”) in the quotation from Ps 118:25-26 was probably by this time a familiar liturgical expression of praise, on the order of “Hail to the king,” although both the underlying Aramaic and Hebrew expressions meant “O Lord, save us.” As in Mark 11:9 the introductory ὡσαννά is followed by the words of Ps 118:25, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου (euloghmeno" Jo ercomeno" en onomati kuriou), although in the Fourth Gospel the author adds for good measure καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (kai Jo basileu" tou Israhl). In words familiar to every Jew, the author is indicating that at this point every messianic expectation is now at the point of realization. It is clear from the words of the psalm shouted by the crowd that Jesus is being proclaimed as messianic king. See E. Lohse, TDNT 9:682-84.
sn Hosanna is an Aramaic expression that literally means, “help, I pray,” or “save, I pray.” By Jesus’ time it had become a strictly liturgical formula of praise, however, and was used as an exclamation of praise to God.
14 sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.
15 tn Grk “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” The words “Blessed is” are not repeated in the Greek text, but are repeated in the translation to avoid the awkwardness in English of the ascensive καί (kai).
