John 19:23

Now when the soldiers crucified ¹  Jesus, they took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier, ²  and the tunic ³  remained. (Now the tunic ⁴  was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.) ⁵ 

Ex 39:22,23; Mt 27:35; Mr 15:24; Lu 23:34

¹ sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.

² 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.

³ 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.

⁴ 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.

⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.