John 7:52

They replied, ¹  “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? ²  Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet ³  comes from Galilee!”

They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."

They answered him, "You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee."

They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself––no prophet ever comes from Galilee!"

But they cut him off. "Are you also campaigning for the Galilean?

This was their answer: And do you come from Galilee? Make search and you will see that no prophet comes out of Galilee.

They replied, "Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee."

They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

They replied, ¹  “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? ²  Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet ³  comes from Galilee!”

¹ tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”

² tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).

³ tc At least one early and important ms (Ì^66*) places the article before “prophet” (ὁ προφήτης, Jo profhths), making this a reference to the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut 18:15.

tn This claim by the leaders presents some difficulty, because Jonah had been from Gath Hepher, in Galilee (2 Kgs 14:25). Also the Babylonian Talmud later stated, “There was not a tribe in Israel from which there did not come prophets” (b. Sukkah 27b). Two explanations are possible: (1) In the heat of anger the members of the Sanhedrin overlooked the facts (this is perhaps the easiest explanation). (2) This anarthrous noun is to be understood as a reference to the prophet of Deut 18:15 (note the reading of Ì⁶⁶ which is articular), by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief. This would produce in the text of John’s Gospel a high sense of irony indeed, since the religious authorities by their insistence that “the Prophet” could not come from Galilee displayed their true ignorance of where Jesus came from on two levels at once (Bethlehem, his birthplace, the fulfillment of Mic 5:2, but also heaven, from which he was sent by the Father). The author does not even bother to refute the false attestation of Jesus’ place of birth as Galilee (presumably Christians knew all too well where Jesus came from).