¹ tn Heb “come near my life and redeem it.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).

¹ tn Or “brothers,” but here the term does not carry a literal familial sense. It refers to the psalmist’s fellow members of the Israelite covenant community (see v. 23).

³ tn Heb “and the one who redeems me.” The metaphor casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis.

⁶ tn The double question here merely repeats the same question with different words (see GKC 475 §150.h). The second member could just as well have been connected with ו (vav).

¹ sn The Kerethites and Pelethites were members of David’s royal guard (see 2 Sam 8:18). The Kerethites may have been descendants of an ethnic group originating in Crete.

¹ sn From the time the Law was given, the priesthood was the prerogative of the tribe of Levi. There were, however, members of other tribes who served as priests from time to time (see Judg 17:5).

² sn The contrast between the dripping or flowing from the male sexual member as opposed to there being a blockage is important. One might not understand that even though a blockage actually causes a lack of discharge, it is still unclean.

⁴ sn For the custom of designating a member of the household as heir, see C. H. Gordon, “Biblical Customs and the Nuzu Tablets,” Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 2:21-33.

¹ sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term member of the ruling council here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same Greek word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).

¹ tn Grk “a brother,” but the Greek word “brother” may be used for “brother or sister,” “fellow Christian,” or “fellow member of the church.” Here the term “brother” broadly connotes familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a).

² tn L&N 37.93 defines πολιτάρχης (politarchēs) as “a public official responsible for administrative matters within a town or city and a member of the ruling council of such a political unit—‘city official’” (see also BDAG 845 s.v.).

⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin, and their servants (mentioned specifically as “the chief priests and their servants” in John 19:6). See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

² tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin, and their servants (mentioned specifically as “the chief priests and their servants” in John 19:6). See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

⁴ tn Or “the Jewish leaders”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin. See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12. In the translation “authorities” was preferred over “leaders” for stylistic reasons.

² sn The parenthetical note at the beginning of v. 51 indicates that Joseph of Arimathea had not consented to the action of the Sanhedrin in condemning Jesus to death. Since Mark 14:64 indicates that all the council members condemned Jesus as deserving death, it is likely that Joseph was not present at the trial.

² tn Grk “a certain ruler.” BDAG 140 s.v. ἄρχων 2.a takes this to be a member of the Sanhedrin, but Bock understands this to be “an influential wealthy man or civic leader who may have been known for his piety” (D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT] 2:1476).

³ sn The priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, a member of the earlier delegation (21:2), was the chief of security in the temple to whom the Babylonian false prophet wrote a letter complaining that Jeremiah should be locked up for his treasonous prophecies (29:25-26). See the study notes on 21:2 and 29:25 for further details.

² tc Many Hebrew mss read “starvation/famine,” which is the second member of a common triad, “sword, famine, and plague,” in Jeremiah. This triad occurs thirteen times in the book and undoubtedly influenced a later scribe to read “starvation [= famine]” here. For this triad see the note on 14:14. The words “disaster and plagues” are missing in the LXX.

⁴ tn Heb “Their glory will be men of hunger.” כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) is in opposition to הָמוֹן (hamon, “masses”) and refers here to the rich and prominent members of the nation. Some prefer to repoint מְתֵי (m^etey, “men of”) as מֵתֵי (metey, “dead ones of”).

¹ sn Two terms describe the subject of this proverb: “righteous” and “integrity.” The first describes the person as a member of the covenant community who strives to live according to God’s standards; the second emphasizes that his lifestyle is blameless.