Word Studies in the New Testament Volume 2 (M Vincent)
The writings of John
The Gospels
The Epistles
Revelation

IN ADDITION TO THOSE CITED IN VOLUME 1
Ackermann, C.: The Christian Element in Plato and the Platonic Philosophy. Translated by S. R Asbury. Edinburgh, 1861.

Alexander, W.: Commentary on the Epistles of John. Speaker's Commentary. New York.

Bigg, Charles: The Christian Platonists of Alexandria. Bampton Lectures for 1886. Oxford, 1886.

Bleek, Friedrich: An Introduction to the New Testament. Translated by W. Urwick. 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1883.

Bleek, Friedrich: Lectures on the Apocalypse. London, 1875.

Crowe, J. A., and Cavalcaselle, G. B.: The Early Flemish Painters. 2nd edition. London, 1872.

Curtius, Georg: Principles of Greek Etymology. 5th edition. Translated by A. S. Wilkins and E. B. England. London, 1886.

Cumming, John: Lectures on the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. London, 1852.

Delitzsch, Franz: Ein Tag in Capernaum. Leipzig, 1873.

Duffield, Samuel W.: English Hymns, their Authors and History. New York, 1886.

Dusterdieck, Friedrich: Kritisch Exegetisches Handbuch uber die Offenbarung Johannis. Gottingen, 1859.

Ebrard, John H. A.: Commentary on the Epistles of John. Translated by W. B. Pope. Edinburgh, 1860.

Elliott, E. B.: Horae Apocalypticae. 5th edition. 4 vols. London, 1862.

Ewald, Heinrich: The History of Israel. Translated by J. E. Carpenter. 5 vols. London, 1874-78.

Field, Frederick: Otium Norvicense. Oxford, 1881.

Forbiger, Albertus: P. Virgilii Maronis Opera. 3 vols. Leipsic, 1852.

Fisher, George P.: Beginnings of Christianity. New York, 1877.

Ford, James: The Gospel of John illustrated from Ancient and Modern Authors. London, 1852.

Ginsburg, Christian D.: Coheleth. London, 1861.

Godet, F.: Commentary on the Gospel of St. John. Translated by Crombie and Cusin. 3 vols. Edinburgh, 1876.

Holtzmann, Heinrich Julius: Die Pastoralbriefe. Leipzig, 1880.

Huther, John Edward: Kritisch Exegetisches Handbuch uber die drei Briefe des Johannes. Gottingen, 1855.

Lee, William: The Revelation of St. John. Speaker's Commentary. New York.

Luthardt, Christoph Ernst.: St. John the Author of the Fourth Gospel. Revised and Translated by Caspar Rene Gregory. Edinburgh, 1875.

Macdonald, James M.: The Life and Writings of St. John. New York, 1877.

Milligan, William: The Revelation of St. John. Baird Lecture for 1885. London, 1886.

Milligan, William: Commentary on the Revelation of John Schaff's Popular Commentary. New York, 1883.

Milligan, William, and Moulton, William F.: Commentary on St. John's Gospel. Schaff's Popular Commentary. New York, 1880.

Meyer, Heinrich A. W.: Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Gospel of John. Translated by Urwick and Crombie. Edited by A. C. Kendrick. New York, 1884.

Milman, Henry Hart: History of Latin Christianity. 8 vols. New York, 1860.

Nagelsbach, Carl Friedrich von: Homerische Theologie. Nurnberg, 1884.

Neale, J. M., and Littledale, R. F.: Translations of the Primitive Liturgies. 3rd edition. London.

Plumptre, E H.: The Epistles to the Seven Churches of Asia. Expositor. First Series. Vols. 2:, 3:
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Plumptre, E. H.: The Commedia and Canzoniere of Dante Alighieri. A New Translation. 2 vols. Boston, 1887.
Neale, J. M., and Littledale, R. F.: Translations of the Primitive Liturgies. 3rd edition. London.

Plumptre, E H.: The Epistles to the Seven Churches of Asia. Expositor. First Series. Vols. 2:, 3:

Plumptre, E. H.: The Commedia and Canzoniere of Dante Alighieri. A New Translation. 2 vols. Boston, 1887.

Ritter, Heinrich: History of Ancient Philosophy. Translated by A. J. W. Morrison. 4 vols. London, 1846.

Sears, Edmund H.: The Fourth Gospel the Heart of Christ. Boston, 1874.

Sophocles, E. A.: Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine Periods, from B. C. 146 to A.D. 1100. Boston, 1870.

Spiess, Edmund: Logos Spermaticos. Leipzig, 1871.

Trench, Richard C.: Commentary on the Epistles to the Seven Churches in Asia. New York, 1864.

Vaughan, Robert Alfred: Hours with the Mystics. London. 2 vols. 3rd edition. 1879.

Westcott, Brooke Foss: Commentary on the Gospel of John. Speaker's Commentary. New York, 1880.

Wetstein, John J.: Novum Testamentum Graecum, with various readings and commentary. 2 vols. Amsterdam, 1751.

ABBREVIATIONS
A.V. Authorized Version.

Cit. Cited.

= Equivalent to.

Expn. Explanation.

Lit. Literally.

Rev. Revised Version of the New Testament.

Rev. O T. Revised Version of the Old Testament.

Sept. Septuagint Version of the Old Testament.

Sqq. Following.

Synop. Synoptists.

Tex. Rec. Received Text.

Tynd. Tyndale's Version of the New Testament.

Vulg. Vulgate or Latin Translation of the New Testament.

Wyc. Wycliffe's Version of the New Testament.

The phrase "only here in New Testament" refers to Greek words only.

WRITINGS OF JOHN
INTRODUCTION

The life of John covers a period from near the beginning of the first century to the beginning of the second. He was a native of Galilee, and, according to tradition, of the
town of Bethsaida, which was on the western shore of the Lake, not far from Capernaum and Chorazin. His father was Zebedee. His mother, Salome (Mark 16:1;
Matthew 20:20), was among the women who supported the Lord with their substance (Luke 8:3), and attended Him to His crucifixion (Mark 15:40). The family was
not without worldly means. Zebedee was a fisherman, and had hired servants in his employ (Mark 1:20). Salome ministered to Jesus, and John seems to have had his
own house (John 19:27). He was, apparently, one of the disciples of John the Baptist; and while engaged in his father's craft, was found and called by Jesus (Matthew
4:21; Mark 1:19). Of the two mentioned in John 1:35 only one, Andrew, is named (John 1:40); the other is commonly supposed to have been John, who suppresses
his own name, as in other instances where he refers to himself (John 14:23; 18:15; 19:26; 20:2, 4, 8; 21:20). 1

As soon as Jesus was made known to him, he became His enthusiastic disciple. His peculiar intimacy with our Lord is marked by the phrase "the disciple whom Jesus
loved," and also by the fact that he was one of the three chosen to be with Him at certain special and momentous crises. He was admitted to the death-chamber of the
ruler's daughter (Mark 5:37) and witnessed her restoration to life; he was present at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28), and with Peter and James was chosen by the
Master to bear Him company during His agony in Gethsemane (Mark 14:33). He accompanied Jesus, after His arrest, into the palace of the High Priest, and secured
entrance for Peter (John 18:15, 16). He stood by the cross with the mother of Jesus, and to his care Jesus committed her (John 19:25-27. With Peter he ran to the
sepulchre on the morning of the Resurrection at the summons of Mary Magdalene, entered the empty tomb, and saw and believed (John 20:2-8. After the Resurrection
he appears engaged in his former employment on the Lake of Galilee. He is the first to recognize the risen Lord standing upon the shore (John 21:7), and is the subject
of Peter's inquiry, "Lord, what shall this man do?" when he is seen by Peter to be following Jesus (John 21:20).

His apostolic activity was in the first thirty years after the Ascension. In Jerusalem his position among the apostles was not exceptionally prominent. At the time of the
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Stephanic persecution he remained with the other apostles at Jerusalem (Acts 8:1); but when Paul, three years after his conversion, came to that city (Galatians
he met there only Peter, and James the Lord's brother. From this, however, it does not follow that the remaining apostles had permanently departed from Jerusalem and
settled elsewhere. In Galatians 2:9 Paul alludes to John as having been present in Jerusalem at the time of the council (Acts 15.). The narrative in Acts does not mention
he appears engaged in his former employment on the Lake of Galilee. He is the first to recognize the risen Lord standing upon the shore (John 21:7), and is the subject
of Peter's inquiry, "Lord, what shall this man do?" when he is seen by Peter to be following Jesus (John 21:20).

His apostolic activity was in the first thirty years after the Ascension. In Jerusalem his position among the apostles was not exceptionally prominent. At the time of the
Stephanic persecution he remained with the other apostles at Jerusalem (Acts 8:1); but when Paul, three years after his conversion, came to that city (Galatians 1:18),
he met there only Peter, and James the Lord's brother. From this, however, it does not follow that the remaining apostles had permanently departed from Jerusalem and
settled elsewhere. In Galatians 2:9 Paul alludes to John as having been present in Jerusalem at the time of the council (Acts 15.). The narrative in Acts does not mention
him in connection with the council, but Paul, in the Galatian letter, refers to him as one of the pillars of the church with James and Cephas.

The commonly received tradition represents him as closing his apostolic career in Asia and at Ephesus. An old tradition affirms that he left Jerusalem twelve years after
the death of Christ. In no case, therefore, did he go immediately to Ephesus. Definite notices as to his abode in the interval are wholly wanting. It is a noteworthy fact
that the lives of so many of the world's leaders include spaces which remain a blank to the most careful biographer, and into which the world's curiosity can never
penetrate. Such is the period of Paul's retirement in Arabia, of Dante's exile, and, to some extent, of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Some later traditions assert that
he visited Parthia, and Jerome groundlessly conjectures that he had preached in Judaea. There is some plausibility in the supposition that he may have betaken himself
to Antioch at the time of Paul's first missionary journey. It is certain that, much later, John was a successor of Paul at Ephesus. Neither at the departure of Paul to
Miletus (Acts 20.) nor during the composition of the Ephesian letter is there a trace of John's presence at Ephesus.

Tradition is also agreed that John was banished to the isle of Patmos by the Roman authority. Irenaeus says that he was banished in the reign of Domitian: another
tradition assigns the exile to the reign of Nero. From this exile he was permitted to return, it is said, under Nerva (A.D. 96-98). The date of his death is unknown.
Jerome places it sixty-eight years after the death of Christ.

The dominant characteristic of John's nature is contemplative receptivity. Every word of his Lord is taken into his deepest heart, held fast and pondered. "He does not
ask, 'What shall I do?' but 'What does he do?'" Hence it is clear why the finest and subtlest flavor of Jesus' personality has been caught by him. With this receptiveness
goes a power of impartation. "Every man," says Ebrard, "can see the sunset-glow on an Alp, but not everyone can paint it." John, like a mirror, not only received but
reflected. While the other Evangelists perceived that element of Jesus' teaching and work which produced the most immediate and striking outward results, as the
Sermon on the Mount, for instance, John discerned the meaning and the bearing of less prominent incidents, such as the conversation at Jacob's well. Paul, like John,
has the quality of inwardness, but Paul reasons where John contemplates. John is tenacious and intense; Paul equally so, but more deft than John. John broods over his
thought; Paul thrusts and parries with it.

Yet John is no sentimentalist. He is not the lovely, effeminate youth of picture. His mental and moral fiber is strong. He received the title "Son of Thunder" from One
who never misread character. Not irascible, as some have too hastily inferred from Luke 9:54 he illustrates the peculiarity of many affectionate and contemplative
natures, which flash into a startling impetuosity on occasions which appeal to their more radical view of truth and to their longer range of vision. John was incapable of
half-enthusiasms and of suspended faith. To whatever he addressed himself, he was totus in illis. In his own way, he is no less plain-spoken and severe than Paul. He is
direct where Paul is sometimes ironical. He is neither gentle nor vague in his language concerning those who deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22), nor concerning
the lineage of him that committeth sin (1 John 3:8) and the moral quality of him that hateth his brother (1 John 3:15; 4:20). In the Apocalypse he enters with profoundest
sympathy into the divine indignation against evil, and contemplates with unfeigned joy its wholesale and crushing defeat and punishment. He seems to cheer the progress
of the Conqueror upon the white horse. The issues between truth and falsehood, life and death, light and darkness, love and hatred are stated by him with a stern and
decisive sharpness, and as absolute finalities. The quality of sin is conceived according to the scale of his adoring love for Christ. He deals with it as wickedness rather
than as weakness, though not overlooking the latter. For him the victory of the Gospel is not a prophecy, but an accomplished fact. Faith overcometh the world. The
overcoming Christ is already present in every believer.

Such a character would not have been adapted to Paul's work. It was not sufficiently versatile and many-sided. John had not Paul's pioneer instinct, his pushing activity,
and his executive power. He was fitted to raise the superstructure rather than to lay foundations; to be a teacher rather than an evangelist. It was his to complete the
teaching of the other apostles by unfolding the speculative mystery of the incarnation and the secret of the inward union of the believer with Christ; to purge the Church
from speculative error, and to hold up, over against the Gnostic caricature, the true image of the Son of Man.

The writings ascribed to John are the Gospel, three Epistles, and the Apocalypse or Revelation.

THE GOSPEL

The nearly unanimous tradition of the Church assigns the fourth Gospel to John. It is unquestionably the work of a Jew, an eyewitness, and a disciple of Jesus. It was
probably written toward the close of the first century, and therefore later than the other three Gospels. According to the earliest evidence, it was composed at Ephesus,
at the request of John's intimate friends, who desired to have his oral teaching recorded for the permanent use of the Church.

There are three theories as to the motive of its composition. According to the first, known as the "supplementary" theory, John wrote the fourth Gospel as a supplement
to its predecessors, in order to supply what was wanting in the synoptic narrative. This Gospel is indeed supplementary in fact, but not in motive. It is supplementary in
that the writer constantly assumes that certain facts are already known to his readers, and adds other facts from his own special information. But the Gospel itself
expressly disclaims all intention to be complete (John 21:25), and is an original conception, both in form and substance, having a distinct plan of its own, and presenting
a fresh aspect of the person and teaching of our Lord." It is the picture of one who paints, not because others have failed to catch the ideal he would represent, but
because his heart is full and he must speak."

The second theory is that the Gospel is "polemical" or controversial, designed to oppose the errors of the Nicolaitanes and of Cerinthus. But the Gospel is polemical
only incidentally, as the presentation of the positive truth suggests particular points of error. The point of view is not controversial. The writer is moved by the pressure
of his great theme to set it forth in its positive aspects, and not with special reference to the errors of his time.

The third theory, known as the "irenic" or conciliatory, maintains that the Gospel was intended to reconcile divergent religious views, and to bring into their right relation
truths which heresy perverted. The Gospel is conciliatory in fact, not from definite intent, but from the very nature of the subject - the Word made flesh, in which all
religious controversies are reconciled. "Just as it rises above controversy while it condemns error, it preserves the characteristic truths which heresy isolated and
misused. The fourth Gospel is the most complete answer to the manifold forms of Gnosticism, yet it was the writing most used by the Gnostics. It contains no formal
narrative of the institution of sacraments, and yet it presents most fully the idea of sacraments. It sets forth with the strongest emphasis the failure of the ancient people,
and yet it points out most clearly the significance of the dispensation which was committed to them. It brings the many oppositions - antitheses - of life and thought, and
leaves them in the light of the one supreme fact which reconciles all, the Word became flesh; and we feel form first to last that this light is shining over the record of
sorrow and triumph, of defeat and hope" (Westcott).

The object is distinctly stated in the Gospel itself. "These are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, believing, ye may have life in
His name" (John 21:30, 31). The last of these three - life in Christ through faith - is the key to the two others. The readers were already disciples; and in vindicating the
two propositions that Jesus is the Christ and that Jesus is the Son of God, the object was not to lead to the acknowledgment of His divine mission, but to exhibit these
as the ground
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portions have a historic background and a historic embodiment. The doctrine, for instance, of the essential antagonism between light and darkness, it set forth in the
narrative of the hostile attitude of the Jews toward Christ; and the discussions with them have their root and material in this same antagonism. The historical material is
carefully selected with a view to its bearing on the particular conception of Christ's person and work which is announced in the Prologue. The history is the practical
The object is distinctly stated in the Gospel itself. "These are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, believing, ye may have life in
His name" (John 21:30, 31). The last of these three - life in Christ through faith - is the key to the two others. The readers were already disciples; and in vindicating the
two propositions that Jesus is the Christ and that Jesus is the Son of God, the object was not to lead to the acknowledgment of His divine mission, but to exhibit these
as the ground of a living communion of believers with God, and of a richer spiritual life. The character of the Gospel is predominantly historic. Even the doctrinal
portions have a historic background and a historic embodiment. The doctrine, for instance, of the essential antagonism between light and darkness, it set forth in the
narrative of the hostile attitude of the Jews toward Christ; and the discussions with them have their root and material in this same antagonism. The historical material is
carefully selected with a view to its bearing on the particular conception of Christ's person and work which is announced in the Prologue. The history is the practical
exhibition of the Logos-doctrine in the person and earthly life of the Man Jesus. The miracles are invariably termed signs, and are regarded as expressions and
evidences of the divine personality of the worker.

The Gospel is characterized by the profuse employment of symbolism. This accords with its Hebrew fiber, and also, largely, with the nature of its subject. For not only
was John a Jew, familiar with the symbolic economy and prophecy of the Old Testament, but Jesus, the central figure of his Gospel was, pre-eminently the fulfiller of
the Law and of the Prophecies. Christ's own teaching, too, was largely symbolic; and John's peculiar, profound spiritual insight detected in His ordinary acts that larger
meaning which belonged to them in virtue of Jesus' position as the representative of humanity; and that unity of the natural and spiritual worlds which was assumed in the
utterances of our Lord in which the visible was used as the type of the invisible. "John," says Lange, "gives us not only a symbolism of the Old Testament word, of Old
Testament institutions, histories, and persons; he gives also the symbolism of nature, of antiquity, of history and of personal life; hence the absolute symbolism, or the
ideal import of all real existence, in significant outlines."

The relation of the Gospel to the Old Testament is pronounced. The center of the Old Testament system is the manifestation of the glory of God - the Shekinah. John
declares that this glory appears essentially in Christ. He recognizes the divine preparation among the nations for Christ's coming, and the special discipline of Israel with
a view to the advent of the Messiah. In the Jews he discerns the special subjects of the Messianic economy. Nathanael is an Israelite indeed: the temple is the Father's
house: salvation is from the Jews: the Jewish Scriptures testify of Christ: the testimonies to Christ are drawn from the three successive periods of the people's training -
the patriarchal, the theocratic, and the monarchical: the Serpent in the wilderness prefigures Christ's "lifting up," and the Passover His own sacrifice as the Lamb of God.

The fourth Gospel is the only one of the four which is developed according to a prearranged and systematic plan. This plan may be generally described as the exhibition
of "the parallel development of faith and unbelief through the historical presence of Christ." 2 The Gospel accordingly falls into two general divisions: the Prologue (John
1:1-18); the Narrative (John 1:19-21:23). The narrative consists of two parts: the self-revelation of Christ to the world (John 1:19-12:50); the self-revelation of Christ
to the disciples (John 13, John 21.). In the development of this plan the author dwells upon three pairs of ideas: witness and truth; glory and light; judgment and life.
"There is the manifold attestation of the divine mission; there is the progressive manifestation of the inherent majesty of the Son; there is the continuous and necessary
effect which this manifestation produces on those to whom it is made; and the narrative may be fairly described as the simultaneous unfolding of these three themes, into
which the great theme of faith and unbelief is divided" (Westcott). The plan is foreshadowed in the Prologue. He who was the Word, in the beginning with God, by
whom all things came into being, was life and light - the light of men. To Him witness was born by John, who was sent to testify of Him that all men might believe on
Him. But though He was made flesh and dwelt among men, though He came unto His own home, though He was full of grace and truth, the world knew Him not, and
His own people refused to receive him. There were, however, those who did receive Him; and to such He gave power to become sons of God through faith in His
name. They became such, not in a physical sense, not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God. They received of his fullness.

Accordingly the Gospel treats of the nature of Christ, and of the witness born to Christ by John, by the disciples, and by miracles. It goes on to describe the conflict
between the eternal Light and the darkness as embodied historically in the persistent opposition of the Jews to Jesus. He came to them and they received Him not. Then
the other aspect is presented - the blessing of those who did receive Him, the impartation of sonship and the consequent privilege of communion with the divine nature.
From the thirteenth to the end of the seventeenth chapter is described Christ's revelation of Himself to His disciples in ministries of love and in confidential discourse.
The darkness did not overcome the light. The apparent defeat through death was converted into victory through resurrection. This victory of the light is unfolded from
the eighteenth to the end of the twentieth chapter, in the story of the betrayal, the passion, and the resurrection. The twenty-first chapter forms an Epilogue in which the
divine light again shines forth in miracle, ministry, and counsel, before the final departure to the Father.

RELATION TO THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS

The fourth Gospel exhibits marked differences from the others both in chronological arrangement and in the selection of material. As regards the latter, it contains much
that is peculiar to itself, and falls in with the Synoptists only in a few sections.

But, while independent, it is not contradictory of the Synoptic Gospels. All the four Gospels are consciously based upon the same great facts; and the author of the
fourth owns and confirms the first three. The incidents common to the fourth Gospel and all the Synoptists are, the baptism of John; the feeding of the five thousand; the
triumphal entry into Jerusalem; the last supper and the passion and resurrection. John, with Matthew and Mark, relates the walking on the sea and the anointing at
Bethany.

John's Gospel also implies acquaintance with incidents which he does not relate. Such are the circumstances of Christ's baptism; the position and character of Simon
Peter; Christ's early home at Nazareth and later residence at Capernaum; the number of the disciples; the date of the Baptist's imprisonment; the Ascension, etc. The
same imagery appears, in the figures of the bride and the bridegroom, the harvest, the servant, the vine. The same sayings occur, and verbal and other coincidences are
frequent. 3

The inner coincidences are still more striking. John's portrait of Jesus, for instance, is, in many particulars, unique. It is fuller, more subtle, and indicates a closer
intimacy. John deals with His person, where Matthew and Luke deal with His offices. In Matthew He is the fulfiller of the law; in John He foreshadows the grander and
richer economy of the Spirit. Nevertheless, John's Christ is the same figure which appears in the lines of the Synoptists. In both He is the teacher, the meek and lowly
one, the worker of miracles of power and mercy. In both He is plain of speech toward those who would become his disciples, the hater of hypocrisy, the reader of
men's hearts.

Similar coincidences appear in the portraits of prominent disciples, notably of Peter. Though appearing in some scenes not noted by the Synoptists, the Peter of their
Gospels is easily recognized in the portrait by his fellow disciple. He is the same combination of impulsive boldness and cowardice; of affectionateness and
brusqueness; as quickly responsive to love as to anger; as prompt to leap into the lake at the sight of his Lord, as to smite Malchus.

The inner coincidences are also to be discerned in John's assumption of facts recorded by the other evangelists, so that the coincidence sometimes appears in what he
does not record. Giving no details of the birth of Christ, like Matthew and Luke, he tells us that the Word became flesh. The childhood, with its subjection to parental
authority appears in the story of the wedding at Cana. While the Synoptists dwell upon the event of the incarnation, he dwells upon the doctrine. The sacraments of
Baptism and of the Eucharist, the institution of which he does not relate, are assumed as familiar in the conversation with Nicodemus and in the discourse at
Capernaum. The ascension is not described, but is predicted in Christ's words to Mary. Similarly, the work of Jesus in Galilee, which John does not narrate, is
presupposed in the sixth and seventh chapters. The anointing at Bethany is assumed to be known, as is the hearing of Jesus before Caiaphas.

With these coincidences
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1,The ministry of the Baptist, the baptism and temptation of Jesus.
Baptism and of the Eucharist, the institution of which he does not relate, are assumed as familiar in the conversation with Nicodemus and in the discourse at
Capernaum. The ascension is not described, but is predicted in Christ's words to Mary. Similarly, the work of Jesus in Galilee, which John does not narrate, is
presupposed in the sixth and seventh chapters. The anointing at Bethany is assumed to be known, as is the hearing of Jesus before Caiaphas.

With these coincidences marked differences appear. Setting aside the omission by Mark of the Gospel of the infancy, the Synoptic narrative falls into three parts:

1,The ministry of the Baptist, the baptism and temptation of Jesus.

2,The return of Jesus to Galilee, followed by a series of connected narratives concerning His teaching and miracles in this and surrounding districts, without any
intimation that, during this time, He also visited Judaea and Jerusalem.

3,Hereupon all the three pass at once from the last journey of Jesus to Jerusalem to the Passover, at which He was crucified.

Hence, as Dean Alford remarks, "had we only their accounts, we could never, with any certainty, have asserted that He went to Jerusalem during His public life, until
His time was come to be delivered up. They do not, it is true, exclude such a supposition, but rather, perhaps, imply it. It would not, however, have been gathered from
their narrative with any historical precision."

Turning now to John's Gospel, we find Christ's ministry in Galilee between the Baptism and the Passion interrupted by journeys to Jerusalem. He goes up to the
Passover, on which occasion occur the cleansing of the temple and the visit of Nicodemus (John 2:13; 3:1-21. A second visit is made to an unnamed feast of the Jews
(John 5:1), during which He heals the impotent man at Bethesda, excites thereby the hostility of the Jews, and delivers the discourse in John 5:17-47. He goes up again
at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:10), and, ten months later, appears at the Feast of Dedication (10:22). An interval is spent on the other side of the Jordan (John
10:40), at Ephraim in the wilderness of Judaea (John 11:53-4, and at Bethany (John 11, 12:1), after which He makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (John 12:12
sqq.). According to John, therefore, between Christ's last journey from Galilee to Jerusalem and His triumphal entry, there is an interval of several months, spent partly
in Jerusalem and partly in the neighboring districts; while according to the Synoptists it seems that He went from Galilee to Jerusalem to the last Passover only a short
time before it began; and that He had previously remained continuously in Galilee or in the neighborhood, having taken up His abode there at the beginning of His public
ministry.

In the Synoptists the scene of Christ's work is almost exclusively Galilee, while John mentions only five events connected with the Galilaean ministry. On the other hand,
the fourth Gospel assumes a knowledge of Jesus' activity in Galilee and Peraea (John 6:1; 7:1; 5:11, 52; 10:40).

The difference between John and the Synoptists also appears in the form of the narrative. The latter represent Jesus' teaching as dealing mainly with the humble
peasantry. It is proverbial, popular, abounding in parable, and the discourses are brief. John represents Christ as speaking in long and profoundly thoughtful discourses.
While John has nothing answering to the Sermon on the Mount and the groups of parables, the other evangelists have nothing answering to the interviews with
Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, and the disciples before the Passover. In John the discourses are more dramatic and dialectic; in the Synoptists, proverbial,
parabolic, and prophetic. Yet John's account of Jesus' teaching is not wanting in short paradoxical sayings, such as abound in the Synoptists (see John 2:19; 4:32, 34,
35; 7:33; 5:17; 6:27, 33, 62); nor, though no parable is worked out by John, are parabolic sayings wanting, such as the Good Shepherd, the Vine, the Living Water,
and the Bread of Heaven.

In another and deeper aspect his Gospel stands related to the others as completing. He alone has seized and preserved certain sides of the life and teaching of the Lord,
such as His utterances as to His eternal relation to the Father and His eternal unity with Him (John 3:13 sqq.; John 5:17 sqq.; John 6:33, 51; 7:16, 28 sqq.; John 8:58,
and elsewhere). It is to John, in short, that we owe the view of the speculative side of Christ's work; while as regards the relation of believers to their Lord, John gives
us those deep and comforting words concerning the mystical unity and community of life between Himself and His disciples, into which they will enter through the Holy
Spirit.

Yet these deeper and more mystical views were not altogether the outcome of John's characteristic personality. They were also toned and shaped by the peculiar
conditions of the Church and of the religious thought of his time. The conflict of Christianity was no longer with Judaistic error; no longer between the Gospel and the
Law; between circumcision and uncircumcision; but with an essentially heathen Gnosticism which appealed to the Church with the claim of a profound insight into
Christianity, and sought to wrest the Gospel to its own service. It has already been remarked that the aim of the fourth Gospel was not distinctively polemic. John was
impelled to write by the pressure upon his own soul of the truth "God manifest in the flesh," rather than by the aggressions of heresy; but none the less the utterances of
a Cerinthus 4 lent sharpness to the lines of the Apostle's portrait of the Son of Man, and no more impressive answer to such teaching could have been given than John
furnished in the words of the Lord himself concerning His own pre-existence and eternal Godhead, and in His testimony that the Father has created all things through
the Word. (See John 1:3, 14, 33, 34, 49; 3:13, 14; 5:23, 26; 6:51, 62; 8:58; 13:23 sqq.; John 17:1, 2, 16, 19; 18:6, 11, 37.)

THE EPISTLES

It is generally conceded that the first Epistle was written at Ephesus. In the Latin Church the opinion prevailed that it was primarily addressed to the Parthians; but
ecclesiastical tradition knows of no mission of John to the Parthians, St. Thomas being supposed to have carried the Gospel to them.

Its exact destination, however, is of little consequence.; "Its coloring is moral rather than local." It is a unique picture of a Christian society, the only medium of the
Spirit's work among men. There is no trace of persecution: "the world was perilous by its seductions rather than by its hostility;" the dangers were within rather than
without.

These facts give character to the Epistle in two ways: First, the missionary work of the Church falls into the background in the Apostle's thought. The world is
overcome by faith as represented in the Church, and the Gospel is proclaimed by the very existence of the Church, and effectively proclaimed in proportion to the
Church's purity and fidelity. Secondly, attention is concentrated upon the central idea of the message itself rather than upon the relation of the message to other systems.
The great question is the person and work of the Lord.

The peculiar form of error combated in the Epistle is Docetic and Cerinthian. 5 In this teaching sin and atonement have no place. Christ came into the world, not to
redeem it by the remission of sins, but to illuminate a few choice intellects with philosophy: Jesus is not God manifest in the flesh: Jesus and the Christ are distinct: Jesus'
humanity was not real, but a phantasm. Against these views John asserts that no spirit is of God who denies that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh (1 John 4:2, 3): that he
that denieth that Jesus is the Christ is a liar, and that the denial of the Son involves the rejection of the Father (1 John 2:22, 23): that he who denies that he is sinful
deceives himself, and impugns the veracity of God (1 John 1:8, 10). The Word of life which he proclaims was the real human manifestation of God, the human Christ
whom he and his fellow-disciples had seen and heard and touched (1 John 1:1, 2). Jesus is the propitiation for sin (1 John 2:2). The world is not overcome by
knowledge, but by faith that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:4, 5).

The principal evidence for John's authorship of the Epistle is internal, drawn from its resemblance to the Gospel in vocabulary, style, thought, and scope. There is the
same repetition of fundamental words and phrases, such as truth, love, light, born of God, abiding in God. There is the same simplicity of construction; the same rarity
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without particles (1 John 2:22-24; 4:4-6; 7-10; 11-13; 2:5, 6, 9, 10), and the bringing of sentences into parallelism by the repetition of clauses (1 John 1:6, 8, 10; 5:18,
20). Verbal coincidences abound. Such words as ko>smov (world), fw~v (light), skoti>a (darkness), fanerou~n (to manifest), zwhniov (eternal life), oJ ajlhqinoov (the
real God), oJ monogenhv (the only-begotten Son), etc., are common to both. Coincidences of expression are also numerous. Compare, for example,
knowledge, but by faith that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:4, 5).

The principal evidence for John's authorship of the Epistle is internal, drawn from its resemblance to the Gospel in vocabulary, style, thought, and scope. There is the
same repetition of fundamental words and phrases, such as truth, love, light, born of God, abiding in God. There is the same simplicity of construction; the same rarity
of particles; the employment of the simple connective (kai, and) instead of a particle of logical sequence (1 John 3:3, 16); the succession of sentences and clauses
without particles (1 John 2:22-24; 4:4-6; 7-10; 11-13; 2:5, 6, 9, 10), and the bringing of sentences into parallelism by the repetition of clauses (1 John 1:6, 8, 10; 5:18,
20). Verbal coincidences abound. Such words as ko>smov (world), fw~v (light), skoti>a (darkness), fanerou~n (to manifest), zwhniov (eternal life), oJ ajlhqinoov (the
real God), oJ monogenhv (the only-begotten Son), etc., are common to both. Coincidences of expression are also numerous. Compare, for example,

1 John 1:2, 3.Gospel 3:11.

1 John 1:4.John 16:24.

1 John 2:11.John 12:35.

1 John 1:14.John 5:38.

1 John 1:17.John 8:35.

1 John 3:5.John 46.

1 John 1:8.John 44.

1 John 1:13.John 15:18.

1 John 1:14.John 5:24.

1 John 1:16.John 10:15.

1 John 4:6.John 8:47.

1 John 5:4.John 16:23.

The Epistle presupposes the Gospel. The differences are such as would naturally appear between a historian and a teacher interpreting the history. This may be seen by
a comparison of the Prologue of the Gospel with the Epistle. The Prologue and the Epistle stand in the same relation to the discourses, as appears from a comparison of
the thoughts on life, light, and truth in the Prologue with passages in the discourses. Thus compare, on Life, Gospel John 5:26; 11:25; 14:6; Prologue John 1:4; Epistle 1
John 1:1; 5:20. On Light, Gospel John 8:12; 12:46; Prologue John 1:4, 7, 9; Epistle 1 John 1:6, 7; 2:8. On Truth, Gospel John 8:32; 14:6; Prologue John 1:9, 14, 17;
Epistle 1 John 1:6, 8, 10; 2:4, 8, 21, 27; 3:19; 4:1, 6; 5:20.

The theme of the Gospel is, Jesus is the Christ in process of manifesting His glory. In the Epistle the manifestation of the glory is assumed as the basis of the exhortation
to believers to manifest it in their life. The doctrine of propitiation, which is unfolded to Nicodemus, is applied in 1 John 3:1. The promise of the Paraclete in the Gospel
is assumed in the Epistle as fulfilled (John 2:20). The Epistle deals with the fruits of that love which is commanded in the Gospel. (Compare (Gospel John 13:34; 15:12,
and Epistle 1 John 3:11; 4:7, 11; 3:14; 4:12, 20, 21.) In the Gospel the divine glory is prominent; in the Epistle, Christ's humanity. The doctrine of propitiation and
cleansing is more fully treated in the Epistle (1 John 2:2; 3:16; 4:10; 1:7,9).

The epistolary character does not appear in the form. It is without address or subscription, and bears no direct trace of its author or of its destination. But it is instinct
with personal feeling (1 John 1:4; 2:12), personal experience (1 John 1:1), and appreciation of the circumstances of the persons addressed (1 John 2:12, 22, 27; 3:2,
13; 4:1, 4; 5:18).

The Second and Third Epistles contain no direct indication of the time or the place at which they were written. They were probably composed at Ephesus. That the two
are the work of the same author is apparent from their agreement in style and spirit. As related to the First Epistle, the resemblance between the second and first in
language and thought is closer than between the first and third.

REVELATION

This document has given rise to voluminous controversy as to its author, its origin, its purpose, and its interpretation. It has been held to be a forgery in the name of
John; to have been composed by another writer in the apostle's name, not in order to deceive, but in order to record an oral revelation of John; or to have been the
work of another John. Some who deny that John wrote the Gospel, have attributed Revelation to him, and the authenticity of the latter is maintained by some prominent
rationalistic critics.

The Apostle John was banished to the Island of Patmos, probably by the Emperor Domitian, A.D. 95 or 96, and the book, composed either during his exile, or, as is
more likely, after his return to Ephesus, contains the revelation given him there in a series of visions. It is directly addressed to the Seven Churches of Proconsular Asia;
the number seven being representative, and not including all the Asiatic Churches. Its design was to encourage the Church during that trying period, predicted by Jesus
himself, between the close of direct revelation and the second coming of the Lord. This encouragement centers in the return of Jesus to give His people eternal life and
to trample down His foes. As related to the progress of doctrine in the New Testament, it represents the final consummation in the redeemed Church, the heavenly
Jerusalem, which is foreshadowed in the rise and growth of the Apostolic Church.

The style is figurative and symbolical. It deals with principles rather than with particular events. To the neglect of this characteristic, and the corresponding attempt to
link the symbols and prophecies with specific historical incidents or personages, are due most of the extravagances of interpretation. No satisfactory argument against
its authenticity can be drawn from its contents as related to the other writings of John. It proclaims the same eternal truths which are asserted and vindicated in the
Gospel and in the Epistles - the sovereignty of God, the conflict of sin with righteousness, the temporary triumph of evil, and the final, decisive victory of holiness. As in
the other writings, Christ is the central figure, the conqueror of sin and death, the crowning joy of the redeemed, and the object of their adoration. It emphasizes the
divine hatred of sin and the certainty of the divine judgment of the wicked and of the future bliss of believers in Jesus. The main idea of the Gospel and of Revelation is
the same - that of a decisive conflict between the powers of good and evil.

The symbolism of Revelation is Jewish, and not Greek or Roman. It is pervaded with the style and imagery of the Old Testament, and is molded by its historical and
prophetical books. "The book," says Professor Milligan, "is absolutely steeped in the memories, the incidents, the thoughts, and the language of the Church's past. To
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less built up of materials brought from the same source.... It is a perfect mosaic of passages from the Old Testament, at one time quoted verbally, at another referred to
by distinct allusion; now taken from one scene in Jewish history, and now again from two or three together." Thus the heresy of the Nicolaitanes is the heresy of Balaam
(Revelation 2:14): the evil in the Church of Thyatira is personified in Jezebel (Revelation 2:20): the angelic captain in the war against the dragon is the Michael of Daniel
the same - that of a decisive conflict between the powers of good and evil.

The symbolism of Revelation is Jewish, and not Greek or Roman. It is pervaded with the style and imagery of the Old Testament, and is molded by its historical and
prophetical books. "The book," says Professor Milligan, "is absolutely steeped in the memories, the incidents, the thoughts, and the language of the Church's past. To
such an extent is this the case that it may be doubted whether it contains a single figure not drawn from the Old Testament, or a single complete sentence not more or
less built up of materials brought from the same source.... It is a perfect mosaic of passages from the Old Testament, at one time quoted verbally, at another referred to
by distinct allusion; now taken from one scene in Jewish history, and now again from two or three together." Thus the heresy of the Nicolaitanes is the heresy of Balaam
(Revelation 2:14): the evil in the Church of Thyatira is personified in Jezebel (Revelation 2:20): the angelic captain in the war against the dragon is the Michael of Daniel
(7:7): Jerusalem, Mount Zion, Babylon, the Euphrates, Sodom, and Egypt are symbols of the holy bliss of the saints, of the transgressors against God, and of the
judgment of the wicked (Revelation 21:2; 14:1; 16:19; 9:14; 11:8). The battle of Har-Magedon carries us back to the great slaughters in the plain of Megiddo (Judges
5:19; Psalms 83:9; 2 Kings 23:29). The promises to the churches are given under the figure of the tree of life, the hidden manna, the white stone, the iron scepter, the
pillar in the temple of God (Revelation 2:7, 17, 27, 28; 3:5, 12, 20). Heaven is described under the image of the tabernacle in the wilderness (Revelation 11:1, 19; 6:9;
8:3; 4:6). The plagues of Revelation 8 are the plagues of Egypt: the crossing of the Red Sea and the destruction of Korah are blended in the representation of the
deliverance of God's people (Revelation 12:15, 16). Of the Prophets, Haggai contributes the earthquake of Revelation 6, and Joel the sun changed into the blackness
of sackcloth and the moon into blood: Isaiah the falling stars, the fig tree casting her untimely fruit, and the heavens departing as a scroll: Ezekiel the scorpions of
Revelation 9, the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, the roll in Revelation 5, and the little book in Revelation 10: Zechariah the opening of the seals in
Revelation 6 and the olive trees in Revelation 11. The vision of the glorified Redeemer (Revelation 1:12-20 is combined from Exodus, Zechariah Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah,
and the Psalms.

Along with these coincidences there are certain contrasts, notably as respects the doctrine of Christ's coming, which, in the Gospel and Epistles lies in the background,
while it is the main theme of Revelation. Revelation treats the impending judgment as external, the Gospel as spiritual. Revelation describes the triumph of Christianity
under the imagery of Judaism; the consummation being an ideal Jerusalem and an ideal worship; while in the Gospel, Judaism appears in opposition to Christ, "standing
without, isolated and petrified, and not taken up with it, quickened and glorified."

The symbols of the book are drawn from objects familiar to the writer - the locusts, the eagles, the millstone, the olive and palm and vine.

The principal objection urged against the common authorship of the Gospel and Revelation, is the difference in language and style. This difference must be frankly
admitted. "The language," says Dr. Davidson, "departs materially from the usual Greek of the New Testament, presenting anomalies, incorrectnesses, peculiar
constructions, and awkward dispositions of words, which have no parallel.... The language is so thoroughly Hebraistic as to neglect the usual rules of Greek." By many
eminent critics these differences are regarded as irreconcilable on the assumption of a common authorship.

On the other hand, it may be urged that these differences are largely intentional; that the author departs from common usage under the peculiar demands of his subject,
arising from the conditions under which he writes, and his intent to conform to the Old Testament style of address; and further, that his familiarity with correct usage is
shown by other passages in the same book. Revelation, moreover, contains many of the words which are peculiar to the Gospel and Epistles, such as to witness, to
tabernacle, to keep, to overcome, to name as the expression of character, true (ajlhqino>v) in the sense of real; and the figures of hungering and thirsting, the manna,
the living water, the shepherd and the sheep. It is, indeed, answered that, where the same words occur, they are used in a different sense; but many of these alleged
differences disappear upon closer examination. The Hebrew character is only superficially different from that of the Gospel, which is Hebrew in spirit, though the Greek
is much purer, and "the absence of solecisms arises from the avoidance of idiomatic expressions." 6

STYLE AND DICTION OF JOHN

John's style in the Gospel and Epistles is marked by simplicity and ease. It is plain without elegance, and the diction is comparatively pure so far as words and grammar
are concerned, but animated with a Hebrew genius. Godet describes the style as characterized by "a childlike simplicity and transparent depth, a holy melancholy, and a
vivacity not less holy; above all, the sweetness of a pure and gentle love."

The vocabulary is meager. The same expressions continually recur. Thus we find fw~v (light), 23 times; do>xa, doxa>zesqai (glory, to be glorified), 42; zwh>, zh~n
(life, to live), 52; marturei~n, marturi>a (to witness, testimony), 47; ganw>skein (to know), 55; ko>smov (world), 78; pisteu>ein (to believe), 98; e]rgon (work), 23;
o]noma (name), and ajlhqei>a (truth), each 25; shmei~on (sign), 17.

The meagerness of the vocabulary, however, is compensated by its richness. The few constantly recurring words are symbols of fundamental and eternal ideas. "They
are not purely abstract notions, but powerful spiritual realities, which may be studied under a multitude of aspects. If the author has only a few terms in his vocabulary,
these terms may be compared to pieces of gold with which great lords make payment" (Godet).

A similar sameness is apparent in the constructions. These are usually simple, plain, and direct. The sentences are short and are coordinated, following each other by a
kind of parallelism as in Hebrew poetry. Thus where other writers would employ particles of logical connection, he uses the simple connective kai (and). For example in
chapter John 1:10 John means to say that though Jesus was in the world, yet the world knew Him not; but he states the fact in two distinct and independent
propositions: "He was in the world, and the world knew Him not." So in John 8:20. Jesus spake in the treasury, teaching in the temple, and yet, though He appeared
and taught thus publicly, no one laid hands on Him. John writes: "These words spake Jesus as He taught in the temple, and no man laid hands on Him." He uses and,
where the antithetic but might be expected (John 1:5; 3:11; 15:24). There is also a frequent absence of connecting particles. There is not, for instance, a single one in
the first seventeen verses of John 15. Out of the wealth of Greek particles, John uses only five. He abounds in contrasts or antithetic parallelisms without connecting
links. Thus, "the law was given by Moses: grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 17:17): "No one ever saw God: the only-begotten Son revealed Him" (John
1:18). Compare John 8:23; 15:5 etc. This simple coordination of clauses is assisted by the repetition of a marked word or phrase, so that a connection between two
statements is established and the idea carried forward in a new direction (see John 10:11; 15:13 sqq.; John 15:1, 5; 17:14 sqq.; John 6:39, 40, 44).

The narrative is direct. Even the words of others are given directly and not obliquely. Instead of saying "This is the witness of John when the Jews sent to ask him who
he was, and he confessed that he was not the Christ" - John says, "This is the witness of John when the Jews sent to ask him Who art thou? and he confessed I am not
the Christ" (John 1:19). Compare John 7:40 sqq.; John 2:3 sqq.; John 4:24 sqq.; John 5:10 sqq.; John 6:14; 8:22; 10:2 sqq. Illustrative details are not wrought into the
texture of the narrative, but are interjected as parentheses or distinct statements (see John 6:10; 4:6; 10:22; 13:30; 18:40). John's style is circumstantial. An action
which, by other writers, is stated as complex, is analyzed by him and its components stated separately. Thus, instead of the usual Greek idiom, "Jesus answering said,"
John writes, "Jesus answered and said," thus making both factors of the act equally prominent (see John 12:44; 7:28; 1:15, 25). This peculiarity is further illustrated by
the combination of the positive and negative expression of the same truth (see John 1:3, 20; 2:24; 3:16; 5:5; 18:20; 1 John 1, 6; 2:4, 27). The detachment, however, is
only superficial. The inner connection is closely held in the writer's mind, and is impressed upon the reader by that constant iteration which, upon a hasty view, savors of
monotony, but which serves to represent the central thought in its manysidedness, and to place it in its commanding relation to subordinate thoughts. His frequent use of
the particle oujn (therefore) directs attention to the sequence of events or ideas (John 2:22, 3:25, 29; 4:1, 6, 46; 6:5; 7:25; 8:12, 21, 31, 38; 10:7; 12:1, 3, 9, 17, 21).
The phrase in order that (i[na), marking an object or purpose, is of frequent occurrence, and exhibits the characteristic of John's mind to regard things in their moral and
providential relations. Thus John 4:34: "My meat is in order that I may do the will of Him that sent me;" the emphasis lying not on the process, but on the end. Compare
John 5:36; 6:29; 8:56; 12:23; 13:34; 17:3.
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The subject or the significant word of a sentence is often repeated, especially in dialogues (which are characteristic of John's Gospel), where, by the constant repetition
of the names of the parties they are kept clearly before the reader's mind (see John 2:18; 4:7 sqq.; John 8:48 sqq.; John 10:23 sqq. Also John 1:1, 7, 10; 4:22; 5:31;
6:27; 11:33).
the particle oujn (therefore) directs attention to the sequence of events or ideas (John 2:22, 3:25, 29; 4:1, 6, 46; 6:5; 7:25; 8:12, 21, 31, 38; 10:7; 12:1, 3, 9, 17, 21).
The phrase in order that (i[na), marking an object or purpose, is of frequent occurrence, and exhibits the characteristic of John's mind to regard things in their moral and
providential relations. Thus John 4:34: "My meat is in order that I may do the will of Him that sent me;" the emphasis lying not on the process, but on the end. Compare
John 5:36; 6:29; 8:56; 12:23; 13:34; 17:3.

The subject or the significant word of a sentence is often repeated, especially in dialogues (which are characteristic of John's Gospel), where, by the constant repetition
of the names of the parties they are kept clearly before the reader's mind (see John 2:18; 4:7 sqq.; John 8:48 sqq.; John 10:23 sqq. Also John 1:1, 7, 10; 4:22; 5:31;
6:27; 11:33).

The demonstrative pronoun is habitually introduced to recall the subject, when a clause has intervened between the subject and the verb (see John 15:5; 7:18; 10:1;
12:48; 14:21, 26; 15:26). The personal pronoun is frequently employed, especially that of the first person. "In this respect," says Westcott, "much of the teaching of the
Lord's discourses depends upon the careful recognition of the emphatic reference to His undivided personality" (see John 8:14, 16; 5:31).

The quotations are commonly from the Septuagint, and never immediately from the Hebrew.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN

PROLOGUE. 7

John 1:1-18. "The Prologue is summed up in three thoughts, which also determine its plan: THE LOGOS: the Logos disowned; the Logos acknowledged and regained.
These three fundamental aspects correspond with the three principal aspects of the history as related in this gospel: the revelation of the Logos; the unbelief of the
Jewish people; the faith of the disciples. Between the first part (John 1:1-5) and the second (John 1:6-11), John 1:5 forms a transition, as John 1:12, 13 connect the
second part with the third (John 1:12-18), which, in its turn, is in close connection with the first. The relation of this last part to the first, indicated by the similarity of
thought and expression which may be observed between John 1:18 and John 1:1, may be expressed thus: The Person whom the Apostles beheld, who was proclaimed
by John the Baptist, and in whom the Church believed (John 1:12-18), is none other than He whose existence and supreme greatness have been indicated by the title
Logos. The Church possesses, therefore, in its Redeemer the Creator of all things, the Essential Light, the Principle of Life, God himself. The original link between man
and God, which sin had impaired (John 1:5), and which unbelief completely broke (John 1:11), is for the believer perfectly restored; and, by means of faith, the law of
Paradise (John 1:4) becomes once more the law of human history (John 1:16-18). Thus the Prologue forms a compact, organic whole, of which the germinal thought is
this: by the Incarnation believers are, restored to that communion with the Word, and that living relation with God, of which man had been deprived by sin."

FIRST DIVISION OF THE PROLOGUE:

THE WORD (1-5)

1. In the beginning was (ejn ajrch|~ h+n). With evident allusion to the first word of Genesis. But John elevates the phrase from its reference to a point of time, the
beginning of creation, to the time of absolute pre-existence before any creation, which is not mentioned until John 1:3. This beginning had no beginning (compare John
1:3; 17:5; 1 John 1:1; Ephesians 1:4; Proverbs 8:23; Psalms 90:2). This heightening of the conception, however, appears not so much in ajrch>, beginning, which
simply leaves room for it, as in the use of h+n, was, denoting absolute existence (compare eijmi>, I am, John 8:58) instead of ejge>neto, came into being, or began to
be, which is used in John 1:3, 14, of the coming into being of creation and of the Word becoming flesh. Note also the contrast between ajrch>, in the beginning, and the
expression ajp' ajrch~v, from the beginning, which is common in John's writings (John 8:44; 1 John 2:7, 24; 3:8) and which leaves no room for the idea of eternal pre-
existence. "In Gen. 1:1 the sacred historian starts from the beginning and comes downward, thus keeping us in the course of time. Here he starts from the same point,
but goes upward, thus taking us into the eternity preceding time" (Milligan and Moulton). See on Colossians 1:15. This notion of "beginning" is still further heightened by
the subsequent statement of the relation of the Logos to the eternal God. The ajrch> must refer to the creation - the primal beginning of things; but if, in this beginning,
the Logos already was, then he belonged to the order of eternity. "The Logos was not merely existent, however, in the beginning, but was also the efficient principle, the
beginning of the beginning. The ajrch> (beginning), in itself and in its operation dark, chaotic, was, in its idea and its principle, comprised in one single luminous word,
which was the Logos. And when it is said the Logos was in this beginning, His eternal existence is already expressed, and His eternal position in the Godhead already
indicated thereby" (Lange). "Eight times in the narrative of creation (in Genesis) there occur, like the refrain of a hymn, the words, And God said. John gathers up all
those sayings of God into a single saying, living and endowed with activity and intelligence, from which all divine orders emanate: he finds as the basis of all spoken
words, the speaking Word" (Godet).

The Word (oJ lo>gov): Logos. This expression is the keynote and theme of the entire gospel. Lo>gov is from the root leg, appearing in le>gw, the primitive meaning of
which is to lay: then, to pick out, gather, pick up: hence to gather or put words together, and so, to speak. Hence lo>gov is, first of all, a collecting or collection both of
things in the mind, and of words by which they are expressed. It therefore signifies both the outward form by which the inward thought is expressed, and the inward
thought itself, the Latin oratio and ratio: compare the Italian ragionare, "to think" and "to speak."

As signifying the outward form it is never used in the merely grammatical sense, as simply the name of a thing or act (e]pov, o]noma, rJh~ma), but means a word as the
thing referred to: the material, not the formal part: a word as embodying a conception or idea. See, for instance, Matthew 22:46; 1 Corinthians 14:9, 19. Hence it
signifies a saying, of God, or of man (Matthew 19:21, 22; Mark 5:35, 36): a decree, a precept (Romans 9:28; Mark 7:13). The ten commandments are called in the
Septuagint, oiJ de>ka lo>goi, "the ten words" (Exodus 34:28), and hence the familiar term decalogue. It is further used of discourse: either of the act of speaking (Acts
14:12), of skill and practice in speaking (Acts 18:15; 2 Timothy 4:15), specifically the doctrine of salvation through Christ (Matthew 13:20-23; Philippians 1:14); of
narrative, both the relation and the thing related (Acts 1:1; John 21:23; Mark 1:45); of matter under discussion, an affair, a case in law (Acts 15:6; 19:38).

As signifying the inward thought, it denotes the faculty of thinking and reasoning (Hebrews 4:12); regard or consideration (Acts 20:24); reckoning, account (Philippians
4:15, 17; Hebrews 4:13); cause or reason (Acts 10:29).

John uses the word in a peculiar sense, here, and in John 1:14; and, in this sense, in these two passages only. The nearest approach to it is in Revelation 19:13 where
the conqueror is called the Word of God; and it is recalled in the phrases Word of Life, and the Life was manifested (1 John 1:1, 2). Compare Hebrews 4:12. It was a
familiar and current theological term when John wrote, and therefore he uses it without explanation.

OLD TESTAMENT USAGE OF THE TERM

The word here points directly to Genesis 1, where the act of creation is effected by God speaking (compare Psalms 33:6). The idea of God, who is in his own nature
hidden, revealing himself in creation, is the root of the Logos-idea, in contrast with all materialistic or pantheistic conceptions of creation. This idea develops itself in the
Old Testament on three lines. (1) The Word, as embodying the divine will, is personified in Hebrew poetry. Consequently divine attributes are predicated of it as being
the continuous revelation of God in law and prophecy (Psalms 3:4; Isaiah 40:8; Psalms 119:105). The Word is a healer in Psalms. 107:20; a messenger in Psalms
147:15; the agent of the divine decrees in Isaiah 55:11.

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knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold,
neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air" (Job 28.). Even Death, which unlocks so
many secrets, and the underworld, know it only as a rumor (ver. 22). It is only God who knows its way and its place (ver. 23). He made the world, made the winds
Old Testament on three lines. (1) The Word, as embodying the divine will, is personified in Hebrew poetry. Consequently divine attributes are predicated of it as being
the continuous revelation of God in law and prophecy (Psalms 3:4; Isaiah 40:8; Psalms 119:105). The Word is a healer in Psalms. 107:20; a messenger in Psalms
147:15; the agent of the divine decrees in Isaiah 55:11.

(2) The personified wisdom (Job 28:12 sq.; Proverbs 8, 9.). Here also is the idea of the revelation of that which is hidden. For wisdom is concealed from man: "he
knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold,
neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air" (Job 28.). Even Death, which unlocks so
many secrets, and the underworld, know it only as a rumor (ver. 22). It is only God who knows its way and its place (ver. 23). He made the world, made the winds
and the waters, made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder (vv. 25, 26). He who possessed wisdom in the beginning of his way, before His
works of old, before the earth with its depths and springs and mountains, with whom was wisdom as one brought up With Him (Proverbs 8:26-31, declared it. "It
became, as it were, objective, so that He beheld it" (Job 28:27) and embodied it in His creative work. This personification, therefore, is based on the thought that
wisdom is not shut up at rest in God, but is active and manifest in the world. "She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at
the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors" (Proverbs 8:2, 3). She builds a palace and prepares a banquet, and issues a general invitation to the
simple and to him that wanteth understanding (Proverbs 9:1-6. It is viewed as the one guide to salvation, comprehending all revelations of God, and as an attribute
embracing and combining all His other attributes.

(3) The Angel of Jehovah. The messenger of God who serves as His agent in the world of sense, and is sometimes distinguished from Jehovah and sometimes identical
with him (Genesis 16:7-13; 32:24-28; Hosea 12:4, 5; Exodus 23:20, 21; Malachi 3:l).

APOCRYPHAL USAGE

In the Apocryphal writings this mediative element is more distinctly apprehended, but with a tendency to pantheism. In the Wisdom of Solomon (at least 100 B.C.),
where wisdom seems to be viewed as another name for the whole divine nature, while nowhere connected with the Messiah, it is described as a being of light,
proceeding essentially from God; a true image of God, co-occupant of the divine throne; a real and independent principle, revealing God in the world and mediating
between it and Him, after having created it as his organ - in association with a spirit which is called monogen>v, only begotten (7:22). "She is the breath of the power of
God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty; therefore can no defiled thing fall into her. For she is the brightness of the everlasting light, the
unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of his goodness" (see chapter 7, throughout). Again: "Wisdom reacheth from one end to another mightily, and
sweetly doth she order all things. In that she is conversant with God, she magnifieth her nobility: yea, the Lord of all things Himself loved her. For she is privy to the
mysteries of the knowledge of God, and a lover of His works. Moreover, by the means of her I shall obtain immortality, and leave behind me an everlasting memorial to
them that come after me" (chapter 9.). In chapter 16:12, it is said, "Thy word, O Lord, healeth all things" (compare Psalms 107:20); and in chapter 18:15, 16, "Thine
almighty word leaped from heaven out of thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction, and brought thine unfeigned commandment as a
sharp sword, and, standing up, filled all things with death; and it touched the heaven, but it stood upon the earth." See also Wisdom of Sirach, chapters 1, 24, and
Baruch 3, 4:1-4.

LATER JEWISH USAGE

After the Babylonish captivity the Jewish doctors combined into one view the theophanies, prophetic revelations and manifestations of Jehovah generally, and united
them in one single conception, that of a permanent agent of Jehovah in the sensible world, whom they designated by the name Memra (word, lo>gov) of Jehovah. The
learned Jews introduced the idea into the Targurns, or Aramaean paraphrases of the Old Testament, which were publicly read in the synagogues, substituting the name
the word of Jehovah for that of Jehovah, each time that God manifested himself. Thus in Genesis 39:91 they paraphrase, "The Memra was with Joseph in prison." In
Psalms 110 Jehovah addresses the first verse to the Memra. The Memra is the angel that destroyed the first-born of Egypt, and it was the Memra that led the Israelites
in the cloudy pillar.

USAGE IN THE JUDAEO-ALEXANDRINE PHILOSOPHY

From the time of Ptolemy 1: (323-285 B.C.), there were Jews in great numbers in Egypt. Philo (A.D. 50) estimates them at a million in his time. Alexandria was their
headquarters. They had their own senate and magistrates, and possessed the same privileges as the Greeks. The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into
Greek (B.C. 280-150) was the beginning of a literary movement among them, the key-note of which was the reconciliation of Western culture and Judaism, the
establishment of a connection between the Old Testament faith and the Greek philosophy. Hence they interpreted the facts of sacred history allegorically, and made
them symbols of certain speculative principles, alleging that the Greek philosophers had borrowed their wisdom from Moses. Aristobulus (about 150 B.C.) asserted the
existence of a previous and much older translation of the law, and dedicated to Ptolemy 6 an allegorical exposition of the Pentateuch, in which he tried to show that the
doctrines of the Peripatetic or Aristotelian school were derived from the Old Testament. Most of the schools of Greek philosophy were represented among the
Alexandrian Jews, but the favorite one was the Platonic. The effort at reconciliation culminated in Philo, a contemporary of Christ. Philo was intimately acquainted with
the Platonic philosophy, and made it the fundamental feature of his own doctrines, while availing himself likewise of ideas belonging to the Peripatetic and Stoic schools.
Unable to discern the difference in the points of view from which these different doctrines severally proceeded, he jumbled together not merely discordant doctrines of
the Greek schools, but also those of the East, regarding the wisdom of the Greeks as having originated in the legislation and writings of Moses. He gathered together
from East and West every element that could help to shape his conception of a vicegerent of God, "a mediator between the eternal and the ephemeral. His Logos
reflects light from countless facets."

According to Philo, God is the absolute Being. He calls God "that which is:" "the One and the All." God alone exists for himself, without multiplicity and without mixture.
No name can properly be ascribed to Him: He simply is. Hence, in His nature, He is unknowable.

Outside of God there exists eternal matter, without form and void, and essentially evil; but the perfect Being could not come into direct contact with the senseless and
corruptible; so that the world could not have been created by His direct agency. Hence the doctrine of a mediating principle between God and matter - the divine
Reason, the Logos, in whom are comprised all the ideas of finite things, and who created the sensible world by causing these ideas to penetrate into matter.

The absolute God is surrounded by his powers (duna>meiv) as a king by his servants. These powers are, in Platonic language, ideas; in Jewish, angels; but all are
essentially one, and their unity, as they exist in God, as they emanate from him, as they are disseminated in the world, is expressed by Logos. Hence the Logos appears
under a twofold aspect:

(1) As the immanent reason of God, containing within itself the world-ideal, which, while not outwardly existing, is like the immanent reason in man. This is styled
Lo>gov ejndia>qetov, i.e., the Logos conceived and residing in the mind. This was the aspect emphasized by the Alexandrians, and which tended to the recognition of
a twofold personality in the divine essence.

(2) As the outspoken word, proceeding from God and manifest in the world. This, when it has issued from God in creating the world, is the Lo>gov proforiko>v, i.e.,
the Logos uttered, even as in man the spoken word is the manifestation of thought. This aspect prevailed in Palestine, where the Word appears like the angel of the
Pentateuch, as the medium of the outward communication of God with men, and tends toward the recognition of a divine person subordinate to God. Under the former
aspect, the Logos
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energies by which the world was framed and is upheld; and, filling all things with divine light and life, rules them in wisdom, love, and righteousness. It is the beginning of
creation, not inaugurated, like God, nor made, like the world; but the eldest son of the eternal Father (the world being the younger); God's image; the mediator between
God and the world; the highest angel; the second God.
(2) As the outspoken word, proceeding from God and manifest in the world. This, when it has issued from God in creating the world, is the Lo>gov proforiko>v, i.e.,
the Logos uttered, even as in man the spoken word is the manifestation of thought. This aspect prevailed in Palestine, where the Word appears like the angel of the
Pentateuch, as the medium of the outward communication of God with men, and tends toward the recognition of a divine person subordinate to God. Under the former
aspect, the Logos is, really, one with God's hidden being: the latter comprehends all the workings and revelations of God in the world; affords from itself the ideas and
energies by which the world was framed and is upheld; and, filling all things with divine light and life, rules them in wisdom, love, and righteousness. It is the beginning of
creation, not inaugurated, like God, nor made, like the world; but the eldest son of the eternal Father (the world being the younger); God's image; the mediator between
God and the world; the highest angel; the second God.

Philo's conception of the Logos, therefore, is: the sum-total and free exercise of the divine energies; so that God, so far as he reveals himself, is called Logos; while the
Logos, so far as he reveals God, is called God.

John's doctrine and terms are colored by these preceding influences. During his residence at Ephesus he must have become familiar with the forms and terms of the
Alexandrian theology. Nor is it improbable that he used the term Logos with an intent to facilitate the passage from the current theories of his time to the pure gospel
which he proclaimed. "To those Hellenists and Hellenistic Jews, on the one hand, who were vainly philosophizing on the relations of the finite and infinite; to those
investigators of the letter of the Scriptures, on the other, who speculated about the theocratic revelations, John said, by giving this name Logos to Jesus: 'The unknown
Mediator between God and the world, the knowledge of whom you are striving after, we have seen, heard, and touched. Your philosophical speculations and your
scriptural subtleties will never raise you to Him. Believe as we do in Jesus, and you will possess in Him that divine Revealer who engages your thoughts'" (Godet).

But John's doctrine is not Philo's, and does not depend upon it. The differences between the two are pronounced. Though both use the term Logos, they use it with
utterly different meanings. In John it signifies word, as in Holy Scripture generally; in Philo, reason; and that so distinctly that when Philo wishes to give it the meaning of
word, he adds to it by way of explanation, the term rJh~ma, word.

The nature of the being described by Logos is conceived by each in an entirely different spirit. John's Logos is a person, with a consciousness of personal distinction;
Philo's is impersonal. His notion is indeterminate and fluctuating, shaped by the influence which happens to be operating at the time. Under the influence of Jewish
documents he styles the Logos an "archangel;" under the influence of Plato, "the Idea of Ideas;" of the Stoics, "the impersonal Reason." It is doubtful whether Philo ever
meant to represent the Logos formally as a person. All the titles he gives it may be explained by supposing it to mean the ideal world on which the actual is modeled.

In Philo, moreover, the function of the Logos is confined to the creation and preservation of the universe. He does not identify or connect him with the Messiah. His
doctrine was, to a great degree, a philosophical substitute for Messianic hopes. He may have conceived of the Word as acting through the Messiah, but not as one with
him. He is a universal principle. In John the Messiah is the Logos himself, uniting himself with humanity, and clothing himself with a body in order to save the world.

The two notions differ as to origin. The impersonal God of Philo cannot pass to the finite creation without contamination of his divine essence. Hence an inferior agent
must be interposed. John's God, on the other hand, is personal, and a loving personality. He is a Father (1:18); His essence is love (3:16; 1 John 4:8, 16). He is in
direct relation with the world which He desires to save, and the Logos is He Himself, manifest in the flesh. According to Philo, the Logos is not coexistent with the
eternal God. Eternal matter is before him in time. According to John, the Logos is essentially with the Father from all eternity (1:2), and it is He who creates all things,
matter included (1:3).

Philo misses the moral energy of the Hebrew religion as expressed in its emphasis upon the holiness of Jehovah, and therefore fails to perceive the necessity of a divine
teacher and Savior. He forgets the wide distinction between God and the world, and declares that, were the universe to end, God would die of loneliness and inactivity.

THE MEANING OF LOGOS IN JOHN

As Logos has the double meaning of thought and speech, so Christ is related to God as the word to the idea, the word being not merely a name for the idea, but the
idea itself expressed. The thought is the inward word (Dr. Schaff compares the Hebrew expression "I speak in my heart" for "I think").

The Logos of John is the real, personal God (John 1:1), the Word, who was originally before the creation with God. and was God, one in essence and nature, yet
personally distinct (John 1:1, 18); the revealer and interpreter of the hidden being of God; the reflection and visible image of God, and the organ of all His manifestations
to the world. Compare Hebrews 1:3. He made all things, proceeding personally from God for the accomplishment of the act of creation (John 1:3), and became man in
the person of Jesus Christ, accomplishing the redemption of the world. Compare Philippians 2:6.

The following is from William Austin, "Meditation for Christmas Day," cited by Ford on John:

"The name Word is most excellently given to our Savior; for it expresses His nature in one, more than in any others. Therefore St. John, when he names the Person in
the Trinity (1 John 5:7), 8 chooses rather to call Him Word than Son; for word is a phrase more communicable than son. Son hath only reference to the Father that
begot Him; but word may refer to him that conceives it; to him that speaks it; to that which is spoken by it; to the voice that it is clad in; and to the effects it raises in him
that hears it. So Christ, as He is the Word, not only refers to His Father that begot Him, and from whom He comes forth, but to all the creatures that were made by
Him; to the flesh that He took to clothe Him; and to the doctrine He brought and taught, and, which lives yet in the hearts of all them that obediently do hear it. He it is
that is this Word; and any other, prophet or preacher, he is but a voice (Luke 3:4). Word is an inward conception of the mind; and voice 9 is but a sign of intention. St.
John was but a sign, a voice; not worthy to untie the shoe-latchet of this Word. Christ is the inner conception 'in the bosom of His Father;' and that is properly the
Word. And yet the Word is the intention uttered forth, as well as conceived within; for Christ was no less the Word in the womb of the Virgin, or in the cradle of the
manger, or on the altar of the cross, than he was in the beginning, 'in the bosom of his Father.' For as the intention departs not from the mind when the word is uttered,
so Christ, proceeding from the Father by eternal generation, and after here by birth and incarnation, remains still in Him and with Him in essence; as the intention, which
is conceived and born in the mind, remains still with it and in it, though the word be spoken. He is therefore rightly called the Word, both by His coming from, and yet
remaining still in, the Father."

And the Word. A repetition of the great subject, with solemn emphasis.

Was with God (h+n po). Anglo-Saxon vers., mid Gode. Wyc., at God. With (pro>v) does not convey the full meaning, that there is no single English word which will
give it better. The preposition pro>v, which, with the accusative case, denotes motion towards, or direction, is also often used in the New Testament in the sense of
with; and that not merely as being near or beside, but as a living union and communion; implying the active notion of intercourse. Thus: "Are not his sisters here with
us" (pro), i.e., in social relations with us (Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:56). "How long shall I be with you" (pro, Mark 9:16). "I sat daily with you" (Matthew 26:55). "To be
present with the Lord" (prorion, 2 Corinthians 5:8). "Abide and winter with you" (1 Corinthians 16:6). "The eternal life which was with the Father" (prora, 1 John 1:2).
Thus John's statement is that the divine Word not only abode with the Father from all eternity, but was in the living, active relation of communion with Him.

And the Word was God (kaigov). In the Greek order, and God was the Word, which is followed by Anglo-Saxon, Wyc., and Tynd. But qeo, God, is the predicate
and not the subject of the proposition. The subject must be the Word; for John is not trying to show who is God, but who is the Word. Notice that Qeo is without the
article, which
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Moreover, if he had said God was the Word, he would have contradicted his previous statement by which he had distinguished (hypostatically) 10 God from the word,
and lo>gov (Logos) would, further, have signified only an attribute of God. The predicate is emphatically placed in the proposition before the subject, because of the
progress of the thought; this being the third and highest statement respecting the Word - the climax of the two preceding propositions. The word God, used
Thus John's statement is that the divine Word not only abode with the Father from all eternity, but was in the living, active relation of communion with Him.

And the Word was God (kaigov). In the Greek order, and God was the Word, which is followed by Anglo-Saxon, Wyc., and Tynd. But qeo, God, is the predicate
and not the subject of the proposition. The subject must be the Word; for John is not trying to show who is God, but who is the Word. Notice that Qeo is without the
article, which could not have been omitted if he had meant to designate the word as God; because, in that event, Qeo would have been ambiguous; perhaps a God.
Moreover, if he had said God was the Word, he would have contradicted his previous statement by which he had distinguished (hypostatically) 10 God from the word,
and lo>gov (Logos) would, further, have signified only an attribute of God. The predicate is emphatically placed in the proposition before the subject, because of the
progress of the thought; this being the third and highest statement respecting the Word - the climax of the two preceding propositions. The word God, used
attributively, maintains the personal distinction between God and the Word, but makes the unity of essence and nature to follow the distinction of person, and ascribes
to the Word all the attributes of the divine essence. "There is something majestic in the way in which the description of the Logos, in the three brief but great
propositions of ver. 1, is unfolded with increasing fullness" (Meyer).

2. The same (ou=tov). Literally, this one; the one first named; the Word.

Was in the beginning with God. In ver. 1 the elements of this statement have been given separately: the Word, the eternal being of the Word, and his active communion
with God. Here they are combined, and with new force. This same Word not only was coeternal with God in respect of being (h+n, was), but was eternally in active
communion with Him (in the beginning with God: pro,v to): "not simply the Word with God, but God with God" (Moulton). Notice that here Qeo has the article, as in
the second proposition, where God is spoken of absolutely. In the third proposition, the Word was God, the article was omitted because Qeo described the nature of
the Word and did not identify his person. Here, as in the second proposition, the Word is placed in personal relation to God.

This verse forms the transition point from the discussion of the personal being of the Word to His manifestation in creation. If it was this same Word, and no other, who
was Himself God, and who, from all eternity, was in active communion with God, then the statement follows naturally that all things were created through Him, thus
bringing the essential nature of the Word and His manifestation in creation into connection. As the idea of the Word involves knowledge and will, wisdom and force, the
creative function is properly His. Hence His close relation to created things, especially to man, prepares the way for His incarnation and redeeming work. The
connection between creation and redemption is closer than is commonly apprehended. It is intimated in the words of Isaiah (46:4), "I have made, and I will bear."
Redemption, in a certain sense, grows out of creation. Because God created man in His own image, He would restore him to that image. Because God made man, He
loves him, educates him, bears with him carries on the race on the line of His infinite patience, is burdened with its perverseness and blindness, and expresses and
effectuates all this in the incarnation and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. God is under the stress of the parental instinct (humanly speaking) to redeem man.

3. All things (pa>nta). Regarded severally. The reference is to the infinite detail of creation, rather than to creation as a whole, which is expressed by tanta, the all
(Colossians 1:16). For this reason John avoids the word ko>smov, the world, which denotes the world as a great system. Hence Bengel, quoted by Meyer, is wrong in
referring to ko>smw| (the world) of ver. 10 as a parallel.

Were made (ejge>neto). Literally, came into being, or became. Expressing the passage from nothingness into being, and the unfolding of a divine order. Compare. vv.
14, 17. Three words are used in the New Testament to express the act of creation: kti>zein, to create (Revelation 4:11.; 10:6; Colossians 1:16); poiei~n, to make
(Revelation 14:7; Mark 10:6), both of which refer to the Creator; and gi>gnesqai, to become, which refers to that which is created. In Mark 10:6 both words occur.
"From the beginning of the creation (kti>sewv) God made" (ejpoi>hsen). So in Ephesians 2:10: "We are His workmanship (poi>hma), created (ktisqe>ntev) in Christ
Jesus." Here the distinction is between the absolute being expressed by h+n (see on ver. 1), and the coming into being of creation (ejge>neto). The same contrast
occurs in vv. 6, 9. "A man sent from God came into being" (ejge>neto); "the true Light was" (h+n).

"The main conception of creation which is present in the writings of St. John is expressed by the first notice which he makes of it: All things came into being through the
Word. This statement sets aside the notions of eternal matter and of inherent evil in matter. 'There was when' the world 'was not' (John 17:5, 24); and, by implication,
all things as made were good. The agency of the Word, 'who was God,' again excludes both the idea of a Creator essentially inferior to God, and the idea of an
abstract Monotheism in which there is no living relation between the creature and the Creator; for as all things come into being 'through' the Word, so they are
supported 'in' Him (John 1:3; compare Colossians 1:16 sq.; Hebrews 1:3). And yet more, the use of the term ejge>neto, came into being, as distinguished from
ejkti>sqh, were created, suggests the thought that creation is to be regarded (according to our apprehension) as a manifestation of a divine law of love. Thus creation
(all things came into being through Him) answers to the Incarnation (the Word became flesh). All the unfolding and infolding of finite being to the last issue lies in the
fulfillment of His will who is love" (Westcott, on 1 John 2:17).

By Him (dij aujtou~). Literally, through him. The preposition dia> is generally used to denote the working of God through some secondary agency, as diatou, through
the prophet (Matthew 1:22 on which see note). 11 It is the preposition by which the relation of Christ to creation is usually expressed (see 1 Corinthians 8:6;
Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2), though it is occasionally used of the Father (Hebrews 2:10; Romans 11:36 and Galatians 1:1 where it is used of both). Hence, as
Godet remarks, it "does not lower the Word to the rank of a simple instrument," but merely implies a different relation to creation on the part of the Father and the Son.

Without (cwri). Literally, apart from. Compare John 15:5.

Was not anything made that was made (ejge>neto oujdegonen). Many authorities place the period after e[n, and join oJ ge>nonen with what follows, rendering,
"without Him was not anything made. That which hath been made was life in Him." 12

Made (ejge>neto), as before, came into being.

Not anything (oujde). Literally, not even one thing. Compare on pa>nta (all things) at the beginning of this verse.

That was made (oJ ge>gonen). Rev., more correctly, that hath been made, observing the force of the perfect tense as distinguished from the aorist (ejge>neto). The
latter tense points back to the work of creation considered as a definite act or series of acts in the beginning of time. The perfect tense indicates the continuance of
things created; so that the full idea is, that which hath been made and exists. The combination of a positive and negative clause (compare ver. 20) is characteristic of
John's style, as also of James'. See note on "wanting nothing," James. 1:4.

4. In Him was life (ejn aujtw|~ zwh). He was the fountain of life - physical, moral, and eternal - its principle and source. Two words for life are employed in the New
Testament: bi>ov and zwh. The primary distinction is that zwh means existence as contrasted with death, and bi>ov, the period, means, or manner of existence. Hence
bi>ov is originally the higher word, being used of men, while zwh is used of animals (zw~a). We speak therefore of the discussion of the life and habits of animals as
zoology; and of accounts of men's lives as biography. Animals have the vital principle in common with men, but men lead lives controlled by intellect and will, and
directed to moral and intellectual ends. In the New Testament, bi>ov means either living, i.e., means of subsistence (Mark 12:44; Luke 8:43), or course of life, life
regarded as an economy (Luke 8:14; 1 Timothy 2:2; 2 Timothy 2:4). Zwh occurs in the lower sense of life, considered principally or wholly as existence (1 Peter 3:10;
Acts 8:33; 17:25; Hebrews 7:3). There seems to be a significance in the use of the word in Luke 16:25: "Thou in thy lifetime (ejn th|~ zwh|~ sou) receivedst thy good
things;" the intimation being that the rich man's life had been little better than mere existence, and not life at all in the true sense. But throughout the New Testament zwh
is the nobler word, seeming to have changed places with bi>ov. It expresses the sum of mortal and eternal blessedness (Matthew 25:46; Luke 18:30; John 11:25; Acts
2:28;   Romans
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                                                  respect of men, but also of God and Christ. So here. Compare John 5:26; 14:6; 1 John 1:2. This change         is due11
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gospel revelation of the essential connection of sin with death, and consequently, of life with holiness. "Whatever truly lives, does so because sin has never found place
in it, or, having found place for a time, has since been overcome and expelled" (Trench).
regarded as an economy (Luke 8:14; 1 Timothy 2:2; 2 Timothy 2:4). Zwh occurs in the lower sense of life, considered principally or wholly as existence (1 Peter 3:10;
Acts 8:33; 17:25; Hebrews 7:3). There seems to be a significance in the use of the word in Luke 16:25: "Thou in thy lifetime (ejn th|~ zwh|~ sou) receivedst thy good
things;" the intimation being that the rich man's life had been little better than mere existence, and not life at all in the true sense. But throughout the New Testament zwh
is the nobler word, seeming to have changed places with bi>ov. It expresses the sum of mortal and eternal blessedness (Matthew 25:46; Luke 18:30; John 11:25; Acts
2:28; Romans 5:17; 6:4), and that not only in respect of men, but also of God and Christ. So here. Compare John 5:26; 14:6; 1 John 1:2. This change is due to the
gospel revelation of the essential connection of sin with death, and consequently, of life with holiness. "Whatever truly lives, does so because sin has never found place
in it, or, having found place for a time, has since been overcome and expelled" (Trench).

Zwh is a favorite word with John. See John 11:25; 14:6; 8:12; 1 John 1:2; 5:20; John 6:35, 48; 6:63; Revelation 21:6; 22:1, 17; 7:17; John 4:14; Revelation 2:7; 22:2,
14, 19; John 12:50; 17:3; 20:31; 5:26; 6:53, 54; 5:40; 3:15, 16, 36; 10:10; 5:24; 12:25; 6:27; 4:36; 1 John 5:12, 16; John 6:51.

Was the Light of men (h+n topwn). Passing from the thought of creation in general to that of mankind, who, in the whole range of created things, had a special capacity
for receiving the divine. The Light - the peculiar mode of the divine operation upon men, conformably to their rational and moral nature which alone was fitted to receive
the light of divine truth. It is not said that the Word was light, but that the life was the light. The Word becomes light through the medium of life, of spiritual life, just as
sight is a function of physical life. Compare 14:6, where Christ becomes the life through being the truth; and Matthew 5:8 where the pure heart is the medium through
which God is beheld. In whatever mode of manifestation the Word is in the world, He is the light of the world; in His works, in the dawn of creation; in the happy
conditions of Eden; in the Patriarchs, in the Law and the Prophets, in His incarnation, and in the subsequent history of the Church. Compare John 9:5. Of men, as a
class, and not of individuals only.

THE SECOND DIVISION OF THE PROLOGUE

THE WORD DISOWNED

Against the eternal being, light and life of the divine Word, a contrary principle emerges in the world - darkness. The purpose and work of God in creation having been
set forth, we are now shown man's attitude toward these.

5. Shineth (fai>vei). Note the present tense, indicating not merely the present point of time, but that the light has gone forth continuously and without interruption from
the beginning until now, and is still shining. Hence fai>nei, shineth, denoting the peculiar property of light under all circumstances, and not fwti>zei, lighteneth or
illuminateth, as in ver. 9. The shining does not always illuminate. Compare 1 John 2:8.

In the darkness (ejn th|~ skoti>a|). Skoti>a, darkness, is a word peculiar to later Greek, and used in the New Testament almost exclusively by John. It occurs once in
Matthew 10:27 and once in Luke 12:3. The more common New Testament word is sko>tov, from the same root, which appears in skia>, shadow, and skhnh>, tent.
Another word for darkness, zo>fov, occurs only in Peter and Jude (2 Peter 2:4, 17; Jude 1:6, 13). See on 2 Peter 2:4. The two words are combined in the phrase
blackness of darkness (2 Peter 2:17; Jude 1:13). In classical Greek sko>tov, as distinguished from zo>fov, is the stronger term, denoting the condition of darkness as
opposed to light in nature. Hence of death, of the condition before birth; of night. Zo>fov, which is mainly a poetical term, signifies gloom, half-darkness, nebulousness.
Here the stronger word is used. The darkness of sin is deep. The moral condition which opposes itself to divine light is utterly dark. The very light that is in it is
darkness. Its condition is the opposite of that happy state of humanity indicated in ver. 4, when the life was the light of men; it is a condition in which mankind has
become the prey of falsehood, folly and sin. Compare 1 John 1:9-11. Romans 1:21, 22.

Comprehended (kate>laben). Rev., apprehended. Wyc., took not it. See on Mark 9:18; Acts 4:13. Comprehended, in the sense of the A.V., understood, is
inadmissible. This meaning would require the middle voice of the verb (see Acts 4:13; 10:34; 25:25). The Rev., apprehended, i.e., grasped or seized, gives the correct
idea, which appears in John 12:35"lest darkness come upon you," i.e., overtake and seize. The word is used in the sense of laying hold of so as to make one's own;
hence, to take possession of. Used of obtaining the prize in the games (1 Corinthians 9:24); of attaining righteousness (Romans 9:30); of a demon taking possession of
a man (Mark 9:18); of the day of the Lord overtaking one as a thief (1 Thessalonians 5:4). Applied to darkness, this idea includes that of eclipsing or overwhelming.
Hence some render overcame (Westcott, Moulton). John's thought is, that in the struggle between light and darkness, light was victorious. The darkness did not
appropriate the light and eclipse it. "The whole phrase is indeed a startling paradox. The light does not banish the darkness; the darkness does not overpower the light.
Light and darkness coexist in the world side by side" (Westcott).

6. There was a man (ejge>neto a]nqrwpov). Better, Rev., "there came a man," ejge>neto denoting the historical manifestation, the emergence of the Baptist into the
economy of the revelation of the light. Compare John 3:1, there was a man (h+n a]nqrwpov), where the mere fact that there was such a man as Nicodemus is stated.
See remarks on h+n, ver. 1. A distinction is also intimated between the eternal being (h+n) of the Word and the coming into being of his messenger.

Sent (ajpestalme>nov). See on Matthew 10:2, 16; Mark 4:29; Luke 4:18. The verb carries the sense of sending an envoy with a special commission. Hence it is used
of the mission of the Son of God, and of His apostles; the word apostle being directly derived from it. It is thus distinguished from pe>mpw, to send, which denotes
simply the relation of the sender to the sent. See on John 20:21, and 1 John 3:5. The statement is not merely equivalent to was sent. The finite verb and the participle
are to be taken separately, as stating two distinct facts, the appearance and the mission of John. There came a man, and that man was sent from God.

From God (para). The preposition means from beside. It invests the messenger with more dignity and significance than if the writer had said, "sent by God." It is used of
the Holy Spirit, sent from the Father (John 15:26).

Whose name was John (o]noma aujtw|~ s>nhv). Literally, the name unto him John. The first mention of John the Baptist. The last occurs, Acts 19:3. On the name, see
on Matthew 3:1; Luke 3:2. John never speaks of the Baptist as John the Baptist, like the other Evangelists, but simply as John. This is perfectly natural on the
supposition that John himself is the author of the gospel, and is the other John of the narrative.

7. The same (ou=tov). Compare ver. 2, and the pronoun ejkei~nov, he, in ver. 8.

For a witness (eijv marturi>an). Revised version of the New Testament, more correctly, for witness: a witness would be, ma>rtura as Acts 1:8. The sense is for
witness-bearing or to bear witness. On the word, see Acts 1:22; 1 Peter 5:1. It is one of John's characteristic words, occurring nearly fifty times in various forms in his
Gospel, and thirty or forty times in the Epistles and Revelation. The emphatic development of the idea of witness is peculiar to this; Gospel. "It evidently belongs to a
time when men had begun to reason about the faith, and to analyze the grounds on which it rested" (Westcott). He develops the idea under the following forms: The
witness of the Father (John 5:31, 34, 37); the witness of Christ himself (John 8:14; 18:37); the witness of works (John 5:17, 36; 10:25; 14:11; 15:24); the witness of
Scripture (John 5:39, 40, 46; 1:46); the witness of the forerunner (John 1:7; 5:33, 35); the witness of the disciples (John 15:27; 19:35; 21:24; 1 John 1:2; 4:14); the
witness of the Spirit (John 15:26; 16:13, 14; 1 John 5:6). Note the emphasis attached to the idea here, by the twofold form in which it is put: first, generally, for witness,
and then by giving the subject of the testimony.

All. The Baptist took up the work of the prophets, as respects their preparation for the universal extension of the divine call (Isaiah 49:6). His message was to men,
without regard to nation, sect, descent, or other considerations.
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Through him. John the Baptist.

8. He (ejkei~nov). Emphatic, "It was not he who was the light." Compare 2:21, "He (ejkei~nov) spake," bringing out the difference between Jesus' conception of
and then by giving the subject of the testimony.

All. The Baptist took up the work of the prophets, as respects their preparation for the universal extension of the divine call (Isaiah 49:6). His message was to men,
without regard to nation, sect, descent, or other considerations.

Through him. John the Baptist.

8. He (ejkei~nov). Emphatic, "It was not he who was the light." Compare 2:21, "He (ejkei~nov) spake," bringing out the difference between Jesus' conception of
destroying and rebuilding the temple, and that of his hearers.

That light (to). Rev., the light. The emphatic that of the A.V. is unnecessary.

Was sent. Rev., came. Neither in the original text. Literally, "He was not the light, but in order that (i[na) he might bear witness." So in 9:3. "Neither hath this man
sinned, nor his parents, but (he was born blind) that the works," etc. Compare John 15:25.

9. That was the true light, etc. This passage is differently interpreted. Some join coming (ejrco>menon) with man (a]nqrwpon), and render every man that cometh, as
A.V. Others join coming with light, and render, as Rev., the true light - coming into the world. The latter is the preferable rendering, and is justified by John's frequent
use of the phrase coming into the world, with reference to our Lord. See John 3:19; 6:14; 9:39; 11:27; 12:46; 16:28; 18:37. In John 3:19 and 12:46, it is used as here,
in connection with light. Note especially the latter, where Jesus himself says, "I am come a light into the world." Was (h+n) is to be taken independently, there was, and
not united in a single conception with coming (ejrco>menon), so as to mean was coming. The light was, existed, when the Baptist appeared as a witness. Up to the time
of his appearance it was all along coming: its permanent being conjoined with a slow, progressive coming, a revelation "at sundry times and in diverse
manners" (Hebrews 1:1). "From the first He was on His way to the world, advancing toward the incarnation by preparatory revelations" (Westcott). Render therefore
as Rev., "There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world."

True (ajlhqino).Wyc., very light (compare the Nicene creed, "very God of very God"). This epithet is applied to light only here and 1 John 2:8 and is almost confined to
the writings of John. A different word, ajlhqh>v, also rendered true, occurs at John 3:33; 5:31; 8:13, and elsewhere. The difference is that ajlhqino>z signifies true, as
contrasted with false; while ajlhqino>v signifies what is real, perfect, and substantial, as contrasted with what is fanciful, shadowy, counterfeit, or merely symbolic. Thus
God is ajlhqh>v (John 3:33) in that He cannot lie. He is ajlhqino>v (1 Thessalonians 1:9), as distinguished from idols. In Hebrews 8:2 the heavenly tabernacle is called
ajlhqinh>, as distinguished from the Mosaic tabernacle, which was a figure of the heavenly reality (Hebrews 9:24). Thus the expression true light denotes the realization
of the original divine idea of the Light - the archetypal Light, as contrasted with all imperfect manifestations: "the Light which fulfilled all that had been promised by the
preparatory, partial, even fictitious lights which had existed in the world before."

"Our little systems have their day;

They have their day and cease to be:

They are but broken lights of Thee,

And Thou, O Lord, art more than they."

TENNYSON, In Memoriam.

Lighteth (fwti>zei). See on shineth, ver. 5, and compare Luke 11:35, 36.

Every man (pa>nta a]nqrwpon). Not collectively, as in ver. 7, but individually and personally.

The world (tosmon). As in ver. 3, the creation was designated in its several details by pa>nta, all things, so here, creation is regarded in its totality, as an ordered whole.
See on Acts 17:24; James. 3:6.

Four words are used in the New Testament for world:

(1)gh|~, land, ground, territory, the earth, as distinguished from the heavens. The sense is purely physical.

(2)oijkoume>nh, which is a participle, meaning inhabited, with gh~, earth, understood, and signifies the earth as the abode of men; the whole inhabited world. See on
Matthew 24:14; Luke 2:1. Also in a physical sense, though used once of "the world to come" (Hebrews 2:5).

(3)aijw>n, essentially time, as the condition under which all created things exist, and the measure of their existence: a period of existence; a lifetime; a generation; hence,
a long space of time; an age, era, epoch, period of a dispensation. On this primary, physical sense there arises a secondary sense, viz., all that exists in the world under
the conditions of time. From this again develops a more distinctly ethical sense, the course and current of this world's affairs (compare the expression, the times), and
this course as corrupted by sin; hence the evil world. So Galatians 1:4; 2 Corinthians 4:4.

(4)ko>smov, which follows a similar line of development from the physical to the ethical sense; meaning

(a)ornament, arrangement, order (1 Peter 3:3);

(b)the sum-total of the material universe considered as a system (Matthew 13:35; John 17:5; Acts 17:24; Philippians 2:15). Compare Plato. "He who is incapable of
communion is also incapable of friendship. And philosophers tell us, Callicles, that communion and friendship and orderliness and temperance and justice bind together
heaven and earth and gods and men, and that this universe is therefore called Cosmos, or order, not disorder or misrule" ("Gorgias," 508).

(c)That universe as the abode of man (John 16:21; 1 John 3:17).

(d)The sum-total of humanity in the world; the human race (John 1:29; 4:42).

(e)In the ethical sense, the sum-total of human life in the ordered world, considered apart from, alienated from, and hostile to God, and of the earthly things which
seduce from God (John 7:7; 15:18; 17:9, 14; 1 Corinthians 1:20, 21; 2 Corinthians 7:10; James 4:4).

This word is characteristic of John, and pre-eminently in this last, ethical sense, in which it is rarely used by the Synoptists; while John nowhere uses aijw>n of the moral
order. In this(c)latter
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between the divine order and the moral disorder introduced and maintained by sin.

10. He was in the world. Not merely at His advent, but before His incarnation no less than after it. See on vv. 4, 5.
seduce from God (John 7:7; 15:18; 17:9, 14; 1 Corinthians 1:20, 21; 2 Corinthians 7:10; James 4:4).

This word is characteristic of John, and pre-eminently in this last, ethical sense, in which it is rarely used by the Synoptists; while John nowhere uses aijw>n of the moral
order. In this latter sense the word is wholly strange to heathen literature, since the heathen world had no perception of the opposition between God and sinful man;
between the divine order and the moral disorder introduced and maintained by sin.

10. He was in the world. Not merely at His advent, but before His incarnation no less than after it. See on vv. 4, 5.

Was made (ejge>neto). Came into being. See on ver. 3.

By Him. Or through Him (dia>). See on ver. 3.

Knew (e]gnw). Recognized. Though He was in the world and was its Creator, yet the world did not recognize him. This is the relation of ideas in these three clauses,
but John expresses this relation after the Hebrew manner, by simply putting the three side by side, and connecting them by kai, and. This construction is characteristic of
John. Compare John 8:20, where the point of the passage is, that though Jesus was teaching publicly, where He might easily have been seized, yet no man attempted
his seizure. This is expressed by two parallel clauses with the simple copulative. "These words spake Jesus," etc., "and no man laid hands on Him."

Him (aujto). The preceding him (aujtou~) is, in itself, ambiguous as to gender. So far as its form is concerned, it might be neuter, in which case it would refer to the light,
"the Word regarded as a luminous principle," as it, in ver. 5. But aujto is masculine, Him, so that the Word now appears as a person. This determines the gender of the
preceding aujtou~.

On the enlightened and unenlightened nature, compare the allegory in Plato's "Republic," at the beginning of Book 7, where he pictures men confined from childhood in
an underground den, chained so that they can only see before them, and with no light save from a fire behind them. They mistake shadows for substance, and echoes
for voices. When they are liberated and compelled to look at the light, either of the fire or of the sun, their unaccustomed eyes are pained, and they imagine that the
shadows which they formerly saw are truer than the real objects which are now shown them. Finally, they will be able to see the sun, and will recognize him as the giver
of the seasons and years, and the guardian of all that is in the visible world. "When the eye of the soul is turned round, the whole soul must be turned round from the
world of becoming into that of being, and of the brightest and best of being, or, in other words, of the good."

Notice also the appropriateness of the two verbs joined with the neuter and the masculine pronouns. In ver. 5, with it, the Word, as a principle of light, kate>laben,
apprehended. Here, with Him, the Word, as a person, e]gnw, recognized.

11. He came (h+lqen). The narrative now passes from the general to the special action of the Word as the Light. The verb came, in the aorist tense, denotes a definite
act - the Incarnation. In ver. 10 the Word is described as in the world invisibly. Now He appears.

Unto His own (eijv ta). Literally, his own things: see on Acts 1:7. The Rev. follows the A.V.. Wyc., into his own things. Render his own home, and compare John
16:32; 19:27; Acts 21:6. The reference is to the land of Israel, which is recognized as God's own in a peculiar sense. See Jeremiah 2:7; Hosea 9:3; Zechariah 2:12;
Deuteronomy 7:6. Not a repetition of ver. 10. There is a progress in the narrative. He was in the world at large: then he came unto His own home.

His own (oiJ i]dia). The masculine gender, as the preceding was neuter. That signified His own home or possessions, this His own people. Rev., they that were His
own.

Received (pare>labon). Most commonly in the New Testament of taking one along with another. See on Matthew 4:5; 17:1; Acts 16:33. But also of accepting or
acknowledging one to be what he professes to be, and of receiving something transmitted, as 1 Corinthians 11:23; Galatians 1:12 etc. Westcott thinks this latter sense
is implied here; Christ having been offered by the teachers of Israel through John. Alford adopts the former sense; "expressing the personal assumption to one's self as a
friend or companion." De Wette explains to receive into the house. Godet strains a point by explaining as welcomed. De Wette's explanation seems to agree best with
his own home. Here again compare the nice choice of verbs: apprehended (kate>laben) the Light as a principle, and received (pare>labon) the Light as a person and
the Master of the house.

THIRD DIVISION OF THE PROLOGUE

THE WORD RECEIVED (12-18)

12. As many as (o[soi). Denoting individuals, as oiJ i]dioi (ver. 11) signified the nation at large.

Received (e]labon). The simple verb of the compound pare>labon in ver. 11. The meaning of the two verbs is substantially the same (so Alford, De Wette, and
apparently Meyer), though some recognize a difference, as Milligan and Moulton, who render pare>labon accepted, and e]labon received, and say that "the former
lays emphasis upon the will that consented (or refused) to receive, while the latter brings before us the possession gained: so that the full meaning is, As many as by
accepting Him, received Him." For the use of the simple verb, see John 5:43; 13:20; 19:6.

Power (ejxousi>an). Rev., the right. Six words are used for power in the:New Testament: bi>a, force, often oppressive, exhibiting itself in violence (Acts 5:26; 27:41.
Compare the kindred verb bia>zetai, Matthew 11:12; "the kingdom of heaven is taken by violence): du>namiv, natural ability (see on 2 Peter 2:11): ejne>rgeia, energy,
power in exercise; only of superhuman power, good or evil. Used by Paul only, and chiefly in the Epistles of the Imprisonment (Ephesians 1:19; 3:7; Colossians 2:12.
Compare the kindred verb ejnerge>w, to put forth power, and see on Mark 6:14; James 5:16): ijscu>v, strength (see on 2 Peter 2:11. Compare the kindred verb
ijscu>w, to be strong, and see on Luke 14:30; 16:3): kra>tov, might, only of God, relative and manifested power, dominion (Ephesians 1:19; 6:10; 1 Timothy 6:16; 1
Peter 4:11. Compare the kindred verb krate>w, to have power, to be master of, and see on Mark 7:3; Acts 3:11): ejxousi>a, liberty of action (e]xesti, it is lawful),
authority, delegated or arbitrary (John 5:27; 10:18; 17:2; 19:10, 11. See on Mark 2:10; Luke 20:20). Here, therefore, ejxousi>a is not merely possibility or ability, but
legitimate right derived from a competent source - the Word.

To become (gene>sqai). As those who are born (ver. 13. Compare John 3:3, and Matthew 5:45).

Sons (te>kna). Rev., more correctly, children. Son is uiJo>v. Te>knon, child (ti>ktw, to bring forth), denotes a relation based on community of nature, while uiJo>v,
Son, may indicate only adoption and heirship. See Galatians 4:7. Except in Revelation 21:7 which is a quotation, John never uses uiJo>v to describe the relation of
Christians to God, since he regards their position not as a result of adoption, but of a new life. Paul, on the other hand, regards the relation from the legal standpoint, as
adoption, imparting a new dignity and relation (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5, 6). See also James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3, 23 where the point of view is John's rather than
Paul's. Te>knon, indicating the relationship of man to God, occurs in John 1:12; 11:52; 1 John 3:1, 2, 10; 5:2 and always in the plural.

Believe on (pisteuou>sin eijv). The present participle, believing, indicates the present and continuous activity of faith. The word is used by John, sometimes with the
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dative      (c) 2005-2009,
       case simply meaning Infobase
                            to believeMedia   Corp.
                                       a person                                                                                                            Page
                                                 or thing; i.e., to believe that they are true or speak the truth. Thus, to believe the Scripture (John 2:22);      14me
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                                                                                                                                                                         (John
4:21); believe Moses, his writings, my words (John 4:46). At other times with a preposition, eijv, into, which is rendered believe in, or believe on. So here, John 6:29;
8:30; 1 John 5:10. See the two contrasted in John 6:29, 30; 8:30, 31; 1 John 5:10. To believe in, or on, is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is so to accept
Paul's. Te>knon, indicating the relationship of man to God, occurs in John 1:12; 11:52; 1 John 3:1, 2, 10; 5:2 and always in the plural.

Believe on (pisteuou>sin eijv). The present participle, believing, indicates the present and continuous activity of faith. The word is used by John, sometimes with the
dative case simply meaning to believe a person or thing; i.e., to believe that they are true or speak the truth. Thus, to believe the Scripture (John 2:22); believe me (John
4:21); believe Moses, his writings, my words (John 4:46). At other times with a preposition, eijv, into, which is rendered believe in, or believe on. So here, John 6:29;
8:30; 1 John 5:10. See the two contrasted in John 6:29, 30; 8:30, 31; 1 John 5:10. To believe in, or on, is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is so to accept
a statement or a person as to rest upon them, to trust them practically; to draw upon and avail one's self of all that is offered to him in them. Hence to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to
rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life.

Name (o]noma). See on Matthew 28:19. Expressing the sum of the qualities which mark the nature or character of a person. To believe in the name of Jesus Christ the
Son of God, is to accept as true the revelation contained in that title. Compare John 20:31.

13. Which (o{i). Referring to children of God.

Were born (ejgennh>qnsan). Literally, were begotten. The phrase gennhqh>nai ejk tou~ Qeou~, to be born or begotten of God, occurs only here in the Gospel, and
several times in the First Epistle. It is peculiar to John.

There is a progress of thought in the three following clauses, describing the proper origin of a believer's new life. Children of God are begotten, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. "The new birth is not brought about by descent, by desire, or by human power" (Westcott).

Of blood (ejx aiJma>twn). Literally, of bloods. The plural is variously explained: by some as indicating the duality of the sexes, by others of the multiplicity of ancestors.
The best explanation seems to be afforded by a similar use of the plural in Plato, e]ti ejn ga>laxi trefo>menoi, "while still nourished by milks" ("Laws," 887). The fluids,
blood or milk being represented as the sum-total of all their parts. Compare ta, the waters.

14. And the Word (kai). The simple copula as before; not yea, or namely, or therefore, but passing to a new statement concerning the Word.

Was made flesh (saneto). Rev., "became flesh." The same verb as in ver. 3. All things became through Him; He in turn became flesh. "He became that which first
became through Him." In becoming, He did not cease to be the Eternal Word. His divine nature was not laid aside. In becoming flesh He did not part with the rational
soul of man. Retaining all the essential properties of the Word, He entered into a new mode of being, not a new being.

The word sa, flesh, describes this new mode of being. It signifies human nature in and according to its corporal manifestation. Here, as opposed to the purely divine,
and to the purely immaterial nature of the Word. He did not first become a personality on becoming flesh. The prologue throughout conceives Him as a personality from
the very beginning - from eternal ages. The phrase became flesh, means more than that He assumed a human body. He assumed human nature entire, identifying
Himself with the race of man, having a human body, a human soul, and a human spirit. See John 12:27; 11:33; 13:21; 19:30. He did not assume, for a time merely,
humanity as something foreign to Himself The incarnation was not a mere accident of His substantial being. "He became flesh, and did not clothe Himself in flesh."
Compare, on the whole passage, 1 John 4:2; 2 John 1:7.

Dwelt (ejskh>nwsen). Literally, tabernacled, fixed, or had His tabernacle: from skhnh>, a tent or tabernacle. The verb is used only by John: in the Gospel only here,
and in Revelation 7:15; 12:12; 13:6; 21:3. It occurs in classical writings, as in Xenophon, ejn tw|~ pedi>w| ejskh>nou, he pitched his tent in the plain ("Anabasis," 7:4,
11). So Plato, arguing against the proposition that the unjust die by the inherent destructive power of evil, says that "injustice which murders others keeps the murderer
alive - aye, and unsleeping too; ou[tw po>rjrJw tou wJv e]oiken ejskh>nwtai tou~ qana>simov ei+nai, i.e., literally, so far has her tent been spread from being a house
of death" ("Republic," 610). The figure here is from the Old Testament (Leviticus 27:11; 2 Samuel 7:6; Psalms 78:67 sqq.; Ezekiel 37:27). The tabernacle was the
dwelling-place of Jehovah; the meeting-place of God and Israel. So the Word came to men in the person of Jesus. As Jehovah adopted for His habitation a dwelling
like that of the people in the wilderness, so the Word assumed a community of nature with mankind, an embodiment like that of humanity at large, and became flesh.
"That which was from the beginning, we heard, we saw, we beheld, we handled. Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:1-3.
Compare Philippians 2:7, 8).

Some find in the word tabernacle, a temporary structure (see the contrast between skh~nov, tabernacle, and oijkodomh>, building, in 2 Corinthians 5:1), a suggestion
of the transitoriness of our Lord's stay upon earth; which may well be, although the word does not necessarily imply this; for in Revelation 21:3 it is said of the heavenly
Jerusalem "the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will set up His tabernacle (skhnw>sei) with them."

Dante alludes to the incarnation in the seventh canto of the "Paradiso:"

- "the human species down below

Lay sick for many centuries in great error,

Till to descend it pleased the Word of God

To where the nature, which from its own Maker

Estranged itself, He joined to Him in person

By the sole act of His eternal love."

Among us (ejn hJmi~n). In the midst of us. Compare Genesis 24:3 Sept., "the Canaanites, with whom I dwell (meq' w=n ejgw)." The reference is to the eyewitnesses
of our Lord's life. "According as the spectacle presents itself to the mind of the Evangelist, and in the words among us takes the character of the most personal
recollection, it becomes in him the object of a delightful contemplation" (Godet).

The following words, as far as and including Father, are parenthetical. The unbroken sentence is: "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth."

We beheld (ejqeasa>meqa). Compare Luke 9:32; 2 Peter 2:16; 1 John 1:1; 4:14. See on Matthew 11:7; 23:5. The word denotes calm, continuous contemplation of
an object which remains before the spectator.

Glory (do>xan). Not the absolute glory of the Eternal Word, which could belong only to His pre-existent state, and to the conditions subsequent to his exaltation; but
His  glory revealed
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                               Infobase  Media both in Himself and in those who beheld Him. The reference is again to the Old Testament manifestations of the divine glory,
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in the wilderness (Exodus 16:10; 24:16 etc.); in the temple (1 Kings 8:11); to the prophets (Isaiah 6:3; Ezekiel 1:28). The divine glory flashed out in Christ from time to
time, in His transfiguration (Luke 9:31; compare 2 Peter 1:16, 17) and His miracles (John 2:11; 11:4, 40), but appeared also in His perfect life and character, in His
fulfillment of the absolute idea of manhood.
an object which remains before the spectator.

Glory (do>xan). Not the absolute glory of the Eternal Word, which could belong only to His pre-existent state, and to the conditions subsequent to his exaltation; but
His glory revealed under human limitations both in Himself and in those who beheld Him. The reference is again to the Old Testament manifestations of the divine glory,
in the wilderness (Exodus 16:10; 24:16 etc.); in the temple (1 Kings 8:11); to the prophets (Isaiah 6:3; Ezekiel 1:28). The divine glory flashed out in Christ from time to
time, in His transfiguration (Luke 9:31; compare 2 Peter 1:16, 17) and His miracles (John 2:11; 11:4, 40), but appeared also in His perfect life and character, in His
fulfillment of the absolute idea of manhood.

Glory. Without the article. This repetition of the word is explanatory. The nature of the glory is defined by what follows.

As (wJv). A particle of comparison. Compare Revelation 5:6"a lamb as though it had been slain;" also Revelation 13:3.

Of the only begotten of the Father (monogenou~v para). Rev., "from the Father." The glory was like, corresponds in nature to, the glory of an only Son sent from a
Father. It was the glory of one who partook of His divine Father's essence; on whom the Father's love was visibly lavished, and who represented the Father as His
ambassador. The word monogenh>v, only begotten (De Wette and Westcott, "only born ") is used in the New Testament of a human relationship (Luke 7:12; 8:42;
9:38). In the Septuagint it answers to darling, Hebrews, only one, in Psalms 21, A.V. Psalms 22:20; and to desolate in Psalms 24, A.V. Psalms 25, 16. With the
exception of the passages cited above, and Hebrews 11:17 it occurs in the New Testament only in the writings of John, and is used only of Christ. With this word
should be compared Paul's prwto>tokov, first born (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15, 18), which occurs but once in John (Revelation 1:5), and in Hebrews 1:6; 11:28;
12:23. John's word marks the relation to the Father as unique, stating the fact in itself. Paul's word places the eternal Son in relation to the universe. Paul's word
emphasizes His existence before created things; John's His distinctness from created things. Monogenh>v distinguishes between Christ as the only Son, and the many
children (te>kna) of God; and further, in that the only Son did not become (gene>sqai) such by receiving power, by adoption, or by moral generation, but was (h+n)
such in the beginning with God. The fact set forth does not belong to the sphere of His incarnation, but of His eternal being. The statement is anthropomorphic, 13 and
therefore cannot fully express the metaphysical relation.

Of the Father is properly rendered by Rev., "from the Father," thus giving the force of para> (see on from God, ver. 6). The preposition does not express the idea of
generation, which would be given by ejk or by the simple genitive, but of mission - sent from the Father, as John from God (see John 6:46; 7:29; 16:27; 17:8). The
correlative of this is ver. 18, "who is in the bosom (eijv tolpon) of the Father;" literally, "into the bosom," the preposition eijv signifying who has gone into and is there;
thus viewing the Son as having returned to the Father (but see on ver. 18).

Full of grace and truth (plh>rhv ca>ritov kaiav). This is connected with the main subject of the sentence: "The Word - full of grace and truth." A common combination
in the Old Testament (see Genesis 24:27, 49; 32:10; Exodus 34:6; Psalms 40:10, 11; 61:7). In these two words the character of the divine revelation is summed up.
"Grace corresponds with the idea of the revelation of God as Love (1 John 4:8, 16) by Him who is Life; and Truth with that of the revelation of God as Light (1 John
1:5) by Him who is Himself Light" (Westcott). Compare ver. 17. On Grace, see on Luke 1:30.

15. As ver. 14 is parallel to vv. 1-5, so this verse is parallel to vv. 6-8, but with an advance of thought. Vv. 6-S set forth the Baptist's witness to the Word as the
general light of men. This verse gives the Baptist's witness to the personal Word become flesh.

Bare witness (marturei~). Present tense. Rev., correctly, beareth witness. The present tense describes the witness of the Baptist as abiding. The fact of the Word's
becoming flesh is permanently by his testimony.

Cried (ke>kragen). See on Mark 5:5; 9:24; Luke 18:39. The verb denotes an inarticulate utterance as distinguished from words. When used is connection with
articulate speech, it is joined with le>gein or eijpei~n, to say, as John 7:28, cried, saying. Compare John 7:37; 12:44. The crying corresponds with the Baptist's
description of himself as a voice (fwnh>, sound or tone), Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23. The verb is in the perfect tense, but with the usual classical sense of the
present.

Was He (h+n). The imperfect tense, pointing back to a testimony historically past.

After me (ojpi>sw mou). Literally, behind me: in His human manifestation.

Is preferred before me (e]mprosqe>n mou ge>gonen). Literally, "is become," so Rev., "or is here (compare 6:25) before me." Before is used of time, not of dignity or
rank. The expression is enigmatical in form: "my successor is my predecessor." The idea of the superior dignity of Christ is not a necessary inference from His coming
after John, as, on that interpretation, the words would imply. On the contrary, the herald who precedes is inferior in dignity to the Prince whom he announces.

For (o[ti). Or because. The reason for the preceding statement: the key to the enigma.

He was before me (prw~to>v mou h+n). Literally, first in regard of me (Rev., in margin). The reference to dignity would require ejsti>n, is (see Matthew 3:11"is
mightier"). A similar expression occurs in John 15:18: the world hated me before (it hated) you (prw~ton uJmw~n). The reference is to the pre-existence of Christ.
When speaking of Christ's historic manifestation, is become before me, the Baptist says ge>gonen. When speaking of Christ's eternal being, He was before me, he uses
h+n. The meaning is, then, that Christ, in His human manifestation, appeared after John, but, as the Eternal Word, preceded him, because He existed before him.
Compare John 8:58. 14

16. And (kai). But the correct reading is o[ti, because, thus connecting the following sentence with "full of grace and truth" in ver. 14. We know Him as full of grace and
truth, because we have received of His fullness.

Of His fulness (ejk tou~ plhrw>matov aujtou~). These and the succeeding words are the Evangelist's, not the Baptist's. The word fullness (plh>rwma) is found here
only in John, but frequently occurs in the writings of Paul, whose use of it in Ephesians and Colossians illustrates the sense in John; these being Asiatic churches which
fell, later, within the sphere of John's influence. The word is akin to plh>rhv, full (ver. 14), and to plhrou~n, to fill or complete; and means that which is complete in
itself, plenitude, entire number or quantity. Thus the crew of a ship is called plh>rwma, its complement. Aristophanes ("Wasps," 660), "tou>twn plh>rwma, the sum-
total of these, is nearly two thousand talents." Herodotus (3:22) says that the full term of man's life among the Persians is eighty years; and Aristotle ("Polities," 4:4)
refers to Socrates as saying that the eight classes, representing different industries in the state, constitute the pleroma of the state (see Plato, "Republic," 371). In
Ephesians 1:23 Paul says that the church is the pleroma of Christ: i.e., the plenitude of the divine graces in Christ is communicated to the Church as His body, making all
the body, supplied and knit together through the joints and bands, to increase with the increase of God (Colossians 2:19; compare Ephesians 4:16). Similarly he prays
(Ephesians 3:19) that the brethren may be filled unto all the pleroma of God: i.e., that they may be filled with the fullness which God imparts. More closely related to
John's use of the term here are Colossians 1:19"It pleased the Father that in Him (Christ) should all the fullness (torwma, note the article) dwell;" and Colossians 2:9,
10"In Him dwelleth all the pleroma of the Godhead bodily (i.e., corporally, becoming incarnate), and in Him ye are fulfilled (peplhrwme>noi)." This declares that the
whole aggregate of the divine powers and graces appeared in the incarnate Word, and corresponds with John's statement that "the Word became flesh and tabernacled
among men, full of grace and truth;" while "ye are fulfilled" answers to John's "of His fullness we all received." Hence John's meaning here is that Christians receive from
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     divine completeness        Infobase
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                                            requires for the perfection of his character and for the accomplishment of his work (compare John 15:15; 17:22).Page1516 / 189
Have - received (ejla>bomen). Rev., we received: rendering the aorist tense more literally.
John's use of the term here are Colossians 1:19"It pleased the Father that in Him (Christ) should all the fullness (torwma, note the article) dwell;" and Colossians 2:9,
10"In Him dwelleth all the pleroma of the Godhead bodily (i.e., corporally, becoming incarnate), and in Him ye are fulfilled (peplhrwme>noi)." This declares that the
whole aggregate of the divine powers and graces appeared in the incarnate Word, and corresponds with John's statement that "the Word became flesh and tabernacled
among men, full of grace and truth;" while "ye are fulfilled" answers to John's "of His fullness we all received." Hence John's meaning here is that Christians receive from
the divine completeness whatever each requires for the perfection of his character and for the accomplishment of his work (compare John 15:15; 17:22). 15

Have - received (ejla>bomen). Rev., we received: rendering the aorist tense more literally.

Grace for grace (ca>rin ajntiritov). The preposition ajnti> originally means over against; opposite; before (in a local sense). Through the idea of placing one thing over
against another is developed that of exchange. Thus Herodotus (John 3:59), "They bought the island, ajntitwn, for money." So Matthew 5:38"An eye for (ajnti) an eye,"
etc. This idea is at the root of the peculiar sense in which the preposition is used here. We received, not New Testament grace instead of Old Testament grace; nor
simply, grace added to grace; but new grace imparted as the former measure of grace has been received and improved. "To have realized and used one measure of
grace, was to have gained a larger measure (as it were) in exchange for it." Consequently, continuous, unintermitted grace. The idea of the development of one grace
from another is elaborated by Peter (2 Peter 1:5). on which see notes. Winer cites a most interesting parallel from Philo. "Wherefore, having provided and dispensed
the first graces (ca>ritav), before their recipients have waxed wanton through satiety, he subsequently bestows different graces in exchange for (ajnti) those, and a third
supply for the second, and ever new ones in exchange for the older."

17. For (o[ti). Because. Giving the ground of the statement that Christians received new and richer gifts of grace: the ground being that the law of Moses was a limited
and narrow enactment, while Jesus Christ imparted the fullness of grace and truth which was in Him (ver. 14). Compare Romans 4:15; 10:4; Galatians 3:10.

Was given (ejdo>qh). A special gift serving a special and preparatory purpose with reference to the Gospel: the word being appropriate to "an external and positive
institution."

By Moses (dia>). Literally, through. See on by Him, ver. 3.

Grace and truth came (ejge>neto). Came into being as the development of the divine plan inaugurated in the law, and unfolding the significance of the gift of the law.
They came into being not absolutely, but in relation to mankind. Compare 1 Corinthians 1:30 where it is said of Christ, He was made (properly, became, egenh>qh)
unto us wisdom and righteousness, etc. Note the article with grace and truth; the grace and the truth; that which in the full sense is grace and truth. Grace occurs
nowhere else in John, except in salutations (2 John 1:3; Revelation 1:4; 22:21).

Jesus Christ. The Being who has been present in the Evangelist's mind from the opening of the Gospel is now first named. The two clauses, "the law was given," "grace
and truth came," without the copula or qualifying particles, illustrate the parallelism which is characteristic of John's style (see on ver. 10).

18. No man hath seen God at any time (Qeoraken pw>pote). God is first in the Greek order, as emphatic: "God hath no man ever seen." As to the substance of the
statement, compare John 3:11; Exodus 33:20; 1 John 4:12. Manifestations of God to Old Testament saints were only partial and approximate (Exodus 33:23). The
seeing intended here is seeing of the divine essence rather than of the divine person, which also is indicated by the absence of the article from Qeo, God. In this sense
even Christ was not seen as God. The verb oJra>w, to see, denotes a physical act, but emphasizes the mental discernment accompanying it, and points to the result
rather than to the act of vision. In 1 John 1:1; 4:12, 14qea>omai is used, denoting calm and deliberate contemplation (see on ver. 14). In John 12:45, we have
qewre>w, to behold (see on Mark 5:15; Luke 10:18). Both qea>omai and qewre>w imply deliberate contemplation, but the former is gazing with a view to satisfy the
eye, while the latter is beholding more critically, with an inward spiritual or mental interest in the thing beheld, and with a view to acquire knowledge about it. "Qewrei~n
would be used of a general officially reviewing or inspecting an army; qea~sqai of a lay spectator looking at the parade" (Thayer).

The only begotten son (oJ monogenh). Several of the principal manuscripts and a great mass of ancient evidence support the reading monogenh, "God only begotten."
16

Another and minor difference in reading relates to the article, which is omitted from monogenhby most of the authorities which favor Qeo. Whether we read the only
begotten Son, or God only begotten, the sense of the passage is not affected. The latter reading merely combines in one phrase the two attributes of the word already
indicated - God (ver. 1), only begotten (ver. 14); the sense being one who was both God and only begotten.

Who is in the bosom (oJ w}n eijv tolpon). The expression oJ w}n, who is, or the one being, is explained in two ways:

1. As a timeless present, expressing the inherent and eternal relation of the Son to the Father.

2. As interpreted by the preposition. eijv, in, literally, into, and expressing the fact of Christ's return to the Father's glory after His incarnation: "The Son who has entered
into the Father's bosom and is there." In the former case it is an absolute description of the nature of the Son: in the latter, the emphasis is on the historic fact of the
ascension, though with a reference to his eternal abiding with the Father from thenceforth.

While the fact of Christ's return to the Father's glory may have been present to the writer's mind, and have helped to determine the form of the statement, to emphasize
that fact in this connection would seem less consistent with the course of thought in the Prologue than the other interpretation: since John is declaring in this sentence the
competency of the incarnate Son to manifest God to mankind. The ascension of Christ is indeed bound up with that truth, but is not, in the light of the previous course
of thought, its primary factor. That is rather the eternal oneness of the Word with God; which, though passing through the phase of incarnation, nevertheless remains
unbroken (John 3:13). Thus Godet, aptly: "The quality attributed to Jesus, of being the perfect revealer of the divine Being, is founded on His intimate and perfect
relation to God Himself."

The phrase, in the bosom of the Father, depicts this eternal relation as essentially a relation of love; the figure being used of the relation of husband and wife
(Deuteronomy 13:6); of a father to an infant child (Numbers 11:12), and of the affectionate protection and rest afforded to Lazarus in Paradise (Luke 16:23). The force
of the preposition eijv, into, according to the first interpretation of who is, is akin to that of "with God" (see on ver. 1); denoting an ever active relation, an eternal going
forth and returning to the Father's bosom by the Son in His eternal work of love. He ever goes forth from that element of grace and love and returns to it. That element
is His life. He is there "because He plunges into it by His unceasing action" (Godet).

He (ejkei~nov). Strongly emphatic, and pointing to the eternal Son. This pronoun is used by John more frequently than by any other writer. It occurs seventy-two
times, and not only as denoting the more distant subject, but as denoting and laying special stress on the person or thing immediately at hand, or possessing pre-
eminently the quality which is immediately in question. Thus Jesus applies it to Himself as the person for whom the healed blind man is inquiring: "It is He (ejkei~nov)
that talketh with thee" (John 9:37). So here, "the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father - He hath declared Him."

Hath declared (ejxhgh>sato). Or, rendering the aorist strictly, He declared. From ejk, forth, and hJge>omai, to lead the way. Originally, to lead or govern. Hence, like
the Latin praeire verbis, to go before with words, to prescribe or dictate a form of words. To draw out in narrative, to recount or rehearse (see Acts 15:14 and on
Luke  24:35).
 Copyright  (c)To relate in full;
                2005-2009,        to interpret,
                               Infobase    Mediaor translate.
                                                   Corp. Therefore ejxh>ghsiv, exegesis, is interpretation or explanation. The word ejxhghth>v was used
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of an expounder of oracles, dreams, omens, or sacred rites. Thus Croesus, finding the suburbs of Sardis alive with serpents, sent to the soothsayers (ejxhghta) of
Telmessus (Herodotus, 1:78). The word thus comes to mean a spiritual director. Plato calls Apollo the tutelary director (patrw|~ov ejxhghth>v) of religion ("Republic,"
427), and says, "Let the priests be interpreters for life" ("Laws," 759). In the Septuagint the word is used of the magicians of Pharaoh's court (Genesis 41:8, 24), and
that talketh with thee" (John 9:37). So here, "the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father - He hath declared Him."

Hath declared (ejxhgh>sato). Or, rendering the aorist strictly, He declared. From ejk, forth, and hJge>omai, to lead the way. Originally, to lead or govern. Hence, like
the Latin praeire verbis, to go before with words, to prescribe or dictate a form of words. To draw out in narrative, to recount or rehearse (see Acts 15:14 and on
Luke 24:35). To relate in full; to interpret, or translate. Therefore ejxh>ghsiv, exegesis, is interpretation or explanation. The word ejxhghth>v was used by the Greeks
of an expounder of oracles, dreams, omens, or sacred rites. Thus Croesus, finding the suburbs of Sardis alive with serpents, sent to the soothsayers (ejxhghta) of
Telmessus (Herodotus, 1:78). The word thus comes to mean a spiritual director. Plato calls Apollo the tutelary director (patrw|~ov ejxhghth>v) of religion ("Republic,"
427), and says, "Let the priests be interpreters for life" ("Laws," 759). In the Septuagint the word is used of the magicians of Pharaoh's court (Genesis 41:8, 24), and
the kindred verb of teaching or interpreting concerning leprosy (Leviticus 14:57). John's meaning is that the Word revealed or manifested and interpreted the Father to
men. The word occurs only here in John's writings. Wyc. renders, He hath told out. These words conclude the Prologue.

THE HISTORICAL NARRATIVE now begins, and falls into two general divisions.

I. THE SELF-REVELATION OF CHRIST TO THE WORLD (John 1:19-12:50)

II. THE SELF-REVELATION OF CHRIST TO THE DISCIPLES (John 13:1-21:23) 17

I. THE SELF-REVELATION OF CHRIST TO THE WORLD (1:19-12:50)

Chapter 1

19. This (au[th). The following. This use of the pronoun, calling the reader's attention to what follows, and preparing him for it, is frequent in John. Sometimes the
pronoun carries the sense of quality: of this character. See John 3:19; 15:12; 1 John 5:4, 9, 11, 14.

Witness (marturi>a). Testimony. See on ver. 7, and 1 Peter 5:1.

John. See on ver. 6. Note the article: the John previously mentioned.

The Jews (oiJ xb~oi). This is a characteristic word in John. It occurs more than fifty times in his Gospel as his own expression, while there are six instances of the
formula King of the Jews used by Gentiles. In the Synoptic Gospels, on the other hand, to twelve instances of King of the Jews, there are but four passages in which
the word Jews occurs. In Paul's writings it is comparatively rare, mostly in contrast with Greek, and both in contrast with Christianity. In Revelation it is found twice
(John 2:9; 3:9), of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are "of the synagogue of Satan" and "do lie."

John, in the Gospel, distinguishes between the multitude (oJ o]clov) and the Jews (x~oi). By the former he means the aggregate of the Jewish inhabitants of Palestine,
the mass of the people, chiefly Galilaeans; by the latter, more particularly Judaeans, the leaders of Judaism in opposition to Jesus. The multitude are unsettled in
conviction, inquisitive, despised by the Pharisees, inclined to listen to Jesus and to believe; moved by an impulse to make Him a king, escorting Him triumphantly into
Jerusalem, and not appearing in the narrative of the trial and crucifixion. The Jews are tenacious of the expectation of a national Messiah. They represent the narrow,
sectarian aspect of Judaism; they are the instigators and leaders of the opposition to Jesus, and to them His crucifixion is attributed. John uses the word where the other
Evangelists speak of the opposers of Christ as Pharisees, Sadducees, elders, chief-priests, scribes, or lawyers. He recognizes the distinction between Pharisee and
Sadducee, and though he does not mention the latter by name, he characterizes them by their position. Jesus is the key to the sense in which John employs the term
Jews. He regards them in their relation to Him. The idea underlying the word is habitually that of separation from the character and privileges of a true Israelite through
their rejection of Jesus. 18

Sent (ajpe>steilan). As a deputation. See on ver. 6.

Priests and Levites. Representing the ecclesiastical element of the nation; the two classes employed in the temple service. See Josh. 3:3; 2 Chronicles 30:27; Ezekiel
44:15. The combination occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. These deputies probably came from the Sanhedrim.

To ask (i[na ejrwth>swsin). Literally, in order that they should ask. See on Matthew 15:23.

Who art thou (suv ei+). Literally, thou, who art thou?

20. He confessed and denied not. John's characteristic combination of a positive and negative clause. See on ver. 3. Both verbs are used absolutely.

I am not the Christ. According to the proper reading, ejgw, I, stands first in the Baptist's statement, the o[ti having the force merely of quotation marks. It is emphatic: "I
am not the Christ, though the Christ is here." Some were questioning whether John was the Christ (Luke 3:15; Acts 13:25). Note the frequent occurrence of the
emphatic I: vv. 23, 26, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34. On the Christ, see on Matthew 1:1.

24. What then? Art thou Elias? Better, as Rev., Elijah. Some authorities read, What then art thou? Elijah? Elijah, predicted in Malachi 4:5 as the forerunner of the day
of the Lord.

Art thou that prophet? Rev., "the prophet." According to the Greek order, the prophet art thou. See Deuteronomy 18:15 and compare Acts 3:22; 7:37; John 1:46;
6:14.

No. Observe how the successive denials become shorter.

23. The voice (fwnh). Or, a voice. There is no article. See on Matthew 3:5.

Crying in the wilderness. Some join in the wilderness with make straight, as in the Hebrew. The quotation is from Isaiah 40:3. In the other three Gospels it is applied to
the Baptist (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4). Here he uses it of himself. On wilderness, see on Matthew 3:1.

Make straight the way (eujqu>nate th). For oJdo, way, all the Synoptists have tri>bouv, beaten tracks; and for the verb eujqu>nate, make straight, the adjective and
verb eujqu>nate poiei~te. On the figure of preparing the roads, see on Luke 3:5.

24. They which were sent were (eujqu>nate th). Literally, those having been sent were. But the best texts omit the article, so that the remaining words form the
pluperfect passive: "they had been sent from the Pharisees." This addition of an explanatory circumstance is characteristic of John. Compare John 1:41, 45; 9:14; 11:5,
18; 13:23.
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26. I baptize with water: but there standeth. The best texts omit but; so that the two clauses illustrate John's characteristic parallelism, and bring out the sharp contrast
between the Baptist and his successor.
24. They which were sent were (eujqu>nate th). Literally, those having been sent were. But the best texts omit the article, so that the remaining words form the
pluperfect passive: "they had been sent from the Pharisees." This addition of an explanatory circumstance is characteristic of John. Compare John 1:41, 45; 9:14; 11:5,
18; 13:23.

26. I baptize with water: but there standeth. The best texts omit but; so that the two clauses illustrate John's characteristic parallelism, and bring out the sharp contrast
between the Baptist and his successor.

Among you (me>sov uJmw~n). The Greek idiom is a mid one in respect of you. , I, and me>sov, a mid one, stand respectively at the head of the parallel clauses, thus
emphasizing the two contrasted parties.

Standeth (e[sthken). The best texts read sth>kei, a verb which is kindred to e[sthken, but with the added sense of firm, persistent standing. Thus, stand fast (1
Corinthians 16:13; Galatians 5:1: Philippians 1:27). The verb emphasizes the firm, dignified attitude of Christ.

Ye know not (uJmei~v). Emphatic.

27. He it is who, coming after me (aujto>v ejstin oJ ojpi>sw mou~ ejrcou>menov). The best texts omit the first two words. Westcott and Hort also omit oJ so that the
rendering is, whom ye know not, coming after me.

Was preferred before me. The best texts omit.

To unloose (i[na lu>sw). Literally, that I should unloose. Mark (1:7) and Luke (3:16) have unloose. Matthew (3:11) bear. See on Matthew 3:11.

28. Bethabara (bhqanara|~). The correct reading is bhqani>a, Bethany. Not the Bethany of John 11:18 but an unknown village. It was not uncommon for two places to
have the same name, as the two Bethsaidas, the one on the eastern shore of the Lake of Gennesaret (Mark 6:32, 45), and the other on the western shore (John 1:44);
the two Caesareas, on the Mediterranean (Acts 8:40), and in Gaulonitis, at the foot of Lebanon, Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:13).

Was baptizing (h+n bapti>zwn). The participle with the substantive verb indicating continued action; was engaged in baptizing.

29. John. The best texts omit.

Seeth (ble>pei). Both oJra>w and ble>pw denote the physical act of seeing, the former seeing in general, the latter the single look. The perception indicated by ble>pw
is more outward; the perception of sense as distinguished from mental discernment, which is prominent in oJra>w. A look told the Baptist that the Mightier One had
come. See on ver. 18, and Matthew 7:3.

Unto (pro). Strictly, towards.

Behold (i]de). The imperative in the singular number, though the company of his followers is addressed. This construction, however, is not uncommon. See Matthew
26:65; Acts 13:46.

The Lamb (oJ ajmno). The word occurs in John only here and in ver. 36. Also in Acts 8:32; 1 Peter 1:19. The diminutive ajrni>on, a little lamb, is found once in the
Gospel (John 21:15), often in Revelation, but only of the glorified Redeemer, and nowhere else in the New Testament. In some instances the word may emphasize the
gentle and innocent character of Jesus suffering to expiate the sins of men (Revelation 5:6, 12; 13:8); but it is also employed in describing Him as indignant (Revelation
6:16); as victorious (Revelation 17:4); as the object of adoration (Revelation 5:8); and as enthroned (Revelation 5:13; 7:17).

The term, the Lamb of God (note the article), is evidently used here by the Baptist in some sense understood by his hearers, and points to Isaiah 53:(7); compare Acts
8:32. The reference is probably to the Paschal lamb, though commentators differ.

Of God. Provided by God for sacrifice.

That taketh away (oJ ai]rwn). Either takes away or takes upon himself, in order to bear: either removal or expiation of sin. The one idea, however, is included in the
other. The taking away of the sin is through His bearing it. In Isaiah 53 (Sept.), fe>rw, to bear, and its compound ajnafe>rw (see on 1 Peter 2:5) are used, and ai]rw,
to take up and carry away, occurs only in the phrase his life is taken from the earth, A.V., he was cut off out of the land of the living, in accordance with the universal
usage of the Septuagint, which never employs ai]rein to express the bearing of sin. If the Baptist had meant bearing, he would probably have used fe>rw. Compare 1
John 3:5: "He was manifested to take away (i[na a]rh|) our sins," and 1 John 1:7"cleanseth us from all sin." In the use of the present tense, taketh, the Baptist views the
future consummation of Christ's atoning work as potentially present.

The sin (than). Collectively regarded.

World. See on ver. 9.

30. Of whom (peri); i.e., "concerning whom;" but the proper reading is uJpe "on behalf of whom;" in vindication of.

A man (ajnh). Three words are used in the New Testament for man: a]rjrJhn, or a]rshn, ajnh>r, and a]nqrwpov. &Arshn marks merely the sexual distinction, male
(Romans 1:27; Revelation 12:5, 13). >r denotes the man as distinguished from the woman, as male or as a husband (Acts 8:12; Matthew 1:16), or from a boy
(Matthew 14:21). Also man as endowed with courage, intelligence, strength, and other noble attributes (1 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 4:13; James 3:2).

&Anqrwpov is generic, without distinction of sex, a human being (John 16:21), though often used in connections which indicate or imply sex, as Matthew 19:10; 10:35.
Used of mankind (Matthew 4:4), or of the people (Matthew 5:13, 16; 6:5, 18; John 6:10). Of man as distinguished from animals or plants (Matthew 4:19; 2 Peter
2:16), and from God, Christ as divine and angels (Matthew 10:32; John 10:33; Luke 2:15). With the notion of weakness leading to sin, and with a contemptuous sense
(1 Corinthians 2:5; 1 Peter 4:2; John 5:12; Romans 9:20). The more honorable and noble sense thus attaches to ajnh>r rather than to a]nqrwpov. Thus Herodotus says
that when the Medes charged the Greeks, they fell in vast numbers, so that it was manifest to Xerxes that he had many men combatants (a]nqrwpoi) but few warriors
(a]nqrwpoi) 7:210. So Homer: "O friends, be men (ajne>rev), and take on a stout heart" ("Iliad," 5, 529). >r is therefore used here of Jesus by the Baptist with a sense
of dignity. Compare a]nqrwpov, in ver. 6, where the word implies no disparagement, but is simply indefinite. In John ajnh>r has mostly the sense of husband (John
4:16-18). See John 6:10.

31. And I (kajgw). Emphatic. "And I, though I predicted His coming (ver. 30), knew Him not."
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Knew Him not. Officially, as the Messiah. There is no reference to personal acquaintance. It is inconceivable that, with the intimate relations between the two families,
the Baptist should have been personally unacquainted with Jesus.
4:16-18). See John 6:10.

31. And I (kajgw). Emphatic. "And I, though I predicted His coming (ver. 30), knew Him not."

Knew Him not. Officially, as the Messiah. There is no reference to personal acquaintance. It is inconceivable that, with the intimate relations between the two families,
the Baptist should have been personally unacquainted with Jesus.

Israel. Always with the idea of the spiritual privilege of the race.

32. Bare record (ejmartu>rhsen). Better, bear witness, as Rev.. See on ver. 7.

I saw (teqe>amai). Rev., more correctly, gives the force of the perfect tense, I have beheld. Calmly and thoughtfully; see on ver. 14. The perfect indicates the abiding
effect of the vision. Compare eJw>raka, I have seen (ver. 34).

As a dove (wJsei). In the shape of a dove. See on Matthew 3:16.

33. The same (ejkei~nov). Rev., He. See on ver. 18. Emphasizing the personal communication of Christ to the Baptist.

With the Holy Ghost (ejn Pneu>mati >w|). Better, as Rev., Holy Spirit. The preposition ejn, in (Rev., in margin), often has the instrumental force, with. Here, however,
it would seem to signify the element of the new life, as ejn u[dati, in water, signifies the element of the symbolic baptism, and might better be rendered in. The absence
of the article from Holy Spirit falls in with this, as indicating the spiritual influence of the divine Agent rather than His personality.

34. I saw (eJw>raka). Rev., more strictly, according to the perfect tense, I have seen. See on ver. 32, and note the different verb for seeing, on which see on ver. 18.

Bare record (memartu>rhka). Rev., have born witness. Also the perfect tense.

The Son of God. This is the proper reading, but one very important manuscript reads oJ ejklekto, the chosen. By the phrase John means the Messiah. It has the same
sense as in the Synoptic Gospels. Compare Matthew 11:27; 28:19. For the sense in which it was understood by the Jews of Christ's day, see John 5:18, 19; 10:29,
30-36. The phrase occurs in the Old Testament only in Daniel 3:25. Compare Psalms 2:12. On uiJo, son, as distinguished from te>knon, child, see on ver. 12.

35. Stood (eiJsth>kei). Rev., more correctly, was standing, since the imperfect tense denotes something in progress. Here, therefore, with the idea of waiting; was
standing in expectation. Compare John 7:37; 18:5, 6, 18.

Two of his disciples. The one was Andrew (ver. 41), the other the Evangelist himself, who studiously refrains from mentioning his own name throughout the narrative.
The name of James the elder also does not appear, nor that of Salome, the Evangelist's mother, who is mentioned by name in Mark's Gospel (John 15:40; 16:1). The
omission of his own name is the more significant from the fact that he is habitually exact in defining the names in his narrative. Compare the simple designation Simon
(John 1:42) with subsequent occurrences of his name after his call, as John 1:42; 13:6; 21:15, etc. Also Thomas (John 11:16; 20:24; 21:2); Judas Iscariot (John 6:71;
12:4; 13:2, 26); the other Judas (John 14:22). Note also that he never speaks of the Baptist as John the Baptist, like the other three Evangelists, but always as John.

36. Looking (ejmble>yav). Rev., giving the force of the aorist, and he looked. See on John 1:29. The verb is used by John only here and John 1:42.

As He walked (peripatou~nti). The verb literally means to walk about (peri>). Here, possibly, walking along. Westcott, "walking away." See on 1 Peter 5:8; Luke
11:44.

37. Speak (lalou~ntov). Literally, speaking.

They followed. Bengel says, "The origin of the Christian Church."

38. Saw (qeasa>menov). Better, as Rev., beheld: looked steadfastly upon them as if studying them.

What seek ye? The first words of Christ as recorded by John. Compare Matthew 3:15; Mark 1:15; Luke 2:49.

Rabbi. My great one; my honorable sir. Explained by Jesus himself as dida>skalov, teacher (Matthew 23:8 where the proper reading is dida>skalov, instead of
kaqhghth, guide, master, found in Matthew 23:10). Used by the Jews in addressing their teachers, and formed from a Hebrew root meaning great. It occurs commonly
in John, and is found in Matthew and Mark, but not in Luke, who uses ejpistath>v. See on Luke 5:5.

Being interpreted. John frequently adds explanatory remarks. See John 1:42, 43; 9:7.

Dwellest thou (me>neiv). Rev., abidest. Jesus had asked "What seek ye?" not whom. They reply, "Where dost thou abide?"

39. See (i]dete). But the correct reading is o]yesqe, ye shall see.

They came. The best texts add ou+n, therefore. So Rev.. This connecting particle is found in John's Gospel as often as in the other three combined, and most
commonly in narrative, marking the transition from one thing to another, and serving to connect the several parts of the narrative. See John 1:22; 2:18; 3:25; 4:28, 30,
etc. Much more frequently thus than in the discourses, where it would be used to mark a sequence of thought. Still such instances occur, as John 1:21, 25; 3:29; 8:5;
4:11.

He dwelt (me>nei). The present tense. Literally, they saw where he dwelleth. For a similar construction see John 2:9; 4:1; Acts 10:18 etc.

Tenth hour. The question is whether this is to be reckoned according to the Jewish or the Roman method of computation. The Jewish method, employed by the other
Evangelists, begins the day at sunrise; so that, according to this, the tenth hour would be four o'clock in the afternoon. The Roman method, like our own, reckons from
midnight; according to which the tenth hour would be ten o'clock in the morning. The weight of the argument seems, on the whole, to be in favor of the Jewish method,
which is undoubtedly assumed by John in John 11:9. The Greeks of Asia Minor, for whom John wrote, had the Jewish method, received from the Babylonians. Godet
cites an incident from the "Sacred Discourses" of Aelius Aristides, a Greek sophist of the second century, and a contemporary of Polycarp. God having commanded
him to take a bath, he chose the sixth hour as the most favorable to health. It being winter, and the bath a cold one, the hour was midday; for he said to his friend who
kept him waiting, "Seest thou the shadow is already turning?" Even Canon Westcott, who advocates the Roman method, admits that "this mode of reckoning was
unusual in ancient times," and that "the Romans and Greeks, no less than the Jews, reckoned their hours from sunrise," though the Romans reckoned their civil days
 Copyright
from         (c) 2005-2009,
      midnight,  and the tenthInfobase   MediaasCorp.
                               hour is named                                                                                                             Pageattack
                                                 a late hour, when soldiers took their repast or were allowed to rest. Thus Livy, in his account of the Roman   20 / on
                                                                                                                                                                      189
Sutrium says, "About the tenth hour the consul ordered his men a repast, and gave directions that they should be ready in arms at whatever time of the day or night he
should give the signal.... After refreshing themselves, they consigned themselves to rest" (9, 37).
cites an incident from the "Sacred Discourses" of Aelius Aristides, a Greek sophist of the second century, and a contemporary of Polycarp. God having commanded
him to take a bath, he chose the sixth hour as the most favorable to health. It being winter, and the bath a cold one, the hour was midday; for he said to his friend who
kept him waiting, "Seest thou the shadow is already turning?" Even Canon Westcott, who advocates the Roman method, admits that "this mode of reckoning was
unusual in ancient times," and that "the Romans and Greeks, no less than the Jews, reckoned their hours from sunrise," though the Romans reckoned their civil days
from midnight, and the tenth hour is named as a late hour, when soldiers took their repast or were allowed to rest. Thus Livy, in his account of the Roman attack on
Sutrium says, "About the tenth hour the consul ordered his men a repast, and gave directions that they should be ready in arms at whatever time of the day or night he
should give the signal.... After refreshing themselves, they consigned themselves to rest" (9, 37).

Aristophanes says, "When the shadow on the dial is ten feet long, then go to dinner" ("Ecclesiazusae," 648), and Horace, "You will dine with me today. Come after the
ninth hour" ("Epistle," Bk. 1., 7, 69). It is objected that the time from four o'clock to the close of the day would not have been described as that day; but beyond the
marking of the specific hour of accompanying Jesus as the first hour of his Christian life, John would not have been unlikely to use a looser and more popular form of
speech in indicating the length of the stay with Jesus, meaning simply that they remained with him during the remainder of the day, and, no doubt, prolonged their
conversation into the night. 19

40. One of the two. The other being John.

Andrew. See on Mark 3:18. Compare Mark 13:3; John 6:8; 12:22.

Simon Peter's brother. The mention of Simon Peter before he has appeared in the narrative indicates the importance which the Evangelist attaches to him. It seems to
assume a knowledge of the evangelic narrative on the part of the readers. See a similar instance of anticipating what is subsequently explained, in the mention of Mary,
John 11:2.

41. He first findeth (euJri>skai ou=tov prw~tov). Rev., findeth first. He is the demonstrative pronoun, this one, which, with first, seems to point to the later finding of his
brother by the other disciple, i.e., of James by John. Bengel says: "With the

festival freshness of those days beautifully corresponds the word findeth, which is frequently used here."

His own (to). See on Matthew 22:5; 25:15; Acts 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3.

We have found (euJrh>kamen). This has been called the chapter of the Eurekas.

The Messias. Peculiar to this Gospel, and only here and John 4:25.

Christ. See on Matthew 1:1.

42. Beheld. The same word as in ver. 36, on which see Rev., looked upon.

Thou art. Some read interrogatively: art thou.

Jona (Iwna~). The correct reading is s>nou, of John.

A stone (Pe>trov). See on Matthew 16:18. A detached mass of rock. Cephas is the Aramaic name, occurring 1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5; Galatians 2:9.

43. Jesus. The best texts omit.

Would go forth (hjqe>lhsen ejxelqei~n). Rev., better, was minded to go. On the construction see on Matthew 20:14. On the verb to be minded, see on Matthew 1:19.

And findeth. Note the graphic interchange of tenses: was minded, findeth. The coordination of the two clauses, which by other writers would be placed in logical
dependence, is characteristic of John. Even where there is a real inner dependence he uses only the simple connective particles. Compare John 2:13 sqq.

Philip. See on Mark 3:18. For hints of his character see John 6:5, 7; 12:21 sqq.; John 14:8, 9.

Saith. The best texts insert Jesus: "And Jesus said unto him."

Follow (ajkolou>qei). Often used in the New Testament with the special sense of following as a disciple or partisan. See Matthew 4:20, 22; 9:9; Mark 1:18; John
8:12. Also with the meaning of cleaving steadfastly to one and conforming to his example. See Matthew 10:38; 16:24; John 12:26. The verb occurs but once outside of
the writings of the Evangelists, 1 Corinthians 10:4. It appears in the noun acolyte, or acolyth, or acolothist, a church-servant ranking next below a subdeacon, whose
duty it was to trim the lamps, light the church, prepare the sacramental elements, etc. Under the Byzantine emperors the captain of the emperor's bodyguard was called
Acolouthos, or the Follower. See Scott's "Count Robert of Paris."

44. Of Bethsaida. Rev., more literally, from (ajpo>). Bethsaida of Galilee. See John 12:21, and on ver. 28. Philip, being of the same city as Andrew and Peter, was the
more ready to welcome Christ, because of the testimony and example of his fellow-citizens. Notice the change of preposition: from Bethsaida (ajpo>) and out of (ejk)
the city. See on from the dead, Luke 16:31.

45. Nathanael. Probably the same as Bartholomew. See on Bartholomew, Mark 3:18.

Moses in the law, etc. Note the circumstantial detail of this confession as compared with Andrew's (ver. 42).

46. Come out of Nazareth (ejk Nazare). Literally, "be out of;" a characteristic expression of John. See John 3:31; 4:22; 7:17, 22; 8:23; 15:19; 18:36, 38, etc. It means
more than to come out of: rather to come out of as that which is of; to be identified with something so as to come forth bearing its impress, moral or otherwise. See
especially John 3:31: "He that is of the earth is of the earth;" i.e., partakes of its quality. Compare Christ's words to Nicodemus (John 3:6), and 1 Corinthians 15:47.

In the Greek order, out of Nazareth stands first in the sentence as expressing the prominent thought in Nathanael's mind, surprise that Jesus should have come from
Nazareth, a poor village, even the name of which does not occur in the Old Testament. Contrary to the popular explanation, there is no evidence that Nazareth was
worse than other places, beyond the fact of the violence offered to Jesus by its people (Luke 4:28, 29), and their obstinate unbelief in Him (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:6).
It was a proverb, however, that no prophet was to come from Galilee (John 7:52).

47. An Israelite
 Copyright       indeed (ajlhqw~v
            (c) 2005-2009,         s*a>thv).
                             Infobase  MediaLiterally,
                                              Corp. truly an Israelite. An Israelite not merely in descent, but in character, according to the ideal laid down 21
                                                                                                                                                        Page   in God's
                                                                                                                                                                   / 189
law. The word Israelite itself was an honorable designation. See on men of Israel, Acts 3:12 and compare remarks on Jews, ver. 19.

Guile (do>lov). Properly, a bait for fish, and related at the root to delea>zw, to catch with a bait, or beguile. See on beguiling, 2 Peter 2:14. The true Israelite would be
Nazareth, a poor village, even the name of which does not occur in the Old Testament. Contrary to the popular explanation, there is no evidence that Nazareth was
worse than other places, beyond the fact of the violence offered to Jesus by its people (Luke 4:28, 29), and their obstinate unbelief in Him (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:6).
It was a proverb, however, that no prophet was to come from Galilee (John 7:52).

47. An Israelite indeed (ajlhqw~v s*a>thv). Literally, truly an Israelite. An Israelite not merely in descent, but in character, according to the ideal laid down in God's
law. The word Israelite itself was an honorable designation. See on men of Israel, Acts 3:12 and compare remarks on Jews, ver. 19.

Guile (do>lov). Properly, a bait for fish, and related at the root to delea>zw, to catch with a bait, or beguile. See on beguiling, 2 Peter 2:14. The true Israelite would be
the true child of Israel after he had ceased to be the Supplanter. It is an interesting fact that in Genesis 25:27 Jacob is called a plain man, i.e., as some explain the
Hebrew, a perfect or upright man, and others, a man of quiet and simple habits, and that the Septuagint renders this adjective by a]plastov, unfeigned, without disguise,
simple, guileless. The Greek here reads literally, in whom guile is not.

48. Knowest (ginw>skeiv). See on Acts 19:15.

Under the fig tree (uJpo). To be construed with ei+don se, I saw thee; i.e., I saw thee under the fig tree. The preposition with the accusative case, which implies motion
toward, indicates his withdrawal to the shade of the tree for meditation or prayer. See on ver. 50. The Jewish writings tell of distinguished rabbis who were accustomed
to rise early and pursue their studies under the shade of a fig tree. Compare Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10. Augustine, in his "Confessions," relates of himself: "I cast myself
down, I know not how, under a certain fig tree, giving full vent to my tears; and the floods of mine eyes gushed out, an acceptable sacrifice to Thee" (John 8:28).
Nathanael asks, "Whence knowest thou me? "Jesus answers, "I saw thee (ei+don)."

49. Rabbi. Nathanael here gives the title, which he had withheld in his first address.

50. Under the fig tree (uJpo). Compare ver. 48. Here the same preposition is used with the genitive case, indicating rest, without the suggestion of withdrawal to.

Believest thou? Rightly so, though some render affirmatively, thou believest.

51. Verily, verily (ajmh). The word is transcribed into our Amen. John never, like the other Evangelists, uses the single verily, and, like the single word in the Synoptists,
it is used only by Christ.

Hereafter (ajp' a]rti). The best texts omit. The words literally mean, from henceforth; and therefore, as Canon Westcott aptly remarks, "if genuine, would describe the
communion between earth and heaven as established from the time when the Lord entered upon His public ministry."

Heaven (to). Rev., giving the article, the heaven.

Open (ajnew|go>ta). The perfect participle. Hence Rev., rightly, opened. The participle signifies standing open, and is used in the story of Stephen's martyrdom, Acts
7:56. Compare Isaiah 64:1. The image presented to the true Israelite is drawn from the history of his ancestor Jacob (Genesis 28:12).

Angels. With the exception of John 12:29 and John 20:12, John does not use the word "angel" elsewhere in the Gospel or in the Epistles, and does not refer to their
being or ministry. Trench ("Studies in the Gospels") cites a beautiful passage of Plato as suggestive of our Lord's words. Plato is speaking of Love. "He is a great spirit,
and like all spirits he is intermediate between the divine and the mortal. He interprets between gods and men, conveying to the gods the prayers and sacrifices of men,
and to men the commands and replies of the gods; he is the mediator who spans the chasm which divides them, and in him all is bound together, and through him the
acts of the prophet and the priest, their sacrifices and mysteries and charms, and all prophecy and incantation find their way. For God mingles not with man, but through
Love all the intercourse and speech of God with man, whether awake or asleep, is carried on" ("Symposium," 203).

Son of man. See on Luke 6:22. Notice the titles successively applied to our Lord in this chapter: the greater Successor of the Baptist, the Lamb of God, the Son of
God, the Messiah, the Ring of Israel. These were all given by others. The title Son of man He applies to Himself.

In John's Gospel, as in the Synoptists, this phrase is used only by Christ in speaking of Himself; and elsewhere only in Acts 7:56 where the name is applied to Him by
Stephen. It occurs less frequently in John than in the Synoptists, being found in Matthew thirty times, in Mark thirteen, and in John twelve.

Jesus' use of the term here is explained in two ways.

I.That He borrows the title from the Old Testament to designate Himself either:

(a)as a prophet, as in Ezekiel 2:13; 3:1 etc.; or

(b)as the Messiah, as prefigured in Daniel 7:13.

This prophecy of Daniel had obtained such wide currency that the Messiah was called Anani, or the man of the clouds.

(a.)This is untenable, because in Ezekiel, as everywhere in the Old Testament, the phrase Son of man, or Sons of men, is used to describe man under his human
limitations, as weak, fallible, and incompetent by himself to be a divine agent.

(b.)The allusion to Daniel's prophecy is admitted; but Jesus does not mean to say, "I am the Messiah who is prefigured by Daniel." A political meaning attached in
popular conception to the term Messiah; and it is noticeable throughout John's Gospel that Jesus carefully avoids using that term before the people, but expresses the
thing itself by circumlocution, in order to avoid the complication which the popular understanding would have introduced into his work. See John 8:24, 25; 10:24, 25.

Moreover, the phrase Son of man was not generally applied to the Messiah. On the contrary, John 5:27 and John 12:34 show that it was set off against that term.
Compare Matthew 16:13, 15. Son of God is the Messianic title, which, with one exception, appears in confessions (John 1:34, 49; 11:27; 20:31). 20

In Daniel the reference is exclusively to the final stage of human affairs. The point is the final establishment of the divine kingdom. Moreover, Daniel does not say "the
Son of man," but "one like a Son of man." Compare Revelation 1:13; 14:14 where also the article is omitted.

II.The second, and correct explanation is that the phrase Son of man is the expression of Christ's self-consciousness as being related to humanity as a whole: denoting
His real participation in human nature, and designating Himself as the representative man. It thus corresponds with the passage in Daniel, where the earthly kingdoms
are represented by beasts, but the divine kingdom by a Son of man. Hence, too, the word a]nqrwpov is purposely used (see on a man, ver. 30, and compare John
8:40).
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While the human element was thus emphasized in the phrase, the consciousness of Jesus, as thus expressed, did not exclude His divine nature and claims, but rather
regarded these through the medium of His humanity. He showed Himself divine in being thus profoundly human. Hence two aspects of the phrase appear in John, as in
the Synoptists. The one regards His earthly life and work, and involves His being despised; His accommodation to the conditions of human life; the partial veiling of His
II.The second, and correct explanation is that the phrase Son of man is the expression of Christ's self-consciousness as being related to humanity as a whole: denoting
His real participation in human nature, and designating Himself as the representative man. It thus corresponds with the passage in Daniel, where the earthly kingdoms
are represented by beasts, but the divine kingdom by a Son of man. Hence, too, the word a]nqrwpov is purposely used (see on a man, ver. 30, and compare John
8:40).

While the human element was thus emphasized in the phrase, the consciousness of Jesus, as thus expressed, did not exclude His divine nature and claims, but rather
regarded these through the medium of His humanity. He showed Himself divine in being thus profoundly human. Hence two aspects of the phrase appear in John, as in
the Synoptists. The one regards His earthly life and work, and involves His being despised; His accommodation to the conditions of human life; the partial veiling of His
divine nature; the loving character of His mission; His liability to misinterpretation; and His outlook upon a consummation of agony. On the other hand, He is possessed
of supreme authority; He is about His Father's work; He reveals glimpses of His divine nature through His humanity; His presence and mission entail serious
responsibility upon those to whom He appeals; and He foresees a consummation of glory no less than of agony. See Matthew 8:20; 11:19; 12:8, 32; 13:37; 16:13;
20:18; 26:64; Mark 8:31, 38; 14:21; Luke 9:26, 58; 12:8; 17:22; 19:10; 22:69.

The other aspect is related to the future. He has visions of another life of glory and dominion; though present in the flesh, His coming is still future, and will be followed
by a judgment which is committed to Him, and by the final glory of His redeemed in His heavenly kingdom. See Matthew 10:23; 13:40 sqq.; Matthew 16:27 sqq.;
Matthew 19:28; 24:27, 37, 44; 25:31 sqq.; Mark 13:26; Luke 6:22; 17:24, 30; 18:8; 21:27.

CHAPTER 2

1. The third day. Reckoning from the last day mentioned (John 1:43).

A marriage (ga>mov). Or marriage festival, including a series of entertainments, and therefore often found in the plural. See on Matthew 22:2.

Cana of Galilee. To distinguish it from Cana in Coelo-Syria.

Mother of Jesus. Her name is never mentioned by John.

Was there. When Jesus arrived. Probably as an intimate friend of the family, assisting in the preparations.

2. Was called. Rev., bidden. After His return from the Baptist.

His disciples. In honor of Jesus.

3. They wanted wine (uJsterh>santov oi]nou). Literally, when the wine failed. So Rev., Wyc., and wine failing. Some early authorities read: "they had no wine, for the
wine of the marriage was consumed." Marriage festivals sometimes lasted a whole week (Genesis 29:27; Judges 14:15; Tobit 9:12; 10:1).

They have no wine. Implying a request for help, not necessarily the expectation of a miracle.

4. Woman. Implying no severity nor disrespect. Compare John 20:13, 15. It was a highly respectful and affectionate mode of address.

What have I to do with thee (ti> ejmoi). Literally, what is there to me and to thee. See on Mark 5:7 and compare Matthew 8:29; 27:19; Mark 1:24; Luke 8:28. It
occurs often in the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 16:10; 1 Kings 17:18 etc. Though in a gentle and affectionate manner, Jesus rejects her interference, intending to supply
the demand in His own way. Compare John 6:6. Wyc., What to me and to thee, thou woman?

Mine hour is not yet come. Compare John 8:20; 12:23; 13:1. In every case the coming of the hour indicates some crisis in the personal life of the Lord, more commonly
His passion. Here the hour of His Messianic manifestation (ver. 11).

5. Unto the servants (diako>noiv). See on Matthew 20:26; Mark 9:35.

6. Water-pots (uJdri>ai). Used by John only, and only in the Gospel, John 2:7; 4:28. Water-pots is literally correct, as the word is from u[dwr, water.

Of stone. Because less liable to impurity, and therefore prescribed by the Jewish authorities for washing before and after meals.

After the manner of the purifying, etc. That is, for the purifications customary among the Jews.

Containing (cwrou~sai). From cw~rov, a place or space. Hence, to make room or give place, and so, to have space or room for holding something.

Firkins (metrhta). Only here in the New Testament. From metre>w, to measure; and therefore, properly, a measurer. A liquid measure containing nearly nine gallons.

7. Fill (gemi>sate). Compare Mark 4:37 and see on Luke 14:23.

8. Draw out (ajntlh>sate). From a]ntlov, the hold of a ship where the bilge-water settles, and hence, the bilge-water itself. The verb, therefore, originally, means to bale
out bilge-water; thence, generally, to draw, as from a well (John 4:15). Canon Westcott thinks that the water which was changed into wine was not taken from the
vessels of purification, but that the servants were bidden, after they had filled the vessels with water, to continue drawing from the well or spring.

Ruler of the feast (ajrcitrikli>nw|). From a]rcw, to be chief, and tri>klinon, Latin, triclinium, a banqueting-hall with three couches (see on Mark 6:39). Some explain the
word as meaning the superintendent of the banqueting-chamber, a servant whose duty it was to arrange the table-furniture and the courses, and to taste the food
beforehand. Others as meaning one of the guests selected to preside at the banquet according to the Greek and Roman usage. This latter view seems to be supported
by a passage in Ecclesiasticus (35:1, 2): "If thou be made the master of a feast, lift not thyself up, but be among them as one of the rest; take diligent care for them, and
so sit down. And when thou hast done all thy office, take thy place, that thou mayst be merry with them, and receive a crown for thy well ordering of the feast."
According to the Greek and Roman custom, the ruler of the feast was chosen by throwing the dice. Thus Horace, in his ode to his friend Sestius, says, moralizing on the
brevity of life: "Soon the home of Pluto will be thine, nor wilt thou cast lots with the dice for the presidency over the wine." He prescribed the proportions of wine and
water, and could also impose fines for failures to guess riddles, etc. As the success of the feast depended largely upon him, his selection was a matter of some delicacy.
Plato says, "Must we not appoint a sober man and a wise to be our master of the revels? For if the ruler of drinkers be himself young and drunken, and not over-wise,
only by some special good fortune will he be saved from doing some great evil" ("Laws," 640). The word occurs only here and ver. 9. Wyc. simply transcribes:
architriclyn.

10. Have well
 Copyright  (c)drunk (mequsqw~si).Wyc.,
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                                              filled. Tynd., be drunk. The A.V. and Tynd. are better than the Rev. when men have drunk freely. ThePage    ruler of23
                                                                                                                                                                   the/ feast
                                                                                                                                                                         189
means that when the palates of the guests have become less sensitive through indulgence, an inferior quality of wine is offered. In every instance of its use in the New
Testament the word means intoxication. The attempt of the advocates of the unfermented-wine theory to deny or weaken this sense by citing the well-watered garden
(Isaiah 58:11; Jeremiah 31:12) scarcely requires comment. One might answer by quoting Plato, who uses bapti>zesqai, to be baptized, for being drunk ("Symposium,"
Plato says, "Must we not appoint a sober man and a wise to be our master of the revels? For if the ruler of drinkers be himself young and drunken, and not over-wise,
only by some special good fortune will he be saved from doing some great evil" ("Laws," 640). The word occurs only here and ver. 9. Wyc. simply transcribes:
architriclyn.

10. Have well drunk (mequsqw~si).Wyc., be filled. Tynd., be drunk. The A.V. and Tynd. are better than the Rev. when men have drunk freely. The ruler of the feast
means that when the palates of the guests have become less sensitive through indulgence, an inferior quality of wine is offered. In every instance of its use in the New
Testament the word means intoxication. The attempt of the advocates of the unfermented-wine theory to deny or weaken this sense by citing the well-watered garden
(Isaiah 58:11; Jeremiah 31:12) scarcely requires comment. One might answer by quoting Plato, who uses bapti>zesqai, to be baptized, for being drunk ("Symposium,"
176). In the Septuagint the verb repeatedly occurs for watering (Psalms 65:9, 10), but always with the sense of drenching or soaking; of being drunken or surfeited with
water. In Jeremiah 48: (Sept. 31.) 26, it is found in the literal sense, to be drunken. The metaphorical use of the word has passed into common slang, as when a
drunken man is said to be wetted or soaked (so Plato, above). The figurative use of the word in the Septuagint has a parallel in the use of poti>zw, to give to drink, to
express the watering of ground. So Genesis 2:6 a mist watered the face of the earth, or gave it drink. Compare Genesis 13:10; Deuteronomy 11:10. A curious use of
the word occurs in Homer, where he is describing the stretching of a bull's hide, which, in order to make it more elastic, is soaked (mequ>ousan) with fat ("Iliad,"
17:390).

Worse (ejla>ssw). Literally, smaller. Implying both worse and weaker. Small appears in the same sense in English, as small-beer.

Hast kept (teth>rhkav). See on 1 Peter 1:4.

11. This beginning. Or, more strictly, this as a beginning.

Of miracles (shmei>wn). Rev., correctly, signs. See on Matthew 11:20; 24:24. This act was not merely a prodigy (te>rav), nor a wonderful thing (qauma>sion), nor a
power (du>namiv), but distinctively a sign, a mark of the doer's power and grace, and divine character. Hence it falls in perfectly with the words manifested His glory.

Believed on Him (ejpi>steusan eijv aujto). See on John 1:12. Literally, believed into. Canon Westcott most aptly says that it conveys the idea of "the absolute
transference of trust from one's self to another."

12. He went down (kate>bh). Capernaum being on the lake shore, and Nazareth and Cana on the higher ground.

13. The Jews' passover. On John's use of the term Jews, see on John 1:19. So it is used here with an under-reference to the national religion as consisting in mere
ceremonies. The same hint underlies the words in ver. 6, "after the Jews' manner of purifying." Only John mentions this earliest passover of Christ's ministry. The
Synoptists relate no incident of his ministry in Judaea, and but for the narrative of John, it could not be positively asserted that Jesus went up to Jerusalem during His
public life until the time of His arrest and crucifixion.

14. The temple (iJerw|~). The temple inclosure: not the sanctuary (nao>x). See on Matthew 9:5; Mark 11:16.

Those that sold (tou). The article defines them as a well-known class.

Changers of money (kermatista). Only here in the New Testament. The kindred noun ke>rma, money, which occurs only in ver. 15, is from kei>rw, to cut into bits,
and means therefore small coin; "small change," of which the money-changers would require a large supply. Hence changers of money means, strictly, dealers in small
change. Matthew and Mark use lubisth>v (see ver. 15), of which the meaning is substantially the same so far as regards the dealing in small coin; but with the difference
that ko>llubov, the noun from which it is derived, and meaning a small coin, is also used to denote the rate of exchange. This latter word therefore gives a hint of the
premium on exchange, which John's word here does not convey. The money-changers opened their stalls in the country towns a month before the feast. By the time of
the first arrivals of passover-pilgrims at Jerusalem, the country stalls were closed, and the money-changers sat in the temple (see on Matthew 17:24; 21:12; Mark
11:15). John's picture of this incident is more graphic and detailed than those of the Synoptists, who merely state summarily the driving out of the traders and the
overthrow of the tables. Compare Matthew 21:12, 13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45, 46. 21

15. A scourge (frage>llion). Only here in the New Testament. Only John records this detail.

Of small cords (ejk scoini>wn). The Rev. omits small, but the word is a diminutive of scoi~nov, a rush, and thence a rope of twisted rushes. The A.V. is therefore
strictly literal. Herodotus says that when Croesus besieged Ephesus, the Ephesians made an offering of their city to Diana, by stretching a small rope (scoini>on) from
the town wall to the temple of the goddess, a distance of seven furlongs (1:26). The schoene was an Egyptian measure of length, marked by a rush-rope. See
Herodotus, 2:6. Some find in this the etymology of skein.

Drove out (ejxe>balen). Literally, as Rev., cast out. See on Matthew 10:34; 12:35; Mark 1:12; James 2:25.

All. Referring to the animals. The A.V. makes the reference to the traders; but Rev., correctly, "cast all out - both the sheep and the oxen."

Money. See on ver. 14.

Tables. Wyc., turned upside down the boards. See on Luke 19:23.

16. My Father's house. See on Father's business, Luke 2:49 and compare Matthew 23:38 where Jesus speaks of the temple as your house. The people had made
God's house their own.

Merchandise (ejmpori>ou). Only here in the New Testament. The Synoptists say a den of robbers.

17. It was written (gegramme>non ejsti). Literally, it stands written. This form of the phrase, the participle with the substantive verb, is peculiar to John in place of the
more common ge>graptai. For a similar construction see John 3:21.

The zeal of thine house. Jealousy for the honor of God's house. Zeal, zh~lov, from ze>w, to boil. See on James 3:14.

Hath eaten me up (kate>fage> me). So the Sept., Psalms 68 (A.V., 69:9). But the best texts read katafa>getai, shall eat up. So Rev., Wyc., "The fervor of love of
thine house hath eaten me."

18. Answered. Often used in reply to an objection or criticism, or to something present in another's mind, as 19:7, or 3:3, where Jesus answers with reference to the
error in Nicodemus' mind, rather than in direct reply to his address.
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Destroy this temple (lu>sate to). Destroy, Literally, loosen. Wyc., undo. See on Mark 13:2; Luke 9:12; Acts 5:38. Notice that the word for temple is nao, sanctuary
(see on ver. 14). This temple points to the literal temple, which is truly a temple only as it is the abode of God, hence sanctuary, but with a typical reference to Jesus'
own person as the holy dwelling-place of God who "was in Christ." Compare 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17. Christ's death was therefore the pulling down of the temple, and
thine house hath eaten me."

18. Answered. Often used in reply to an objection or criticism, or to something present in another's mind, as 19:7, or 3:3, where Jesus answers with reference to the
error in Nicodemus' mind, rather than in direct reply to his address.

Destroy this temple (lu>sate to). Destroy, Literally, loosen. Wyc., undo. See on Mark 13:2; Luke 9:12; Acts 5:38. Notice that the word for temple is nao, sanctuary
(see on ver. 14). This temple points to the literal temple, which is truly a temple only as it is the abode of God, hence sanctuary, but with a typical reference to Jesus'
own person as the holy dwelling-place of God who "was in Christ." Compare 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17. Christ's death was therefore the pulling down of the temple, and
His resurrection its rebuilding. The imperative in destroy is of the nature of a challenge. Compare fill ye up, Matthew 23:32.

20. Forty and six years was this temple in building (tessara>konta kaiqh oJ nao). Literally, In forty and six years was this temple built. It was spoken of as completed,
although not finished until thirty-six years later.

Thou. The position of the Greek pronoun makes it emphatic.

21. He (ejkei~nov). See on John 1:18. Emphatic, and marking the contrast between the deeper meaning of Jesus and the literalism of the Jews and of His disciples (see
next verse). For other illustrations of John's pointing out the meaning of words of Jesus which were not at first understood, see John 7:39; 12:33; 21:19.

22. Was risen (hjge>rqh). Rev., more correctly, was raised. The same verb as in vv. 19, 20.

Had said (e]legen). Rev., more correctly, He spake. The best texts omit unto them.

Believed the Scripture (ejpi>steusan th|~ grafh|~). Notice that ejpi>oteusan, believed, is used here with the simple dative, and not with the preposition eijv, into (see on
John 1:12). The meaning is, therefore, they believed that the Scripture was true. On grafh>, a passage or section of Scripture, see on Mark 12:10.

In John, as elsewhere, the word almost always refers to a particular passage cited in the context. The only two exceptions are John 17:12; 20:9. For the Old
Testament, as a whole, John always uses the plural aiJ grafai> The passage referred to here is probably Psalms 16:10. Compare Acts 2:27, 31; 13:35.

The word. The saying just uttered concerning the destruction of the temple.

23. At the passover. Note the omission of of the Jews (ver. 13).

In the feast-day (ejn th|~ eJorth|~). Rev., during the feast. The feast of unleavened bread, during the seven days succeeding the actual passover (see on Mark 14:1).

Believed on (ejpi>steusan eijv). The stronger expression of faith (John 1:12).

His name. See on John 1:12. With the phrase believe on His name, compare believe on Him (8:30), which is the stronger expression, indicating a casting of one's self
upon Him; while to believe on the name is rather to believe in Him as being that which he claims to be, in this case the Messiah. It is believing recognition rather than
appropriation. "Their faith in His name (as that of the Messiah) did not yet amount to any decision of their inner life for Jesus, but was only an opinion produced by the
sight of His miracles, that He was the Messiah" (Meyer).

When they saw (qewrou~ntev). Rev., literally and rightly, beholding (see on John 1:14, 29).

He did (ejpoi>ei). Better, was doing; the imperfect denoting the wonderful works as in progress.

24. But Jesus (aujto). The aujto, which does not appear in translation, has the force of on His part, marking the contrast with those just mentioned.

Did not commit (oujk ejpi>steuten). Rev., trust. There is a kind of word-play between this and ejpi>steusan, believed, in the preceding verse. Wyc. reproduces it:
"Jesus himself believed not himself to them." He did not trust His person to them. Tynd., put not himself in their hands. "He had no faith in their faith" (Godet).

Because He knew (diaskein). Literally, on account of the fact of His knowing. John describes the Lord's knowledge by two words which it is important to distinguish.
Ginw>skein, as here, implies acquired knowledge; knowledge which is the result of discernment and which may be enlarged. This knowledge may be drawn from
external facts (John 5:6; 6:15) or from spiritual sympathy (John 10:14, 27; 17:25). Eijde>nai (1:26) implies absolute knowledge: the knowledge of intuition and of
satisfied conviction. Hence it is used of Christ's knowledge of divine things (John 3:11; 5:32; 7:29), Of the facts Of His own being (John 6:6; 8:14; 13:1), and of
external facts (John 6:61, 64; 13:11). In John 21:17 the two words appear together. Peter says to Jesus, appealing to His absolute knowledge, "Thou knowest
(oi+dav) all things:" appealing to his discernment, "Thou knowest or perceivest (ginw>skeiv) that I love Thee."

25. He needed not (ouj crei>an eijcen). Literally, he had not need.

Testify (marturh>sh|). Rev., better, bear witness. The same word is in John 1:7, 8, 15, 32 (see on 1:7).

Of man (peripou). Better, as Rev., concerning man.

He knew (aujtonwsken). The pronoun is expressed, and with a view to emphasis, as Rev., "He himself knew." The imperfect expresses continuance: He was all along
cognizant as the successive cases presented themselves; thus falling in with the next words, "what was in the man," i.e., in each particular man with whom He had to do.
No such characteristic as this was attributed to the gods of Paganism. "While, then, the gift of anything like general foreknowledge appears to be withheld from all the
deities of invention, that of 'the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,' is nowhere found; nor was it believed of any member of the Olympian community, as it
was said of One greater than they, 'He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for He knew what was in man,'" (Gladstone, "Homer and the
Homeric Age," 2, 366).

CHAPTER 3

1. A man. With a reference to the last word of the previous chapter. The interview with Nicodemus is, apart from the important truth which it embodies, an illustration
of Christ's knowledge of what was in man. Godet truthfully observes that John reminds us by the word a]nqrwpov (man), that Nicodemus was a specimen of the race
which Jesus knew so well.

Named Nicodemus. Literally, Nicodemus, the name unto him. The name means conqueror of the people (ni, victory, and dh~mov, people), though some give it a
Hebrew derivation
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A ruler. A member of the Sanhedrim.
which Jesus knew so well.

Named Nicodemus. Literally, Nicodemus, the name unto him. The name means conqueror of the people (ni, victory, and dh~mov, people), though some give it a
Hebrew derivation meaning innocent blood.

A ruler. A member of the Sanhedrim.

2. To Jesus. The best texts substitute pro, to him.

By night. Through timidity, fearing to compromise his dignity, and possibly his safety. The fact is noticed again, John 19:39 (see on John 7:50). By night, "when Jewish
superstition would keep men at home." He could reach Jesus' apartment without being observed by the other inmates of the house, for an outside stair led to the upper
room.

Rabbi. The teacher of Israel (ver. 10) addresses Jesus by the title applied by his own disciples to himself - my master (see on John 1:38). "We may be sure that a
member of the sect that carefully scrutinized the Baptist's credentials (John 1:19-24) would not lightly address Jesus by this title of honor, or acknowledge Him as
teacher" (Milligan and Moulton).

We know (oi]damen). Assured conviction based on Jesus' miracles (see on John 2:24).

Thou art a teacher. According to the Greek order, that thou art come from God as teacher.

From God. These words stand first in the sentence as emphatic. It is from God that thou hast come.

3. Answered and said. See on John 2:18.

Verily, verily. See on John 1:51.

Be born again (gennhqh|~ a]nwqen). See on Luke 1:3. Literally, from the top (Matthew 27:51). Expositors are divided on the rendering of a]nwqen, some translating,
from above, and others, again or anew. The word is used in the following senses in the New Testament, where it occurs thirteen times:

1. From the top: Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; John 19:23.

2. From above: John 3:31; 19:11; James 1:17; 3:15, 17.

3. From the beginning: Luke 1:3; Acts 26:5.

4. Again: Galatians 4:9 but accompanied by pa>lin, again.

In favor of the rendering from above, it is urged that it corresponds to John's habitual method of describing the work of spiritual regeneration as a birth from God (John
1:13; 1 John 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 8); and further, that it is Paul, and not John, who describes it as a new birth.

In favor of the other rendering, again, it may be said:

1. that from above does not describe the fact but the nature of the new birth, which in the logical order would be stated after the fact, but which is first announced if we
render from above. If we translate anew or again, the logical order is preserved, the nature of the birth being described in ver. 5.

2. That Nicodemus clearly understood the word as meaning again, since, in ver. 4, he translated it into a second time.

3. That it seems strange that Nicodemus should have been startled by the idea of a birth from heaven.

Canon Westcott calls attention to the traditional form of the saying in which the word ajnagenna~sqai, which can only mean reborn, is used as its equivalent. Again,
however, does not give the exact force of the word, which is rather as Rev., anew, or afresh. Render, therefore, as Rev., except a man be born anew. The phrase
occurs only in John's Gospel.

See (ijdei~n). The things of God's kingdom are not apparent to the natural vision. A new power of sight is required, which attaches only to the new man. Compare 1
Corinthians 2:14.

Kingdom of God. See on Luke 6:20.

4. When he is old (ge>rwn w]n). Literally, being an old man.

Can he (mhnatai). The interrogative particle anticipates a negative answer. Surely he cannot.

Second time. Nicodemus looks at the subject merely from the physical side. His second time is not the same as Jesus' anew. As Godet remarks, "he does not
understand the difference between a second beginning and a different beginning."

5. Born of water and the Spirit. The exposition of this much controverted passage does not fall within the scope of this work. We may observe,

1. That Jesus here lays down the preliminary conditions of entrance into His kingdom, expanding and explaining His statement in ver. 3.

2. That this condition is here stated as complex, including two distinct factors, water and the Spirit.

3. That the former of these two factors is not to be merged in the latter; that the spiritual element is not to exclude or obliterate the external and ritual element. We are
not to understand with Calvin, the Holy Spirit as the purifying water in the spiritual sense: "water which is the Spirit."

4. That water points definitely to the rite of baptism, and that with a twofold reference - to the past and to the future. Water naturally suggested to Nicodemus the
baptism of John, which was then awakening such profound and general interest; and, with this, the symbolical purifications of the Jews, and the Old Testament use of
 Copyright
washing      (c) figure
         as the   2005-2009,    Infobase
                        of purifying from Media  Corp.2:2, 7; Ezekiel 36:25; Zechariah 13:1). Jesus' words opened to Nicodemus a new and more spiritual
                                          sin (Psalms                                                                                                    Page    26 / 189
                                                                                                                                                            significance in
both the ceremonial purifications and the baptism of John which the Pharisees had rejected (Luke 7:30). John's rite had a real and legitimate relation to the kingdom of
God which Nicodemus must accept.
not to understand with Calvin, the Holy Spirit as the purifying water in the spiritual sense: "water which is the Spirit."

4. That water points definitely to the rite of baptism, and that with a twofold reference - to the past and to the future. Water naturally suggested to Nicodemus the
baptism of John, which was then awakening such profound and general interest; and, with this, the symbolical purifications of the Jews, and the Old Testament use of
washing as the figure of purifying from sin (Psalms 2:2, 7; Ezekiel 36:25; Zechariah 13:1). Jesus' words opened to Nicodemus a new and more spiritual significance in
both the ceremonial purifications and the baptism of John which the Pharisees had rejected (Luke 7:30). John's rite had a real and legitimate relation to the kingdom of
God which Nicodemus must accept.

5. That while Jesus asserted the obligation of the outward rite, He asserted likewise, as its necessary complement, the presence and creating and informing energy of
the Spirit with which John had promised that the coming one should baptize. That as John's baptism had been unto repentance, for the remission of sins, so the new life
must include the real no less than the symbolic cleansing of the old, sinful life, and the infusion by the Spirit of a new and divine principle of life. Thus Jesus' words
included a prophetic reference to the complete ideal of Christian baptism - "the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5; Ephesians
5:26); according to which the two factors are inseparably blended (not the one swallowed up by the other), and the new life is inaugurated both symbolically in the
baptism with water, and actually in the renewing by the Holy Spirit, yet so as that the rite, through its association with the Spirit's energy, is more than a mere symbol: is
a veritable vehicle of grace to the recipient, and acquires a substantial part in the inauguration of the new life. Baptism, considered merely as a rite, and apart from the
operation of the Spirit, does not and cannot impart the new life. Without the Spirit it is a lie. It is a truthful sign only as the sign of an inward and spiritual grace.

6. That the ideal of the new life presented in our Lord's words, includes the relation of the regenerated man to an organization. The object of the new birth is declared
to be that a man may see and enter into the kingdom of God. But the kingdom of God is an economy. It includes and implies the organized Christian community. This is
one of the facts which, with its accompanying obligation, is revealed to the new vision of the new man. He sees not only God, but the kingdom of God; God as King of
an organized citizenship; God as the Father of the family of mankind; obligation to God implying obligation to the neighbor; obligation to Christ implying obligation to the
church, of which He is the head, "which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all things with all things" (Ephesians 1:23). Through water alone, the mere external rite
of baptism, a man may pass into the outward fellowship of the visible church without seeing or entering the kingdom of God. Through water and the Spirit, he passes
indeed into the outward fellowship, but through that into the vision and fellowship of the kingdom of God.

Enter into. This more than see (ver. 3). It is to become partaker of; to go in and possess, as the Israelites did Canaan.

6. That which is born (tonon). Strictly, that which hath been born, and consequently is now before us as born. The aorist tense (3, 4, 5, 7), marks the fact of birth; the
perfect (as here), the state of that which has been born (see on 1 John 5:18 where both tenses occur); the neuter, that which, states the principle in the abstract.
Compare ver. 8, where the statement is personal: everyone that is born. Compare 1 John 5:4 and 1 John 5:1, 18.

Of the flesh (ejk th~v sarko). See on ver. 14. John uses the word sa>rx generally, to express humanity under the conditions of this life (1:14; 1 John 4:2, 3, 7; 2 John
1:7), with sometimes a more definite hint at the sinful and fallible nature of humanity (1 John 2:16; John 8:15). Twice, as opposed to pneu~ma, Spirit (3:6; 6:63).

Of the Spirit (ejk tou~ pneumatov). The Holy Spirit of God, or the principle of life which He imparts. The difference is slight, for the two ideas imply each other; but the
latter perhaps is better here, because a little more abstract, and so contrasted with the flesh. Spirit and flesh are the distinguishing principles, the one of the heavenly, the
other of the earthly economy.

7. Unto thee - ye must. Note the change from the singular to the plural pronoun. In his address to Nicodemus (thee) the Lord had spoken also to those whom
Nicodemus represented, and whom he had included when he said "we know" (ver. 2). His error was the error of his class.

8. The wind (to). Some hold by the translation spirit, as Wyc., the spirit breatheth where it will. In Hebrew the words spirit and wind are identical. Pneu~ma is from
pne>w to breathe or blow, the verb used in this verse (bloweth), and everywhere in the New Testament of the blowing of the wind (Matthew 7:25, 27; Luke 12:55;
John 6:18). It frequently occurs in the classics in the sense of wind. Thus Aristophanes, to' e]latton gi>gnetai, the wind is dying away ("Knights," 441), also in the New
Testament, Hebrews 1:7 where the proper translation is, "who maketh His angels winds," quoted from Psalms 103:4 (Sept.). In the Septuagint, 1 Kings 18:45; 19:11;
2 Kings 3:17; Job 1:19. In the New Testament, in the sense of breath, 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 11:11. The usual rendering, wind, is confirmed here by the use
of the kindred verb pnei~, bloweth, and by fwnh, sound, voice. Tholuck thinks that the figure may have been suggested to Jesus by the sound of the night-wind
sweeping through the narrow street.

Where it listeth (o[pou qe>lei). On the verb qe>lw, to will or determine, see on Matthew 1:19. Listeth is old English for pleasure or willeth, from the Anglo-Saxon lust,
meaning pleasure. Chaucer has the forms leste, lust, and list.

"Strong was the wyn, and wel to drynke us leste (pleased)."

"Canterbury Tales," 752.

"Love if thee lust."

"Canterbury Tales," 1185.

"She walketh up and down wher as hire list (wherever she pleases)."

"Canterbury Tales," 1054.

"A wretch by fear, not force, like Hannibal,

Drives back our troops, and conquers as she lists."

Shakespeare, "Henry VI.," Pt. I., 1, 5, 22.

Hence listless is devoid of desire. The statement of Jesus is not meant to be scientifically precise, but is rather thrown into a poetic mold, akin to the familiar expression
"free as the wind." Compare 1 Corinthians 12:11; and for the more prosaic description of the course of the wind, see Ecclesiastes 1:6.

Sound (fwnh). Rev., voice. Used both of articulate and inarticulate utterances, as of the words from heaven at Jesus' baptism and transfiguration (Matthew 3:17; 2
Peter 1:17, 18); of the trumpet (Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 14:8), and of inanimate things in general (1 Corinthians 14:17). John the Baptist calls himself fwnh>, a
voice, and the word is used of the wind, as here, in Acts 2:6. Of thunder, often in the Revelation (6:1; 14:2, etc.).

Canst not tell
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                                        Rev., knowest
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imperceptible; for the thunder-bolt, for instance, though it is plain that it is sent from above, and works its will with everything with which it comes in contact, is yet
never seen either approaching, or striking, or retreating; the winds, too, are themselves invisible, though their effects are evident to us, and we perceive their
course" (John 4:3, 14). Compare Ecclesiastes 11:5.
Sound (fwnh). Rev., voice. Used both of articulate and inarticulate utterances, as of the words from heaven at Jesus' baptism and transfiguration (Matthew 3:17; 2
Peter 1:17, 18); of the trumpet (Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 14:8), and of inanimate things in general (1 Corinthians 14:17). John the Baptist calls himself fwnh>, a
voice, and the word is used of the wind, as here, in Acts 2:6. Of thunder, often in the Revelation (6:1; 14:2, etc.).

Canst not tell (oujk oi+dav). Better, as Rev., knowest not. Socrates, (Xenophon's "Memorabilia)," says, "The instruments of the deities you will likewise find
imperceptible; for the thunder-bolt, for instance, though it is plain that it is sent from above, and works its will with everything with which it comes in contact, is yet
never seen either approaching, or striking, or retreating; the winds, too, are themselves invisible, though their effects are evident to us, and we perceive their
course" (John 4:3, 14). Compare Ecclesiastes 11:5.

So. So the subject of the Spirit's invisible influence gives visible evidence of its power.

9. These things. Such as the new birth.

Be (gene>sqai). Literally, come to pass.

10. Answered and said. See on John 2:18.

Art thou a master of Israel (suskalov tou~ Israh). The su, thou, is emphatic. A master is more correctly rendered by Rev., the teacher. Not ironical, but the article
marks Nicodemus' official relation to the people, and gives additional force to the contrast in the following words. Similarly Plato: "Will you (su, emphatic), O professor
of true virtue, pretend that you are justified in this?" ("Crito," 51). On "Israel," see on John 1:47. The word occurs four times in John's Gospel; here, John 1:31, 47, 49.

Knowest not (ouj ginw>skeiv). See on John 2:24. Nicodemus is not reproved for the want of previous knowledge, but for the want of perception or understanding
when these truths are expounded to him. Rev., better, understandest not.

11. We speak - we know - we have seen. After the use of the singular number in vv. 3, 5, 7, 12, the plural here is noteworthy. It is not merely rhetorical - "a plural of
majesty" - but is explained by ver. 8, "every one that is born of the Spirit." The new birth imparts a new vision. The man who is born of the Spirit hath eternal life (ver.
36); and life eternal is to know God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent (John 17:3). "Ye have an anointing from the Holy One, and ye know (oi]date) all things" 22 (1
John 2:20). He who is born of water and of the Spirit sees the kingdom of God. This we therefore includes, with Jesus, all who are truly born anew of the Spirit. Jesus
meets the we know of Nicodemus (ver. 2), referring to the class to which he belonged, with another we know, referring to another class, of which He was the head and
representative. We know (oi]damen), absolutely. See on John 2:24.

Testify (marturou~men). Rev., better, bear witness of. See on John 1:7.

12. Have told (ei+pon). Rendering the aorist more strictly, I told.

Earthly things (tageia). Compounded of ejpi>, upon, and gh~, earth. In Colossians 3:2 the adjective appears in its analyzed form, ta, things on the earth. It is in this
literal sense it is to be taken here; not things of earthly nature, but things whose proper place is on earth. Not worldly affairs, nor things sinful, but, on the contrary,
"those facts and phenomena of the higher life as a class, which have their seat and manifestation on earth; which belong in their realization to our present existence;
which are seen in their consequences, like the issues of birth; which are sensible in their effects, like the action of the wind; which are a beginning and a prophecy, and
not a fulfillment" (Westcott). The earthly things would therefore include the phenomena of the new birth.

Heavenly things (tania). Compounded with ejpi>, upon or in, and oujrano>v, heaven. Not holy things as compared with sinful, nor spiritual things as compared with
temporal; but things which are in heaven, mysteries of redemption, having their seat in the divine will, realized in the world through the work and death of Jesus Christ
and the faith of mankind (John 5:14-16). Thus it is said (ver. 13) that the Son of man who is in heaven came down out of heaven, and in vv. 31, 32 that He that cometh
out of heaven beareth witness (on earth) of what He has seen and heard; and that, being sent from God, He speaketh the words of God (ver. 34).

It has been urged against the genuineness of the fourth Gospel that the lofty and mystical language which is there ascribed to Jesus is inconsistent with the synoptical
reports of His words. That if the one represents truthfully His style of speaking, the other must misrepresent it. Godet's words on this point are worth quoting: "It would
be truly curious that the first who should have pointed out that contrast should be the Evangelist himself against whose narrative it has been brought forward as a ground
of objection. The author of the fourth Gospel puts these words (John 3:12) into the mouth of Jesus. He there declares that He came down from heaven to bring this
divine message to the world. The author of the fourth Gospel was then clearly aware of two ways of teaching adopted by Jesus; the one the usual, in which he
explained earthly things, evidently always in their relation to God and His kingdom; the other, which contrasted in many respects with the first, and which Jesus
employed only exceptionally, in which He spoke directly, and as a witness, of God and the things of God, always naturally in connection with the fate of mankind. The
instructions of the first kind had a more simple, more practical, more varied character. They referred to the different situations of life; it was the exposition of the true
moral relations of men to each other, and of men to God.... But in that way Jesus could not attain to the final aim which He sought, the full revelation of the divine
mystery, of the plan of salvation. Since His baptism Jesus had heaven constantly open before Him; the decree of salvation was disclosed to Him; He had, in particular,
heard these words: 'Thou art my well beloved Son;' He reposed on the Father's bosom, and He could descend and redescend without ceasing into the depths of the
Father's fathomless love, of which He felt the vivifying power; and when He came, at certain exceptional moments, to speak of that divine relationship, and to give
scope to that fullness of life with which it supplied Him, His language took a peculiar, solemn, mystical, one might even say a heavenly tone; for they were heavenly
things which He then revealed. Now such is precisely the character of His language in the fourth Gospel." Compare Luke 10:18 sqq., where Jesus' words take on a
character similar to that of His utterances in John.

13. And (kai). Note the simple connective particle, with nothing to indicate the logical sequence of the thought.

Hath ascended. Equivalent to hath been in. Jesus says that no one has been in heaven except the Son of man who came down out of heaven; because no man could be
in heaven without having ascended thither.

Which is in heaven. Many authorities omit.

14. Must (dei~). Must signifies the eternal necessity in the divine counsels. Compare Luke 24:26, 46; Matthew 26:54; Mark 8:31; John 12:34.

Lifted up (uJywqh~nai). The following are the uses of the word in the New Testament: The exaltation of pride (Matthew 11:23; Luke 10:15; 14:11). The raising of the
humble (Luke 1:52; James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6). The exaltation of Christ in glory (Acts 2:33; 5:31). The uplifting on the cross (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32, 34). The reference
here is to the crucifixion, but beyond that, to the glorification of Christ. It is characteristic of John to blend the two ideas of Christ's passion and glory (John 8:28;
12:32). Thus, when Judas went out to betray him, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of man glorified" (John 13:31). Hence the believer overcomes the world through faith in
Him who came not by water only, but by water and blood (1 John 5:4-6.

15. Believeth
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                  Him (pisteu>wn  eijv aujto).
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Should not perish, but. The best texts omit.
here is to the crucifixion, but beyond that, to the glorification of Christ. It is characteristic of John to blend the two ideas of Christ's passion and glory (John 8:28;
12:32). Thus, when Judas went out to betray him, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of man glorified" (John 13:31). Hence the believer overcomes the world through faith in
Him who came not by water only, but by water and blood (1 John 5:4-6.

15. Believeth in Him (pisteu>wn eijv aujto). The best texts read ejn aujtw|~, construing with have eternal life, and rendering may in Him have eternal life. So Rev..

Should not perish, but. The best texts omit.

Have eternal life. A characteristic phrase of John for live forever. See John 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:40, 47, 54; 1 John 3:15; 5:12.

The interview with Nicodemus closes with ver. 15; and the succeeding words are John's. This appears from the following facts:

1. The past tenses loved and gave, in ver. 16, better suit the later point of view from which John writes, after the atoning death of Christ was an accomplished historic
fact, than the drift of the present discourse of Jesus before the full revelation of that work.

2. It is in John's manner to throw in explanatory comments of his own (John 1:16-18; 12:37-41), and to do so abruptly. See 1:15, 16, and on and, 1:16.

3. Ver. 19 is in the same line of thought with John 1:9-11 in the Prologue; and the tone of that verse is historic, carrying the sense of past rejection, as loved darkness;
were evil.

4. The phrase believe on the name is not used elsewhere by our Lord, but by John (1:12; 2:23; 1 John 5:13).

5. The phrase only-begotten son is not elsewhere used by Jesus of himself, but in every case by the Evangelist (John 1:14, 18; 1 John 4:9).

6. The phrase to do truth (ver. 21) occurs elsewhere only in 1 John 1:6. 23

16. The world (ko>smon). See on John 1:9.

Gave. Rather than sent; emphasizing the idea of sacrifice.

Only-begotten Son. See on John 1:14.

Have. See on ver. 15.

This attitude of God toward the world is in suggestive contrast with that in which the gods of paganism are represented.

Thus Juno says to Vulcan:

"Dear son, refrain: it is not well that thus

A God should suffer for the sake of men."

"Iliad," xxi., 379, 380.

And Apollo to Neptune:

"Thou would'st not deem me wise, should I contend

With thee, O Neptune, for the sake of men,

Who flourish like the forest-leaves awhile,

And feed upon the fruits of earth, and then

Decay and perish. Let us quit the field,

And leave the combat to the warring hosts."

"Iliad," xxi., 461, 467.

Man has no assurance of forgiveness even when he offers the sacrifices in which the gods especially delight. "Man's sin and the divine punishment therefore are certain;
forgiveness is uncertain, dependent upon the arbitrary caprice of the gods. Human life is a life without the certainty of grace" (Nagelsbach, "Homerische Theologie").
Mr. Gladstone observes: "No Homeric deity ever will be found to make a personal sacrifice on behalf of a human client" ("Homer and the Homeric Age," 2:372).

17. Sent (ajpe>steilen). See on John 1:6. Sent rather than gave (ver. 16), because the idea of sacrifice is here merged in that of authoritative commission.

His Son. The best texts read to, the, for aujtou~, his.

Condemn (kri>nh|). Better, as Rev., judge. Condemn is katakri>nw, not used by John (Matthew 20:18; Mark 10:33 etc.). The verb kri>nw means, originally, to
separate. So Homer, of Ceres separating the grain from the chaff ("Iliad," 5:501). Thence, to distinguish, to pick out, to be of opinion, to judge. See on Hypocrite,
Matthew 23:13.

World. The threefold repetition of the word has a certain solemnity. Compare John 1:10; 15:19.

18. Is condemned already (h]dh ke>kritai). Rev., more correctly, hath been judged already. Unbelief, in separating from Christ, implies judgment. He has been judged
in virtue of his unbelief.

19. This. That
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15:12; 17:3; 1 John 1:5; 5:11, 14; 3 John 1:6.

Light (to). Rev., correctly, the light. See John 1:4, 9.
18. Is condemned already (h]dh ke>kritai). Rev., more correctly, hath been judged already. Unbelief, in separating from Christ, implies judgment. He has been judged
in virtue of his unbelief.

19. This. That is, herein consists the judgment. The prefacing a statement with this is, and then defining the statement by o[ti or i[na, that, is characteristic of John. See
15:12; 17:3; 1 John 1:5; 5:11, 14; 3 John 1:6.

Light (to). Rev., correctly, the light. See John 1:4, 9.

Men (oiJ a]nqrwpoi). Literally, the men. Regarded as a class.

Darkness (totov). See on John 1:5. Rev., correctly, the darkness. John employs this word only here and 1 John 1:6. His usual term is skoti>a (John 1:5; 8:12; 1 John
1:5 etc.), more commonly describing a state of darkness, than darkness as opposed to light.

Were (h+n). Habitually. The imperfect tense marking continuation.

Evil (ponhra). Actively evil. See on Mark 7:22; Luke 3:19.

20. Doeth (pra>sswn). The present participle, indicating habit and general tendency.

Evil (fau~la). Rev., ill. A different word from that in the previous verse. Originally, light, paltry, trivial, and so worthless. Evil, therefore, considered on the side of
worthlessness. See on James 3:16.

Lest his works should be reproved (i[na mh). Rather, in order that his works may not be reproved. Ele>gcw, rendered reprove, has several phases of meaning. In
earlier classical Greek it signifies to disgrace or put to shame. Thus Ulysses, having succeeded in the trial of the bow, says to Telemachus, "the stranger who sits in thy
halls disgraces (ejle>gcei) thee not" ("Odyssey, 21:424). Then, to cross-examine or question, for the purpose of convincing, convicting, or refuting; to censure, accuse.
So Herodotus: "In his reply Alexander became confused, and diverged from the truth, whereon the slaves interposed, confuted his statements (h]legcon, cross-
questioned and caught him in falsehood), and told the whole history of the crime" (1:115). The messenger in the "Antigone" of Sophocles, describing the consternation
of the watchmen at finding Polynices' body buried, says: "Evil words were bandied among them, guard accusing (ejle>gcwn) guard" (260). Of arguments, to bring to
the proof; prove; prove by a chain of reasoning. It occurs in Pindar in the general sense of to conquer or surpass. "Having descended into the naked race they
surpassed (h]legxan) the Grecian band in speed ("Pythia," 11:75).

In the New Testament it is found in the sense of reprove (Luke 3:19; 1 Timothy 5:20 etc.). Convince of crime or fault (1 Corinthians 14:24; James 2:9). To bring to
light or expose by conviction (James 3:20; Ephesians 5:11, 13; John 8:46; see on that passage). So of the exposure of false teachers, and their refutation (Titus 1:9, 13;
2:15). To test and expose with a view to correction, and so, nearly equivalent to chasten (Hebrews 12:5). The different meanings unite in the word convict. Conviction
is the result of examination, testing, argument. The test exposes and demonstrates the error, and refutes it, thus convincing, convicting, and rebuking the subject of it.
This conviction issues in chastening, by which the error is corrected and the erring one purified. If the conviction is rejected, it carries with it condemnation and
punishment. The man is thus convicted of sin, of right, and of judgment (John 16:8). In this passage the evil-doer is represented as avoiding the light which tests, that
light which is the offspring of love (Revelation 3:19) and the consequent exposure of his error. Compare Ephesians 5:13; John 1:9-11. This idea of loving darkness
rather than light is graphically treated in Job 24 and runs through vv. 13-17.

21. Doeth the truth (poiw~n thqeian). The phrase occurs only here and in 1 John 1:6. Note the contrasted phrase, doeth evil (ver. 20). There the plural is used: doeth
evil things; evil being represented by a number of bad works. Here the singular, the truth, or truth; truth being regarded as one, and "including in a supreme unity all right
deeds." There is also to be noted the different words for doing in these two verses: doeth evil (pra>sswn); doeth truth (poiw~n). The latter verb contemplates the
object and end of action; the former the means, with the idea of continuity and repetition. Pra>sswn is the practice, while poiw~n may be the doing once for all. Thus
poiei~n is to conclude a peace: pra>ssein, to negotiate a peace. So Demosthenes: "He will do (pra>xei) these things, and will accomplish them (poih>sei)." In the New
Testament a tendency is observable to use poiei~n in a good sense, and pra>sswin in an evil sense. Compare the kindred word pra~xiv, deed or work, which occurs
six times, and in four out of the six of evil doing (Matthew 16:27; Luke 23:51; Acts 19:18; Romans 8:13; 12:14; Colossians 3:9). With this passage compare especially
5:29, where the two verbs are used with the two nouns as here. Also, Romans 7:15, 19. Bengel says: "Evil is restless: it is busier than truth." In Romans 1:32; 2:3 both
verbs are used of doing evil, but still with a distinction in that pra>ssw is the more comprehensive term, designating the pursuit of evil as the aim of the activity.

21. Cometh to. In contrast with hateth (ver. 20). His love of the light is shown by his seeking it.

In God. The element of holy action. Notice the perfect tense, have been wrought (as Rev.) and abide.

22. The land of Judaea (than gh~n). Literally, the Judaean land. The phrase occurs only here in the New Testament.

Tarried (die>triben). The verb originally means to rub, hence to wear away, consume; and so of spending or passing time.

Baptized (ejba>ptizen). The imperfect tense agrees with the idea of tarrying. He continued baptizing during His stay.

23. Was baptizing (h+n bapti>zwn). The substantive verb with the participle also indicating continuous or habitual action; was engaged in baptizing.

Aenon, near to Salim. The situation is a matter of conjecture. The word, Aenon is probably akin to the Hebrew ayin, an eye, a spring. See on James 3:11.

Much water (u[data polla). Literally, many waters. Probably referring to a number of pools or springs.

Came - were baptized. Imperfects. They kept coming.

24. Prison (th). See on Acts 5:18, 21.

25. Then (ou+n). Not a particle of time but of consequence; therefore, because of both Jesus and John baptizing.

Question (zh>thsiv). Rev., more correctly, questioning. Question would be zh>thma, always in the sense of a question in debate. The word here represents the process
of inquiry.

Between (ejk). Rev., correctly, on the part of. Literally, proceeding from. The rendering of the A.V. does not show with which party the discussion originated. The
Greek distinctly
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The Jews. The best texts read x>ou, with a Jew. Possibly one who asserted that John's baptism might now be dispensed with.
of inquiry.

Between (ejk). Rev., correctly, on the part of. Literally, proceeding from. The rendering of the A.V. does not show with which party the discussion originated. The
Greek distinctly states that the question was raised by the disciples of the Baptist.

The Jews. The best texts read x>ou, with a Jew. Possibly one who asserted that John's baptism might now be dispensed with.

Purifying. Probably not about the familiar ceremonial purifications, but as to whether the baptism of Jesus or of John had the greater purifying power.

26. Behold (i]de). Used by both Matthew and Mark, not by Luke, but very frequently by John.

Baptizeth - come. The present would be better rendered by is baptizing, are coming.

27. Receive. Answering to given.

Be given (h|+ dedome>non). Rev., more correctly, have been given.

From heaven. Literally, out of heaven (ejk).

29. The bride. A common figure in the Old testament prophecies, of the relation between Jehovah and His people (Ezekiel 16; Hosea 2:19; Malachi 2:11). See also on
Matthew 1:21 concerning Hosea.

Friend of the bridegroom. Or groomsman. The term is appropriate to Judaea, the groomsmen not being customary in Galilee. See Matthew 9:15 where the phrase
children of the bridechamber is used. (See on Mark 2:19). In Judaea there were two groomsmen, one for the bridegroom, the other for his bride. Before marriage they
acted as intermediaries between the couple; at the wedding they offered gifts, waited upon the bride and bridegroom, and attended them to the bridal chamber. It was
the duty of the friend of the bridegroom to present him to his bride, after marriage to maintain proper terms between the parties, and especially to defend the bride's
good fame. The Rabbinical writings speak of Moses as the friend of the bridegroom who leads out the bride to meet Jehovah at Sinai (Exodus 19:17); and describe
Michael and Gabriel as acting as the friends of the bridegroom to our first parents, when the Almighty himself took the cup of blessing and spoke the benediction. The
Baptist represents himself as standing in the same relation to Jesus.

Rejoiceth greatly (cara|~ cai>rei). Literally, rejoiceth with joy. A Hebrew idiom. See on Luke 22:15 and compare Acts 23:14; James 5:17. Only here in John's
writings.

This my joy (au[th hJ cara). A very emphatic expression: this, the joy which is mine. The change of style in the following verses seems to indicate that the words of the
Baptist break off at this point, and are taken up and commented upon by the Evangelist.

31. He that cometh (oJ ejrco>menov). The present participle. The coming regarded as still in process of manifestation. Compare 6:33.

From above (a]nwqen). See on John 3:2.

Above (ejpa>nw). Supreme.

Of the earth (ejk th~v gh~v). Literally, out of the earth; of earthly origin.

Is earthly. The same phrase, out of the earth, is repeated, signifying of earthly nature. On the characteristic phrase ei+nai ejk, to be of, see on John 1:46.

Speaketh of the earth. Out of the earth. His words have an earthly source. On lalei`, speaketh, see on Matthew 28:18.

32. Receiveth (lamba>nei). Once only John uses de>comai for receive, of the Galilaeans receiving Christ (John 4:45). The distinction between the two is not sharply
maintained, but de>comai commonly adds to the idea of taking, that of welcoming. Thus Demosthenes says that the Theban elders did not receive (ejde>xanto) i.e.,
with a welcome pleasure, the money which was offered them, nor did they take it (e]labon). Lamba>nei also includes the retaining of what is taken. Hence of receiving
Christ (John 1:12; 5:43; 13:20). The phrase receive the witness is peculiar to John (John 3:11; 5:34; 1 John 5:9).

33. Hath set to his seal (ejsfra>gisen). To set to, is to affix. To set to a seal is therefore to attest a document. The expression is retained from Coverdale's version
(1535). So, "They must set to their hands, and shall set to their hands." Compare also the old legal formula: "In wittenesse qwherof I haue set to myn seele." Rev.,
better, hath set his seal to this. The meaning here is, has solemnly attested and confirmed the statement "God is true." Only here in this sense. Elsewhere of closing up
for security; hiding; marking a person or thing. See on Revelation 22:10. The aorist tense here denotes an accomplished act.

34. The words (tamata). Not words, nor individual words, but the words - the complete message of God. See on Luke 1:37.

God giveth. The best texts omit God. Rev., He giveth. Rev., also, rightly, omits the italicized to Him. The personal object of the verb giveth is indefinite. Render, He
giveth not the Spirit by measure.

In order to convey the full force of the terms giveth and by measure, it will be necessary to attempt an explanation of the general scope and meaning of this very difficult
and much disputed passage. The starting point of the exposition must be ver. 30, the Baptist's noble resignation of his own position, and claims to Jesus: He must
increase, but I must decrease. At this point the Evangelist, as we have seen, takes up the discourse. The Baptist's declaration that Jesus "must increase" - that He is a
messenger of a transcendently higher character, and with a far larger and more significant message than his own - furnishes the Evangelist with a text. He will show why
Jesus "must increase." He must increase because He comes from above, and is therefore supreme over all (ver. 31). This statement he repeats; defining from above (a]
nwqen) by out of heaven (ejk tou~ oujranou~), and emphasizing it by contrast with mere earthly witness (oJ ejk th~v gh~v) whose words bear the stamp of his earthly
origin (ejk th~v gh~v lalei~). Being from heaven, He testifies of heavenly things, as an eye-and ear-witness. "What He hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness."
It is indeed true that men reject this testimony. "No man receiveth His witness" (ver. 32). None the less it is worthy of implicit credence as the testimony of God himself.
He that has received that testimony has solemnly attested it as God's own witness; "hath set his seal to this, that God is true." To declare Jesus' testimony untrue is to
declare God untrue (ver. 33). For He whom God hath sent utters the whole divine message (the words of God, ver. 34).

Thus far the reasoning is directed to the conclusion that Jesus ought to increase, and that His message ought to be received. He is God's own messenger out of heaven,
and speaks God's own words.
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But this is to repeat what has already been more than implied. It would seem to be superfluous to say of one who comes out of heaven, who is supreme over all things,
Thus far the reasoning is directed to the conclusion that Jesus ought to increase, and that His message ought to be received. He is God's own messenger out of heaven,
and speaks God's own words.

The common explanation of the succeeding clause is that God bestows the Spirit upon Jesus in His fullness, "not by measure."

But this is to repeat what has already been more than implied. It would seem to be superfluous to say of one who comes out of heaven, who is supreme over all things,
who bears witness of heavenly things which He has seen and heard, and who reveals the whole message of God to men - that God bestows upon Him the Spirit
without measure.

Take up, then, the chain of thought from the first clause of ver. 34, and follow it on another line. The Messenger of God speaks the words of God, and thus shows
himself worthy of credence, and shows this further, by dispensing the gift of the Spirit in full measure to His disciples. "He giveth not the Spirit by measure." This
interpretation adds a new link to the chain of thought; a new reason why Jesus should increase, and His testimony be received; the reason, namely, that not only is He
himself divinely endowed with the Spirit, but that He proves it by dispensing the Spirit in full measure.

Thus ver. 35 follows in natural sequence. This dispensing power which attests His claims, is His through the gift of the divine Father's love. "The Father loveth the Son,
and hath given all things into his hand." This latter phrase, into His hand, signifies not only possession, but the power of disposal. See Mark 9:31; 14:41; Luke 23:46;
Hebrews 10:31. God has given the Son all things to administer according to His own pleasure and rule. These two ideas of Christ's reception and bestowment of divine
gifts are combined in Matthew 11:27. "All things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man knoweth the Son but the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father
save the Son, and He to whomsoever the Son may determine (bou>lhtai) to reveal Him."

Therefore John the Baptist must decrease, and Jesus must increase. A measure of the Spirit was given to the Baptist, sufficient for his preparatory work, but the Baptist
himself saw the Spirit descending in a bodily form upon the Son of God, and heard the voice from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The
Spirit is thus Christ's own. He dispenses, gives it (di>dwsin), in its fullness. Hence Jesus said, later, of the Spirit of truth, "He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of
mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore said I that He shall take of mine and shall show it unto you" (John 16:14, 15).

36. He that believeth not (oJ ajpeiqw~n). More correctly, as Rev., obeyeth not. Disbelief is regarded in its active manifestation, disobedience. The verb pei>qw means
to persuade, to cause belief, to induce one to do something by persuading, and so runs into the meaning of to obey, properly as the result of persuasion. See on Acts
5:29. Compare 1 Peter 4:17; Romans 2:8; 11:30, 31. Obedience, however, includes faith. Compare Romans 1:5the obedience of faith.

Shall not see (oujk o]yetai). Compare the future tense with the present "hath eternal life," and the simple life with the fully developed idea eternal life. He who believes is
within the circle of the life of God, which is essentially eternal. His life "is hid with Christ in God." Life eternal is to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He
hath sent. Hence, to such an one, eternal life is not merely something future. It is a present possession. He hath it. The unbelieving and disobedient, instead of having
eternal life, shall not have life: shall not even see it (compare see the kingdom of God, John 3:3). He shall have no perception of life simply considered, much less of
eternal life, the full and complex development of life.

The wrath of God (ojrgh). Both ojrgh and qumo>v are used in the New Testament for wrath or anger, and without any commonly observed distinction. p denotes a
deeper and more permanent sentiment; a settled habit of mind; while qumo>v is a more turbulent, but temporary agitation. Both words are used in the phrase wrath of
God, which commonly denotes a distinct manifestation of God's judgment (Romans 1:18; 3:5; 9:22; 12:19). p (not qumo>v) also appears in the phrase the wrath to
come (Matthew 3:7; Luke 3:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:16 etc.). Compare wrath of the Lamb (Revelation 6:16).

Abideth (me>nei). The present tense. As the believer hath life, so the unbeliever hath wrath abiding on him. He lives continually in an economy which is alienated from
God, and which, in itself, must be habitually the subject of God's displeasure and indignation.

CHAPTER 4

1. Therefore. Pointing back to John 3:22, and the controversy which arose about the two baptisms.

The Lord. See on Matthew 21:3.

Knew (e]gnw), or perceived. See on John 2:24.

Pharisees. John never alludes to the Sadducees by name. The Pharisees represented the opposition to Jesus, the most powerful and dangerous of the Jewish sects.

Made and baptized. Both verbs are in the present tense. The narrator puts himself at the scene of the story: is making and baptizing.

2. Though (kai>toige). Literally, and yet. The report of Jesus' baptizing brought to the Baptist by his disciples is corrected.

Baptized. The imperfect tense: it was not His practice to baptize.

3. He left (ajfh~ke). The verb means literally to send away, dismiss. It is used of forgiving offenses (Matthew 6:43; James 5:15); of yielding up (Matthew 27:50); of
letting alone (Matthew 19:14); of allowing or permitting (Luke 6:12). See on these passages. Its employment here is peculiar. Compare John 16:28, of Christ's leaving
the world.

Again. See 1:44.

4. Must needs. Because this was the natural route from Jerusalem to Galilee. Possibly with a suggestion of the necessity arising from the Father's will. John does not put
this as a mission undertaken to the Samaritans. Jesus observed the law which He imposed on His disciples (Matthew 10:5).

5. Then (ou+n). Not a particle of time, but of logical connection. Therefore, going by this route, He must needs, etc.

City. Not implying a place of great size or importance. Compare John 11:54; Matthew 2:23.

Sychar. Commonly identified with Schechem, the modern Nablous, and regarded as a corruption of Sichem. Some modern authorities, however, argue that a place so
famous as Schechem would not be referred to under another name, and identify the site with Askar, about two miles east of Nablous. The name Sychar means
drunken-town or lying-town.

Parcel of ground
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                                     Media    cw>ra a region.
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6. Well (phgh). Strictly, spring. The word for cistern or well is fre>ar, which John uses at vv. 11, 12. Elsewhere in the New Testament always of a pit. See Luke 14:5;
Revelation 9:1, 2. There is no mention of Jacob's Well in the Old Testament. The traditional well still remains. "At the mouth of the valley of Schechem two slight breaks
Sychar. Commonly identified with Schechem, the modern Nablous, and regarded as a corruption of Sichem. Some modern authorities, however, argue that a place so
famous as Schechem would not be referred to under another name, and identify the site with Askar, about two miles east of Nablous. The name Sychar means
drunken-town or lying-town.

Parcel of ground (cwri>ou). A diminutive from cw>ra a region.

6. Well (phgh). Strictly, spring. The word for cistern or well is fre>ar, which John uses at vv. 11, 12. Elsewhere in the New Testament always of a pit. See Luke 14:5;
Revelation 9:1, 2. There is no mention of Jacob's Well in the Old Testament. The traditional well still remains. "At the mouth of the valley of Schechem two slight breaks
are visible in the midst of the vast plain of corn - one a white Mussulman chapel; the other a few fragments of stone. The first of these covers the alleged tomb of
Joseph,... the second marks the undisputed site of the well, now neglected and choked up by the ruins which have fallen into it; but still with every claim to be
considered the original well" (Stanley, "Sinai and Palestine"). Dr. Thomson says: "I could see nothing like a well - nothing but a low, modern wall, much broken down,
and never, apparently, more than ten feet high. The area enclosed by it is fifty-six paces from east to west, and sixty-five from north to south. The surface is covered by
a confused mass of shapeless rubbish, overgrown with weeds and nettles.... The well is near the southeastern corner of the area, and, to reach the mouth of it, one must
let himself down, with some risk, about ten feet into a low vault" ("Land and Book"). Dr. Thosson also remarks upon the great discrepancy in the measurements of the
well by different tourists, owing to the accumulations of stones and debris from the ruins of the buildings which formerly covered it. "All confirm the saying of the
Samaritan woman that 'the well is deep.'" Maundrell, in 1697, makes the depth one hundred and five feet, with fifteen feet of water. Mr. Calhoun, in 1838, found nearly
the same depth of water. Dr. Wilson, in 1841, found the depth only seventy-five feet, which is confirmed by the later measurements of Captain Anderson in 1866, and
of Lieutenant Conder in 1875.

Wearied (kekopiakw). See on Luke 5:5.

Thus. Just as He was; or, as some explain, being thus wearied.

Sat. The imperfect tense; was sitting, when the woman came.

Sixth Hour. According to the Jewish reckoning, mid-day. According to the Roman mode, between 5 and 6 P.M. See on 1:39. Evening was the usual time for drawing
water.

7. A woman. Held in low esteem by the popular teachers; a Samaritan, and therefore despised by the Jews; poor, for drawing water was not, as in earlier times,
performed by women of station (Genesis 24:15; 29:9).

Of Samaria. Literally, out of Samaria (ejk). Not of the city of Samaria, which was some six miles distant, but the country. A Samaritan by race and religion.

To draw. See on John 2:8.

9. The woman of Samaria (hJ gunh). Differently expressed from the same phrase in the preceding verse. Literally, the woman the Samaritan. Here the distinctive
character of the woman, as indicated by the race, is emphasized.

Askest (aijtei~v). See on Matthew 15:23.

Have no dealings (ouj sugcrw~ntai). Have no familiar or friendly intercourse with. That they had dealings of some kind is shown by the disciples going into the city to
buy provisions. Some authorities omit for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. The Jews treated the Samaritans with every mark of contempt, and accused
them of falsehood, folly, and irreligion. The Samaritans sold Jews into slavery when they had them in their power, lighted spurious signals for the beacon-fires kindled to
announce the beginnings of months, and waylaid and killed pilgrims on their road to Jerusalem.

10. If thou knewest, etc. Answering rather something latent in the question than the question itself, as in Jesus' first answer to Nicodemus.

The gift (dwrea). Only here in the Gospels, though Luke uses it in Acts four times, and the kindred adverb, dw~rhma, freely, is found once in Matthew. The word
carries the sense of a bountiful, free, honorable gift. Compare dw~rhma, gift, and see on James 1:17.

Asked (h|]thsav). Jesus uses the same word for ask which the woman had employed of his asking her, the word expressing the asking of the inferior from the superior.
Here it is the appropriate word.

Living water (u[dwr zw~n). Fresh, perennial. A familiar figure to the Jews. See Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13; Zechariah 14:8. Not necessarily the same as water of life (u[dwr
zwh~v, Revelation 21:6; 22:1, 17).

11. To draw with (a]ntlhma). The noun means what is drawn, the act of drawing, and the thing to draw with. Here the bucket, of skin, with three cross sticks at the
mouth to keep it open, and let down by a goat's-hair rope. Not to be confounded with the water-pot (uJdri>a) of ver. 28. The word is found only here in the New
Testament.

Well (fre>ar). See on ver. 6. It may have been fed by living springs (phgai).

That living water (to). Literally, the water the living.

12. Art thou greater (mhzwn). The interrogative particle indicates that a negative answer is expected: Surely thou art not. The su, thou, first in the sentence, is emphatic,
and possibly with a shade of contempt.

Our father Jacob. The Samaritans claimed descent from Joseph, as representing the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Children (uijoi). Rev., correctly, sons.

Cattle (qre>mmata). Only here in the New Testament. From (tre>fw) to nourish. A general term for whatever is fed or nursed. When used of animals - mostly of tame
ones - cattle, sheep, etc. It is applied to children, fowls, insects, and fish, also to domestic slaves, which, according to some, is the meaning here; but, as Meyer justly
remarks, "there was no need specially to name the servants; the mention of the herds completes the picture of their nomadic progenitor."

13. Whosoever drinketh (pa~v oJ pi>h|). Literally, every one that drinketh. So Rev.

14. Whosoever
 Copyright       drinketh (o{v
            (c) 2005-2009,     d' a}n pi>h|).
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though very vaguely, by every one that and whosoever, besides a more striking difference in the verb drinketh. In the former case, the article with the participle
indicates something habitual; every one that drinks repeatedly, as men ordinarily do on the recurrence of their thirst. In ver. 14 the definite aorist tense expresses a single
act something done once for all. Literally, he who may have drunk.
remarks, "there was no need specially to name the servants; the mention of the herds completes the picture of their nomadic progenitor."

13. Whosoever drinketh (pa~v oJ pi>h|). Literally, every one that drinketh. So Rev.

14. Whosoever drinketh (o{v d' a}n pi>h|). So Rev.. The A.V. renders the two expressions in the same way, but there is a difference in the pronouns, indicated,
though very vaguely, by every one that and whosoever, besides a more striking difference in the verb drinketh. In the former case, the article with the participle
indicates something habitual; every one that drinks repeatedly, as men ordinarily do on the recurrence of their thirst. In ver. 14 the definite aorist tense expresses a single
act something done once for all. Literally, he who may have drunk.

Shall never thirst (ouj mhsei eijv to). The double negative, ouj mh, is a very strong mode of statement, equivalent to by no means, or in nowise. It must not be
understood, however, that the reception of the divine life by a believer does away with all further desire. On the contrary, it generates new desires. The drinking of the
living water is put as a single act, in order to indicate the divine principle of life as containing in itself alone the satisfaction of all holy desires as they successively arise; in
contrast with human sources, which are soon exhausted, and drive one to other fountains. Holy desire, no matter how large or how varied it may become, will always
seek and find its satisfaction in Christ, and in Christ only. Thirst is to be taken in the same sense in both clauses, as referring to that natural craving which the world
cannot satisfy, and which is therefore ever restless. Drusius, a Flemish critic, cited by Trench ("Studies in the Gospels"), says: "He who drinks the water of wisdom
thirsts and does not thirst. He thirsts, that is, he more and more desires that which he drinks. He does not thirst, because he is so filled that he desires no other drink."
The strong contrast of this declaration of our Lord with pagan sentiment, is illustrated by the following passage from Plato:

"Socrates: Let me request you to consider how far you would accept this as an account of the two lives of the temperate and intemperate: There are two men, both of
whom have a number of casks; the one man has his casks sound and full, one of wine, another of honey, and a third of milk, besides others filled with other liquids, and
the streams which fill them are few and scanty, and he can only obtain them with a great deal of toil and difficulty; but when his casks are once filled he has no need to
feed them any more, and has no further trouble with them, or care about them. The other, in like manner, can procure streams, though not without difficulty, but his
vessels are leaky and unsound, and night and day he is compelled to be filling them, and if he pauses for a moment he is in an agony of pain. Such are their respective
lives: And now would you say that the life of the intemperate is happier than that of the temperate? Do I not convince you that the opposite is the truth?

"Callicles: You do not convince me, Socrates, for the one who has filled himself has no longer any pleasure left; and this, as I was just now saying, is the life of a stone;
he has neither joy nor sorrow after he is once filled; but the life of pleasure is the pouring in of the stream.

"Socrates: And if the stream is always pouring in, must there not be a stream always running out, and holes large enough to admit of the discharge?

"Callicles: Certainly.

"Socrates: The life, then, of which you are now speaking is not that of a dead man, or of a stone, but of a cormorant; you mean that he is to be hungering and eating?

"Callicles: Yes.

"Socrates: And he is to be thirsting and drinking?

"Callicles: Yes, that is what I mean; he is to have all his desires about him, and to be able to live happily in the gratification of them" ("Gorgias," 494). Compare
Revelation 7:16,17.

Shall be (genh>setai). Rev., better, shall become, expressing the ever-developing richness and fresh energy of the divine principle of life.

In Him. A supply having its fountain-head in the man's own being, and not in something outside himself.

A well (phgh). The Rev. retains well, where spring would have been more correct.

Springing up (ajllpme>nou). Leaping; thus agreeing with shall become. "The imperial philosopher of Rome uttered a great truth, but an imperfect one; saw much, but did
not see all; did not see that this spring of water must be fed, and fed evermore, from the 'upper springs,' if it is not presently to fail, when he wrote: 'Look within; within
is the fountain of good, and ever able to gush forth if you are ever digging'" (Plutarch, "On Virtue and Vice").

Unto everlasting life. Christ in a believer is life. This life ever tends toward its divine source, and issues in eternal life.

Come hither (e]rcwmai ejnqa>de). The best texts read die>rcwmai, the preposition dia> having the force of through the intervening plain.

16. Husband (a]ndra). See on John 1:30.

17. Well (kalw~v). Aptly, truly. Compare John 8:48; Matthew 15:7; Luke 20:39.

19. I perceive (qewrw~). See on John 1:18. Not immediate perception, but rather, I perceive as I observe thee longer and more carefully.

A prophet. See on Luke 7:26. The order is a prophet art thou; the emphasis being on prophet.

20. Our fathers. Probably meaning the ancestors of the Samaritans, as far back as the building of the temple on Mount Gerizim in the time of Nehemiah. This temple
had been destroyed by John Hyrcanus, 129 B.C., but the place remained holy, and to this day the Samaritans yearly celebrate there the feast of the Passover. See the
graphic description of Dean Stanley, who was present at the celebration ("Jewish Church," vol. 1, Appendix 3).

This mountain. Gerizim, at the foot of which lies the well. Here, according to the Samaritan tradition, Abraham sacrificed Isaac, and met Melchisedek. By some
convulsion of nature, the central range of mountains running north and south, was cleft open to its base at right angles to its own line of extension, and the deep fissure
thus made is the vale of Nablus, as it appears to one coming up the plain of El Mukhna from Jerusalem. The valley is at least eighteen hundred feet above the level of
the sea, and the mountains on either hand tower to an elevation of about one thousand feet more. Mount Ebal is on the north, Gerizim on the south, and the city
between. Near the eastern end the vale is not more than sixty rods wide; and there, I suppose, the tribes assembled to hear the "blessings and cursings" read by the
Levites (Deuteronomy 27, 28). The panorama seen from the top of Gerizim is about the most extensive and imposing in all Palestine. The summit is a small level
plateau. In the midst of the southern end is a sloping rock, said by the Samaritans to be the site of the altar of their temple, and on approaching which they remove their
shoes. At the eastern edge of the plateau, a small cavity in the rock is shown as the place on which Abraham offered up Isaac. Ebal is three thousand and seventy-nine
feet above the sea-level, and more than two hundred and thirty feet higher than Gerizim. 24

Ought to worship
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21. The hour cometh (e]rcetai w[ra). Rather an hour. There is no article. Is coming; is even now on its way.
plateau. In the midst of the southern end is a sloping rock, said by the Samaritans to be the site of the altar of their temple, and on approaching which they remove their
shoes. At the eastern edge of the plateau, a small cavity in the rock is shown as the place on which Abraham offered up Isaac. Ebal is three thousand and seventy-nine
feet above the sea-level, and more than two hundred and thirty feet higher than Gerizim. 24

Ought to worship (dei~). Better, must worship. She puts it as a divine obligation. It is the only true holy place. Compare ver. 24.

21. The hour cometh (e]rcetai w[ra). Rather an hour. There is no article. Is coming; is even now on its way.

Shall ye worship (proskunh>sete). See on Acts 10:25. The word was used indefinitely in ver. 20. Here with the Father, thus defining true worship.

The Father. This absolute use of the title the Father is characteristic of John. He speaks of God as the Father, and my Father, more commonly the former. On the
distinction between the two Canon Westcott observes: "Generally it may be said that the former title expresses the original relation of God to being, and specially to
humanity, in virtue of man's creation in the divine image; and the latter more particularly the relation of the Father to the Son incarnate, and so indirectly to man in virtue
of the Incarnation. The former suggests those thoughts which spring from the consideration of the absolute moral connection of man with God; the latter those which
spring from what is made known to us, through revelation, of the connection of the Incarnate Son with God and with man." See John 6:45; 10:30; 20:21; 8:18, 19;
14:6-10; 15:8. John never uses our Father; only once your Father (John 20:17), and never Father without the article, except in address.

22. Ye know not what (oJ oujk oi]date). Literally, what ye know not. Rev., rightly, that which ye know not. Compare Acts 17:23 where the correct reading is o{,
what, instead of o{n, whom: "what therefore ye worship in ignorance." This worship of the unknown is common to vulgar ignorance and to philosophic culture; to the
Samaritan woman, and to the Athenian philosophers. Compare John 7:28; 8:19, 27. The neuter expresses the unreal and impersonal character of the Samaritan
worship. As the Samaritans received the Pentateuch only, they were ignorant of the later and larger revelation of God, as contained especially in the prophetic writings,
and of the Messianic hope, as developed among the Jews. They had preserved only the abstract notion of God.

We. Jesus here identifies Himself With the Jewish people. The essence of the true Jewish worship is represented by Him.

Know what we worship (proskunou~men o{ oi]damen). Literally, and as Rev., we worship that which we know. On know, see on John 2:24. The neuter that which, is
used of the true as of the unreal object of worship, perhaps for the sake of correspondence with the preceding clause, or because the object of worship is conceived
abstractly and not personally. Compare John 14:9.

Salvation (hJ swthri>a). The word has the article: the salvation, promised and to be revealed in Christ.

Is of the Jews. Rev., rightly, from the Jews (ejk). Not therefore belongs to, but proceeds from. See Genesis 12; Isaiah 2:3; Micah 4:2. Even the Old Testament idea of
salvation is bound up with Christ. See Romans 9:4, 5. The salvation is from the Jews, even from that people which has rejected it. See on John 1:19. On the
characteristic is from, see on John 1:46. The passage illustrates John's habit of confirming the divine authority of the Old Testament revelation, and of showing its
fulfillment in Christ.

23. And now is. This could not be added in ver. 21, because local worship was not yet abolished; but it was true as regarded the true worship of the Father by His true
worshippers, for Jesus was already surrounded by a little band of such, and more were soon to be added (vv. 39-42). Bengel says that the words and now is are
added lest the woman should think that she must seek a dwelling in Judaea.

True (ajlhqinoi). Real, genuine. See on John 1:9.

Worshippers (proskunhtai). Only here in the New Testament.

In spirit and in truth (ejn pneu>mati kaia|). Spirit (pneu~ma) is the highest, deepest, noblest part of our humanity, the point of contact between God and man (Romans
1:9); while soul (yuch>) is the principle of individuality, the seat of personal impressions, having a side in contact with the material element of humanity as well as with
the spiritual element, and being thus the mediating element between the spirit and the body. The phrase in spirit and in truth describes the two essential characteristics of
true worship: in spirit, as distinguished from place or form or other sensual limitations (ver. 21); in truth, as distinguished from the false conceptions resulting from
imperfect knowledge (ver. 22). True worship includes a spiritual sense of the object worshipped, and a spiritual communion with it; the manifestation of the moral
consciousness in feelings, motions of the will, "moods of elevation, excitements," etc. It includes also a truthful conception of the object. In Jesus the Father is seen
(John 14:9) and known (Luke 10:22). Thus the truthful conception is gained. He is the Truth (John 14:6). Likewise through Him we come to the Father, and spiritually
commune with Him. No man can come in any other way (John 14:6). To worship in truth is not merely to worship in sincerity, but with a worship corresponding to the
nature of its object.

For the father (kai). The A.V. fails to render kai also, and Rev. places it in the margin. It emphasizes the conclusiveness of the reason assigned: "for the Father also, on
His part, seeketh," etc. For a similar use of kai, see on Matthew 8:9; also Matthew 26:73; Acts 19:40.

Seeketh such to worship Him (toiou>touv zhtei~ tou). A rather peculiar construction. Literally, seeketh such as those worshipping him: as His worshippers. Such: i.e.,
those who worship in spirit and in truth, and are therefore real (ajlhqinoi) worshippers of the real God (ajlhqino).

24. God is a Spirit (pneu~ma oJ Qeo>v). Or, as Rev., in margins, God is spirit. Spirit is the emphatic word; Spirit is God. The phrase describes the nature, not the
personality of God. Compare the expressions, God is light; God is love (1 John 1:5; 4:8).

25. Messiah cometh. The woman uses the Jewish name, which was known in Samaria. The Samaritans also expected the Messiah, basing their hopes on such
Scriptures as Genesis 3:15; 49:10; Numbers 24:17; Deuteronomy 18:15. They looked for Him to restore the kingdom of Israel and to re-establish the worship on
Gerizim, where they supposed that the tabernacle was hidden. They called Him Hushab or Hathab, meaning the Converter, or, according to some, the Returning One.
The Samaritan idea was less worldly and political than the Jewish.

Which is called Christ. Added by the Evangelist. Compare John 1:41.

He is come (ejkei~nov). Emphatic; pointing to Messiah as contrasted with all other teachers.

He will tell (ajnaggelei~). Literally, proclaim or announce. The compounded preposition ajna>, the radical meaning of which is up, signifies throughout, from bottom to
top. The verb is used in John 16:13, of the revelations of the Comforter.

26. I - am He (eijmi). Literally, I am. The less political conception of the Samaritan Messiah made it possible for Jesus to announce Himself to the woman without fear
of being misunderstood as He was by the Jews. Compare Matthew 8:4; 16:20.
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This incident furnishes a notable illustration of our Lord's love for human souls, and of His skill, tact, and firmness in dealing with moral degradation and ignorant bigotry.
He conciliates the woman by asking a favor. Her hesitation arises less from prejudice of race than from surprise at being asked for drink by a Jew (compare the story
of Zacchaeus). He seizes upon a near and familiar object as the key-note of His great lesson. He does not overwhelm her with new knowledge, but stimulates question
top. The verb is used in John 16:13, of the revelations of the Comforter.

26. I - am He (eijmi). Literally, I am. The less political conception of the Samaritan Messiah made it possible for Jesus to announce Himself to the woman without fear
of being misunderstood as He was by the Jews. Compare Matthew 8:4; 16:20.

This incident furnishes a notable illustration of our Lord's love for human souls, and of His skill, tact, and firmness in dealing with moral degradation and ignorant bigotry.
He conciliates the woman by asking a favor. Her hesitation arises less from prejudice of race than from surprise at being asked for drink by a Jew (compare the story
of Zacchaeus). He seizes upon a near and familiar object as the key-note of His great lesson. He does not overwhelm her with new knowledge, but stimulates question
and thought. He treats her sin frankly, but not harshly. He is content with letting her see that He is aware of it, knowing that through Him, as the Discerner, she will by
and by reach Him as the Forgiver. Even from her ignorance and coarse superstition He does not withhold the sublimest truth. He knows her imperfect understanding,
but He assumes the germinative power of the truth itself. He is not deterred from the effort to plant His truth and to rescue a soul, either by His own weariness or by the
conventional sentiment which frowned upon His conversation with a woman in a public place. Godet contrasts Jesus' method in this case with that employed in the
interview with Nicodemus. "With Nicodemus He started from the idea which filled every Pharisee's heart, that of the kingdom of God, and deduced therefrom the most
rigorous practical consequences. He knew that He had to do with a man accustomed to the discipline of the law. Then He unveiled to him the most elevated truths of
the kingdom of heaven, by connecting them with a striking Old Testament type, and contrasting them with the corresponding features of the Pharisaic programme.
Here, on the contrary, with a woman destitute of all scriptural training, He takes His point of departure from the commonest thing imaginable, the water of the well. He
suddenly exalts it, by a bold antithesis, to the idea of that eternal life which quenches forever the thirst of the human heart. Spiritual aspiration thus awakened in her
becomes the internal prophecy to which He attaches His new revelations, and thus reaches that teaching on true worship which corresponds as directly to the peculiar
prepossessions of the woman, as the revelation of heavenly things corresponded to the inmost thoughts of Nicodemus. Before the latter He unveils Himself as the only-
begotten Son, but this while avoiding the title of "Christ." With the woman He boldly uses this term; but he does not dream of initiating into the mysteries of incarnation
and redemption a soul which is yet only at the first elements of religious life and knowledge" ("Commentary on the Gospel of John").

27. Came - marvelled (h+lqan ejqau>mazon). The tense of each verb is different: the aorist, came, marking as in a single point of time the disciples' arrival, and the
imperfect, they were wondering, marking something continued: they stood and contemplated him talking with the woman, and all the while were wondering at it.

He talked (ejla>lei). The imperfect tense, he was speaking. So Rev..

The woman. Rev., correctly, a woman. They were surprised, not at his talking with that woman, but that their teacher should converse with any woman in public. The
Rabbinical writings taught that it was beneath a man's dignity to converse with women. It was one of the six things which a Rabbi might not do. "Let no one," it is
written, "converse with a woman in the street, not even with his own wife." It was also held in these writings that a woman was incapable of profound religious
instruction. "Rather burn the sayings of the law than teach them to women."

28. Water-pot. See on John 2:6.

29. All things. Jesus' insight in the one case convinced her that He knew everything, and to her awakened conscience it seemed as though He had told everything.

Is not this the Christ (mh>ti ejstin)? Rather, as Rev., can this be. The particle suggests a negative answer. Surely this cannot be, yet with some hope.

30. Then. Omit.

Went out - came unto Him (ejxh~lqon h]rconto pron). Went out is the aorist tense, denoting the coming forth from the city as a single act at a point of time. Came is the
imperfect, denoting action in progress. The observance of the distinction makes the narrative more graphic. They were coming. Unto should be toward (pro). The
imperfect also is required by the following words: "In the mean while" (while the woman was still absent and the Samaritans were coming toward Him) "the disciples
were praying" Him to eat. This last imperfect is overlooked by the Rev..

32. Meat (brw~sin). Originally the act of eating (Colossians 2:16), but often of that which is eaten. A parallel is found in the vulgar phrase, a thing is good or poor
eating. The word is always used by Paul in its original sense.

Know not of (oujk oi]date). Incorrect. Rev., rightly, ye know not; i.e., you do not know its virtue.

33. Said (e]legon). Imperfect tense: began to say, or were saying. The question was discussed among them.

One to another. Fearing to ask Jesus.

34. Meat (brw~ma). A different word from that in ver. 32, signifying what is eaten.

To do (i[na poiw~). Literally, in order that I do. Emphasizing the end and not the process. Frequently so used in John. See on John 3:19.

Finish (peleiw>sw). Better, as Rev., accomplish. Not merely bring to an end, but perfect. From te>leiov, perfect. The verb is characteristic of John, and of the Epistle
to the Hebrews. See John 5:36; 17:4; 19:28; 1 John 2:5; 4:12; Hebrews 2:10; 5:9 etc.

35. Say not ye. In what follows, Jesus is contrasting the natural harvest-time with the spiritual, which was immediately to take place in the ingathering of the Samaritans.
Ye is emphatic, marking what the disciples expect according to the order of nature. As you look on these green fields between Ebal and Gerizim, ye say, it is yet four
months to harvest.

There are four months (tetra>mhnon ejstin). Properly, it is a space of four months. Only here in the New Testament.

Harvest (qerismo). See on Luke 10:2.

White (leukai>). See on Luke 9:29.

Already unto harvest. Spiritual harvest. The crowd of Samaritans now pouring out toward the well was to Jesus as a ripe harvest-field, prefiguring the larger harvest of
mankind which would be reaped by His disciples. By the best texts the already is joined with the next verse, and the kai, and, at the beginning of that verse is omitted:
Already he that reapeth receiveth, etc.

Wages (misqo). See on 2 Peter 2:13.

Unto life eternal.
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                                                Corp.

Together (oJmou~). The construction is peculiar: that both the sower may rejoice together and the reaper. Together signifies not in common, but simultaneously. So
quickly does the harvest follow the gospel-seed sown among the Samaritans, that the sower and the reaper rejoice together.
Already he that reapeth receiveth, etc.

Wages (misqo). See on 2 Peter 2:13.

Unto life eternal. This is explained either, which shall not perish but endure unto eternal life, or into life eternal, as into a granary. Compare ver. 14.

Together (oJmou~). The construction is peculiar: that both the sower may rejoice together and the reaper. Together signifies not in common, but simultaneously. So
quickly does the harvest follow the gospel-seed sown among the Samaritans, that the sower and the reaper rejoice together.

37. Herein (ejn tou>tw|). Literally, in this. In this relation between sower and reaper.

Is that saying true (oJ lo>gov ejsti). Rev., properly, the saying; the common proverb. True: not only says the truth, but the saying is completely fulfilled according to the
ideal in the sowing and reaping of which Jesus speaks. The literal rendering of the Greek, as given above, is, "the saying is the true (saying);" but several high authorities
omit the article before true.

38. I sent (ejgwsteila). The I is emphatic. The aorist tense points back to the mission of the disciples as involved in their original call.

Other men. Jesus himself and all who had prepared the way for Him, such as John the Baptist.

Labored (kekopia>kasi). The perfect tense. Rev., rightly, have labored, their labor showing its effects in the present case. On the word labor, see on Luke 5:5.
Compare Joshua 24:13.

39. The saying (togon). Rev., better, the word. It does not refer merely to the woman's statement, He told me, etc., but to her whole testimony (marturou>shv)
concerning Christ.

40. To tarry (mei~nai). Better, as Rev., to abide.

41. Many more (pollw|~ plei>). Literally, more by much; i.e., far more, with reference to the simple polloi, many, in ver. 39.

42. Said (e]legon). The imperfect tense: said to the woman as they successively met her.

Saying (lalia). Another word is designedly substituted for lo>gon, word (vv. 39, 41). In ver. 39 lo>gov, word, is used of the woman, from the Evangelist's standpoint,
as being a testimony to Christ. Here the Samaritans distinguish between the more authoritative and dignified word of Jesus, and the talk of the woman. Rev., speaking.
Compare the kindred verb lale>w, in vv. 26, 27; also John 8:43; Matthew 26:73.

The Christ. The best texts omit.

The Savior (oJ swth). John uses the word only here and 1 John 4:14. See on Jesus, Matthew 1:21. It is significant that this conception of Christ should have been first
expressed by a Samaritan.

44. For - in His own country (ga ejn th|~ ijdi>a| patri>di). For assigns the reason why Jesus went into Galilee. By His own country, Judaea seems to be meant, though
almost the same phrase, His country, 25 is used by the three Synoptists of Nazareth in Galilee. John's Gospel, however, deals with the Judaean rather than with the
Galilean ministry of Jesus, and the phrase, His own country, is appropriate to Judaea as "the true home and fatherland of the prophets, the land which contained the city
of Messiah's birth, the city associated with Him alike in ancient prophecy and in popular expectation." Hence, at Jerusalem, the people said, "Hath not the Scriptures
said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was" (John 7:42)? In vv. 1-3 it is stated that Jesus left Judaea because of
a controversy excited by the Pharisees, whom John always marks as the leaders of the opposition to Jesus. Further, we are told that at Jerusalem, though many
believed on His name, yet Jesus did not trust them (John 2:23, 24). According to this explanation, ga, for is used in its natural and most obvious sense as assigning the
reason for Christ's departure into Galilee. The proverb is naturally suggested by the reference to Galilee, where Jesus had used it at Nazareth (see Matthew 13:57). The
o[te ou+n when then (then indicating logical sequence and not time) of ver. 45 follows naturally upon the citation of the proverb, signifying a correspondence between
the character of His reception in Galilee and the motive of His going thither. Finally, if we understand by His own country, Nazareth, we are compelled to explain ga,
for, from ver. 46; Jesus went to Cana (north of Nazareth) without passing through His native place, for the reason mentioned. This seems forced and arbitrary. 26

45. Received (ejde>xanto). See on John 3:32.

46. Jesus. The best texts omit.

Cana (th). Note the article the Cana, and see on John 2:1. The article defines the Cana previously referred to.

Nobleman (basiliko). Properly an adjective, meaning royal, from basileu, king. It occurs in John only, here and ver. 49; and in all other passages is used as an adjective
(Acts 12:20, 21; James 2:8). Literally here, a king's officer. Wyc, little King.

Was sick (hjsqe>nei). See on infirmities, Luke 5:15.

47. He went (ajph~lqen). Literally, went away (ajpo>). Leaving his son for the time.

Heal (ija>shtai). See on Matthew 8:7 and Luke 6:19.

At the point of death (h]mellen ajpoqnh>skein). Literally, was about to die. Compare Mark's uncouth phrase, ejsca>twv e]cei, lieth at the point of death, Mark 5:23,
on which see note. Compare also John 12:33.

48. Said unto him, Except ye see. Addressing the nobleman (him), but having in mind the Galilean population which he represents (ye).

Signs and wonders (shmei~a kairata). See on Matthew 24:24. Shmei~a, signs, and e]rga, works, are John's characteristic words for miracles. See John 5:20; 7:21;
14:10; 2:23; 6:2, etc.

Ye will not (ouj mh). The double negative is correctly given by Rev., "ye will in nowise."

49. Child (paidi>on).
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50. Went his way (ejporeu>eto). But thus the force of the imperfect is lost, which harmonizes with the succeeding sentence: he was proceeding on his way, and as he
was now going down, etc.
14:10; 2:23; 6:2, etc.

Ye will not (ouj mh). The double negative is correctly given by Rev., "ye will in nowise."

49. Child (paidi>on). Diminutive. Literally, my little one; a touch of tenderness.

50. Went his way (ejporeu>eto). But thus the force of the imperfect is lost, which harmonizes with the succeeding sentence: he was proceeding on his way, and as he
was now going down, etc.

51. Servants (dou~loi). Properly, bond-servants. See on Matthew 20:26; Mark 9:35.

Thy son liveth (oJ uijo>v sou~ e]scen). The best texts, however, read aujtou~, his. So Rev., that his son lived. Christ uses uiJo>v, son, instead of paidi>on, little one,
expressing the worth of the child as representing the family. See on John 1:12.

52. Then (ou+n). Not a particle of time, but of sequence. Rev., so he inquired.

Began to amend (komyo>teron e]scen). A peculiar phrase, occurring only here in the New Testament. Literally, had himself better. Komyo>teron is from komyo>v,
well-dressed, well-cared-for, elegant; and this from kome>w, to take care of. The idea of the phrase is conveyed in the familiar English expression: He is doing well, or
nicely, or bravely. A parallel is cited by the commentators from Arrian: "When the doctor comes in, you must not be afraid as to what he will say; nor if he says, 'You
are doing bravely' (ko>mywv e]ceiv), must you give way to excessive joy."

At the seventh hour (w[ran ejbdo>mhn). The accusative case denotes not a point of time, but duration: during the seventh hour.

Fever (pureto>v). From pu~r, fire. So the Latin febris, which is f for ferbris, from ferveo, to glow with heat.

Left (ajfh~ken). Literally, sent him away. See on ver. 3.

54. This is again the second miracle, etc. Literally, this did Jesus again as a second sign. The pleonasm in again, the second, is only apparent. Other miracles had indeed
been wrought between these two; but John emphasizes these two as marking Jesus' coming from Judaea to Galilee. The healing of the nobleman's child was the second
miracle, only in respect of its taking place upon Jesus' withdrawal from Judaea into Galilee. Hence the again. He wrought a miracle again, when He again came into
Galilee, and this miracle was the second, as marking His second coming.

CHAPTER 5

1. A feast (eJorth). Or festival. What festival is uncertain. It has been identified with the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles; also with the Day of
Atonement, the Feast of Dedication, and the Feast of Purim.

2. Sheep-market (th|~ probatikh|~). The word is an adjective pertaining to sheep, which requires to be completed with another word, not with ajgora~|, market, but
with pu>lh~, gate. This gate was near the temple on the east of the city. See Nehemiah 3:1, 32; 12:39. Some editors join the adjective with the following kolumbh>qra,
pool, making the latter word kolumbh>qra| (the dative case), and reading the sheep-pool. Wyc., a standing water of beasts.

Pool (kolumbh>qra). In the New Testament only in this chapter and John 9:7, 11. Properly, a pool for swimming, from kolumba>w, to dive. In Ecclesiastes 2:6
(Sept.,) it is used of a reservoir in a garden. The Hebrew word is from the verb to kneel down, and means, therefore, a kneeling-place for cattle or men when drinking.
In ecclesiastical language, the baptismal font, and the baptistery itself.

Called (ejpilegome>nh). Strictly, surnamed, the name having perhaps supplanted some earlier name.

Bethesda (bhqesda Commonly interpreted House of Mercy; others House of the Portico. The readings also vary. Tischendorf and Westcott and Hort give bhqzaqa>,
Bethzatha, House of the Olive. The site cannot be identified with any certainty. Dr. Robinson thinks it may be the Fountain of the Virgin, the upper fountain of Siloam.
See Thomson's "Land and Book," "Southern Palestine and Jerusalem," pp. 458-461.

Porches (stoa). Cloisters, covered porticoes.

3. Great multitude. The best texts omit great.

Impotent (ajsqevou>ntwn). Rev., sick. Yet the A.V. gives the literal meaning, people without strength. Wyc., languishing.

Withered (zhrw~n). Literally, dry. So Wyc.. The following words, to the end of ver. 4, are omitted by the best texts.

5. Had an infirmity thirty and eight years. Literally, having thirty and eight years in his infirmity.

6. Had been now a long time (polunon e]cei). Literally, he hath already much time.

Wilt thou (qe>leiv). Not merely, do you wish, but are you in earnest? See on Matthew 1. 19. Jesus appeals to the energy of his will. Not improbably he had fallen into
apathy through his long sickness. Compare Acts 3:4; John 7:17.

Whole (uJgih). Sound.

7. Put (ba>lh|). Literally, cast; indicating the hasty movement required to bring him to the water before its agitation should have ceased. See on Mark 7:30; Luke 16:20.

8. Bed (kra>bbaton). Used by both Mark and Luke. See on Mark 2:4 and compare Acts 5:15; 9:33.

10. Cured (teqerapeume>nw|). See on Matthew 8:7; Luke 5:15; Acts 17:25.

To carry (a+rai). Rev., more correctly, to take up. It is Jesus' own word in ver. 8.

11. He that made - the same (oJ poih>sav ejkei~nov). The demonstrative pronoun points with emphasis to the subject of the preceding clause. A characteristic usage
of John. See(c)
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12. Then. Omit.
To carry (a+rai). Rev., more correctly, to take up. It is Jesus' own word in ver. 8.

11. He that made - the same (oJ poih>sav ejkei~nov). The demonstrative pronoun points with emphasis to the subject of the preceding clause. A characteristic usage
of John. See John 1:18, 33; 9:37; 10:1; 12:48, etc.

12. Then. Omit.

What man is he, etc. "See the cunning of malice. They do not say, 'Who is he that healed thee?' but, 'Who bade thee take up thy bed?'" (Grotius, in Trench,
"Miracles.")

Take up thy bed. Omit bed. Literally, take up and walk.

13. He that was healed (ijaqei). Compare ver. 10, and note the different word for healing. See references there.

Who it was (ti>v ejstin). The present tense, who it is.

Had conveyed Himself away (ejxe>neusen). The verb means, literally, to turn the head aside, in order to avoid something. Hence, generally, to retire or withdraw. Only
here in the New Testament.

14. Findeth - said. Note the lively interchange of the tenses, as in ver. 13.

Sin no more (mhke>ti aJma>rtane). No longer continue to sin. See on Matthew 1:21. Jesus thus shows His knowledge that the sickness was the result of sin.

A worse thing. Than even those thirty-eight years of suffering.

Come unto thee (soi> ge>nhtai). Rev., better, befall thee. Literally, come to pass.

15. Told (ajnh>ggeilen). See on John 4:25. The best texts, however, read ei+pen, said.

16. Did the Jews persecute. The imperfect tense (ejdi>wkon) might be rendered began to persecute, as this is an opening of hostilities against Jesus, or, more probably,
corresponds with the same tense in ejpoi>ei, he did, or better, was wont to do. Diw>kw, to persecute, is originally to run after, to pursue with hostile purpose, and
thence to harass.

And sought to kill Him. The best texts omit.

He did. See above. Godet observes: "the imperfect malignantly expresses the idea that the violation of the Sabbath has become with Him a sort of maxim."

17. Worketh. The discussion turned on work on the Sabbath. The Father's work in maintaining and redeeming the world has continued from the creation until the
present moment (e[wv a]rti): until now, not interrupted by the Sabbath.

And I work (kajgwzomai). Or, I also work. The two clauses are coordinated. The relation, as Meyer observes, is not that of imitation, or example, but of equality of
will and procedure. Jesus does not violate the divine ideal of the Sabbath by His holy activity on that day. "Man's true rest is not a rest from human, earthly labor, but a
rest for divine, heavenly labor. Thus the merely negative, traditional observance of the Sabbath is placed in sharp contrast with the positive, final fulfillment of spiritual
service, for which it was a preparation" (Westcott).

18. Had broken (e]lue). Literally, was loosing: the imperfect tense. See on He did, ver. 16. Not, broke the Sabbath in any particular case, but was annulling the law
and duty of Sabbath observance.

His Father (pate>ra i]dion). Properly, His own Father. So Rev.

19. Verily, verily. See on John 1:51.

But what He seeth. Referring to can do nothing, not to of himself. Jesus, being one with God, can do nothing apart from Him.

The Father do (tora poiou~nta). Rev., rightly, doing. The participle brings out more sharply the coincidence of action between the Father and the Son: "the inner and
immediate intuition which the Son perpetually has of the Father's work" (Meyer).

Likewise (oJmoi>wv). Better, as Rev., in like manner. Likewise is popularly understood as equivalent to also; but the word indicates identity of action based upon
identity of nature.

20. Loveth (filei~). To love is expressed by two words in the New Testament, file>w and ajgapa>w. >w indicates a reasoning, discriminating attachment, founded in
the conviction that its object is worthy of esteem, or entitled to it on account of benefits bestowed. File>w represents a warmer, more instinctive sentiment, more
closely allied to feeling, and implying more passion. Hence ajgapa>w is represented by the Latin diligo, the fundamental idea of which is selection, the deliberate choice
of one out of a number, on sufficient grounds, as an object of regard. Thus file>w emphasizes the affectional element of love, and ajgapa>w the intelligent element.
Socrates, in Xenophon's "Memorabilia," advises his friend Aristarchus to alleviate the necessities of his dependents by furnishing means to set them at work. Aristarchus
having acted upon his advice, Xenophon says that the women in his employ loved (ejfi>loun) him as their protector, while he in turn loved (hjga>pa) them because they
were of use to him ("Memorabilia," 2:7, ). Jesus' sentiment toward Martha and Mary is described by hjga>pa, John 11:5. Men are bidden to love (ajgapa~n) God
(Matthew 22:37; 1 Corinthians 8:3); never filei~n, since love to God implies an intelligent discernment of His attributes and not merely an affectionate sentiment. Both
elements are combined in the Father's love for the Son (Matthew 3:17; John 3:35; 4:20). >ph is used throughout the panegyric of love in 1 Corinthians 13, and an
examination of that chapter will show how large a part the discriminating element plays in the Apostle's conception of love. The noun aga>ph nowhere appears in
classical writings. As Trench remarks, it "is a word born within the bosom of revealed religion."'Era>w, in which the idea of sensual passion predominates, is nowhere
used in the New Testament. Trench has some interesting remarks on its tendency toward a higher set of associations in the Platonic writings ("Synonyms," p. 42).

Greater works will He show Him. As Jesus does whatever He sees the Father do (ver. 19), the showing of greater works will be the signal for Jesus to do them. On
works, as a characteristic word in John, see on John 4:47.

Ye may marvel. The ye is emphatic (uJmei~v) and is addressed to those who questioned His authority, whose wonder would therefore be that of astonishment rather
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                                                 Plato says, "Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder" ("Theaetetus," 105); and39  / 189of
                                                                                                                                                                Clement
Alexandria, cited by Westcott, "He that wonders shall reign, and he that reigns shall rest." Compare Acts 4:13.
works, as a characteristic word in John, see on John 4:47.

Ye may marvel. The ye is emphatic (uJmei~v) and is addressed to those who questioned His authority, whose wonder would therefore be that of astonishment rather
than of admiring faith, but might lead to faith. Plato says, "Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder" ("Theaetetus," 105); and Clement of
Alexandria, cited by Westcott, "He that wonders shall reign, and he that reigns shall rest." Compare Acts 4:13.

21. Raiseth - quickeneth. Physically and spiritually.

The Son quickeneth. Not raiseth and quickeneth. The quickening, however (zwopoiei~, maketh alive), includes the raising, so that the two clauses are coextensive. In
popular conception the raising precedes the quickening; but, in fact, the making alive is the controlling fact of the raising. >rei, raiseth, means primarily awaketh.

22. For the Father (oujde). The A.V. misses the climax in oujde; not even the Father, who might be expected to be judge.

Hath committed (de>dwken). Rev., given. The habitual word for the bestowment of the privileges and functions of the Son. See John 5:36; 3:35; 6:37, 39; 10:29, etc.

All judgment (thsin pa~san). Literally, the judgment wholly.

23. Which sent Him. A phrase peculiar to John, and used only by the Lord, of the Father. See John 4:34; 6:38, 39; 7:16, 28, 33, etc.

24. Heareth. Closely connected with believeth.

Hath eternal life. See on John 3:36.

Shall not come into condemnation (eijv kri>sin oujk e]rcetai). The present tense, cometh not. So Rev. Not condemnation, but judgment, as Rev. See on John 3:17.
Wyc., cometh not into doom. The present, cometh, states the general principle or order.

From death (ejk qana>tou). Rev., correctly, out of death, pointing to the previous condition in which he was.

Life (thn). The life; the ideal of perfect life.

25. The dead. Spiritually.

26. As - so (w[sper ou[twv). The correspondence is that of fact, not of degree.

Hath he given (e]dwken). Rev., more strictly, gave, the aorist tense pointing back to the eternal past.

27. Authority. See on John 1:12.

Also. Omit.

The Son of man. Better, a son of man. The article is wanting. The authority is assigned to Him as being very man. John uses the article everywhere with this phrase,
except here and Revelation 1:13; 14:14. See on Luke 6:22.

28. The graves (toi~v mnhmei>oiv). Rev., better; tombs. Two words are used in the New Testament for the place of burial, ta>fov, and mnhmei~on or mnh~ma. The
former emphasizes the idea of burial (qa>ptw, to bury); the latter of preserving the memory of the dead; from mimnh>skw, to remind.

29. Have done good - have done evil. Note again the use of the different verbs for doing with good and evil. See on 3:21. On the word for evil (fau~la), see on John
3:20.

Resurrection of life (eja). The phrase occurs only here in the New Testament: so resurrection of judgment (ajna>stasin kri>sewv).

30. Of the Father. Omit. Rev., of Him that sent.

31. If I (eja). The I expressed for emphasis: I alone.

True (ajlhqh>v). As distinguished from false. See on John 1:9.

33. Ye sent. Rev., rightly, have sent. The perfect tense, with allusion to something abiding in its results. Similarly, bare witness should be hath born. Note the expressed
ye (uJmei~v), emphatically marking the contrast between the human testimony which the Jews demanded, and the divine testimony on which Jesus relies (ver. 34).

34. But I (ejgw). Emphatic, in contrast with ye (ver. 33).

Receive (lamba>nw). See on John 3:32.

Testimony (than). Rev., properly the witness. The restoration of the article is important. It has the force of my, marking the witness as characteristic of Christ's work.
The only testimony which I accept as proof.

From man. Or from a man, with a primary reference to the Baptist. Rev. renders, the witness which I receive is not from man.

These things. With reference to the Baptist.

Ye may be saved. The ye (uJmei~v), marking them as those who might be influenced by the inferior, human testimony; though they did not apprehend the divine
testimony.

35. A burning and shining light (oJ lu>cnov oJ kaio>menov kainwn). Rev., correctly, the lamp that burneth and shineth. Lu>cnov, lamp, as contrasted with the light
(fw~v). See John 1:5, 7, 8, 9; and compare John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46. Wyc., lantern. The Baptist did not, like Jesus, shine by his own light. The definite article with lamp,
points to it as
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Ye were willing. Again the emphatic uJmei~v, ye.
testimony.

35. A burning and shining light (oJ lu>cnov oJ kaio>menov kainwn). Rev., correctly, the lamp that burneth and shineth. Lu>cnov, lamp, as contrasted with the light
(fw~v). See John 1:5, 7, 8, 9; and compare John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46. Wyc., lantern. The Baptist did not, like Jesus, shine by his own light. The definite article with lamp,
points to it as a familiar household object. Burning hints at the fact that the lamp gives but a transitory light. In burning the oil is consumed.

Ye were willing. Again the emphatic uJmei~v, ye.

To rejoice (ajgalliasqh~nai). The word signifies exultant, lively joy. See Matthew 5:12; Luke 1:47; 10:21; 1 Peter 1:6. The interest in the Baptist was a frivolous,
superficial, and short-lived excitement. Bengel says, "they were attracted by his brightness, not by his warmth."

36. Greater witness (th>n marturi>an mei>zw). The article, omitted in A.V., has the force of my, as in ver. 34. Rev., the witness which I have is greater.

Hath given. See on ver. 22.

To finish (i[na teleiw>sw). Literally, in order that I should accomplish. Rev., accomplish. See on John 4:34.

The same works (aujta). Rev., more correctly, the very works.

37. Himself (aujto). The best texts substitute ejkei~nov, he; reading, "the Father which sent me, He hath born witness." So Rev.

Voice - shape. Not referring to the descent of the dove and the voice from heaven at Jesus' baptism, but generally and figuratively to God's witness in the Old
Testament Scriptures. This is in harmony with the succeeding reference to the word.

38. His word. Emphatic, commencing the sentence. Compare John 17:6 sqq.; 1 John 1:10; 2:14.

39. Search (ejreuna~te). Rev., rightly, ye search. Jesus is appealing to a familiar practice of which for in them ye think is explanatory. See 1 Peter 1:11; Romans 8:27; 1
Corinthians 2:10; Revelation 2:23.

The scriptures (ta). Literally, the writings; possibly with a hint at the contrast with the word (ver. 38).

They (ejkei~nai). Those very scriptures.

40. And. More than a simple copula. Rather and yet. See on Luke 18:7.

Ye will not (ouj qe>lete). Indicating stubborn determination. See on Matthew 1:19.

41. I receive not honor from men. The Greek order is: glory from men I receive not. Compare ver. 34. His glory consists in his loving fellowship with God. Men who
do not love God are not in sympathy with Him.

42. I know (e]gnwka). See on John 2:24.

The love of God. Love toward God. This was the summary of their own law. The phrase occurs elsewhere in the Gospels only in Luke 11:42.

In you (ejn eJautoi~v). Rev., rightly, in yourselves. Compare John 6:53; 1 John 5:10; Mark 4:17.

44. Ye believe. Again the emphatic ye, the reason for the emphasis being given in the succeeding clause.

Which receive (lamba>nontev). Literally, receiving (as ye do): seeing that ye receive.

Seek not the honor that cometh from God only (kaixan thnou Qeou~ ouj zhtei~te). The Rev. gives it capitally, following the Greek order: and the glory that cometh
from the only God ye seek not. Not God only, which entirely overlooks the force of the definite article; but the only God. Compare 1 Timothy 6:15, 16; John 17:3;
Romans 16:27.

45. I will accuse (kathgorh>sw). From kata>, against, and ajgoreu>w, to speak in the assembly (ajgora>). Hence, properly, to bring an accusation in court. John uses
no other verb for accuse, and this only here, John 8:6, and Revelation 12:10. Once in the New Testament diaba>llw occurs (Luke 16:1 on which see note), signifying
malicious accusation, and secret, as distinguished from public, accusation (kathgori>a). Aijtia>omai occurs once in the compound proh|tiasa>meqa, we before laid to
the charge (Romans 3:9). This has reference especially to the ground of accusation (aijti>a). >w occurs only in Acts, with the exception of Romans 8:33. It means to
accuse publicly, but not necessarily before a tribunal. See Acts 23:28, 29; 26:2, 7.

In whom ye trust (eijv {on uJmei~v hjlpi>kate). A strong expression. Literally, into whom ye have hoped. Rev., admirably, on whom ye have set your hope.

47. Writings (gra>mmasin). It is important to understand the precise sense of this word, because it goes to determine whether Jesus intended an antithesis between
Moses' writings and His own words, or simply between Moses (ejkei>nou) and Himself (ejmoi~v).

Gra>mma primarily means what is written. Hence it may describe either a single character or a document. From this general notion several forms develop themselves in
the New Testament. The word occurs in its narrower sense of characters, at Luke 23:38; 2 Corinthians 3:7; Galatians 6:11. In Acts 28:21 it means official
communications. Paul, with a single exception (2 Corinthians 3:7), uses it of the letter of scripture as contrasted with its spirit (Romans 2:27, 29; 7:6; 2 Corinthians 3:6).
In Luke 16:6, 7 it denotes a debtor's bond (A.V., bill). In John 7:15Acts 26:24) it is used in the plural as a general term for scriptural and Rabbinical learning. Compare
Sept., Isaiah 29:11,12) where a learned man is described as ejpita>menov gra>mmata, acquainted with letters. Once it is used collectively of the sacred writings - the
scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15), though some give it a wider reference to Rabbinical exegesis, as well as to scripture itself. Among the Alexandrian Greeks the term is not
confined to elementary instruction, but includes exposition, based, however, on critical study of the text. The tendency of such exegesis was often toward mystical and
allegorical interpretation, degenerating into a petty ingenuity in fixing new and recondite meanings upon the old and familiar forms. This was illustrated by the Neo-
Platonists' expositions of Homer, and by the Rabbinical exegesis. Men unacquainted with such studies, especially if they appeared as public teachers, would be
regarded as ignorant by the Jews of the times of Christ and the Apostles. Hence the question respecting our Lord Himself: How knoweth this man letters (gra>mmata
John 7:15)? Also the comment upon Peter and John (Acts 4:13) that they were unlearned (ajgra>mmatoi). Thus, too, those who discovered in the Old Testament
scriptures references to Christ, would be stigmatized by Pagans, as following the ingenious and fanciful method of the Jewish interpreters, which they held in contempt.
Some   such feeling
 Copyright           may haveInfobase
             (c) 2005-2009,     provokedMedia
                                           the words
                                                 Corp.of Festus to Paul: Much learning (polla> gra>mmata) doth make thee mad (Acts 26:24). It is wellPage known 41
                                                                                                                                                                 with/what
                                                                                                                                                                       189
minute care the literal transcription of the sacred writings was guarded. The Scribes (grammatei~v) were charged with producing copies according to the letter
(katamma).
Platonists' expositions of Homer, and by the Rabbinical exegesis. Men unacquainted with such studies, especially if they appeared as public teachers, would be
regarded as ignorant by the Jews of the times of Christ and the Apostles. Hence the question respecting our Lord Himself: How knoweth this man letters (gra>mmata
John 7:15)? Also the comment upon Peter and John (Acts 4:13) that they were unlearned (ajgra>mmatoi). Thus, too, those who discovered in the Old Testament
scriptures references to Christ, would be stigmatized by Pagans, as following the ingenious and fanciful method of the Jewish interpreters, which they held in contempt.
Some such feeling may have provoked the words of Festus to Paul: Much learning (polla> gra>mmata) doth make thee mad (Acts 26:24). It is well known with what
minute care the literal transcription of the sacred writings was guarded. The Scribes (grammatei~v) were charged with producing copies according to the letter
(katamma).

The one passage in second Timothy cannot be urged in favor of the general use of the term for the scriptures, especially since the best texts reject the article before
iJeramma, so that the meaning is apparently more general: "thou hast known sacred writings." The familiar formula for the scriptures was aiJ grafaiai.. A single book of
the collection of writings was known as bibli>on (Luke 4:17), or bi>blov (Luke 20:42); never grafh>, which was the term for a particular passage. See on Mark 12:10.
27

It seems to me, therefore, that the antithesis between the writings of Moses, superstitiously reverenced in the letter, and minutely and critically searched and expounded
by the Jews, and the living words (rJh>masin, see on Luke 1:37), is to be recognized. This, however, need not exclude the other antithesis between Moses and Jesus
personally.

CHAPTER 6

1-14. Compare Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17.

1. The sea. See on Matthew 4:18.

2. Multitude (o]clov). See on John 1:19.

Followed (hjkolou>qei). Imperfect tense, denoting not merely the following on this occasion, but generally.

Saw (eJw>rwn). Rev., beheld. See on John 1:18.

His miracles. Omit his. Render, as Rev., the signs.

He did (ejpoi>ei). Imperfect, was doing, from time to time.

3. A mountain (to). Strictly, the mountain. The writer speaks as one familiar with the district.

He sat (ejk>qhto). Imperfect: was sitting, when he saw the multitude approaching (ver. 5).

4. A feast (hJ eJorth). With the definite article, the feast; pointing to something well known.

5. Come (e]rcetai). Better, is coming. Unto Him (pro>v) is rather toward.

Bread (a]rtouv). Properly, loaves. See on Matthew 4:1.

6. To prove (peira>zwn). Literally, proving. See on Matthew 6:13. Wyc., tempting.

7. Pennyworth (dhnar>wn). See on Matthew 20:2. Two hundred pennyworth would represent between thirty and thirty-five dollars.

That every one may take a little. Peculiar to John.

9. A lad (paida>rion). Diminutive. Only here in the New Testament. 28 Only John mentions the lad.

Barley (kriqi>nouv). A detail peculiar to John. The word occurs in the New Testament only here and ver. 13. An inferior sort of bread is indicated by the term. Pliny
and some of the Jewish writers describe barley as food fit for beasts. Suetonius speaks of a turgid rhetorician as a barley orator, inflated like barley in moisture: and
Livy relates how cohorts which had lost their standards were ordered barley for food.

Fishes (ojya>ria). The word occurs only here and at John 21:9. The Synoptists use ijcque>v. The A.V., small fishes, is intended to render the diminutive. 29 The word
means anything that is eaten with bread, and may apply to meat generally, or to what is eaten with bread as a relish. Homer speaks of an onion as a relish (o]yon) for
drink ("Iliad," 11, 630). The term was applied to fish par excellence. Fish became among the Greeks a chief dainty to gourmands, so that Demosthenes describes a
glutton and spendthrift as one who is extravagant in fish.

But what are they among so many? Peculiar to John, though the idea is implied in Luke 9:13.

10. Sit down (ajnapesei~n). Literally, recline.

Grass (co>rtov). Originally an enclosure. Thus Homer speaks of Peleus offering a sacrifice, aujlh~v ejn co>rtw|, in the enclosure of the court ("Iliad," 11, 774). Hence
a feeding-place, and so grass, provender. The sense is merely that of our abstract pasture. Matthew and Mark mention the grass, Mark with the epithet green. Wyc.,
hay.

11. Given thanks. All the Synoptists relate his looking up to heaven and blessing. Perhaps he used the familiar formula, "Blessed art thou Jehovah our God, King of the
world, who causes to come forth bread from the earth."

To the disciples, and the disciples. The best texts omit. Render, as Rev., He distributed to them that were set down.

Likewise of the fishes. So also Mark.

As much as they would. Peculiar to John.

12. Fragments
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That remain (perisseu>santa). Rev., remain over. Literally, exceed the necessary supply. Only John gives the Lord's command to collect the fragments, and the reason
for it, that nothing be lost.
Likewise of the fishes. So also Mark.

As much as they would. Peculiar to John.

12. Fragments (kla>smata). From kla>w, to break. Rev., broken pieces.

That remain (perisseu>santa). Rev., remain over. Literally, exceed the necessary supply. Only John gives the Lord's command to collect the fragments, and the reason
for it, that nothing be lost.

13. Baskets (kofi>nouv). See on Matthew 14:20. Wyc., coffins.

With the fragments, etc. John goes into fuller detail than the Synoptists. Mark alone notes the gathering of the remains of the fishes. John also uses ejge>misan, filled, for
they took up, or were taken up, of the Synoptists.

Five barley loaves. A detail peculiar to John, emphasizing the identity of the fragments with the original loaves.

Unto them that had eaten (bebrwko>sin). Only here in the New Testament.

14. That should come (oJ ejrco>menov). Literally, the one coming. Rev., that cometh. Vv. 15-21. Compare Matthew 14:22-36; Mark 6:45-52.

15. Would come (me>llousin e]rcesqai). Literally, are about to come.

Take by force (aJrpa>zein). See on Matthew 11:12.

A king. Better, as Rev., king; over themselves.

Himself alone (aujtonov). Matthew has kat' ijdi>an, privately, and both Matthew and Mark add, to pray.

16. Even (ojyi>a). An adjective; o]yiov, late with w[ra, hour, understood.

17. Ship (ploi~on). Rev., boat. See on Luke 5:2. The best texts omit the article.

Went (h]rconto). The imperfect, were going. So Rev.

Capernaum. Mark has Bethsaida.

It was now dark (skoti>a h]dh ejgego>nei). Literally, darkness had already come on. On darkness, see on John 1:5.

18. Arose (dihgei>reto). It is lamentable how the A.V. misses the graphic force of these imperfects. Rev., rightly, was rising. Literally, was being awakened. The
imperfects convey the sense of gathering danger, and throw into stronger relief the fact of Jesus' appearance. They were going; the darkness had already fallen, the sea
was rising, and Jesus had not yet come.

That blew (pne>ontov). Literally, blowing. That was blowing would be better. John's narrative at this point is more detailed and graphic than the others.

19. Had rowed (ejlhlako>tev). Literally, had driven or propelled (the boat).

Five and twenty, etc. The lake being about forty furlongs, six miles, at its broadest, they had gone only a little more than half-way.

They see (qewrou~si). Rev., behold; with an intent gaze. See on John 1:18. Both Luke and John use this word frequently.

Drawing nigh. Literally, becoming nigh. Wyc., to be made next to the boat. Mark adds, He would have passed by them, and Luke that they thought Him a phantom.

21. They willingly received (h]qelon labei~n). Wrong. Rev., correctly, they were willing to receive; after being reassured by His voice. The imperfect denotes a
continuous state of feeling, not a mere impulsive and temporary wish.

Immediately (eujqe>wv). Whether Jesus actually entered the boat or not, John does not say. The more natural inference is that he did. Both Matthew and Mark say so.
Their immediate and miraculous arrival at the shore was simultaneous either with their entertaining the wish to receive Him, or with His actually coming on board. Only
John mentions this incident. Matthew and Mark say that the wind ceased.

They went (uJph~gon). Imperfect: were going. Literally, were going away. The verb has the sense of retiring from something. Compare John 6:67; 7:33, on which see
note; John 12:11; 18:8.

22. Which stood (oJ eJsthkw). Having remained daring the night near the scene of the miracle, and being there still.

Boat (poia>rion). Diminutive: little boat.

That - whereinto His disciples were entered. Omit, and read as Rev., save one.

23. Howbeit there came other boats (a]lla deria). Some editors omit de, howbeit, change a]lla, other, into ajlla, but, and read, but there came boats.

26. The miracles (shmei~a). Both the insertion of the definite article and the translation miracles in the A.V. tend to obscure the true sense of the passage. Jesus says:
You do not seek me because you saw signs. What you saw in my works was only marvels. You did not see in them tokens of my divine power and mission.

Were filled (ejcorta>sqhte). See on Matthew 5:6; Luke 15:16.

27. Meat (brw~sin). See on John 4:32. In Matthew 6:19, 20 and there only, it is used in the sense of rust, that which eats or corrodes. Similarly, corrode is from rodo,
to gnaw.
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Him hath God the Father sealed. The Rev. makes the sentence culminate properly in God: "for Him the Father, even God, hath sealed." According to the strict Greek
order it is: for Him the Father sealed, even God. On sealed (ejsfra>gisen) see on John 3:33. Wyc., betokened Him.
Were filled (ejcorta>sqhte). See on Matthew 5:6; Luke 15:16.

27. Meat (brw~sin). See on John 4:32. In Matthew 6:19, 20 and there only, it is used in the sense of rust, that which eats or corrodes. Similarly, corrode is from rodo,
to gnaw.

Him hath God the Father sealed. The Rev. makes the sentence culminate properly in God: "for Him the Father, even God, hath sealed." According to the strict Greek
order it is: for Him the Father sealed, even God. On sealed (ejsfra>gisen) see on John 3:33. Wyc., betokened Him.

28. What shall we do? (ti> poiou~men). Literally, what do we do? The best texts read poiw~men, what are we to do?

Works. The question is from the legal standpoint, works being regarded as the condition of obtaining the living bread.

29. Believe. Faith is put as a moral act or work. The work of God is to believe. Faith includes all the works which God requires. The Jews' question contemplates
numerous works. Jesus' answer directs them to one work. Canon Westcott justly observes that "this simple formula contains the complete solution of the relation of
faith and works."

30. Therefore. Since He had claimed to be the One sent of God.

31. Manna. Properly, the manna, referring to the familiar historic fact. A passage is cited from a Hebrew commentary on Ecclesiastes, as follows: "As the first
Redeemer made the manna to descend, as it is written, 'Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you'; so the later Redeemer also shall make the manna to descend, as
it is written, 'May there be abundance of corn in the earth.'"

32. Moses gave you not (ouj Mwsh~v de>dwken uJmi~n). The antithesis is between Moses and my Father. So Rev., rightly, "it was not Moses that gave you," etc. -
"but my Father giveth," etc. Some editors change the perfect tense, de>dwken, hath given, to the aorist, e]dwken, gave.

The true bread from heaven (ton). The translation would gain by following the Greek order, "the bread out of heaven, the real bread."

33. He which cometh down (oJ katabai>nwn). So it may be rendered; but also that which, referring to a]rtov, bread: and so, better, as Rev., since Jesus does not
identify Himself with the bread until ver. 35.

35. I am the bread of life. A form of expression peculiar to John. See John 6:41, 48, 51; 8:12; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5.

Cometh - believeth. Faith in its active aspect and in its resting aspect.

Never (ouj mh). Rather, in nowise, or by no means. Rev., shall not.

36. But. Though you have seen as you asked, I repeat what I said to you that you have seen and do not believe.

37. All that (pa~n o{). The neuter singular of the adjective and pronoun. All believers are regarded as one complete whole. Compare 17:24, according to the correct
reading, "that which Thou hast given me."

Shall come (h[xei). Emphasizing the idea of reaching or arriving.

Cometh (ejrco>menon). A different verb, emphasizing the process of coming.

38. From heaven (ejk tou~ oujranou~). But the best texts read ejk, from, instead of ejk, out of, the idea being rather that of departure (I came down) than of origin. I
came down should be as Rev. (I am come down). The tense is the perfect.

39. The Father's will. Omit the Father's. Render, the will of Him, etc.

That of all which He hath given me (i[na pa~n o{ de>dwke> moi). The construction is a peculiar and broken one. All which He hath given, stands alone as an absolute
nominative; a very emphatic and impressive mode of statement. Literally it reads, that all which He hath given me I should lose nothing out of it.

At the last day (ejn th~| ejsca>th| hJme>ra|). The phrase occurs only in John.

40. And this (de>). The best texts read ga, for. There is a logical connection between the last sentence and the following. The Father's will in preserving and raising up
that which he has given to the Son, includes in its fulfillment the believing contemplation of the Son and its issue in eternal life.

Of Him that sent me. The best texts substitute patro>v, you, of my Father.

Seeth (qewrw~n). The word is designedly used. The saving vision of Christ is not here seeing, but earnest contemplation. Rev., beholdeth. See on 1:18. Compare ye
have seen me, and believe not (ver. 36).

41. Then (ou+n). Rev., rightly, therefore: because of His words.

Murmured (ejggo>guzon). See on Jude 1:16 and compare 1 Corinthians 10:10; Philippians 2:14. The word is constantly used in the Septuagint of the murmuring of
Israel in the wilderness. Wyc., grudged of Him. So Chaucer, "Judas grucched agens the Maudeleyn whan sche anoynted the hed of oure Lord" ("Parson's Tale"); and
Shakespeare,

"Served

Without or grudge or grumbling."

"Tempest" i., 2, 249.

At Him (peri). Implying that they addressed their remonstrances to Him. But peri> means about or concerning. So Rev., properly, concerning.

42. We know.
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44. Draw (eJlku>sh). Two words for drawing are found in the New Testament, su>rw and eJlku>w. The distinction is not habitually observed, and the meanings often
overlap. Su>rw is originally to drag or trail along, as a garment or torn slippers. Both words are used of haling to justice. (See Acts 8:3; 17:6; 16:19.) In Acts
"Tempest" i., 2, 249.

At Him (peri). Implying that they addressed their remonstrances to Him. But peri> means about or concerning. So Rev., properly, concerning.

42. We know. Not implying necessarily that Joseph was still alive, but merely the fact that Joseph was recognized as the father of Jesus.

44. Draw (eJlku>sh). Two words for drawing are found in the New Testament, su>rw and eJlku>w. The distinction is not habitually observed, and the meanings often
overlap. Su>rw is originally to drag or trail along, as a garment or torn slippers. Both words are used of haling to justice. (See Acts 8:3; 17:6; 16:19.) In Acts
14:19su.rw, of dragging Paul's senseless body out of the city at Lystra. In John 21:6, 8, 11 both words of drawing the net. In John 18:10eJlku>w, of drawing Peter's
sword. One distinction, however, is observed: su>rw is never used of Christ's attraction of men. See John 6:44; 12:32. >w occurs only once outside of John's writings
(Acts 16:19). Luther says on this passage: "The drawing is not like that of the executioner, who draws the thief up the ladder to the gallows; but it is a gracious
allurement, such as that of the man whom everybody loves, and to whom everybody willingly goes."

45. Taught of God (didaktoi). The idea is thrown into a compound adjective, qeodi>daktoi, in 1 Thessalonians 4:9.

46. Hath seen. As contrasted with hearing and learning. (ver. 45). The Father is not seen immediately, but through the Son. Compare John 1:18; 14:9; 1 John
3:2Matthew 11:27.

Of God (para). More correctly, as Rev., from, with an idea of association with: from with God. Para> is used of procession from a personal object, indicating it
generally as the starting-point.

49. Are dead (ajpe>qanon). The aorist points, not to their present condition but to the historical fact; they died. So Rev.

51. The living bread (oJ a]rtov oJ zw~n). Literally, the bread the living (bread). Wyc., quick bread.

I will give. The ejgw, I, is emphatic, in contrast with Moses (ver. 32).

Flesh. See on 1:14.

Which I will give. The best texts omit. Read, as Rev., my flesh for the life of the world.

52. Strove (ejma>conto). The murmuring (ver. 41) now breaks out into open contention among the Jews themselves.

53. Eat the flesh. Appropriate the life. Compare Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 3:17.

Drink His blood. Appropriate the saving merit of His death. The passover was approaching, and the reference may well have been to the flesh and blood of the paschal
lamb.

Have no life in you (oujk e]cete zwh). Not according to the Greek. Rightly, as Rev., ye have not life in yourselves. All true life must be in Christ. Compare Colossians
3:3.

54. Eateth (trw>gwn). Another verb for eating is used. With the exception of Matthew 24:38 it is found only in John, and always in connection with Christ. No special
significance can be fairly attached to its use here. It seems to be taken as a current word, and e]fagon is resumed in ver. 58.

55. Indeed (ajlhqw~v). Literally, truly. The best texts read ajlhqh, true: true meat, true drink.

56. Dwelleth (me>nei). Render, as Rev., abideth. The word is a favorite one with John, occurring more frequently than in all the rest of the New Testament.

57. The living Father (oJ zw~n path). A phrase found nowhere else in the New Testament. On living and live, see John 1:4.

By the Father (diara). Wrong. Render, because of, as Rev. Because the Father is the living One. So, because of me, instead of by me.

59. In the synagogue (ejn sunagwgh|~). But the definite article is wanting; so that we must either understand in a synagogue, or in an assembly. See on James 2:2.
Among the ruins at Tell Hum, the probable site of Capernaum, have been found among the remains of a synagogue a block of stone, perhaps the lintel, carved with the
pot of manna, and with a pattern of vine leaves and clusters of grapes. See a full account of these ruins in Thomson's "Land and Book, Central Palestine and
Phoenicia," pp. 417-419.

60. Hard (sklhro>v). See on Matthew 25:24; Jude 1:14. According to the Greek order, hard is this saying.

Hear it (aujtou~ ajkou>ein). Aujtou~ may be rendered Him, but this is not probable. Hear means a docile hearing, with a view to receiving what is heard. Compare
John 10:3, 16, 27; 12:47; 18:37.

61. Offend (okandali>zei). Rev., cause to stumble. See on Matthew 5:29. Wyc., slandereth you.

62. What and if ye shall see (eja). The question is marked by an aposiopesis, i.e., a breaking off of the sentence and leaving the hearer to complete it for himself.
Literally, if then ye should behold, etc. - the completion would be, would not this still more cause you to stumble?

Ascend (ajnabai>nonta). Rev., properly, renders the participle, ascending.

I speak (lalw~). But the correct reading is lela>lhka, the perfect tense, I have spoken, or I have just spoken, referring to the preceding discourse.

64. Should betray (paradw>swn). See on Matthew 4:12; Mark 4:29. Judas is once in the New Testament designated by the noun prodo>thv, traitor, Luke 6:16.

66. From that time (ejk tou>tou). Render, as Rev., upon this. As a result proceeding out of (ejk) this. Compare John 19:12.

Went back (ajph~lqon eijv tasw). The Greek expresses more than the English. They went away (ajpo>) from Christ, Literally, to the things behind, to what they had
left in order to follow the Lord.
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Walked (periepa>toun). Literally, walked about, with Jesus in His wanderings here and there.

67. The twelve. John assumes that the number is known. It is implied in the twelve baskets of fragments. As in so many other instances in this Gospel, facts of the
66. From that time (ejk tou>tou). Render, as Rev., upon this. As a result proceeding out of (ejk) this. Compare John 19:12.

Went back (ajph~lqon eijv tasw). The Greek expresses more than the English. They went away (ajpo>) from Christ, Literally, to the things behind, to what they had
left in order to follow the Lord.

Walked (periepa>toun). Literally, walked about, with Jesus in His wanderings here and there.

67. The twelve. John assumes that the number is known. It is implied in the twelve baskets of fragments. As in so many other instances in this Gospel, facts of the
synoptic narrative are taken for granted as familiar.

Will ye also go away? (mhlete uJpa>gein). The interrogative particle mh shows that a negative answer is expected. Surely ye will not. Will ye go is not the future tense
of the verb to go, but is expressed by two words, do ye will (qe>lete), to go away (uJpa>gein). Rev., would ye. On the verb to go away, see on they went (ver. 21).

68. Simon Peter. Assailants of the authenticity of John's Gospel have asserted that it reveals an effort on the part of the writer to claim for the disciple whom Jesus
loved a pre-eminence above Peter. The assertion is effectually contradicted by the narrative itself. See John 1:42; 6:68; 13:6; 18:10, 16; 20:2, 7; 21:3, 7, 11, and notes
on those passages. Peter's replying for the twelve, in this passage, is a case in point.

The words of eternal life (rJh>mata zwh~v aijwni>ou). There is no article. Thou hast words. Words of life are words which carry life with them. Compare the phrases
bread of life, light of life, water of life, tree of life.

69. Are sure (ejgnw>kamen). Literally, have come to know. The order of the words believe and know is reversed in John 17:8; 1 John 4:16. In the case of the first
disciples, faith, produced by the overpowering impression of Jesus' works and person, preceded intellectual conviction.

That Christ, the Son of the living God. The best texts substitute oJ a[giov tou~ Qeou~, the holy one of God. The other reading has resulted from the attempt to bring
Peter's confession here into accord with that in Matthew 16:16. The two confessions differ in that "here the confession points to the inward character in which the
Apostles found the assurance of life; there the confession was of the public office and theocratic person of the Lord" (Westcott).

70. A devil (dia>bolov). See on Matthew 4:1. The word is an adjective, meaning slanderous, but is almost invariably used in the New Testament as a noun, and with
the definite article. The article is wanting only in 1 Peter 5:8; Acts 13:10; Revelation 12:9; and perhaps Revelation 20:2. It is of the very essence of the devilish nature to
oppose Christ. Compare Matthew 16:23.

71. Judas Iscariot the son of Simon (x>dan Si>mwnov sa>thn). The correct reading is sa>tou, Iscariot, agreeing in the genitive case with Si>mwnov, of Simon. Render,
as Rev., Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Iscariot denotes the name of Simon's town: a man of Kerioth. See on Matthew 10:5.

CHAPTER 7

1. The Jews' feast of tabernacles. The Rev. brings out the defining force of the two articles: the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles. This feast occurred in the
early autumn (September or early October), and lasted for seven days. Its observance is commanded in Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:39, 42, 43; Deuteronomy
16:13. Its significance was twofold. It was a harvest-home festival, and hence was called the Feast of Ingathering, and it comememorated the dwelling of Israel in tents
or booths in the wilderness. Hence the name Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. The association of the latter event with harvest was designed to remind the people in their
prosperity of the days of their homeless wandering, that their hearts might not be lifted up and forget God, who delivered them from bondage (Deuteronomy 8:12-17.
Therefore they were commanded to quit their permanent homes and to dwell in booths at the time of harvest. The festival was also known as the Feast of Jehovah, or
simply the Festival (Leviticus 23:39; 1 Kings 8:2), because of its importance, and of being the most joyful of all festivals. At the celebration of the feast at Jerusalem
booths were erected in the streets and squares and on the housetops. 30 The Greek word for this feast, skhnophgi>a, construction of tabernacles, occurs only here in
the New Testament.

3. Thy disciples. Both those who had been gained by former teaching in Judaea and Jerusalem, and others from other parts.

4. Openly (ejn parjrJhsi>a|). Literally, in boldness. The reasoning is: no man can assert the position which Christ claims, and at the same time keep secret the works
which go to vindicate it.

5. Neither (oujde). Better, as Rev., not even.

Did believe (ejpi>steuon). The imperfect, were believing; referring not to a single act of faith, but to faith as habitual and controlling.

6. Time (kairo). See on Matthew 12:1; Luke 1:20; Acts 12:1. The appropriate season or juncture.

Alway ready. The disciples might at any time associate with the world, with which they were still in sympathy. Not so Jesus, who was in essential antagonism to the
world.

7. Cannot. Frequent in John, and expressing an inherent impossibility. See John 3:3, 5; 5:19; 6:44; 7:34, 36; 8:21, 43; 12:39; 14:17, etc.

Evil (ponhra>). See on Luke 3:19; 7:21.

8. This feast. For this, read the, the first time, but not the second.

Full come (peplh>rwtai). Literally, has been fulfilled. So Rev., is not yet fulfilled.

11. Then (ou+n). Better, therefore; because He did not come up with the Galilaeans.

Sought (ejzh>toun). The imperfect: kept seeking; persistently sought for Him.

He (ejkei~nov). Emphatic: that one of whom we have heard, and whom we once saw.

12. Murmuring. See on John 6:41.

The people (toi~v o]cloiv). See on John 1:19.
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Said (e]legon). Imperfect: were saying.

Deceiveth (plana|~). Rev., better, leadeth astray. See on Mark 12:24; Jude 1:13.
12. Murmuring. See on John 6:41.

The people (toi~v o]cloiv). See on John 1:19.

Said (e]legon). Imperfect: were saying.

Deceiveth (plana|~). Rev., better, leadeth astray. See on Mark 12:24; Jude 1:13.

13. Openly (parjrJhsi>a|). The word may mean either without reserve (John 10:24; 11:14), or without fear (John 11:54).

14. About the midst of the feast (th~v eJorth~v mesoushv>). A peculiar form of expression found only here. The midst is expressed by a participle from the verb
meso>w, to be in the middle. Literally, the feast being midway.

Taught (ejdi>dasken). Or began to teach. Imperfect tense.

15. Letters (gra>mmata). See on John 5:47.

16. Doctrine (didach). Better, teaching, as Rev. Doctrine has acquired a conventional sense which might mislead.

17. Will do his will (qe>lh| tolhma aujtou~ poiei~n). This is a notable illustration of the frequent blunder of the A.V. in rendering qe>lein, to will or determine, as a mere
auxiliary verb. By overlooking the distinct meaning of the verb to will, and resolving willeth to do into will do, it sacrifices the real force of the passage. Jesus says, if it
be one's will to do; if his moral purpose is in sympathy with the divine will.

He shall know. Sympathy with the will of God is a condition of understanding it.

Of God (ejk tou~ Qeou~). Better, from; proceeding out of.

Of myself (ajp' ejmautou~). Of myself is misleading, being commonly understood to mean concerning myself. Rev., correctly, from myself; without union with the
Father. Compare John 5:30.

18. His own glory (thxan than). Literally, the glow which is His own; the second article throwing His own into sharp contrast with His that sent Him. On His own, see
on Acts 1:7; Matthew 22:5; 25:15.

The same (ou+tov). Notice the characteristic use of the pronoun taking up and emphasizing the principal subject of the sentence.

Unrighteousness (ajdiki>a). See on 2 Peter 2:13.

19. Did - give (de>dwken). Some texts read the aorist tense e]dwken, in which case this rendering is correct. If with others we read the perfect, we should render hath
not Moses given you the law, which you still profess to observe.

Keepeth (poiei~). Rev., rightly, doeth. Compare do in ver. 17.

Go ye about (zhtei~te). Properly, seek ye. So Rev.

20. A devil (daimo>nion). Or more correctly, a demon. See on Mark 1:34. The name was applied to Jesus by the multitude (o]clov) and not by those whom He was
addressing in ver. 19, because of the gloomy suspicions which they thought He entertained, and in entire ignorance of the design of the Jews which Jesus had
penetrated. The same term was applied to John the Baptist, the ascetic, as one who withdrew from social intercourse (Matthew 11:18).

21. One work (e{n e]rgon). The healing on the Sabbath (John 5:1-8).

23. Are ye angry (cola~te). Only here in the New Testament. From colh>, gall. Strictly, the verb means to be full of bile, hence to be melancholy mad.

Every whit whole (o[lon uJgih~). Strictly, I made a whole man sound, in contrast with the rite of circumcision which affects only a single member, but which,
nevertheless, they practice on the Sabbath.

24. Appearance (o]yin). Primarily, seeing or sight. In John 11:44; Revelation 1:16 face, and hence external appearance. The word occurs only in the three passages
cited.

Righteous judgment (than kri>sin). Properly, the righteous judgment; that which is appropriate to the case in hand.

25. Them of Jerusalem (hxas~n). Literally, of the Jerusalemites, who knew better than the multitude the designs of the priesthood. The word occurs only here and Mark
1:5.

26. Do the rulers know indeed? The interrogative particle mh>pote may be rendered by the familiar expression they do not, do they? Rev., can it be that the rulers, etc.
Indeed (ajlhqw~v); literally, truly.

The very (ajlhqw~v). Omit.

27. Howbeit (ajlla). But, it cannot be that the rulers have made such a discovery, for we know whence this man is.

We know (oi]damen). The knowing of the rulers is expressed by e]gnwsan; have they ascertained by searching and watching. The people's knowledge, oi]damen, is
that of settled conviction.

Whence (po>qen). Referring to His parentage and family.

No one knoweth whence He is. Opinions differ as to the precise reference of these words. Some explain by a popular idea that the Messiah would not be known until
anointed by Elias, when he would suddenly appear. Others refer to Isaiah 53:8; or to Daniel 7:13. Meyer says that while the popular belief that the immediate ancestry
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obscurity into which the Davidic family had sunk.
Whence (po>qen). Referring to His parentage and family.

No one knoweth whence He is. Opinions differ as to the precise reference of these words. Some explain by a popular idea that the Messiah would not be known until
anointed by Elias, when he would suddenly appear. Others refer to Isaiah 53:8; or to Daniel 7:13. Meyer says that while the popular belief that the immediate ancestry
of the Messiah would be unknown when He came cannot further be historically proved, it is credible, partly from the belief in His divine origin, and partly from the
obscurity into which the Davidic family had sunk.

28. Then (ou=n). Rev., rightly, therefore, giving the reason for the succeeding words in Jesus' emotion awakened by the misconceptions of the people.

Cried (e]kraxen). See on Mark 5:5; 9:24.

As He taught (dida>skwn). Better, Rev., teaching. The expression cried teaching implies speaking in a peculiarly solemn manner and with an elevation of voice.

Me - whence I am. Conceding the truth of the people's statement in ver. 27, we know this man whence he is, so far as His outward person and His earthly origin were
concerned. He goes on to show that they are ignorant of His divine relationship.

True (ajlhqino). True to the ideal of a sender: a genuine sender in the highest sense of the term. See on 1:9.

29. From him (par' aujtou~). See on John 6:46.

30. Then. Another of the frequent instances in which the A.V. of this Gospel renders the logical particle as a particle of time. Translate as Rev., therefore; because of
His claim to be sent from God.

To take (pia>sai). See on Acts 3:7.

31. Will he do (mh>ti poih>sei). Literally, surely he will not at all do.

32. Officers (uJphre>tav). See on Matthew 5:25; Luke 1:2.

33. Unto them. Omit.

I go (uJpa>gw). I withdraw. See on John 6:21.

34. Ye shall seek me. Not as now, for disputation or violence, but for help.

Where I am. In absolute, eternal being and fellowship with the Father. I am (ejgw eijmi) is the formula of the divine existence (John 8:58). The phrase carries a hint of
the essential nature of Jesus, and thus prepares the way for ye cannot come (see on ver. 7). The difference in character will make it essentially impossible.

35. Will He go (ou=tov me>llei poreu>esqai). Literally, whither does this man intend to go, or whither is He thinking of going? The A.V. misses the contemptuous
insinuation in this man (Rev.).

We shall not find him (hJmei~v). The pronoun is emphatic; we, the religious leaders, the wise men, who scrutinize the claims of all professed teachers and keep a
watchful eye on all impostors.

The dispersed among the Gentiles (thnwn). Literally, the dispersion of the Greeks. The Jews who remained in foreign lands after the return from the Captivity were
called by two names:

1. The Captivity, which was expressed in Greek by three words, viz., ajpoiki>a, a settlement far from home, which does not occur in the New Testament; metoikesi>a,
change of abode, which is found in Matthew 1:11, 12, 17 and always of the carrying into Babylon; aijcmalwsi>a, a taking at the point of the spear; Ephesians 4:8;
Revelation 13:10.

2. The Dispersion (diaspora>). See on 1 Peter 1:1; James 1:1. The first name marks their relation to their own land; the second to the strange lands.

The Gentiles (%Ellhnav). Literally, the Greeks. So Rev. See on Acts 6:1.

36. What manner of saying is this (ti>v ejstin outov oJ lo>gov)? Rev., more simply and literally, what is this word?

37. The last day. The eighth, the close of the whole festival, and kept as a Sabbath (Leviticus 23:36). It was called the Day of the Great Hosanna, because a circuit was
made seven times round the altar with "Hosanna;" also the Day of Willows, and the Day of Beating the Branches, because all the leaves were shaken off the willow-
boughs, and the palm branches beaten in pieces by the side of the altar. Every morning, after the sacrifice, the people, led by a priest, repaired to the Fountain of
Siloam, where the priest filled a golden pitcher, and brought it back to the temple amid music and joyful shouts. Advancing to the altar of burnt-offering, at the cry of the
people, "Lift up thy hand!" he emptied the pitcher toward the west, and toward the east a cup of wine, while the people chanted, "With joy shall ye draw water out of
the wells of salvation." It is not certain that this libation was made on the eighth day, but there can be no doubt that the following words of the Lord had reference to
that ceremony.

Stood (eiJsth>kei). The imperfect, was standing; watching the ceremonies. Both A.V. and Rev. miss this graphic touch.

38. The scripture hath said. There is no exactly corresponding passage, but the quotation harmonizes with the general tenor of several passages, as Isaiah 55:1; 58:11;
Zechariah 13:1; 14:8; Ezekiel 47:1; Joel 3:18.

Belly (koili>av). The word is often used in the Old Testament for the innermost part of a man, the soul or heart. See Job 15:35; 32:19; Proverbs 18:8; 20:27, 30. The
rite of drawing and pouring out the water pointed back to the smitten rock in the desert. In Exodus 17:6"there shall come water out of it," is literally, "there shall come
water from within him." The word belly here means the inmost heart of the believer, which pours forth spiritual refreshment. Compare 1 Corinthians 10:4; John 4:14.

Shall flow (rJeu>sousin). The word occurs only here in the New Testament.

Rivers. A type of abundance. Compare Numbers 20:11.
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Living water. Compare John 4:10.

39. The Spirit. The Holy Spirit, personally.
Shall flow (rJeu>sousin). The word occurs only here in the New Testament.

Rivers. A type of abundance. Compare Numbers 20:11.

Living water. Compare John 4:10.

39. The Spirit. The Holy Spirit, personally.

The Holy Ghost (pneu~ma a[gion). The best texts omit a[gion, holy, and the definite article is not in the text, so that the strict rendering is simply spirit. Literally, spirit
was not yet. Given, in A.V. and Rev., is added to guard against a possible misconception, which, as Alford observes, "no intelligent reader could fall into." The word
spirit, standing thus alone, marks, not the personal Spirit, but His operation or gift or manifestation. Canon Westcott aptly says: "It is impossible not to contrast the
mysteriousness of this utterance with the clear teaching of St. John himself on the 'unction' of believers (1 John 2:20 sqq.), which forms a commentary, gained by later
experience, upon the words of the Lord."

Was glorified (ejdoxa>sqh). We have here one of John's characteristic terms, even as the idea is central to his Gospel - to show forth Jesus as the manifested glory of
God (John 1:14). The beginning of our Lord's miracles was a manifestation of His glory (John 2:11). His glory was the expression of the Father's will (John 8:54). By
His work He glorified the Father upon earth (John 12:28; 17:4), and in this was Himself glorified (John 17:10). The sickness and resurrection of Lazarus were for the
glory of God (John 11:4). The consummation of His work was marked by the words, "Now was the Son of man glorified, and God was glorified in Him" (John 13:31).
His glory He had with the Father before the world was (John 17:5). It is consummated at His ascension (John 7:39; 12:16). The passion is the way to glory (John
12:23, 24; 13:31). The fruitfulness of believers in Him is for the glory of God (John 15:8), and the office of the Spirit is to glorify Christ (John 16:14).

40. Many. The best texts omit. Read as Rev., some.

This saying (togon). The best texts substitute tw~ lo>gwn tou>twn, these words. So Rev.

The prophet. See on John 1:21.

41. Shall Christ, etc. (mhv). The Rev. gives better the force of the interrogative particle with ga, for: What, doth the Christ come, etc. The idea in full is, "you cannot
(mh) say that, for (ga) doth the Christ, etc."

Shall - come (e]rcetai). The present tense. Rev., rightly, doth - come.

43. There was a division (sci>sma ejge>neto). More correctly, as Rev., "there arose a division." See on John 1:3.

44. Would have taken (h]qelon pia>sai). See on John 7:17. Rather, were disposed: or wished to take him.

46. Like this man. Some of the best texts omit.

Deceived (pepla>nhsqe). Rev., led astray. See on ver. 12.

48. Of the rulers or of the Pharisees. The Greek order, as followed by Rev., is more suggestive: Hath any of the rulers believed on Him, or (to appeal to a larger circle)
of the Pharisees?

49. This people (oJ o]clov ou=tov). Better, multitude, as contrasted with the orthodox Jews. See on John 1:19.

Cursed. As specimens of Rabbinical utterances concerning this class may be cited the expressions vermin, people of the earth, and the saying, "the ignorant is impious;
only the learned shall have part in the resurrection." Even more abusive and abominable is this: "He shall not take a daughter of the people of the earth, because they are
an abomination, and their wives are an abomination, and concerning their daughters it is said, Deuteronomy 27:21" !

50. He that came to Him by night (oJ ejlqw). The texts vary, either substituting pro>teron, before, for nukto, by night, or omitting the whole clause, and reading,
Nicodemus saith unto them, being one of them.

51. Any man (to). Literally, the man, whoever he may be, that comes before them.

Before it hear him (ejash| par' aujtou~). Rev., more correctly, except it first hear. Hear him, is an inadequate rendering of par' aujtou~, which is, as Rev., from himself;
para>, implying from beside, i.e., from his side of the case.

52. Search. Compare John 5:39.

Look (i]de). Some render see, and translate the following o[ti, that, instead of for. So Rev. The difference is unimportant.

53. This verse, and the portion of Chapter 8, as far as ver. 12, are generally pronounced by the best critical authorities not to belong to John's Gospel.

CHAPTER 8

12. The light of the world (tosmou). Not lu>cnov, a lamp, as John the Baptist (v. 35). Light is another of John's characteristic terms and ideas, playing a most important
part in his writings, as related to the manifestation of Jesus and His work upon men. He comes from God, who is light (1 John 1:5). "In Him was life, and the life was
the light of men" (John 1:4). The Word was among men as light before the incarnation (John 1:9; 9:5), and light came with the incarnation (John 3:19-21; 8:12; 12:46).
Christ is light through the illuminating energy of the Spirit (John 14:21, 26; 16:13; 1 John 2:20, 27), which is received through love (John 14:22, 23). The object of
Christ's work is to make men sons of light (John 12:36, 46), and to endow them with the light of life (John 8:12).

In ver. 20, we are told that Jesus spake these words in the Treasury. This was in the Court of the Women, the most public part of the temple. Four golden candelabra
stood there, each with four golden bowls, each one filled from a pitcher of oil by a youth of priestly descent. These were lighted on the first night of the Feast of
Tabernacles. It is not unlikely that they may have suggested our Lord's figure, but the figure itself was familiar both from prophecy and from tradition. According to
tradition, Light was one of the names of the Messiah. See Isaiah 9:1; 42:6; 49:6; 60:1-3; Malachi 4:2; Luke 2:32.

Walk in darkness (peripeth>sei ejn th~| skoti>a). This phrase is peculiar to the Gospel and First Epistle.
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Shall have (e[xei). Not only shall see it, but shall possess it. Hence Christ's disciples are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). Compare lights, or, properly, luminaries
(fwsth~rev) a name, applied to believers in Philippians 2:15.
tradition, Light was one of the names of the Messiah. See Isaiah 9:1; 42:6; 49:6; 60:1-3; Malachi 4:2; Luke 2:32.

Walk in darkness (peripeth>sei ejn th~| skoti>a). This phrase is peculiar to the Gospel and First Epistle.

Shall have (e[xei). Not only shall see it, but shall possess it. Hence Christ's disciples are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). Compare lights, or, properly, luminaries
(fwsth~rev) a name, applied to believers in Philippians 2:15.

13. Thou barest record of thyself. Rev., witness. A technical objection, evading the real purport of Jesus' declaration. The Rabbinical writings declared that no man
could give witness for himself.

14. Though (ka}n). Literally, even if.

I know (oi=da). With a clear inward consciousness. See on John 2:24.

Whence I came and whither I go. Two essential facts of testimony, viz., origin and destiny. "The question was one about His own personal consciousness, of which
only Himself could bear witness" (Lange). "If the sun or the day could speak, and should say: 'I am the sun!' and it were replied, 'No, thou mayest be the night, for thou
bearest witness of thyself!' how would that sound? Argue it away if thou canst" ("Berlenburg Bible," cited by Stier, "Words of the Lord Jesus").

And whither I go. The best texts read, h}, or.

16. True (ajlhqh>v). The best texts, however, read ajlhqinh>, true to the perfect ideal of judgment.

17. In your law (ejn tw|~ no>mw| tw|~ uJmete>rw|). Literally, in the law, that which is yours. Yours has an emphatic force: of which you claim a monopoly. See John
7:49.

It is written (ge>graptai). The perfect tense: it has been written, and stands written. The common form of citation elsewhere, but used by John of the Old Testament
scriptures only here. His usual form is gegramme>non ejsti>n, the participle with the finite verb, literally, it is having been written.

The witness of two men. See Deuteronomy 19:15.

The Father - beareth witness of me. Thus there are two witnesses, and the letter of the law is fulfilled.

19. Where. The testimony of an unseen and unheard witness would not satisfy them.

20. The Treasury (gazofulaki>w|). From ga>za, treasure, a Persian word, occurring only once in the New Testament (Acts 8:27), and fulakh>, guard. Used by John
only here. The Treasury was in the Court of the Women, so called, not because it was appropriated to the worship of women exclusively, but because they were not
allowed to proceed further, except for sacrificial purposes. The court covered a space upwards of two hundred feet square, and was surrounded by a colonnade,
within which, and against the wall, were the thirteen trumpet-shaped chests, called "trumpets" from their shape, for charitable contributions. This court was the most
public part of the temple.

And no man laid hands on Him (kaiasen aujto). Notice the connection with the previous sentence by the simple and, where another writer would have said and yet: the
sense being that though Jesus was teaching where He might easily have been apprehended, yet no one attempted to arrest Him. See on John 1:10. Laid hands on is
better rendered, as elsewhere, took (compare John 7:30). The inconsistency of the A.V. in the renderings of the same word, of which this is only one of many
instances, is noteworthy here from the fact that in the only two passages in which John uses the phrase laid hands on (John 7:30; 7:44), he employs the common
formula, ejpiba>llein ta, or th, and in both these passages the word pia>sai is rendered take. The use of this latter word is confined almost exclusively to John, as it is
found only three times elsewhere (Acts 3:7; 12:4; 2 Corinthians 11:32).

21. Then (ou+n). Properly, therefore, connecting the fact of Jesus' continuing to speak with His freedom from arrest.

Said Jesus. Omit Jesus, and read, He said therefore.

Go away (uJpa>gw). Withdraw myself from you; this sense being emphasized by the succeeding words, ye shall seek me. In expressing one's departure from men or
from surrounding objects, we may emphasize merely the fact of removal, in which case ajpe>rcomai, to go away, would be appropriate; or we may emphasize the
removal as affecting some relation of the person to that from which he removes, as in John 6:67, where Jesus says to the disciples, "will ye also go away, or withdraw
from me," in which case uJpa>gw is the proper word. 31

In your sin (ejn th|~ aJmarti>a| uJmw~n). See on Matthew 1:21. Note the singular, sin, not sins. It is used collectively to express the whole condition of estrangement
from God.

22. Will He kill Himself (mh>ti ajpoktenei~ eJauto)? The mockery in these words is alike subtle and bitter. The interrogative particle, mh>ti, signifies surely He will not
by any chance kill Himself; and the sense of the whole clause is, He will not surely go where we cannot reach Him, unless perchance He should kill Himself; and as that
would insure His going to Gehenna, of course we could not go to Him there. The remark displays alike the scorn and the self-righteousness of the speakers.

23. Ye are from beneath (ejk tw~n ka>tw ejste). A phrase peculiar to John and to his Gospel. Jesus states the radical antagonism between His opposers and Himself,
as based upon difference of origin and nature. They spring from the lower, sensual, earthly economy; He from the heavenly. Compare James 3:15 sqq.

From above (ejk tw~n a]nw). Also peculiar to John's Gospel. Compare Colossians 3:1. On the phrase to be of (ei+nai ejk) see on John 1:46.

Ye are of this world (ejk tou~ ko>smou tou>tou ejste). Peculiar to John, and occurring in the First Epistle. On ko>smou, world, see on 1:9. Ye are of this earthly
order or economy.

24. I am he (ejgw> eijmi). He is inserted in the versions and is not in the text. By retaining it, we read, I am the Messiah. But the words are rather the solemn
expression of His absolute divine being, as in ver. 58: "If ye believe not that I am." See Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 43:10; and compare vv. 28, 58 of this chapter, and
John 13:19.

25. Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning (th). A very difficult passage, on which the commentators are almost hopelessly divided. There are two main
classes of interpretations,
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                                               which it is to be read interrogatively, and according to the other, affirmatively. The two principal representatives of the
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former class are Meyer, who renders "Do you ask that which all along (th) I am even saying to you?" and Westcott, "How is it that I even speak to you at all (th)"? So
also Milligan and Moulton. This latter rendering requires the change of o[ ti, the relative, that which, into the conjunction o[ti, that.
John 13:19.

25. Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning (th). A very difficult passage, on which the commentators are almost hopelessly divided. There are two main
classes of interpretations, according to one of which it is to be read interrogatively, and according to the other, affirmatively. The two principal representatives of the
former class are Meyer, who renders "Do you ask that which all along (th) I am even saying to you?" and Westcott, "How is it that I even speak to you at all (th)"? So
also Milligan and Moulton. This latter rendering requires the change of o[ ti, the relative, that which, into the conjunction o[ti, that.

The second class of interpreters, who construe the passage affirmatively, vary in their explanations of th, which they render severally, altogether, essentially, first of all, in
the beginning. There is also a third class, who take th as a noun, and explain according to Revelation 21:6"I am the beginning, that which I am even saying unto you."
This view is represented mostly by the older commentators, Augustine, Bede, Lampe, and later by Wordsworth.

I adopt the view of Alford, who renders essentially, explaining by generally, or traced up to its principle (ajrch). Shading off from this are Godet, absolutely; Winer,
throughout; Thayer, wholly or precisely. I render, I am essentially that which I even speak to you. If we accept the explanation of I am, in ver. 24, as a declaration of
Jesus' absolute divine being, that thought prepares the way for this interpretation of His answer to the question, Who art thou? His words are the revelation of Himself.
"He appeals to His own testimony as the adequate expression of His nature. They have only to fathom the series of statements He has made concerning Himself, and
they will find therein a complete analysis of His mission and essence" (Godet). 32

26. I have many things, etc. The connection of thought seems to be as follows: "I being such as my words show me to be, I must declare the whole message of Him by
virtue of my essential union with whom I speak. Many things I have to declare and judge, and you may turn a deaf ear to them; nevertheless, I must speak the whole
truth, the things which I have heard from Him who sent me and who is true."

I speak to the world (le>gw eijv to). The best texts read lalw~, which emphasizes not what Christ says (which would be le>gw), but the fact that He speaks. See on
Matthew 28:18. The use of the preposition eijv here is peculiar. Literally, "I speak into the world;" so that my words may reach and spread through the world. See for a
similar construction 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 4:8; Hebrews 2:3. So Sophocles, where Electra says, kh>russe> mj eijv a[pantav proclaim me to all: so that the report of me
may reach all ears ("Electra," 606).

27. They understood (e]gnwsan). Perceived, as Rev.

He spake. Imperfect. Was speaking would be much better.

28. Lifted up. See on John 3:14.

Ye shall know (gnw>sesqe). Render, perceive, here as in ver. 27.

I am He. As in ver. 24, on which see note.

Of myself (ajp' ejmautou~). Properly, from myself, as Rev., at John 7:17, but not here. See on John 7:17.

Hath taught (ejdi>daxen). Rev., more correctly, taught. The aorist tense, regarding the teaching as a single act. Compare h]kousa, I heard, 3:32.

I speak these things (pau~ta lalw~). Not equivalent to so I speak (i.e., as the Father taught me), but an absolute declaration with reference to these present revelations.

29. The Father. The best texts omit.

Alone. See ver. 16.

Those things that please Him (ta). Literally, as Rev., the things that are pleasing to Him. Always (pa>ntote) closing the sentence, is emphatic. Jesus' holy activity is
habitual and continuous. See John 4:34.

30. Believed on (ejpisteuko>tav aujtw|~). See on John 1:12, and compare believed Him, ver. 31.

31. Believed on Him (pepisteuko>tav aujtw|~). Note the different phrase, distinguishing the Jews from the mixed company in ver. 30. Rev., rightly, believed Him.

If ye continue (ejanhte). The emphasis is on the ye, addressed to those whose faith was rudimentary; who believed Him, but did not yet believe on Him. Rev., abide.

In my word (ejn tw|~ lo>gw| tw|~ ejmw|~). Literally, in the word which is mine: peculiarly mine, characteristic of me. The expression is intentionally stronger than my
word. Compare my love (John 15:9).

Indeed (ajlhqw~v). Literally, truly; as Rev. As those who believe on me, not as those who are moved by temporary excitement to admit my claims.

33. Were never in bondage (dedouleu>kamen pw>pote). Rev., better, have never yet been in bondage; thus giving the force of the perfect tense, never up to this time,
and of the pw>, yet. In the light of the promises given to Abraham, Genesis 17:16; 22:17, 18 the Jews claimed not only freedom, but dominion over the nations. In their
reply to Jesus they ignore alike the Egyptian, Babylonian, and Syrian bondage, through which the nation had successively passed, as well as their present subjection to
Rome, treating these merely as bondage which, though a fact, was not bondage by right, or bondage to which they had ever willingly submitted, and, therefore, not
bondage in any real sense. Beside the fact that their words were the utterance of strong passion, it is to be remembered that the Romans, from motives of policy, had
left them the semblance of political independence. As in so many other cases, they overlook the higher significance of Jesus' words, and base their reply on a
technicality. These are the very Jews who believed Him (ver. 31). Stier remarks: "These poor believers soon come to the end of their faith." The hint of the possible
inconstancy of their faith, conveyed in the Lord's words if ye abide in my word, is thus justified.

34. Whosoever committeth (pa~v oJ poiw~n). Rev., more correctly, every one that committeth.

Sin (than). The definite article, the sin, shows that Jesus does not mean merely a simple act, but a life of sin. Compare 1 John 3:4-8 and doeth the truth (John 3:21);
doeth the righteousness (1 John 2:29).

The servant (dou~lov). Or, a servant. Properly, a bond-servant or slave. See on Matthew 20:26.

Of sin. A few authorities omit, and read whosoever committeth sin is a bond-servant. Compare Romans 6:17, 20.
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35. Abideth not in the house forever. A slave has no permanent place in the house. He may be sold, exchanged, or cast out. Compare Genesis 21:10; Galatians 4:30.
House. See Hebrews 3:6; John 14:2. The elder son in the parable of the prodigal (Luke 15:29), denies his sonship by the words, "These many years do I serve thee
(douleu>w)."
The servant (dou~lov). Or, a servant. Properly, a bond-servant or slave. See on Matthew 20:26.

Of sin. A few authorities omit, and read whosoever committeth sin is a bond-servant. Compare Romans 6:17, 20.

35. Abideth not in the house forever. A slave has no permanent place in the house. He may be sold, exchanged, or cast out. Compare Genesis 21:10; Galatians 4:30.
House. See Hebrews 3:6; John 14:2. The elder son in the parable of the prodigal (Luke 15:29), denies his sonship by the words, "These many years do I serve thee
(douleu>w)."

36. Indeed (o]ntwv). Used by John only here. It means essentially.

37. Hath no place (ouj cwrei~). Rev., hath not free course, or maketh no way. This rendering is in harmony with vv. 30, 31, concerning those who believed, but did not
believe on Him, and who showed by their angry answer, in ver. 33, that the word of Jesus had made no advance in them. The rendering of the A.V. is not supported
by usage, though Field ("Otium Norvicense") cites an undoubted instance of that sense from the Epistles of Alciphron, a post-Christian writer, who relates the story of a
parasite returning gorged from a banquet and applying to a physician, who administered an emetic. The parasite, describing the effect of the medicine, says that the
doctor wondered where such a mess had place (ejcw>rhse). For the rendering of the Rev., compare Aristophanes: pw~v ou+n ouj cwrei~ tou]rgon; "How is it that the
work makes no progress?" ("Peace," 472). Plutarch, ejcw>rei dialewv oJ lo>gov, "the word: (or report) spread (or advanced) through the city ("Caesar," 712).

38. Ye have seen. The best texts read hjkou>sate, ye heard.

39. Children (te>kna). See on John 1:12.

40. A man (a]nqrwpon). Used only here by the Lord of Himself. To this corresponds His calling the Devil a manslayer at ver. 44. Perhaps, too, as Westcott remarks, it
may suggest the idea of the human sympathy which, as a man, He was entitled to claim from them.

This did not Abraham. In the oriental traditions Abraham is spoken of as "full of loving-kindness."

41. Ye do. Or, are doing.

Fornication (pornei>av). From pe>rnhmi, to sell.

42. I proceeded forth - from God (ejk tou~ Qeou~ ejxh~lqon). Rev., came forth. The phrase occurs only here and in John 16:28. ~n is found in 13:3; 16:30, and
emphasizes the idea of separation; a going from God to whom He was to return (and goeth unto God). ~n para> (16:27; 17:8), is going from beside, implying personal
fellowship with God. ~n ejk, here, emphasizes the idea of essential, community of being: "I came forth out of."

And am come (h[kw). As much as to say, and here I am.

Of myself (ajp' ejmautou~). Of my own self-determination, independently, but my being is divinely derived. See on John 7:17.

43. Speech - word (lalia lo>gon). The former word refers to the form, the latter to the substance of discourse. So Matthew 26:73 of Peter, "thy speech (lalia>)
bewrayeth thee;" thy mode of speaking. If they had understood the substance, they would have understood the form.

Cannot. See on John 7:7.

44. Ye (uJmei~v). Emphatic, in contrast with hJmei~v, we, of ver. 41.

Of your father (ejk). Very suggestive, implying community of nature, as in ver. 42. Compare 1 John 3:8, 10.

The Devil. See on Matthew 4:1. John uses Satan only once in the Gospel (John 13:27), frequently in Revelation, and nowhere in the Epistles. A few critics have
adopted the very singular rendering, which the Greek will bear, ye are of the father of the devil. This is explained by charging John with Gnosticism, and making him
refer to the Demiurge, a mysterious and inferior being descended from God, by whom God, according to the Gnostics, created the universe, and who had rebelled
against God, and was the father of Satan. It is only necessary to remark with Meyer that such a view is both unbiblical and un-Johannine.

Lusts (ejpiqumi>av). See on Mark 4:19.

Ye will do (qe>lete poiei~n). Wrong. Properly, ye will to do. Rev., it is your will to do. See on John 7:17.

Murderer (ajnqrwpokto>nov). Only here and 1 John 3:15. Literally, a manslayer; from a]nqrwpov, man, and ktei>nw, to kill. The epithet is applied to Satan, not with
reference to the murder of Abel, but to the fact of his being the author of death to the race. Compare Romans 7:8, 11; Hebrews 2:14.

From the beginning. Of the human race.

Stood not (oujk e[sthken). This may be explained in two ways. The verb may be taken as the perfect tense of i[sthmi, which is the form for the English present tense, I
stand. In that case it would describe Satan's present standing in the element of falsehood: he standeth not in the truth. Or it may be taken as the imperfect tense of
sth>kw, I keep my standing, or simply, I stand, in which case the form will be e]sthken, and it will mean that even before his fall he was not true, or that he did not
remain true to God, but fell. Meyer, who takes it in the former sense, observes: "Truth is the domain in which he has not his footing; to him it is a foreign, heterogeneous
sphere of life.... The lie is the sphere in which he holds his place." So Mephistopheles in Goethe's "Faust":

"I am the spirit that denies!

And justly so; for all things from the void

Called forth, deserve to be destroyed;

'Twere better, then, were naught created.

Thus, all which you as sin have rated,
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Destruction, - aught with evil blent,

That is my proper element."
'Twere better, then, were naught created.

Thus, all which you as sin have rated,

Destruction, - aught with evil blent,

That is my proper element."

When he speaketh a lie (o[tan lalh|~ to). More strictly, whenever - the lie, as opposed to the truth, regarded as a whole. Two interpretations are given. According to
one, the Devil is the subject of speaketh: according to the other, the subject is indefinite; "when one speaketh;" stating a general proposition.

Of his own (ejk tw~n ijdi>wn). Literally, out of the things which are his own. "That which is most peculiarly his ethical nature" (Meyer).

For he is a liar, and the father of it (o[ti yeu>sthv ejsti). Three interpretations are given.

1.That of the A.V. and Rev. "He is a liar, and the father of the lie."

2."He is a liar, and the father of the liar (since of it may also be rendered of him)."

3.Making oJ path, his father, the subject of the sentence, and referring his to one, the indefinite subject of speaketh ("when one speaketh a lie"). Thus the rendering will
be, Because his father is a liar.As to Jesus' course of thought - if we accept either of the first two renderings, it turns on the character of Satan.

After stating that the Jews are children of the Devil, He goes on to describe the Devil as a murderer and a liar, and enlarges on the latter characteristic by saying that
falsehood is his natural and peculiar element. Whenever he lies he speaks out of his own false nature, for he is a liar, and the father of the lie or of the liar. If we accept
the third rendering, the thought turns rather on the character of the Jews as children of Satan. He utters first, the general charge, ye are the children of the Devil, and as
such will do his works. Hence you will be both murderers and liars. He was a murderer, and ye are seeking to kill me. He stood not in the truth, neither do ye; for,
when one speaketh a lie, he speaketh out of his own false nature, by a birthright of falsehood, since his father also is a liar. 33

45. And because I (ejgw). Render but, instead of and. You would believe falsehood if I should speak it, but because I tell you the truth, you do not believe. The I is
emphatic. I, because I tell you, etc.

46. Convinceth (ejle>gcei). See on John 3:20. Rev., convicteth.

Sin (aJmarti>av). Not fault or error, but sin in general, as everywhere in the New Testament.

The truth (ajlh>qeian). Without the article, and therefore not the whole truth, but that which is true as to any part of divine revelation.

47. He that is of (oJ w{n ejk). The familiar construction. See on John 1:46.

48. Say we not well. Indicating a current reproach. Well (kalw~v) is literally, finely, beautifully. Sometimes ironical, as Mark 7:6.

Thou art a Samaritan (Samarei>thv ei+ su). Literally, a Samaritan art thou: the su, thou, terminating the sentence with a bitter emphasis: thou who professest such
reverence for God and His law, art only a Samaritan, hostile to the true law and kingdom of God.

49. I have not a devil. He ignores the charge of being a Samaritan, refusing to recognize the national distinction. For devil read demon.

50. There is one that seeketh. That seeks my honor and judges between me and my opposers.

51. Keep (thrh>sh|). See on 1 Peter 1:4.

Saying (lo>gon). Better, word, as Rev. See on ver. 43.

He shall not see death (qa>naton ouj mhsh|). The phrase qewrei~n qa>naton, to see death, occurs only here in the New Testament. The double negative signifies in
nowise, by no means. Qewrh>sh| see, denoting steady, protracted vision, is purposely used, because the promise contemplates the entire course of the believer's life in
Christ. It is not, shall not die forever, but shall live eternally. Upon this life, which is essentially the negation and contradiction of death, the believer enters from the
moment of his union with Christ, and moves along its entire course, in time no less than in eternity, seeing only life, and with his back turned on death. The reverse of this
truth, in connection with the same verb, is painfully suggestive. The question is pertinent why the Revisers have retained see, and have not substituted behold, as in so
many instances.

52. Now. Looking back to ver. 48. If we were too hasty then in saying that you have a demon, your words now fully justify us. They understood Him to be speaking of
natural death.

Is dead (ajpe>qane). Better, died: referring to the historical fact.

Taste of death. They change the form of Jesus' statement. The Lord himself tasted of death. See Hebrews 2:9. The phrase taste of death does not occur in the Old
Testament, but is common in Rabbinic writings. "The angel of death," say the Rabbis, "holdeth his sword in his hand at the bed's head, having on the end thereof three
drops of gall. The sick man, spying this deadly angel, openeth his mouth with fear; and then those drops fall in, of which one killeth him, the second maketh him pale, the
third rotteth."

53. Art thou (mh). Thou, emphatic, and the negative interrogative particle implying a negative answer, thou art not surely greater.

Which is dead (o[stiv). The compound pronoun o[stiv, which, is used explicatively, according to a familiar New Testament usage, instead of the simple relative. The
sense is, seeing that he is dead. The compound relative properly indicates the class or kind to which an object belongs. Art thou greater than Abraham, who is himself
one of the dead? So Colossians 3:5. "Mortify covetousness, seeing it is (h[tiv ejsti) idolatry." See on Matthew 13:52; 21:41; Mark 12:18; Luke 12:1; Acts 7:53; 10:41;
1 Peter 2:11.

55. Saying (lo>gon). Properly, word, as ver. 51. So Rev.
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56. Rejoiced (hjgallia>sato). With exultant joy. See on 1 Peter 1:6.

To see (i[na i]dh|). The Greek construction is peculiar. Literally, that he should see; i.e., in the knowledge or anticipation that he should see.
1 Peter 2:11.

55. Saying (lo>gon). Properly, word, as ver. 51. So Rev.

56. Rejoiced (hjgallia>sato). With exultant joy. See on 1 Peter 1:6.

To see (i[na i]dh|). The Greek construction is peculiar. Literally, that he should see; i.e., in the knowledge or anticipation that he should see.

My day. The exact meaning of the expression is altogether uncertain.

57. Thou art not yet fifty years old (penth>konta e]th ou]pw e]ceiv). Literally, thou hast not yet fifty years. The age of completed manhood.

Hast thou seen. Again misquoting the Lord's words.

58. Was, I am (gene>sqai, ejgw> eijmi). It is important to observe the distinction between the two verbs. Abraham's life was under the conditions of time, and
therefore had a temporal beginning. Hence, Abraham came into being, or was born (gene>sqai). Jesus' life was from and to eternity. Hence the formula for absolute,
timeless existence, I am (ejgw> eijmi). See on John 1:3; 7:34.

59. Going through the midst of them, and so passed by. The best texts omit.

CHAPTER 9

1. From his birth (ejk geneth~v). The word only here in the New Testament.

2. This man, or his parents. It was a common Jewish view that the merits or demerits of the parents would appear in the children, and that the thoughts of a mother
might affect the moral state of her unborn offspring. The apostasy of one of the greatest Rabbis had, in popular belief, been caused by the sinful delight of his mother in
passing through an idol grove.

3. But that (ajll' i[na). There is an ellipsis: but (he was born blind) that.

4. I must work (ejmezesqai). The best texts read hJma~v, us, instead of ejme, me. Literally, it is necessary for us to work. The disciples are thus associated by Jesus
with Himself. Compare 3:11.

Sent me, not us. The Son sends the disciples, as the Father sends the Son.

5. As long as (o[tan). More correctly, whensoever. Rev., when. Whether in my incarnation, or before my incarnation, or after it. Compare John 1:4, 10.

The light. See on John 8:12. The article is wanting. Westcott says, "Christ is 'light to the world,' as well as 'the one Light of the world.' The character is unchangeable,
but the display of the character varies with the occasion."

6. On the ground (camai). Only here and John 18:6.

Anointed (ejpe>crise). Only here and ver. 11. The spittle was regarded as having a peculiar virtue, not only as a remedy for diseases of the eye, but generally as a
charm, so that it was employed in incantations. Persius, describing an old crone handling an infant, says: "She takes the babe from the cradle, and with her middle finger
moistens its forehead and lips with spittle to keep away the evil eye" ("Sat.," 2, 32, 33). Tacitus relates how one of the common people of Alexandria importuned
Vespasian for a remedy for his blindness, and prayed him to sprinkle his cheeks and the balls of his eyes with the secretion of his mouth ("History," 4, 81). Pliny says:
"We are to believe that by continually anointing each morning with fasting saliva (i.e., before eating), inflammations of the eyes are prevented" ("Natural History," 28, 7).
Some editors read here ejpe>qhken, put upon, for ejpe>crisen, anointed.

Of the blind man. Omit, and read as Rev., his eyes.

7. Wash (ni>yai). Wash the eyes. See on Acts 16:33.

Siloam. By Rabbinical writers, Shiloach: Septuagint, Silwa>m: Vulgate and Latin fathers, Siloe. Josephus, generally, Siloa. In scripture always called a pool or tank,
built, and not natural. The site is clearly identified in a recess at the southeastern termination of Zion, near the junction of the valley of Tyropoeon with that of the
Kidron. According to Dr. Thomson, it is a parallelogram about fifty-three feet long and eighteen wide, and in its perfect condition must have been nearly twenty feet
deep. It is thus the smallest of all the Jerusalem pools. The water flows into it through a subterraneous conduit from the Fountain of the Virgin, and the waters are
marked by an ebb and flow. Dr. Robinson witnessed a rise and fall of one foot in ten minutes. The conduit has been traversed by two explorers, Dr. Robinson and
Captain Warren. See the account of Warren's exploration in Thomson, "Southern Palestine and Jerusalem," p. 460. On the word pool, see on John 5:2.

Sent. The Hebrew word means outflow (of waters); missio, probably with reference to the fact that the temple-mount sends forth its spring-waters. Many expositors
find a typical significance in the fact of Christ's working through the pool of this name. Thus Milligan and Moulton, after noting the fact that the water was drawn from
this pool for pouring upon the altar during the Feast of Tabernacles; that it was associated with the "wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3); and that the pouring out of the
water symbolized the effusion of spiritual blessing in the days of the Messiah, go on to say: "With the most natural interest, therefore, the Evangelist observes that its
very name corresponds to the Messiah; and by pointing out this fact indicates to us what was the object of Jesus in sending the man to these waters. In this, even more
distinctly than in the other particulars that we have noted, Jesus, in sending the man away from Him, is keeping Himself before him in everything connected with his cure.
Thus, throughout the whole narrative, all attention is concentrated on Jesus Himself, who is the Light of the world, who was 'sent of God' to open blind eyes." See also
Westcott and Godet.

8. Blind. The best texts substitute prosai>thv, a beggar.

That sat and begged (oJ kaqh>menov kai). Literally, the one sitting and begging. Denoting something customary.

9. He said (ejkei~nov). The strong demonstrative throws the man into strong relief as the central figure.

11. To the pool of Siloam. The best texts read simply, Go to Siloam.
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14. It was the Sabbath day when (h+n debbaton o[te). The best texts read, instead of o[te when, ejn h=| hJme>ra| on which day. Literally, it was a Sabbath on the day
9. He said (ejkei~nov). The strong demonstrative throws the man into strong relief as the central figure.

11. To the pool of Siloam. The best texts read simply, Go to Siloam.

Received sight (ajne>bleya). Originally, to look up, as Matthew 14:19; Mark 16:4 and so some render it here; but better, I recovered sight.

14. It was the Sabbath day when (h+n debbaton o[te). The best texts read, instead of o[te when, ejn h=| hJme>ra| on which day. Literally, it was a Sabbath on the day
on which.

16. Keepeth not the Sabbath. A Rabbinical precept declares, "It is forbidden to apply even fasting-spittle to the eyes on the Sabbath." The words in ver. 14, made the
clay, also mark a specific point of offense.

18. The Jews. Notice the change from the Pharisees. The Pharisees had already divided on this miracle (ver. 16). The Jews represent that section which was hostile to
Jesus.

Of him that had received his sight (aujtou~ tou~ ajnable>yantov). Properly, "of the very one who had received."

22. Had agreed - that (sunete>qeinto i[na). The sense is, had formed an agreement in order to bring about this end, viz., that the confessor of Christ should be
excommunicated.

Confess (oJmologh>sh|). See on Matthew 7:23; 10:32.

He should be put out of the synagogue (ajposuna>gwgov). The literal rendering cannot be neatly given, as there is no English adjective corresponding to
ajposuna>gwgov, which means excluded from the synagogue: as nearly as possible - that He should become banished from the synagogue. The adjective occurs only in
John's Gospel - here, John 12:42; 16:2. Three kinds of excommunication were recognized, of which only the third was the real cutting off, the other two being
disciplinary. The first, and lightest, was called rebuke, and lasted from seven to thirty days. The second was called thrusting out, and lasted for thirty days at least,
followed by a "second admonition," which lasted for thirty days more. This could only be pronounced in an assembly of ten. It was accompanied by curses, and
sometimes proclaimed with the blast of the horn. The excommunicated person would not be admitted into any assembly of ten men, nor to public prayer. People would
keep at the distance of four cubits from him, as if he were a leper. Stones were to be cast on his coffin when dead, and mourning for him was forbidden. If all else
failed, the third, or real excommunication was pronounced, the duration of which was indefinite. The man was to be as one dead. No intercourse was to be held with
him; one must not show him the road, and though he might buy the necessaries of life, it was forbidden to eat and drink with him. These severer forms appear to have
been of later introduction, so that the penalty which the blind man's parents feared was probably separation from all religious fellowship, and from ordinary intercourse
of life for perhaps thirty days.

24. Give God the praise (doxan tw|~ Qew|~). Rev., give glory to God. Compare Joshua 7:19; 1 Samuel 6:5. This phrase addressed to an offender implies that by
some previous act or word he has done dishonor to God, and appeals to him to repair the dishonor by speaking the truth. In this case it is also an appeal to the
restored man to ascribe his cure directly to God, and not to Jesus. Palgrave, "Central and Eastern Arabia," says that the Arabic phrase commonly addressed to one
who has said something extremely out of place, is Istaghfir Allah, Ask pardon of God.

We know. The we is emphatic. We, the wise men and guardians of religion.

28. Reviled (ejloido>rhsan). The verb means to reproach or scold in a loud and abusive manner. Calvin, on 1 Corinthians 4:12"being reviled we bless," remarks:
"Loidori>a is a harsher railing, which not only rebukes a man, but also sharply bites him, and stamps him with open contumely. Hence loidorei~n is to wound a man as
with an accursed sting."

His disciple (maqhthnou). Literally, that man's disciple. The pronoun has a contemptuous force which is not given by his.

29. Spake (lela>lhken). Perfect tense, hath spoken, and the authority of Moses' words therefore continues to the present. So Rev., Lale>w is to talk, familiarly. See
Exodus 33:11.

Whence he is. Compare John 7:27; 8:14.

30. A marvelous thing (qaumasto>n). The correct reading adds the article, the marvel. So Rev.

Ye know not. Ye is emphatic: ye who might be expected to know about a man who has wrought such a miracle.

And yet (kai). See on John 8:20; 1:10.

31. We know. Here the pronoun is not expressed, and the we is not emphatic, like the pronouns in vv. 24, 29, but expresses the common information of all concerning
a familiar fact.

A worshipper of God (qeosebh). Only here in the New Testament. The kindred word, qeose>beia, godliness, occurs only at 1 Timothy 2:10. Compounded with
Qeo>v, God, and se>bomai, to worship, the same verb which appears in eujsebh>v, devout (Acts 10:2, 7; 22:12), and eujse>beia, godliness (Acts 3:12; 1 Timothy
2:2 etc.). See on 2 Peter 1:3. These two latter words, while they may mean reverence toward God, may also mean the due fulfillment of human relations; while
qeosebh, worshipper of God, is limited to piety towards God.

32. Since the world began (ejk tou~ aijw~nov). The exact phrase only here in the New Testament. ' is found in Acts 3:21; 15:18; ajponwn in Colossians 1:26.

34. Altogether (o[lov). Literally, all of thee.

In sins. Standing first in the Greek order, and emphatic, as is also su thou, in both instances. "In sins wast thou born, all of thee; and dost thou teach us?"

Teach. Emphatic. Dost thou, thus born in sins, assume the office of teacher?

Cast him out. From the place where they were conversing. Not excommunicated, which this miscellaneous gathering could not do.

35. Said unto him. Omit unto him.
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Dost thou believe (sueiv)? The form of the question indicates the confident expectation of an affirmative answer. It is almost an affirmation, you surely believe; you (su,
emphatic) who have born such bold testimony to me that they have cast you out. Note the phrase, pisteu>eiv eijv, believe on, and see on John 1:12.
Cast him out. From the place where they were conversing. Not excommunicated, which this miscellaneous gathering could not do.

35. Said unto him. Omit unto him.

Dost thou believe (sueiv)? The form of the question indicates the confident expectation of an affirmative answer. It is almost an affirmation, you surely believe; you (su,
emphatic) who have born such bold testimony to me that they have cast you out. Note the phrase, pisteu>eiv eijv, believe on, and see on John 1:12.

Son of God. Both Tischendorf and Westcott and Hort read Son of man.

36. Who is He? The best texts insert kai, and; and who is he? which imparts an air of eagerness to the question.

38. Worshipped (proseku>nhsen). See on Acts 10:25.

39. Judgment (kri>ma). Not the act of judgment, but its result. His very presence in the world constitutes a separation, which is the primitive idea of judgment, between
those who believe on Him and those who reject Him. See on 3:17.

40. Are we blind also (mh ejsmen)? The also belongs with we. The interrogative particle has the force of we are surely not, and the we is emphatic. Are we also blind?
So Rev.

41. Ye should have no sin (oujk ajn ei]cete aJmarti>an). Or, ye would have had. The phrase aJmarti>an e]cein, to have sin, occurs only in John, in the Gospel and First
Epistle.

CHAPTER 10

1. Verily, verily (ajmh). The formula never begins anything quite new, but connects what follows with what precedes. This discourse grows out of the assumption of the
Pharisees to be the only authoritative guides of the people (John 9:24, 29). They have already been described as blind and sinful.

Sheepfold (aujlhtwn). Literally, fold of the sheep. So Rev., better, because the two ideas of the flock and the fold are treated distinctly. Compare ver. 16.

Some other way (ajllaco>qen). Literally, from some other quarter. The thief does not, like the shepherd, come from some well-known direction, as from his dwelling or
from the pasture, but from an unknown quarter and by a road of his own. This from is significant, because, in the previous discourses, Jesus has laid great stress on the
source from which He proceeded, and has made the difference in character between Himself and His opposers turn upon difference of origin. See John 8:23, 42, 44.
In the latter part of this chapter He brings out the same thought (vv. 30, 32, 33, 36).

Thief - robber (kle>pthv lh|sth>v). For the distinction see on Mark 11:17. There is a climax in the order of the words; one who will gain his end by craft, and, if that will
not suffice, by violence.

2. The shepherd (poimh>n). Better, a shepherd. It is the character rather than the person that is contemplated.

3. Porter (qurwro). From qu>ra, door, and w]ra, care. An under-shepherd, to whose charge the sheep are committed after they have been folded for the night, and
who opens the door on the arrival of the shepherd in the morning.

Calleth (kalei~). But the best texts read fwnei~, expressing personal address.

4. Putteth forth (ejkba>lh|). Rev., more strictly, hath put forth. Instead of leadeth out, in ver. 3. It implies a constraint; as if some of the sheep were unwilling to leave the
fold. Meyer says that putteth forth pictures the manner of the leading out. He lays hold on the sheep and brings them out to the door.

His own sheep (tabata). The best texts read pa>nta, all, for pro>bata, sheep: all his own. So Rev.

Goeth before. As the Eastern shepherd always does. Having pushed them forth, he now leads them.

Follow. "It is necessary that they should be taught to follow, and not stray away into the unfenced fields of wheat which lie so temptingly on either side. The shepherd
calls from time to time to remind them of his presence. They know his voice and follow on; but if a stranger call, they stop, lift up their heads in alarm, and if the call is
repeated, they turn and flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers. This is not the fanciful costume of a parable; it is simple fact. I have made the
experiment often" (Thomson).

6. Parable (paroimi>an). The word occurs but once outside of John's writings (2 Peter 2:22). The usual word for parable is parabolh>, which is once rendered proverb
in the A.V. (Luke 4:23 changed to parable by Rev.), and which occurs nowhere in John. For the distinction see on Matthew 13:3.

7. The door of the sheep. Meaning the door for the sheep; not the door of the fold. "The thought is connected with the life, and not simply with the organization."

10. The thief (oJ kle>pthv). Christ puts Himself in contrast with the meaner criminal.

I am come (h+lqon). More correctly, I came. I am come would be the perfect tense.

More abundantly (perisso). Literally, may have abundance.

11. The good shepherd (oJ poimh). Literally, the shepherd the good (shepherd). Kalo, though not of frequent occurrence in John, is more common than ajgaqo>v,
good, which occurs but four times and three times out of the four in the neuter gender, a good thing, or that which is good. Kalo in John is applied to wine (2:10), three
times to the shepherd in this chapter, and twice to works (10:32, 33). In classical usage, originally as descriptive of outward form, beautiful; of usefulness, as a fair
haven, a fair wind. Auspicious, as sacrifices. Morally beautiful, noble; hence virtue is called to. The New Testament usage is similar. Outwardly fair, as the stones of the
temple (Luke 21:5): well adapted to its purpose, as salt (Mark 9:50): competent for an office, as deacons (1 Timothy 4:6); a steward (1 Peter 4:10); a soldier (2
Timothy 2:3): expedient, wholesome (Mark 9:43, 45, 47): morally good, noble, as works (Matthew 5:16); conscience (Hebrews 13:18). The phrase it is good, i.e., a
good or proper thing (Romans 14:21). In the Septuagint kalo is the most usual word for good as opposed to evil (Genesis 2:17; 24:50; Isaiah 5:20). In Luke 8:15kalo
and ajgaqo>v are found together as epithets of the heart; honest (or virtuous, noble) and good. The epithet kalo, applied here to the shepherd, points to the essential
goodness as nobly realized, and appealing to admiring respect and affection. As Canon Westcott observes, "in the fulfillment of His work, the Good Shepherd claims
the admiration of all that is generous in man."
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Giveth his life (thqhsin). The phrase is peculiar to John, occurring in the Gospel and First Epistle. It is explained in two ways: either (1) as laying down as a pledge,
paying as a price, according to the classical usage of the word ti>qhmi. So Demosthenes, to pay interest or the alien tax. Or
good or proper thing (Romans 14:21). In the Septuagint kalo is the most usual word for good as opposed to evil (Genesis 2:17; 24:50; Isaiah 5:20). In Luke 8:15kalo
and ajgaqo>v are found together as epithets of the heart; honest (or virtuous, noble) and good. The epithet kalo, applied here to the shepherd, points to the essential
goodness as nobly realized, and appealing to admiring respect and affection. As Canon Westcott observes, "in the fulfillment of His work, the Good Shepherd claims
the admiration of all that is generous in man."

Giveth his life (thqhsin). The phrase is peculiar to John, occurring in the Gospel and First Epistle. It is explained in two ways: either (1) as laying down as a pledge,
paying as a price, according to the classical usage of the word ti>qhmi. So Demosthenes, to pay interest or the alien tax. Or

(2) according to John 13:4 as laying aside his life like a garment. The latter seems preferable. Ti>qhmi, in the sense of to pay down a price, does not occur in the New
Testament, unless this phrase, to lay down the life, be so explained. 34 In John 13:4layeth aside His garments (ti>dhsi tatia) is followed, in ver. 12, by had taken His
garments (e]labe tatia). So, in this chapter, giveth (ti>dhsin) His life (ver. 11), and I lay down (ti>dhmi) my life (vv. 17, 18), are followed by labei~n "to take it again."
The phrases th He laid down His life, and ta to lay down our lives, occur in 1 John 3:16. The verb is used in the sense of laying aside in the classics, as to lay aside war,
shields, etc. Compare Matthew 20:28dou~nai th, to give His life.

For the sheep (uJpe). On behalf of.

12. Hireling (misqwto). From misqo>v, hire. See on 2 Peter 2:13. Wyc., merchant.

Seeth (qewrei~). Very graphic. His gaze is fixed with the fascination of terror on the approaching wolf. Compare Dante:

"But not so much, that did not give me fear

A lion's aspect which appeared to me.

.............

And a she wolf, that with all hungerings

Seemed to be laden in her meagerness,

And many folk has caused to live forlorn!

She brought upon me so much heaviness,

With the affright that from her aspect came,

That I the hope relinquished of the height."

"Inferno," i., 44 54.

Westcott cites Augustine on this word: fuga animi timor est, the flight of the mind is cowardice; with which again compare Dante:

"So did my soul, that still was fleeing onward,

Turn itself back," etc.

"Inferno," i., 25.

Leaveth (ajfi>hsi). See on John 4:3.

Catcheth (ajrpa>zei). Better, as Rev., snatcheth; though catch is doubtless used by the A.V. in its earlier and stronger sense, from the low Latin caciare, to chase,
corrupted from captare, to snatch or lay hold of. Compare the Italian cacciare, to hunt. The same word is used at ver. 28, of plucking out of Christ's hand. See on
Matthew 11:12.

The sheep. The best texts omit. Read, as Rev., scattereth them.

13. The hireling fleeth. The best texts omit. Read, as Rev., supplying he fleeth.

Careth not (ouj me>lei aujtw|~). Literally, the sheep are not a care to him. See on 1 Peter 5:7. The contrast is suggestive.

14. Am known of mine (ginw>skomai uJpo). The best texts read, ginw>skousi> me ta, mine own know me. So Rev.

15. As the Father knoweth me. Connect these words with the previous sentence: mine own know me, even as the Father knoweth me, etc.

16. Fold (aujlh~v). From a]w, to blow, hence, strictly, a place open to the air; an uncovered space enclosed by a wall. So Homer, of the cave of the Cyclops:

"But when we came upon that neighboring coast,

We saw upon its verge beside the sea

A cave high-vaulted, overbrowed with shrubs

Of laurel. There much cattle lay at rest,

Both sheep and goats. Around it was a court (aujlh>),

A high enclosure of hewn stone."
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"Odyssey," ix., 181-186.

Dr. Thomson says: "The low building on the hill-side which we have just passed, with arches in front, and its enclosure protected by a rubble wall and thorny hedge, is a
Both sheep and goats. Around it was a court (aujlh>),

A high enclosure of hewn stone."

"Odyssey," ix., 181-186.

Dr. Thomson says: "The low building on the hill-side which we have just passed, with arches in front, and its enclosure protected by a rubble wall and thorny hedge, is a
sheepfold or marah.... The marahs are generally built in a valley, or on the sunny side of a hill, where they are sheltered from the winter winds. In ordinary weather the
sheep and goats are gathered at night into the enclosed yard; but when the nights are cold and stormy the flocks are shut up in the marah. The sharp thorn-bushes on
the top of the wall that surrounds the yard are a defense which the prowling wolf will rarely attempt to scale. The leopard and panther of this country, however, when
pressed with hunger, will sometimes overleap this thorny hedge, and with one bound land amongst the frightened fold" ("Central Palestine and Phoenicia," p. 591).
Compare Homer:

"As a lion who has leaped

Into a fold - and he who guards the flock

Has wounded but not slain him - feels his rage

Waked by the blow; - the affrighted shepherd then

Ventures not near, but hides within the stalls.

And the forsaken sheep are put to flight,

And huddling, slain in heaps, till o'er the fence

The savage bounds into the fields again."

"Iliad," v., 136-142.

Bring (ajgagei~n). Better, lead, as Rev., in margin. Compare ver. 3, leadeth them out. The idea is not bringing them together (as sunaga>gh|, 11:52), or conducting
them to one place, but assuming the guidance.

There shall be (genh>setai). More correctly, shall come to be. Some editors read genh>sontai, they shall become.

One fold (mi>a poi>mnh). The A.V. entirely ignores the distinction between aujlh>, fold, and poi>mnh, flock. The latter word is found Matthew 26:31; Luke 2:8; 1
Corinthians 9:7 and always distinctly meaning a flock, as does also the diminutive poi>mnion, little flock (Luke 12:32; 1 Peter 5:2 etc.). Render, as Rev., one flock, one
shepherd. So Tyndale's Version of the New Testament. Compare Ezekiel 34:23. We are not, however, to say with Treneh ("A.V. of the New Testament"), that the
Jew and the Gentile are the two folds which Christ will gather into a single flock. The heathen are not conceived as a fold, but as a dispersion. See 7:35; 11:52; and, as
Meyer observes, "the thought of a divine leading of the heathen does not correspond at all to the figure of fold, of which the conception of theocratic fellowship
constitutes an essential feature." So Bengel. "He says, other sheep, not another fold, for they were scattered abroad in the world." When Jesus speaks of the other
sheep who are not from this fold, the emphasis is on fold, not on this. Compare Romans 11:17 sqq. Nor, moreover, does Jesus mean that the Gentiles are to be
incorporated into the Jewish fold, but that the unity of the two is to consist in their common relation to Himself. "The unity of the Church does not spring out of the
extension of the old kingdom, but is the spiritual antitype of that earthly figure. Nothing is said of one fold under the new dispensation" (Westcott). It will readily be seen
that the incorrect rendering fostered by the carelessness or the mistake of some of the Western fathers, and by the Vulgate, which renders both words by ovile, fold,
has been in the interest of Romish claims.

18. Taketh away (ai]rei). Some texts read h]ren, took away. According to this reading the word would point back to the work of Jesus as conceived and
accomplished in the eternal counsel of God, where His sacrifice of Himself was not exacted, but was His own spontaneous offering in harmony with the Father's will.

I lay it down of myself. Wyc., I put it from myself.

Power (ejxousi>an). Rev., in margin, right. See on John 1:12.

Commandment (ejntolh). See on James 2:8.

19. There was a division (sci>sma ejge>neto). Rev., more correctly, there arose. The word sci>sma, division, from sci>zw, to cleave, describes a fact which
continually recurs in John's narrative. See John 6:52, 60, 66; 7:12, 25 sqq.; 8:22; 9:16, 17; 10:19, 24, 41; 11:37 sqq.; 12:19, 29, 42; 16:18, 19.

Words (lo>gouv). Or, discourses.

21. That hath a devil (daimonizome>nou). Literally, of one demonized. Rev., one possessed with a devil.

Can a devil (mhnatai). Surely a demon cannot.

22. Feast of the dedication (ejgkai>nia). Only here in the New Testament. The word signifies renewal, from kaino>v, new, fresh. Josephus calls it fw~ta, lights. It was
instituted by Judas Maccabaeus (B.C. 164), in memory of the cleansing of the temple from the pollutions of Antiochus Epiphanes. The victorious Jews, says Dean
Stanley, "entered and found the scene of havoc which the Syrian occupation had left. The corridors of the priests' chambers, which encircled the temple, were torn
down; the gates were in ashes, the altar was disfigured, and the whole platform was overgrown as if with a mountain jungle or forest glade. It was a heartrending
spectacle. Their first impulse was to cast themselves headlong on the pavement, and blow the loud horns which accompanied all mournful as well as all joyful occasions
- the tocsin as well as the chimes of the nation. Then, whilst the foreign garrison was kept at bay, the warriors first began the elaborate process of cleansing the polluted
place.... For the interior of the temple everything had to be refurnished afresh - vessels, candlesticks and incense-altar, and tables and curtains. At last all was
completed, and on the 25th of Chisleu (middle of December), the same day that, three years before, the profanation had occurred, the temple was rededicated.... What
most lived in the recollection of the time was that the perpetual light blazed again. The golden candlestick was no longer to be had. Its place was taken by an iron
chandelier, cased in wood" ("Jewish Church," pt. iii., 345, 346). According to tradition, the oil was found to have been desecrated, and only one flagon of pure oil,
sealed with the High-Priest's signet, was found, sufficient to feed the candlestick for a single day. But by a miracle the flagon was replenished during eight days, until a
 Copyright
fresh  supply(c) 2005-2009,
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                                    The festival Corp.for eight days. Lights mere kindled, not only in the temple, but in every home. Pious householdersPage
                                                                                                                                                           lighted58   / 189
                                                                                                                                                                   a lamp for
every inmate of the home, and the most zealous added a light every night for every individual, so that if a house with ten inmates began with ten lights, it would end with
eighty. The Jews assembled in the temple, or in the synagogues of the places where they resided, bearing branches of palm, and singing psalms of praise. No fast or
completed, and on the 25th of Chisleu (middle of December), the same day that, three years before, the profanation had occurred, the temple was rededicated.... What
most lived in the recollection of the time was that the perpetual light blazed again. The golden candlestick was no longer to be had. Its place was taken by an iron
chandelier, cased in wood" ("Jewish Church," pt. iii., 345, 346). According to tradition, the oil was found to have been desecrated, and only one flagon of pure oil,
sealed with the High-Priest's signet, was found, sufficient to feed the candlestick for a single day. But by a miracle the flagon was replenished during eight days, until a
fresh supply could be procured. The festival lasted for eight days. Lights mere kindled, not only in the temple, but in every home. Pious householders lighted a lamp for
every inmate of the home, and the most zealous added a light every night for every individual, so that if a house with ten inmates began with ten lights, it would end with
eighty. The Jews assembled in the temple, or in the synagogues of the places where they resided, bearing branches of palm, and singing psalms of praise. No fast or
mourning, on account of any calamity or bereavement, was permitted to commence during the festival.

23. Solomon's porch. A covered colonnade on the eastern side of the outer court of the temple. According to Josephus it was a relic of Solomon's days, which had
remained intact in the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar.

24. Make us to doubt (th). Literally, lift up our soul. Excite us and inflame our hopes. Rev., hold us in suspense.

Plainly (parjrJhsi>a|). See on John 7:13.

26. As I said unto you. The best texts omit.

27. My sheep (tabata ta). Literally, the sheep, those that are mine. A characteristic form of expression with John. Compare John 3:29; 5:30; 14:15, etc.

28. I give (di>dwmi). Not, I will give. The gift is present and continuous. Compare John 3:36.

Shall pluck (aJrpa>sei). See on ver. 12. Compare can pluck, ver. 29. Here Jesus speaks of the fact; there of the possibility. Rev., snatch. Wyc., ravish.

29. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all (oJ path>r mou o{v de>dwke> moi, mei>zwn pa>ntwn ejstin). There is considerable confusion here about the
reading. Westcott and Hort and Tischendorf read oJ path>r mou (Tischendorf rejects mou) o{ de>dwke>n moi pa>ntwn mei~zo>n ejstin. That which the Father (or
my Father) hath given me is greater than all. Rev. gives this in the margin. For gave, render hath given.

30. One (e[n). The neuter, not the masculine ei+v, one person. It implies unity of essence, not merely of will or of power.

31. Took up - again (ejba>stasan pa>lin). Again refers to John 8:59. It seems as though a different verb is purposely chosen here (compare h+ran took up, in John
8:59), since the interview took place in Solomon's porch, where stones would not be at hand. The verb here may mean to take up. So Ajax says:

"Send some one as a messenger to bear

The evil news to Teucros, that he first

May lift (basta>sh|) my corpse by this sharp sword transfixed."

Sophocles, "Ajax," 827.

Its more usual meaning in the New Testament, however, is to bear or carry. So of the cross (John 19:17; Luke 14:27). Here it might very properly be rendered
brought, perhaps from the works which were then going on at the temple. See further on 12:6.

32. Good works (kala). Beautiful, noble works, adapted to call forth admiration and respect. Compare Mark 14:6 and see on ver. 11.

For which of these works (dia). Literally, for what kind of a work of these. This qualitative force of poi~on is not to be lost sight of, though it is impossible to render it
accurately without paraphrasing. Jesus does not mean, as the A.V. and Rev. imply, "for which one of these works," but "what is the character of that particular work
among all these for which you stone me?" The me, closing the sentence, is emphatic.

33. Saying. Omit.

34. Is it not written (oujk ejstin gegramme>non). More strictly, does it not stand written.

Law (no>mw|). The word is sometimes used in the New Testament of other scriptures. See 12:34; 15:25; Romans 3:19; 1 Corinthians 14:21.

I said, etc. The reference is to Psalms 82:6.

35. The Scripture (hJ grafh>). The passage of scripture. See on John 2:22; 5:47.

Broken (luqh~nai). Literally, loosened. Wyc., undone. The word is characteristic of John. He uses it of the destruction of the temple (John 2:19); the breaking of the
Sabbath (John 5:18); the violation of the law (John 7:23); the destruction of Satan's works (1 John 3:8), besides elsewhere in the physical sense.

36. Sanctified (hJgi>asen). Better, as Rev., in margin, consecrated. The fundamental idea of the word is separation and consecration to the service of Deity. See note
on Acts 26:10 on the kindred adjective a[giov, holy or consecrated.

The Son of God. There is no article. Its absence directs us to the character rather than to the person of Jesus. The judges, to whom the quotation in ver. 35 refers,
were called gods, as being representatives of God. See Exodus 21:6; 22:8 where the word rendered judges is elohim, gods. In Exodus 22:28gods appears in the A.V.
35 Jesus' course of reasoning is, if these judges could be called gods, how do I blaspheme in calling myself Son of God, since the Father has consecrated me and sent
me on a special mission to the world?

37. Believe me (pisteu>ete> moi). Notice believe, with the simple dative; believe me, not on me. It is a question of faith in His testimony, not in His person. See on John
1:12.

38. In Him. The best texts read ejn tw|~ patri>, in the Father.

39. Again. Pointing back to John 7:30, 32, 44, where the word pia>sai, to seize, is found.
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Escaped out of (ejxh~lqen ejk). Rev., literally, went forth out of. The phrase occurs only here.

40. Beyond Jordan (pe>ran tou~ Iorda>nou). Into the region called Peroea, from pe>ran, beyond. It was on the east side of the river, and was the ancient possession
38. In Him. The best texts read ejn tw|~ patri>, in the Father.

39. Again. Pointing back to John 7:30, 32, 44, where the word pia>sai, to seize, is found.

Escaped out of (ejxh~lqen ejk). Rev., literally, went forth out of. The phrase occurs only here.

40. Beyond Jordan (pe>ran tou~ Iorda>nou). Into the region called Peroea, from pe>ran, beyond. It was on the east side of the river, and was the ancient possession
of Gad and Reuben. It corresponds, in an enlarged sense, to the region round about Jordan (Matthew 3:5; Luke 3:3). Compare Matthew 19:1; Mark 10:1.

CHAPTER 11

1. Now (de). Marking the interruption to Jesus' retirement (John 10:40).

Lazarus. See on Luke 16:20.

2. Anointed (ajlei>yasa). Three words for anointing are found in the New Testament: ajlei>fw, cri>w, and its compounds, and muri>zw. The last is used but once,
Mark 14:8 of anointing the Lord's body for burying. Between the two others the distinction is strictly maintained. Cri>w, which occurs five times, is used in every case
but one of the anointing of the Son by the Father With the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18; Acts 4:27; 10:38; Hebrews 1:9). In the remaining instance (2 Corinthians 1:21) of
enduing Christians with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Thus the word is confined to sacred anointing. 36 >fw is used of all actual anointings. See Matthew 6:17; Mark 6:13;
Luke 7:38; James 5:14. The same distinction is generally maintained in the Septuagint, though with a few exceptions, as Numbers 3:3.

3. Thou lovest (filei~v). See on John 5:20. "They do not say, come. He who loves needs but know" (Bengel).

4. Unto death. Not to have death as its final issue.

For the glory (uJpe). Here, as elsewhere in John, in behalf of. Canon Westcott remarks: "The sickness is regarded in a triple relation; unto, in respect of the actual
result; in behalf of, in respect of the suffering born; in order that, in respect of the divine purpose."

5. Loved (hjga>pa). Notice the verb here: not filei~v, as ver. 3. See on John 5:20. Lazarus is not mentioned in Luke 10:38 sqq.

8. Of late sought (nu~n ejzh>toun). Rev., much better, giving the true force of nu~n, now, and of the imperfect: were but now seeking.

Goest (uJpa>geiv). Dost thou withdraw from this safe retreat? See on John 6:21; 8:21.

9. Walk (peripath|~). Walk about, in the pursuit of his ordinary business. Wyc., wander.

11. Sleepeth (kekoi>mhtai). More correctly, as Rev., hath fallen asleep. See on Acts 7:60; 2 Peter 3:4.

Awake him out of sleep (ejxupni>sw aujto>n). Only here in the New Testament.

12. Shall do well (swqh>setai). Literally, shall be saved. Rev., he will recover. Wyc., shall be safe. Tyndale's Version of the New Testament, shall he do well enough.

13. Taking rest (koimh>sewv). Akin to the verb in ver. 11 Wyc., the sleeping of sleep. Tyndale's Version of the New Testament, the natural sleep.

15. For your sakes - to the intent ye may believe. These two clauses, which are separated in the A.V. and Rev., are, in the Greek order, placed together: for your
sakes, to the intent ye may believe; the latter clause being explanatory of the former.

That I was not there. Bengel's comment is beautiful and characteristic. "It accords beautifully with divine propriety that we read of no one having died while the Prince
of life was present. If you suppose that death could not, in the presence of Jesus, have assailed Lazarus, the language of the two sisters, vv. 21, 32, attains loftier
meaning; and the Lord's joy at His own absence is explained."

Unto him (pron). Most touching. To him, as though he were yet living. Death has not broken the personal relation of the Lord with His friend.

16. Didymus (Di>dumov). Not a surname of Thomas, but the Greek equivalent of the Aramaic name, twin. See on Mark 3:18. The word occurs only in John's Gospel.

Fellow-disciples (summaqhtai~v). Only here in the New Testament.

We may die. "He will die for the love which he has, but he will not affect the faith which he has not" (Westcott).

17. Had lain in the grave four days already (te>ssarav hJme>rav h]dh e]conta ejn tw|~ mnhmei>w|). Literally, found him having already four days in the tomb.

18. Fifteen furlongs. About two miles.

19. Many of the Jews came. Rev., rightly, had come. The tense is the pluperfect. Lazarus' friendship with Jesus had not caused him to be regarded as an apostate, at
whose burial every indignity would have been shown. People were even to array themselves in white, festive garments in demonstration of joy. Here, on the contrary,
every token of sympathy and respect seems to have been shown.

To Martha and Mary (prorqan kaian). Literally, to those about Martha and Mary; a Greek idiom for Martha and Mary and their companions, or attendants. Compare
oiJ peri, Paul and his companions (Acts 13:13). Somewhat analogous is our familiar idiom when we speak of going to visit a household: I am going to Smith's or
Brown's, by which we include the head of the household with its members. Westcott and Hort and Tregelles, however, read prorqan k. M., to Martha and Mary. So
also the Revisers' text.

20. That Jesus was coming (o[ti oJ Ihsou~v e]rcetai). Literally, is coming. The exact words of the message: Jesus is coming.

Went and met (ujph>nthsen). The verb means to go to meet.

22. Wilt ask of God (aijth>sh| ton). The verb aijte>w is used of the asking of an inferior from a superior. w>w is to ask on equal terms, and hence is always used by
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                                                    consciousness of His equal dignity. Hence Martha, as Trench observes, "plainly reveals her poor, unworthy    / 189
                                                                                                                                                              conception
of His person, that she recognizes in Him no more than a prophet, when she ascribes that asking (aijtei~sqai) to Him which He never ascribes to
Himself" ("Synonyms"). Bengel says: "Martha did not speak in Greek, yet John expresses her inaccurate remark, which the Lord kindly tolerated." See on Matthew
Went and met (ujph>nthsen). The verb means to go to meet.

22. Wilt ask of God (aijth>sh| ton). The verb aijte>w is used of the asking of an inferior from a superior. w>w is to ask on equal terms, and hence is always used by
Christ of His own asking from the Father, in the consciousness of His equal dignity. Hence Martha, as Trench observes, "plainly reveals her poor, unworthy conception
of His person, that she recognizes in Him no more than a prophet, when she ascribes that asking (aijtei~sqai) to Him which He never ascribes to
Himself" ("Synonyms"). Bengel says: "Martha did not speak in Greek, yet John expresses her inaccurate remark, which the Lord kindly tolerated." See on Matthew
15:23.

24. In the resurrection. Wyc., the again rising.

25. I am the resurrection and the life. The words I am are very significant. Martha had stated the resurrection rather as a doctrine, a current tenet: Jesus states it as a
fact, identified with His own person. He does not say, I raise the dead; I perform the resurrection, but I am the resurrection, In His own person, representing humanity,
He exhibits man as immortal, but immortal only through union with Him.

The life. The life is the larger and inclusive idea. Resurrection is involved in life as an incident developed by the temporary and apparent triumph of death. All true life is
in Christ. In Him is lodged everything that is essential to life, in its origin, its maintenance, and its consummation, and all this is conveyed to the believer in his union with
Him. This life is not affected by death. "Every believer is in reality and forever sheltered from death. To die with full light, in the clear certainty of the life which is in
Jesus, to die only to continue to live to Him, is no longer that fact which human language designates by the name of death. It is as though Jesus had said: In me death is
certain to live, and the living is certain never to die" (Godet). On zwh>, life, see on John 1:4.

He were dead (ajpoqa>nh|). The aorist denotes an event, not a condition. Hence, much better, Rev., though he die.

27. I believe (pepi>steuka). Literally, I have believed. The perfect tense. So Rev. Martha goes back to her previous belief, which consists in the recognition of Christ as
her Lord. Whatever faith she has in this new revelation of Christ rests upon the truth that He is the Anointed, the Son of God, even He that cometh into the world.

28. The Master (oJ dida>skalov). Literally, the teacher. Westcott remarks that this title opens a glimpse into the private intercourse of the Lord and the disciples: so
they spoke of Him.

Is come (pa>restin). Literally, is present. Rev., is here.

29. Arose and came (hjge>rqh kai). The aorist, arose, marks the single, instantaneous act of rising. The imperfect, was coming, the progress towards Jesus.

31. Saying (le>gontev). The best texts read do>xantev, supposing. So Rev.

She goeth (uJpa>gei). Withdraweth from our company. See on John 6:21; 8:21.

To weep (i[na klau>sh|). Rev., in margin, wail. The word means loud weeping. See Matthew 2:18; Mark 5:38; and on Luke 6:21; 7:32.

33. He groaned in the spirit (ejnebrimh>sato tw~| pneu>mati). See on Mark 1:43. The word for groaned occurs three times elsewhere: Matthew 9:30; Mark 1:43;
14:5. In every case it expresses a charge, or remonstrance, accompanied with a feeling of displeasure. On this passage there are two lines of interpretation, both of
them assuming the meaning just stated.

(1) Tw|~ pneu.mati, the spirit, is regarded as the object of Jesus' inward charge or remonstrance. This is explained variously: as that Jesus sternly rebuked the natural
shrinking of His human spirit, and summoned it to the decisive conflict with death; or that He checked its impulse to put forth His divine energy at once.

(2) Takes in the spirit, as representing the sphere of feeling, as John 13:21; Mark 8:12; Luke 10:21. Some explain the feeling as indignation at the hypocritical mourning
of the Jews, or at their unbelief and the sisters' misapprehension; others as indignation at the temporary triumph of Satan, who had the power of death.

The interpretation which explains tw|~ pneu>mati as the sphere of feeling is to be preferred. Comp. ver. 38, in himself. The nature of the particular emotion of Jesus
must remain largely a matter of conjecture. Rev. renders, in margin, was moved with indignation in the spirit.

Was troubled (ejta>raxen eJauto). Literally, troubled Himself. Probably of the outward manifestation of His strong feeling.

35. Wept (ejda>krusen). A different verb from that in ver. 31. From da>kru, tear, and meaning to shed tears, to weep silently. Only here in the New Testament.
Klai>w, to weep audibly, is once used of our Lord in Luke 19:41. "The very Gospel in which the deity of Jesus is most clearly asserted, is also that which makes us
best acquainted with the profoundly human side of His life" (Godet). How far such a conception of deity is removed from the pagan ideal, may be seen by even a
superficial study of the classics. Homer's gods and goddesses weep and bellow when wounded, but are not touched with the feeling of human infirmity 37 (see on John
3:16). "The gods," says Gladstone, "while they dispense afflictions upon earth, which are neither sweetened by love, nor elevated by a distinct disciplinary purpose, take
care to keep themselves beyond all touch of grief or care."

"The gods ordain

The lot of man to suffer, while themselves

Are free from care."

"Iliad," xxiv., 525.

So Diana, when appealed to by the wretched Hippolytus for sympathy, replies:

"I see thy love, but must not shed a tear."

Euripides, "Hippolytes," 1396.

The Roman satirist unconsciously bears witness to the profound truthfulness and beauty of this picture of the weeping Savior, in the words: "Nature confesses that she
gives the tenderest of hearts to the human race by giving them tears: this is the best part of our sensations" (Juvenal, "Satire" 15:131-133).
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36. Loved (ejfi>lei). Not the word in ver. 5. See on John 5:20, and compare John 20:2.

37. Of the blind (tou~tuflou~). Referring to the restoration of the blind man in John 9. The A.V. is too indefinite. Rev., rightly, of him that was blind.
Euripides, "Hippolytes," 1396.

The Roman satirist unconsciously bears witness to the profound truthfulness and beauty of this picture of the weeping Savior, in the words: "Nature confesses that she
gives the tenderest of hearts to the human race by giving them tears: this is the best part of our sensations" (Juvenal, "Satire" 15:131-133).

36. Loved (ejfi>lei). Not the word in ver. 5. See on John 5:20, and compare John 20:2.

37. Of the blind (tou~tuflou~). Referring to the restoration of the blind man in John 9. The A.V. is too indefinite. Rev., rightly, of him that was blind.

Have caused, etc. This saying of the Jews may have been uttered ironically, in which case it throws light on the meaning of groaned in the spirit (ver. 33) and of
groaning in Himself in the next verse. But the words may have been spoken sincerely.

38. Lay upon (ejpe>keito). This would be the meaning if the tomb were a vertical pit; but if hollowed horizontally into the rock, it may mean lay against. The traditional
tomb of Lazarus is of the former kind, being descended into by a ladder.

Take ye away. The stone was placed over the entrance mainly to guard against wild beasts, and could easily be removed.

The sister of him that was dead. An apparently superfluous detail, but added in order to give point to her remonstrance at the removal of the stone, by emphasizing the
natural reluctance of a sister to have the corrupted body of her brother exposed.

Stinketh (o]zei). Only here in the New Testament. Not indicating an experience of her sense, which has been maintained by some expositors, and sometimes expressed
in the pictorial treatment of the subject, 38 but merely her inference from the fact that he had been dead four days.

He hath been dead four days (tetartai~ov ejstin). A peculiar Greek idiom. He is a fourth-day man. So Acts 28:13after one day: literally, being second-day men, The
common Jewish idea was that the soul hovered about the body until the third day, when corruption began, and it took its flight.

41. From the place where the dead was laid. Omit.

42. The people (to). In view of the distinction which John habitually makes between the Jews and the multitude, the use of the latter term here is noticeable, since Jews
occurs at vv. 19, 31, 36. It would seem to indicate that a miscellaneous crowd had gathered. Rev., the multitude. See on John 1:19.

43. Come forth (deu~ro e]xw). Literally, hither forth.

44. Grave-clothes (keiri>aiv). Literally, swathing-bands. Only here in the New Testament. In John 19:40; 20:5, 7, ojqo>nia, linen bands, is used.

A napkin (soudari.w|). See on Luke 19:20.

It is interesting to compare this Gospel picture of sisterly affection under the shadow of death, with the same sentiment as exhibited in Greek tragedy, especially in
Sophocles, by whom it is developed with wonderful power, both in the "Antigone" and in the "Electra."

In the former, Antigone, the consummate female figure of the Greek drama, falls a victim to her love for her dead brother. Both here, and in the "Electra," sisterly love is
complicated with another and sterner sentiment: in the "Antigone" with indignant defiance of the edict which refuses burial to her brother; in the "Electra" with the long-
cherished craving for vengeance. Electra longs for her absent brother Orestes, as the minister of retribution rather than as the solace of loneliness and sorrow. His
supposed death is to her, therefore, chiefly the defeat of the passionate, deadly purpose of her whole life. Antigone lives for her kindred, and is sustained under her own
sad fate by the hope of rejoining them in the next world. She believes in the permanence of personal existence.

"And yet I go and feed myself with hopes

That I shall meet them, by my father loved,

Dear to my mother, well-beloved of thee,

Thou darling brother" (897-900).

And again,

"Loved, I shall be with him whom I have loved

Guilty of holiest crime. More time is mine

In which to share the favor of the dead,

Than that of those who live; for I shall rest

Forever there" (73-76).

No such hope illuminates the grief of Electra.

"Ah, Orestes!

Dear brother, in thy death thou slayest me;

For thou art gone, bereaving my poor heart

Of all the little hope that yet remained

That thou wouldst come, a living minister
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Of vengeance for thy father and for me" (807-812).

And again,
Of all the little hope that yet remained

That thou wouldst come, a living minister

Of vengeance for thy father and for me" (807-812).

And again,

"If thou suggestest any hope from those

So clearly gone to Hades, then on me,

Wasting with sorrow, thou wilt trample more" (832-834).

When she is asked,

"What! shall I ever bring the dead to life?"

she replies,

"I meant not that: I am not quite so mad."

In the household of Bethany, the grief of the two sisters, unlike that of the Greek maidens, is unmixed with any other sentiment, save perhaps a tinge of a feeling
bordering on reproach that Jesus had not been there to avert their calamity. Comfort from the hope of reunion with the dead is not expressed by them, and is hardly
implied in their assertion of the doctrine of a future resurrection, which to them, is a general matter having little or no bearing on their personal grief. In this particular, so
far as expression indicates, the advantage is on the side of the Theban maiden. Though her hope is the outgrowth of her affection rather than of her religious training - a
thought which is the child of a wish - she never loses her grasp upon the expectation of rejoining her beloved dead.

But the gospel story is thrown into strongest contrast with the classical by the truth of resurrection which dominates it in the person and energy of the Lord of life. Jesus
enters at once as the consolation of bereaved love, and the eternal solution of the problem of life and death. The idea which Electra sneered at as madness, is here a
realized fact. Beautiful, wonderful as is the action which the drama evolves out of the conflict of sisterly love with death, the curtain falls on death as victor. Into the
gospel story Jesus brings a benefaction, a lesson, and a triumph. His warm sympathy, His comforting words, His tears at His friend's tomb, are in significant contrast
with the politic, timid, at times reproachful attitude of the chorus of Theban elders towards Antigone. The consummation of both dramas is unmitigated horror. Suicide
solves the problem for Antigone, and Electra receives back her brother as from the dead, only to incite him to murder, and to gloat with him over the victims. It is a
beautiful feature of the Gospel narrative that it seems, if we may so speak, to retire with an instinctive delicacy from the joy of that reunited household. It breaks off
abruptly with the words, "Loose him, and let him go." The imagination alone follows the sisters with their brother, perchance with Christ, behind the closed door, and
hears the sacred interchanges of that wonderful communing. Tennyson, with a deep and truly Christian perception, has struck its key-note.

"Her eyes are homes of silent prayer,

Nor other thought her mind admits

But, he was dead, and there he sits!

And He that brought him back is there.

Then one deep love doth supersede

All other, when her ardent gaze

Roves from the living brother's face

And rests upon the Life indeed."

"In Memoriam."

45. The things which Jesus did. The best texts omit Jesus. Some read o{, that which He did; others a{, the things which.

46. Some of them. Not of the Jews who had come to Mary, but some of the Jews, some perhaps who had joined the crowd from curiosity.

47. The chief priests. Of the Sadducean party. This should be constantly kept in mind in reading both John's narrative and that of the Synoptists. The Sadducees,
represented by the chief priests, are the leaders in the more decisive measures against Christ. Throughout this Gospel the form of expression is either the chief priests
alone, or the chief priests and the Pharisees. The only mention of the Pharisees in the history of the passion is Matthew 27:62 where also the expression is the chief
priests and Pharisees. The chief priests are the deadly enemies of Christ (Matthew 26:3,14). Similarly, in the Acts, the opposition to the Christians is headed by the
priests and Sadducees, who represent the same party. In the two instances where the Pharisees appear, they incline to favor the Christians (John 5:34; 23:6).

47. A council (sune>drion). Correctly, and not the council, which would require the article. The meaning is, they called a sitting of the Sanhedrim; probably as
distinguished from a formal meeting of that body.

What do we? The present tense, indicating an emergency. This man is at work teaching and working miracles, and what are we doing?

48. Place and nation (topon kai). Place, the temple and city (Acts 6:13; 21:28; Matthew 24:15). Nation, the civil organization. See on 1 Peter 2:9; Luke 2:32 In the
Sanhedrim were many devoted adherents of Rome, and the rest were well aware of the weakness of the national power.

49. Caiaphas. A Sadducee, who held the office for eighteen years.

That year. This has been cited to show that John is guilty of a historical error, since, according to the Mosaic law, the high priesthood was held for life. The occurrence
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of Christ. It devolved on the High Priest to offer every year the great sacrifice of atonement for sin; and in that year, that memorable year, it fell to Caiaphas to be the
instrument of the sacrifice of Him that taketh away the sin of the world. Dante places Caiaphas and his father-in-law, Annas, far down in Hell in the Bolgia of the
49. Caiaphas. A Sadducee, who held the office for eighteen years.

That year. This has been cited to show that John is guilty of a historical error, since, according to the Mosaic law, the high priesthood was held for life. The occurrence
of the phrase three times (vv. 49, 51) is significant, and, so far from indicating an error, goes to connect the office of Caiaphas with his part in accomplishing the death
of Christ. It devolved on the High Priest to offer every year the great sacrifice of atonement for sin; and in that year, that memorable year, it fell to Caiaphas to be the
instrument of the sacrifice of Him that taketh away the sin of the world. Dante places Caiaphas and his father-in-law, Annas, far down in Hell in the Bolgia of the
Hypocrites:

"to mine eyes there rushed

One crucified with three stakes on the ground.

When me he saw, he writhed himself all over,

Blowing into his beard with suspirations;

And the friar Catalan who noticed this,

Said to me: 'This transfixed one whom thou seest,

Counselled the Pharisees that it was meet

To put one man to torture for the people.

Crosswrise and naked is he on the path,

As thou perceivest; and he needs must feel,

Whoever passes, first how much he weighs;

And in like mode his father-in-law is punished

Within this moat, and the others of the council,

Which for the Jews was a malignant seed."

"Inferno," xxiii., 110-129..

Dean Plumptre suggests that the punishment described by the poet seems to reproduce the thought of Isaiah 51:23.

50. People - nation (tou~ laou~ to). The former the theocratic nation, the people of God: the latter, the body politic. See on 1 Peter 2:9.

52. Nation (e]qnouv). John does not used the word lao>v, people, which Caiaphas had just employed. The Jews were no longer a people, only one of the nations of
the world. He wishes to set the Gentiles over against the Jews, and this distinction was national. Moreover, John points out in this word the fact that the work of Christ
was not to be for any people as specially chosen of God, but for all nations.

54. Wilderness. The wild hill-country, northeast of Jerusalem.

Ephraim. The site is uncertain. Commonly taken as Ophrah (1 Samuel 13:17), or Ephraim (2 Chronicles 13:19), and identified with el-Taiyibeh, sixteen miles from
Jerusalem, and situated on a hill which commands the Jordan valley.

John 11:55-57. 12:1-11. Compare Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9.

CHAPTER 12

1. Which had been dead. (Omit.)

He raised. For He, read Jesus.

3. A pound (li>tran). Only here and John 19:39. Matthew and Mark, ajla>bastron, a flask.

Of spikenard (na>rdou pistikh~v). So Mark. See on Mark 14:3.

Very precious (poluti>mou). Literally, of much value. Matthew has baruti>mou, of weighty value.

Anointed. See on John 11:2.

Feet. The Synoptists mention only the pouring on the head.

4. Simon's son. Omit.

5. Three hundred pence (triakosi>wn dhnari>wn). Or three hundred denarii. On the denarius, see on Matthew 20:2. Mark says more than three hundred pence. Three
hundred denarii would be about fifty dollars, or twice that amount if we reckon according to the purchasing power.

The poor (ptwcoi~v). See on Matthew 5:3. No article: to poor people.

6.Copyright
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rendering would then be, and having the bag bare, etc.

The bag (glwsso>komon). Only here and John 13:29. Originally a box for keeping the mouth-pieces of wind instruments. From glw~ssa, tongue, and kome>w, to
hundred denarii would be about fifty dollars, or twice that amount if we reckon according to the purchasing power.

The poor (ptwcoi~v). See on Matthew 5:3. No article: to poor people.

6. And had the bag, and bare what was put therein (kaikomon ei+ce, kaimena ejba>stazen). The best texts read e]cwn, having, and omit the second kai and. The
rendering would then be, and having the bag bare, etc.

The bag (glwsso>komon). Only here and John 13:29. Originally a box for keeping the mouth-pieces of wind instruments. From glw~ssa, tongue, and kome>w, to
tend. The word was also used for a coffin. Josephus applies it to the coffer in which the golden mice and emerods were preserved (1 Samuel 6:11). In the Septuagint,
of the chest which Joash had provided for receiving contributions for the repairing of the Lord's house (2 Chronicles 24:8). Rev. gives box, in margin.

Bare (ejba>stazen). Carried away or purloined. This meaning is rather imparted by the context than residing in the verb itself, i.e., according to New Testament usage
(see on John 10:21). Unquestionably it has this meaning in later Greek, frequently in Josephus. 39 Render, therefore, as Rev., took away. The rendering of the A.V. is
tautological.

7. Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this (a]fev aujth>n eijv thran tou~ ejntafiasmou~). This passage presents great difficulty. According to the
reading just given, the meaning is that Mary had kept the ointment, perhaps out of the store provided for Lazarus' burial, against the day of Christ's preparation for the
tomb. The word ejntafiasmou~ is wrongly rendered burial. It means the preparation for burial, the laying out, or embalmment. It is explained by John 19:40, as the
binding in linen cloths with spices, "as the manner of the Jews is ejntafia>zein to prepare for burial," not to bury. It is the Latin pollingere, to wash and prepare a corpse
for the funeral pile. Hence the name of the servant to whom this duty was committed was pollinctor. He was a slave of the libitinarius, or furnishing undertaker. Mary,
then, has kept the ointment in order to embalm Jesus with it on this day, as though He were already dead. This is the sense of the Synoptists. Matthew (26:12) says,
she did it with reference to my preparation for burial. Mark, she anticipated to anoint.

The reading of the Received Text is, however, disputed. The best textual critics agree that the perfect, teth>rhken, she hath kept, was substituted for the original reading
thrh>sh|, the aorist, she may keep, or may have kept, by some one who was trying to bring the text into harmony with Mark 14:8; not understanding how she could
keep for His burial that which she poured out now. Some, however, urge the exact contrary, namely, that the perfect is the original reading, and that the aorist is a
correction by critics who were occupied with the notion that no man is embalmed before his death, or who failed to see how the ointment could have been kept
already, as it might naturally be supposed to have been just purchased. (So Godet and Field.)

According to the corrected reading, i[na, in order that, is inserted after a]fev aujth, let her alone, or suffer her; teth>rhken, hath kept, is changed to thrh>sh|, may keep,
and the whole is rendered, suffer her to keep it against the day of my burying. So Rev.

But it is difficult to see why Christ should desire to have kept for His embalmment what had already been poured out upon Him. Some, as Meyer, assume that only a
part of the ointment was poured out, and refer aujto>, it, to the part remaining. "Let her alone, that she may not give away to the poor this ointment, of which she has
just used a portion for the anointing of my feet, but preserve it for the day of my embalmming." Canon Westcott inclines to this view of the use of only a part. But the
inference from the synoptic narratives can be only that the whole contents of the flask were used, and the mention of the pound by John, and the charge of waste are to
the same effect. There is nothing whatever to warrant a contrary supposition.

Others explain, suffer her to have kept it, or suffer that she may have kept it. So Westcott, who says: "The idiom by which a speaker throws himself into the past, and
regards what is done as still a purpose, is common to all languages."

Others, again, retain the meaning let her alone, and render i[na, in order that, with an ellipsis, thus: "Let her alone: (she hath not sold her treasure) in order that she might
keep it," etc.

The old rendering, as A.V., is the simplest, and gives a perfectly intelligible and consistent sense. If, however, this must be rejected, it seems, on the whole, best to
adopt the marginal reading of the Rev., with the elliptical i[na: let her alone: it was that she might keep it. This preserves the prohibitory force of a]fev aujth>n, which is
implied in Matthew 26:10 and is unquestionable in Mark 14:6. Compare Matthew 15:14; 19:14; 27:49. 40

Note that the promise of the future repute of this act (Matthew 26:13; Mark 14:9) is omitted by the only Evangelist who records Mary's name in connection with it.

9. Much people (o]clov polu). The best texts insert the article, which converts the expression into the current phrase, the common people. So Rev.

Knew (e]gnw). Rev., more correctly, learned. They came to know.

10. The chief priests. See on ver. 47.

11. Went away (uJph~gon). Withdrew from their company.

12-19. Compare Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44.

12. A great multitude (o]clov polu). Some editors add the article and render, the common people.

13. Branches of palms (taa tw~n foini>kwn). The A.V. overlooks both the articles, the branches of the palms. bai`>a occurs only here in the New Testament, and
means palm branches, or, strictly, tops of the palms where the fruit is produced. Of the palms may have been added by John for readers unacquainted with the
technical term, but the expression palm branches of the palms, is similar to housemaster of the house (oijkodespo>thv th~v oijki>av, Luke 22:11). The articles are
commonly explained as marking the trees which were by the wayside on the route of the procession. Some think that they point to the well-known palm branches
connected with the Feast of Tabernacles. On the different terms employed by the Evangelists for "branches," see on Mark 11:8.

To meet (eijv uJpa>nthsin). Very literally, to a going to meet.

Cried (e]krazon). Imperfect, kept crying as he advanced.

Hosanna. Meaning O save!

Blessed (eujloghme>nov). A different word from the blessed of Matthew 5:3 (maka>riov). This is the perfect participle of the verb eujloge>w, to speak well of, praise,
hence our eulogy. Matthew's word applies to character; this to repute. The ascription of praise here is from Psalms 118:25, 26. This Psalm, according to Perowne, was
composed originally for the first celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles after the completion of the sacred temple. The words of the twenty-fifth verse were sung during
that feast, when
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seventh day was called "the Great Hosanna," and not only the prayers for the feast, but even the branches of trees, including the myrtles which were attached to the
palm branch, were called "Hosannas."
Blessed (eujloghme>nov). A different word from the blessed of Matthew 5:3 (maka>riov). This is the perfect participle of the verb eujloge>w, to speak well of, praise,
hence our eulogy. Matthew's word applies to character; this to repute. The ascription of praise here is from Psalms 118:25, 26. This Psalm, according to Perowne, was
composed originally for the first celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles after the completion of the sacred temple. The words of the twenty-fifth verse were sung during
that feast, when the altar of burnt-offering was solemnly compassed; that is, once on each of the first six days of the feast, and seven times on the seventh day. This
seventh day was called "the Great Hosanna," and not only the prayers for the feast, but even the branches of trees, including the myrtles which were attached to the
palm branch, were called "Hosannas."

The King of Israel. The best texts add kai, even the king, etc.

14. A young ass (ojna>rion). Only here in the New Testament. Matthew mentions an ass and a colt; Mark and Luke a colt only.

18. Met (uJph>nthsen). The verb means to go to meet. Hence Rev., went and met.

19. Is gone after Him (ojpi>sw aujtou~ ajph~lqen). The phrase occurs only here. Literally, is gone away.

20. Greeks (%Ellhnev). Gentiles, not Hellenists. See on Acts 6:1. Jesus comes into contact with the Gentile world at His birth (the Magi) and at the close of His
ministry.

22. Philip - Andrew. They appear together in John 1:45; 6:7, 8. Compare Mark 3:18.

23. Answered (ajpekri>nato). The best texts read ajpokri>netai, answereth.

The hour is come, that (ejlh>luqen hJ w[ra i[na). This is not equivalent to "the hour is come in which." The hour is used absolutely: the critical hour is come in order that
the Son, etc.

24. Verily, verily. See on John 1:51; 10:1.

A corn (oJ ko>kkov). Properly, the corn or grain. The article should be inserted in the translation, because Jesus is citing the wheat-grain as a familiar type of that
which contains in itself the germ of life. So wheat has the article: the corn of the wheat. The selection of the corn of wheat as an illustration acquires a peculiar interest
from the fact of its being addressed to Greeks, familiar with the Eleusinian mysteries celebrated in their own country. These mysteries were based on the legend of
Dionysus (Bacchus). According to the legend his original name was Zagreus. He was the son of Zeus (Jupiter) by his own daughter Persephone (Proserpina), and was
destined to succeed to supreme dominion and to the wielding of the thunderbolt. The jealousy of Here (Juno), the wife of Zeus, incited the Titans against him, who
killed him while he was contemplating his face in a mirror, cut up his body, and boiled it in a caldron, leaving only the heart. Zeus, in his wrath, hurled the Titans to
Tartarus, and Apollo collected the remains of Zagreus and buried them. The heart was given to Semele, and Zagreus was born again from her under the form of
Dionysus. The mysteries represented the original birth from the serpent, the murder and dismemberment of the child, and the revenge inflicted by Zeus; and the symbols
exhibited - the dice, ball, top, mirror, and apple - signified the toys with which the Titans allured the child into their power. Then followed the restoration to life;
Demeter (Ceres) the goddess of agriculture, the mother of food, putting the limbs together, and giving her maternal breasts to the child. All this was preparatory to the
great Eleusinia, in which the risen Dionysus in the freshness of his second life was conducted from Athens to Eleusis in joyful procession. An ear of corn, plucked in
solemn silence, was exhibited to the initiated as the object of mystical contemplation, as the symbol of the God, prematurely killed, but, like the ear enclosing the seed-
corn, bearing within himself the germ of a second life.

With this mingled the legend of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, who was carried off by Pluto to the infernal world. The mother wandered over the earth seeking
her daughter, and having found her, applied to Zeus, through whose intervention Persephone, while condemned to Hades for a part of the year, was allowed to remain
upon earth during the other part. Thus the story became the symbol of vegetation, which shoots forth in spring, and the power of which withdraws into the earth at other
seasons of the year. These features of the mysteries set forth, and with the same symbol as that employed by Christ here, the crude pagan conception of life rising out of
death.

Alone (aujtonov). Literally, itself alone. Rev., by itself alone.

25. Life (yuch). See on Mark 12:30; Luke 1:46.

Shall lose (a]pole>sei). The best texts read ajpollu>ei, loseth. See on Luke 9:25.

In this world. This earthly economy, regarded as alien and hostile to God. The words are added in order to explain the strong phrase, hateth his life or soul.

Shall keep (fula>xei). See on 1 Peter 1:4.

26. Serve (diakonh|~). See on Matthew 20:26; Mark 9:35; 1 Peter 1:12.

Me (ejmoi). Notice the emphatic recurrence of the pronoun in this verse.

My Father. Rev., rightly, the Father. "Very much of the exact force of St. John's record of the Lord's words appears to depend upon the different conceptions of the
two forms under which the fatherhood of God is described. God is spoken of as 'the Father' and as 'my Father.' Generally it may be said that the former title expresses
the original relation of God to being, and specially to humanity, in virtue of man's creation in the divine image; and the latter more particularly the relation of the Father to
the Son incarnate, and so indirectly to man in virtue of the incarnation. The former suggests those thoughts which spring from the consideration of the absolute moral
connection of man with God; the latter, those which spring from what is made known to us through revelation of the connection of the incarnate Son with God and with
man. 'The Father' corresponds, under this aspect, with the group of ideas gathered up in the Lord's titles, 'the Son"'the Son of man;' and 'my Father' with those which
are gathered up in the title 'the Son of God,' 'the Christ'" (Westcott).

27. My soul. See reff. on ver. 25. The soul, yuch>, is the seat of the human affections; the spirit (pneu~ma) of the religious affections.

Is troubled (teta>raktai). The perfect tense; has been disturbed and remains troubled. The same verb as in John 11:33. Notice that there it is said He groaned in the
spirit (tw|~ pneu>mati). His inward agitation did not arise from personal sorrow or sympathy, but from some shock to His moral and spiritual sense.

What shall I say? A natural expression out of the depths of our Lord's humanity. How shall I express my emotion? Some commentators connect this with the following
clause, shall I say, Father, save me, etc. But this does not agree with the context, and represents a hesitation in the mind of Jesus which found no place there. 41
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Save me. The shrinking from suffering belongs to the human personality of our Lord (compare Matthew 39); but the prayer, save me from this hour, is not for
deliverance from suffering, but for victory in the approaching trial. See Hebrews 5:7. The expression is very vivid. "Save me out of this hour."
spirit (tw|~ pneu>mati). His inward agitation did not arise from personal sorrow or sympathy, but from some shock to His moral and spiritual sense.

What shall I say? A natural expression out of the depths of our Lord's humanity. How shall I express my emotion? Some commentators connect this with the following
clause, shall I say, Father, save me, etc. But this does not agree with the context, and represents a hesitation in the mind of Jesus which found no place there. 41

Save me. The shrinking from suffering belongs to the human personality of our Lord (compare Matthew 39); but the prayer, save me from this hour, is not for
deliverance from suffering, but for victory in the approaching trial. See Hebrews 5:7. The expression is very vivid. "Save me out of this hour."

For this cause. Explained by glorify thy name. For this use, namely, that the Father's name might be glorified.

28. Glorify (do>xason). (Wyc., clarify, as the Vulgate clarifca.)

Name. See on Matthew 19.

30. For my sake. Emphatic in the Greek order. It is not for my sake that this voice hath come.

31. The prince of this world (oJ a]rcwn rou~ ko>smou tou>tou). The phrase occurs only in the Gospel; here, John 14:30; 16:11.

Shall be cast out (ejkblhqh>setai e]xw). In every case but one where the word ejkba>llw occurs in John, it is used of casting out from a holy place or society. See John
2:15; 9:34, 3; 3 John 1:10; Revelation 12:2. Compare John 10:4.

32. Be lifted up (uJywqw~). See on John 3:14. The primary reference is to the cross, but there is included a reference to the resurrection and ascension. Bengel says:
"In the very cross there was already something tending towards glory." Wyc., enhanced.

From the earth (ejk th~v gh~v). Literally, out of the earth.

Will draw (eJlku>sw). See on John 6:44.

All men (pa>ntav). Some high authorities read pa>nta, all things.

Unto Me (pron). Rev., rightly, unto myself: in contrast with the prince of this world.

34. The law. See on John 10:34.

35 With you (meq' uJmw~n). The best texts read pa>nta, among you.

While ye have (e[wv). The best texts read wJv, as: walk in conformity with the fact that you have the Light among you.

Lest darkness come upon you (i[na mha uJma~v katala>bh|). Rev., better, that darkness overtake you not. On overtake see on taketh, Mark 9:18; and perceived,
Acts 4:13.

40. He hath blinded, etc. These words of Isaiah are repeated five times in the New Testament as the description of the Jewish people in its latest stage of decay.
Matthew 13:13; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26.

Hardened (pepw>rwken). See on the kindred noun pw>rwsiv, hardness, Mark 3:5.

Understand (no>hswsin). Rev., better, perceive. Mark has suniw~sin, understand. See on understanding, Luke 2:47.

Be converted (ejpistrafw~sin). See on Matthew 13:15; Luke 22:32. Rev., more accurately, turn, with the idea of turning to or toward something (ejpi>).

41. When (o[te). The best texts read o[ti, because.

His glory. In the vision in the temple, Isaiah 6:1, 3, 5.

Of Him. Christ.

42. Among the chief rulers (kaintwn). Rev., more neatly and accurately, even of the rulers.

Believed on Him (ejpi>steusan eijv aujto>n). See on John 1:12. It is to be noted that John here uses of this imperfect faith which refused to complete itself in
confession, the formula for complete faith. Compare believed in His name (2:23), and see note there.

Confess Him (wJmolo>goun). The Him, or, Rev., it, is not in the text. The verb is used absolutely. They did not make confession. See on Matthew 7:23; 10:32; 14:7.

Lest they should be put out of the synagogue (i[na mhgwgoi ge>nwntai). Better, that they should not be, etc. Compare Rev., ver. 35. On the phrase, be put out of the
synagogue, see on John 9:22.

43. Praise (do>xan). Much better, Rev., glory, because suggesting a contrast with the vision of divine glory referred to in ver. 41. Compare John 5:44.

Than (h]per) The word cannot be rendered by a corresponding word in English The force is, "more than the glory of God, though He is so much more glorious." The
word is found nowhere else in the New Testament. Some authorities read u[per, above.

44. Cried (e]kraxen). This is not meant to relate a reappearance of Jesus in public. The close of His public ministry is noted at ver. 36. It is in continuation of the
Evangelist's own remarks, and introduces a summary of Jesus' past teaching to the Jews.

Believeth - on Him that sent Me (pisteu>ei eijv tomyanta> me). This is the first and almost the only place in the Gospel where the words believe on are used with
reference to the Father. This rendering in 5:24 is an error. See 14:1. The phrase is constantly associated with our Lord. At the same time it is to be noted that it
contemplates the Father as the source of the special revelation of Christ, and therefore is not absolutely an exception to the habitual usage. The same is true of John
14:1.
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45. Seeth (qewrei~). Rev., properly, beholdeth. Compare John 14:9. The word is purposely chosen to mark an intent, continuous contemplation of Christ, issuing in
ever larger knowledge of the Father.
Believeth - on Him that sent Me (pisteu>ei eijv tomyanta> me). This is the first and almost the only place in the Gospel where the words believe on are used with
reference to the Father. This rendering in 5:24 is an error. See 14:1. The phrase is constantly associated with our Lord. At the same time it is to be noted that it
contemplates the Father as the source of the special revelation of Christ, and therefore is not absolutely an exception to the habitual usage. The same is true of John
14:1.

45. Seeth (qewrei~). Rev., properly, beholdeth. Compare John 14:9. The word is purposely chosen to mark an intent, continuous contemplation of Christ, issuing in
ever larger knowledge of the Father.

I am come (ejlh>luqa). The perfect tense, pointing to the abiding result of His manifestation. Compare John 5:43; 7:28; 8:42; 16:28; 18:37.

Abide in darkness. The phrase occurs only here. Compare 1 John 2:9, 11; also John 8:12; 12:35.

47. Believe not (mhsh|). The best texts read fula>xh|, keep (them).

Came (h+lqon). The aorist tense, pointing to the purpose of the coming, as I am come (ver. 46) to the result. Compare John 8:14; 9:39; 10:10; 12:27, 47; 15:22. Both
tenses are found in John 8:42; 16:28.

48. Rejecteth (ajqetw~n). See on Luke 7:30.

The word (oJ lo>gov). Comprehending all the sayings (rJh>mata).

The same (ejkei~nov). That. The pronoun of remote reference Westcott finely remarks: "The resumptive, isolating pronoun places in emphatic prominence the teaching
which is regarded as past, and separated from those to whom it was addressed. It stands, as it were, in the distance, as a witness and an accuser."

The last day. Peculiar to John. See John 6:39.

49. Of myself (ejx ejmautou~). Out of myself. This formula occurs only here. The usual expression is ajp' ejmautou~. >, from, as distinguished from ejk, out of, marks
rather the point of departure, while ejk, including this idea, emphasizes the point of departure as the living and impelling source of that which issues forth. In John 7:17,
we read, "whether it be out of God (ejk tou~ Qeou~), or whether I speak from myself (ajp' ejmautou~)."

Gave (e]dwken). The best texts read de>deken, the perfect tense, hath given, the result of the gift still abiding. So Rev.

Say - speak (ei]pw lalh>sw). The former relating to the substance, and the latter to the form of Jesus' utterances.

II. THE SELF-REVELATION OF CHRIST TO THE DISCIPLES (13:1-21:23) 17

CHAPTER 13

1. Before the Feast of the Passover. This clause is to be construed with hjga>phsen, loved, at the close of this verse. Notice that John, in mentioning the Passover, here
drops the explanatory phrase of the Jews (John 11:55). It is not the Passover of the Jews which Jesus is about to celebrate, which had degenerated into an empty form,
but the national ordinance, according to its true spirit, and with a development of its higher meaning.

Knowing (eijdw). Or, since he knew.

His hour. See on John 12:23, and compare John 2:4.

That (i[na). In order that; marking the departure as a divine decree.

Depart (metabh|~). The compounded preposition meta>, signifies passing over from one sphere into another.

His own (tououv). See on Acts 1:7. Compare John 17:6 sqq.; Acts 4:23; 24:23; 1 Timothy 5:8; John 1:11.

He loved (hjga>phsen). Notice that John uses the word indicating the discriminating affection: the love of choice and selection. See on John 5:20.

Unto the end (eijv te>lov). Interpretations differ. The rendering of the A.V. and Rev. is of doubtful authority. The passages cited in support of this, Matthew 10:22;
24:13; Mark 13:13 may all be rendered to the uttermost. Morever, other formulas are used where the meaning to the end is unquestionable. In Revelation 2:26 the only
other instance in John's writings where te>lov is used in an adverbial phrase the expression is a]cri te>louv, unto the end. Similarly Hebrews 6:11. In Hebrews 3:6, 14,
me>cri te, unto the end. The phrase may mean at last, and so is rendered by many here, as Meyer, Lange, Thayer (Lex.). "At last He loved them;" that is, showed them
the last proof of His love. This is the most probable rendering in Luke 18:5 on which see note. It may also mean to the uttermost, completely. So Westcott and Godet.
But I am inclined, with Meyer, to shrink from the "inappropriate gradation" which is thus implied, as though Jesus' love now reached a higher degree than before
(ajgaph>sav). Hence I prefer the rendering at last, or finally He loved them, taking hjga>phsen, loved, in the sense of the manifestation of His love. This sense frequently
attaches to the verb. See, for instance, 1 John 4:10 ("love viewed in its historic manifestation" Westcott), and compare John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4; 5:2, 25; 2
Thessalonians 2:16; Revelation 3:9.

2. Supper being ended (dei>pnou genome>nou). The most approved reading is ginome>nou, the present participle, denoting while a supper was in progress. Hence
Rev., rightly, during supper. The A.V. is wrong, even if the reading of the Received Text be retained; for in ver. 12 Jesus reclined again, and in ver. 26, the supper is
still in progress. It should be, supper having begun, or having been served. 42 It is important to note the absence of the definite article: a supper, as distinguished from
the feast, which also is designated by a different word.

Having now put (h]dh beblhko>tov). Rev., better, already. Put, is literally, thrown or cast.

Into the heart of Judas. Meyer, strangely, refers the heart, not to Judas, but to the Devil himself; rendering, the Devil having already formed the design that Judas should
deliver Him up. Godet does not speak too strongly when he says that "this meaning is insufferable." 43

3. Had given (de>dwken). The best texts read e]dwken, gave, the aorist marking Jesus' commission as given once for all.

Was  come (ejxh~lqe).
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Rev., rightly, came forth.

Went (uJpa>gei). Present tense: goeth; withdrawing from the scenes of earth. Note the original order: that it was from God He came forth, and unto God He is going.
deliver Him up. Godet does not speak too strongly when he says that "this meaning is insufferable." 43

3. Had given (de>dwken). The best texts read e]dwken, gave, the aorist marking Jesus' commission as given once for all.

Was come (ejxh~lqe). This rendering would require the perfect tense. The aorist points to His coming as a historic fact, not as related to its result. See on John 12:47.
Rev., rightly, came forth.

Went (uJpa>gei). Present tense: goeth; withdrawing from the scenes of earth. Note the original order: that it was from God He came forth, and unto God He is going.

4. From the supper (ejk tou~ dei>pnou). Out of the group gathered at the table.

Laid aside (ti>qhsi). Present tense: layeth aside.

Garments (iJma>tia). See on Matthew 5:40. Upper garments.

Towel (le>ntion). A Latin word, linteum. A linen cloth. Only here and ver. 5.

Girded (die>zwsen). Only in this chapter and John 21:7. The compound verb means to bind or gird all round.

5. A bason (nipth~ra). Only here in the New Testament. From ni>ptw, to wash.

6. Dost thou wash (su> mou ni>pteiv)? The two pronouns Thou, my, stand together at the beginning of the sentence in emphatic contrast. Dost thou of me wash the
feet?

7. Knowest - shalt know (oi=dav gnw>sh|). The A.V. ignores the distinction between the two words. "Thou knowest not" (oujk oi+dav), of absolute and complete
knowledge. Thou shalt learn or perceive (gnw>sh|), of knowledge gained by experience. See on John 2:24.

Hereafter (meta). Literally, after these things.

8. Never (ouj mh eijv to). A very strong expression. Literally, thou shalt by no means wash my feet as long as the world stands.

10. He that is washed - wash his feet (oJ leloume>nov ni>yasqai). The A.V. obliterates the distinction between lou>w, to bathe, to apply water to the whole body, and
ni>ptw, to wash a part of the body. Thus, when Dorcas died (Acts 9:37) they bathed her body (lou>santev). The proverb in 2 Peter 2:22 is about the sow that has
been bathed all over (lousame>nh). On the other hand, he who fasts must wash (ni) his face (Matthew 6:17). Both verbs are always used of living beings in the New
Testament. The word for washing things, as nets, garments, etc., is plu>nw. See Luke 5:2. All three verbs occur in Leviticus 15:11 (Sept.).

11. Who should betray (tonta). Literally, him that is betraying. So in Matthew 26:2 the present tense is used, is being betrayed (paradi>dotai). See on Matthew 4:12
and compare prodo>thv, betrayer, Luke 6:16; Acts 7:52; 2 Timothy 3:4.

12. Was set down (ajnapesw). Literally, having reclined. The guests reclined on couches, lying on the left side and leaning on the left hand. The table was in the hollow
square or oblong formed on three sides by the couches, the fourth side being open, and the table extending beyond the ends of the couches.

Know ye (ginw>skete)? Perceive or understand ye?

13. Master (oJ dida>skalov). Literally, the Teacher. Teacher and Lord were used, according to the Jewish titles Rabbi and Mar, corresponding to which the followers
were disciples or servants.

14. Your. Inserted in A.V. Better, the Lord and the Master as Rev. Both have the article.

Ought (ojfei>lete). The verb means to owe. It occurs several times in John's Epistles (1 John 2:6; 3:16; 4:11; 3 John 1:8). In the Gospel only here and John 19:7.
Compare Luke 17:10. In Matthew's version of the Lord's prayer occur the two kindred words ojfei>lnma, debt, and ojfeile>thv, debtor. Jesus here puts the obligation
to ministry as a debt under which His disciples are laid by His ministry to them. The word ought is the past tense of owe. Dei~, ought or must (see John 3:7, 14, 30,
etc.) expresses an obligation in the nature of things; ojfei>lein, a special, personal obligation.

15. Example (uJpo>deigma). On the three words used in the New Testament for example, uJpo>deigma, tu>pov, and dei~gma, see on 2 Peter 2:6; 1 Peter 5:3; Jude
1:7.

16. Verily, verily. See on John 1:51; John 10:1.

The servant. No article. Better a servant, as Rev., a bond-servant.

He that is sent (ajpo>stolov). Literally, an apostle. See on Matthew 10:2.

17. Happy (maka>rioi). Better, as Rev., blessed. See on Matthew 5:3.

18. I have chosen (ejxelexa>mhn). Aorist tense, I chose. Not elected to salvation, but chose as an apostle.

That the scripture, etc. (i[na). Elliptical. We must supply this choice was made in order that, etc.

Eateth (trw>gwn). With the exception of Matthew 24:38 the word occurs only in John. See on John 6:54. Originally it means to gnaw or crunch; to chew raw
vegetables or fruits, and hence often used of animals feeding, as Homer ("Odyssey," 6:90), of mules feeding. Of course it has lost its original sense in the New
Testament, as it did to some extent in classical Greek, though, as applied to men, it more commonly referred to eating vegetables or fruit, as Aristophanes ("Peace,"
1325) trw>gein, to eat figs. The entire divorce in the New Testament from its primitive sense is shown in its application to the flesh of Christ (John 6:54). It is used by
John only in connection with Christ.

Bread with me (met' ejmou~ to). Some editors read, mou~ to, my bread.

Heel  (pte>rnan).
 Copyright        Only here in
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                             Infobase  Testament.
                                              Corp.The metaphor is of one administering a kick. Thus Plutarch, describing the robber Sciron, who was    accustomed
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of insolence and wantonness to stretch forth his feet to strangers, commanding them to wash them, and then, when they did it, with a kick to send them down the rock
into the sea" ("Theseus"). Some have explained the metaphor by the tripping up of one's feet in wrestling; but, as Meyer justly says, "Jesus was not overreached." The
quotation is from the Hebrew, not the Septuagint of Psalms 41:9 (Sept. 40.). The Septuagint reads, "For the man of my peace in whom I hoped, who eateth my bread,
John only in connection with Christ.

Bread with me (met' ejmou~ to). Some editors read, mou~ to, my bread.

Heel (pte>rnan). Only here in the New Testament. The metaphor is of one administering a kick. Thus Plutarch, describing the robber Sciron, who was accustomed "out
of insolence and wantonness to stretch forth his feet to strangers, commanding them to wash them, and then, when they did it, with a kick to send them down the rock
into the sea" ("Theseus"). Some have explained the metaphor by the tripping up of one's feet in wrestling; but, as Meyer justly says, "Jesus was not overreached." The
quotation is from the Hebrew, not the Septuagint of Psalms 41:9 (Sept. 40.). The Septuagint reads, "For the man of my peace in whom I hoped, who eateth my bread,
magnified his cunning (pternismo>n, literally, tripping up) against me."

19. Now (ajp' a]rti). Rev., correctly, from henceforth. Compare John 1:52; 14:7; Matthew 23:39.

I am he (ejgw> eijmi). Or, I am. See on John 8:24.

21-35. Compare Matthew 26:21-25; Mark 14:18-21; Luke 21:21-23.

21. Was troubled in Spirit. See on John 11:33; 12:27. The agitation was in the highest region of the spiritual life (pneu~ma).

One of you shall betray me. So Matthew and Mark, with the addition of, who eateth with me. Luke, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.

22. Looked (e]blepon). The imperfect tense, kept looking as they doubted.

Doubting (ajporou>menoi). See on Mark 6:20.

He spake (le>gei). The present tense, speaketh, introduced with lively effect.

23. Was leaning on Jesus' bosom (h+n ajnakei>menov ejn tw|~ ko>lpw| tou~ x~). The Rev. renders, "there was at the table reclining," etc. At the table is added
because the verb is the general term equivalent to sitting at table. "In Jesus' bosom," defines John's position relatively to the other guests. As the guests reclined upon the
left arm, the feet being stretched out behind, the head of each would be near the breast of his companion on the left. Supposing that Jesus, Peter, and John were
together, Jesus would occupy the central place, the place of honor, and John, being in front of Him, could readily lean back and speak to Him. Peter would be behind
him.

Bosom. See on Luke 6:38. The Synoptists do not give this incident.

24. Beckoneth (neu>ei). Literally, noddeth.

That he should ask who it should be (puqe>sqai ti>v a]n ei]h). The best texts read, kaigei aujtw| eijpev ejstin, and saith unto him, Tell us who it is.

25. Lying (ejpipesw). This word is, literally, to fall upon, and is so rendered in almost every instance in the New Testament. In Mark 3:10 it is applied to the multitudes
pressing upon Christ. It occurs, however, nowhere else in John, and therefore some of the best authorities read ajnapesw, leaning back, a verb which John uses several
times in the Gospel, as in ver. 12. 44 So Rev. Whichever of the two is read, it points out the distinction, which the A.V. misses by the translation lying, between h+n
ajnakei>menov (ver. 23), which describes the reclining position of John throughout the meal, and the sudden change of posture pictured by ajnapesw, leaning back.
The distinction is enforced by the different preposition in each case: reclining in (ejn) Jesus' bosom, and leaning back (ajna>). Again, the words bosom and breast
represent different words in the Greek; ko>lpov representing more generally the bend formed by the front part of the reclining person, the lap, and sth~qov the breast
proper. The verb ajnapi>ptw, to lean back, always in the New Testament describes a change of position. It is used of a rower bending back for a fresh stroke. Plato,
in the well-known passage of the "Phaedrus," in which the soul is described under the figure of two horses and a charioteer, says that when the charioteer beholds the
vision of love he is afraid, and falls backward (ajne>pesen), so that he brings the steeds upon their haunches.

As he was (ou[twv). Inserted by the best texts, and not found in the A.V. Reclining as he was, he leaned back. The general attitude of reclining was maintained.
Compare John 4:6: "sat thus (ou[twv) on the well." According to the original institution, the Passover was to be eaten standing (Exodus 12:11). After the Captivity the
custom was changed, and the guests reclined. The Rabbis insisted that at least a part of the Paschal meal should be eaten in that position, because it was the manner of
slaves to eat standing, and the recumbent position showed that they had been delivered from bondage into freedom.

Breast (sth~qov). From i[sthmi, to cause to stand. Hence, that which stands out. In later writings John was known as oJ ejpisth>qiov, the one on the breast, or the
bosom friend.

26. To whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped it (w|+ ejgwyav toon ejpidw>sw). The best texts read w+| ejgwyw toon kaisw aujtw|~, for whom I shall dip the
sop and give it him.

Sop (ywmi>on). Only in this chapter. Diminutive from ywmo>v, a morsel, which, in turn, is from ya>w, to rub, or to crumble. Homer, of the Cyclops:

"Then from his mouth came bits (ywmoi>) of human flesh

Mingled with wine."

"Odyssey," ix., 374.

And Xenophon: "And on one occasion having seen one of his companions at table tasting many dishes with one bit (ywmw|~) of bread" ("Memorabilia," 3:14, 15). The
kindred verb ywmi>zw, rendered feed, occurs Romans 12:20; 1 Corinthians 13:3. See also Septuagint, Psalms 79:5; 80:16. According to its etymology, the verb
means to feed with morsels; and it was used by the Greeks of a nurse chewing the food and administering it to an infant. So Aristophanes: "And one laid the child to
rest, and another bathed it, and another fed (ejyw>misen) it" ("Lysistrate," 19, 20). This sense may possibly color the word as used in Romans 12:20: "If thine enemy
hunger, feed (yw>mize) him;" with tender care. In 1 Corinthians 13:3 the original sense appears to be emphasized: "Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor
(ywmi>sw)." This idea is that of doling away in morsels. Dean Stanley says: "Who that has witnessed the almsgiving in a Catholic monastery, or the court of a Spanish
or Sicilian bishop's or archbishop's palace, where immense revenues are syringed away in farthings to herds of beggars, but must feel the force of the Apostle's half
satirical ywmi>sw?"

Dipped the sop. Compare Matthew 26:23; Mark 14:20. The regular sop of the Paschal supper consisted of the following things wrapped together: flesh of the Paschal
lamb, a piece
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                                               herbs. The sauce into which it was dipped does not belong to the original institution, but had been introduced
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days of Christ. According to one authority it consisted of only vinegar and water (compare Ruth 2:14); others describe it as a mixture of vinegar, figs, dates, almonds,
and spice. The flour which was used to thicken the sauce on ordinary occasions was forbidden at the Passover by the Rabbins, lest it might occasion a slight
fermentation. According to some, the sauce was beaten up to the consistence of mortar, in order to commemorate the toils of the Israelites in laying bricks in Egypt.
satirical ywmi>sw?"

Dipped the sop. Compare Matthew 26:23; Mark 14:20. The regular sop of the Paschal supper consisted of the following things wrapped together: flesh of the Paschal
lamb, a piece of unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. The sauce into which it was dipped does not belong to the original institution, but had been introduced before the
days of Christ. According to one authority it consisted of only vinegar and water (compare Ruth 2:14); others describe it as a mixture of vinegar, figs, dates, almonds,
and spice. The flour which was used to thicken the sauce on ordinary occasions was forbidden at the Passover by the Rabbins, lest it might occasion a slight
fermentation. According to some, the sauce was beaten up to the consistence of mortar, in order to commemorate the toils of the Israelites in laying bricks in Egypt.

To Judas Iscariot the son of Simon (x>da| Si>mwnov sa>th|). The best texts read sa>tou. "Judas the son of Simon Iscariot." So 6:71. The act was a mark of
forbearance and goodwill toward the traitor, and a tacit appeal to his conscience against the contemplated treachery.

27. Then (to>te). With a peculiar emphasis, marking the decisive point at which Judas was finally committed to his dark deed. The token of goodwill which Jesus had
offered, if it did not soften his heart would harden it; and Judas appears to have so interpreted it as to confirm him in his purpose.

Satan. The only occurrence of the word in this Gospel.

Into him (eijv ejkei~non). The pronoun of remote reference sets Judas apart from the company of the disciples.

Quickly (ta>cion). Literally, more quickly. The comparative implies a command to hasten his work, which was already begun.

29. The bag. See on John 12:6.

Buy (ajgo>rason). An incidental argument in favor of this gathering of the disciples having taken place on the evening of the Paschal feast. Had it been on the previous
evening, no one would have thought of Judas going out at night to buy provisions for the feast, when there was the whole of the next day for it, nor would they have
thought of his going out to seek the poor at that hour. The 15th Nisan, the time of the Passover celebration, was indeed invested with the sanctity of a Sabbath; but
provision and preparation of the needful food was expressly allowed on that day. The Rabbinical rules even provided for the procuring of the Paschal lamb on the
Passover eve when that happened to fall on the Sabbath.

Against the feast (eijv thn). Rev., better, for the feast. The Passover feast. The meal of which they had been partaking was the preliminary meal, at the close of which
the Passover was celebrated; just as, subsequently, the Eucharist was celebrated at the close of the Agape, or love-feast. Notice the different word, eJorth>, feast,
instead of dei~pnon, supper, and the article with feast.

To the poor. Perhaps to help them procure their Paschal lamb.

30. He (ejkei~nov). See on ver. 27.

31. Now. Marking a crisis, at which Jesus is relieved of the presence of the traitor, and accepts the consequences of his treachery.

18 Is - glorified (ejdoxa>sqh). Literally, was glorified. The aorist points to the withdrawal of Judas. Jesus was glorified through death, and His fate was sealed (humanly
speaking) by Judas' going out. He speaks of the death and consequent glorification as already accomplished.

32. If God be glorified in Him. The most ancient authorities omit.

In Himself (ejn eJautw|~). His glory will be contained in and identified with the divine glory. Compare "the glory which I had with thee," para (John 17:5). in, indicates
unity of being; para> with, unity of position.

33. Little children (tekni>a). Diminutive, occurring only here in the Gospel, but repeatedly in the First Epistle. Nowhere else in the New Testament.

Now (a]rti). In ver. 31, now is nu~n, which marks the point of time absolutely. &Arti marks the point of time as related to the past or to the future. Thus, "from the
days of John the Baptist until now" (a]rti, Matthew 11:12). "Thinkest thou that I cannot now (a]rti) pray to my Father?" though succor has been delayed all along till
now (Matthew 26:53). Here the word implies that the sorrowful announcement of Jesus' departure from His disciples had been withheld until the present. The time was
now come.

34. New (kainh). See on Matthew 26:29.

Commandment (ejntolh). The word for a single commandment or injunction, but used also for the whole body of the moral precepts of Christianity. See 1 Timothy
6:14; 2 Peter 2:21; 3:2. See also on James 2:8. This new commandment embodies the essential principle of the whole law. Compare also 1 John 3:23. Some
interpreters instead of taking that ye love one another, etc., as the definition of the commandment, explain the commandment as referring to the ordinance of the Holy
Communion, and render, "a new commandment (to observe this ordinance) I give unto you, in order that ye love one another." It is, however, more than improbable,
and contrary to usage, that the Holy Supper should be spoken of as ejntolh a commandment.

That (i[na). With its usual telic 45 force; indicating the scope and not merely the form or nature of the commandment.

As (kaqw). Rev., better, even as. Not a simple comparison (w[sper), but a conformity; the love is to be of the same nature. There are, however, two ways of rendering
the passage.

1. "I give you a new commandment, that ye love one another with the same devotion with which I loved you."

2. "I give you a new commandment, that ye love one another, even as up to this moment I loved you, in order that you may imitate my love one toward another." By the
first rendering the character of the mutual love of Christians is described; by the second, its ground. The Rev. gives the latter in margin.

35. Shall - know (gnw>sontai). Perceive, or come to know.

My disciples (ejmoi). See on Matthew 12:49. Literally, disciples unto me. Compare John 15:8.

36-38. Compare Matthew 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-31; Luke 22:31-38.
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I will lay down my life. See on John 10:11.
My disciples (ejmoi). See on Matthew 12:49. Literally, disciples unto me. Compare John 15:8.

36-38. Compare Matthew 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-31; Luke 22:31-38.

37. Now (a]rti). Without waiting for a future time. See on ver. 33, and compare nu~n now, in ver. 36.

I will lay down my life. See on John 10:11.

38. Wilt thou lay down thy life? For a similar repetition of Peter's own words, see on John 21:17.

CHAPTER 14

1. Heart (kardi>a). Never used in the New Testament, as in the Septuagint, of the mere physical organ, though sometimes of the vigor and sense of physical life (Acts
14:17; James 5:5; Luke 21:34). Generally, the center of our complex being - physical, moral, spiritual, and intellectual. See on Mark 12:30. The immediate organ by
which man lives his personal life, and where that entire personal life concentrates itself. It is thus used sometimes as parallel to yuch>, the individual life, and to pneu~ma
the principle of life, which manifests itself in the yuch>. Strictly, kardi>a is the immediate organ of yuch>, occupying a mediating position between it and pneu~ma. In
the heart (kardi>a) the spirit (pneu~ma), which is the distinctive principle of the life or soul (yuch>), has the seat of its activity.

Emotions of joy or sorrow are thus ascribed both to the heart and to the soul. Compare John 14:27"Let not your heart (kardia>) be troubled;" and John 12:27"Now is
my soul (yuch>) troubled." The heart is the focus of the religious life (Matthew 22:37; Luke 6:45; 2 Timothy 2:22). It is the sphere of the operation of grace (Matthew
13:19; Luke 8:15; 24:32; Acts 2:37; Romans 10:9, 10). Also of the opposite principle (John 13:2; Acts 5:3). Used also as the seat of the understanding; the faculty of
intelligence as applied to divine things (Matthew 13:15; Romans 1:21; Mark 8:17).

Ye believe - believe also (pisteu>ete kaiete). The verbs may be taken either as indicatives or as imperatives. Thus we may render: ye believe in God, ye believe also in
me; or, believe in God and ye believe in me; or, believe in God and believe in me; or again, as A.V. The third of these renderings corresponds best with the hortatory
character of the discourse.

2. House (oijki>a|). The dwelling-place. Used primarily of the edifice (Matthew 7:24; 8:14; 9:10; Acts 4:34). Of the family or all the persons inhabiting the house
(Matthew 12:25; John 4:53; 1 Corinthians 16:15; Matthew 10:13). Of property (Matthew 23:14; Mark 12:40). Here meaning heaven. 46

Mansions (monai). Only here and ver. 23. From me>nw to stay or abide. Originally a staying or abiding or delay. Thus Thucydides, of Pausanias: "He settled at
Colonae in Troas, and was reported to the Ephors to be negotiating with the Barbarians, and to be staying there (thmenov, Literally, making a stay) for no good
purpose" (1:131). Thence, a staying or abiding-place; an abode. The word mansion has a similar etymology and follows the same course of development, being derived
from manere, to remain. Mansio is thus, first, a staying, and then a dwelling-place. A later meaning of both mansio and monh> is a halting-place or station on a journey.
Some expositors, as Trench and Westcott, explain the word here according to this later meaning, as indicating the combination of the contrasted notions of progress
and repose in the vision of the future. 47 This is quite untenable. The word means here abodes. Compare Homer's description of Priam's palace:

"A palace built with graceful porticoes,

And fifty chambers near each other, walled

With polished stone, the rooms of Priam's sons

And of their wives; and opposite to these

Twelve chambers for his daughters, also near

Each other; and, with polished marble walls,

The sleeping-rooms of Priam's sons-in-law

And their unblemished consorts."

"Iliad," vi., 242-250.

Godet remarks: "The image is derived from those vast oriental palaces, in which there is an abode not only for the sovereign and the heir to the throne, but also for all
the sons of the king, however numerous they may be."

If it were not so, I would have told you (eij de). Wyc., If anything less, I had said to you.

I go to prepare, etc. Many earlier interpreters refer I would have told you to these words, and render I would have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. But
this is inadmissible, because Jesus says (ver. 3) that He is actually going to prepare a place. The better rendering regards if it were not so, I would have told you, as
parenthetical, and connects the following sentence with are many mansions, by means of o[ti, for or because, which the best texts insert. "In my Father's house are
many mansions (if it were not so, I would have told you), for I go to prepare a place for you."

I go to prepare. Compare Numbers 10:33. Also Hebrews 6:20"whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus."

A place (to>pon). See on John 11:48. The heavenly dwelling is thus described by three words: house, abode, place.

3. If I go (eja). Poreu>omai, go, of going with a definite object. See on John 8:21.

I will come again (pa>lin e]rcomai). The present tense; I come, so Rev. Not to be limited to the Lord's second and glorious coming at the last day, nor to any special
coming, such as Pentecost, though these are all included in the expression; rather to be taken of His continual coming and presence by the Holy Spirit. "Christ is, in fact,
from the moment of His resurrection, ever coming into the world and to the Church, and to men as the risen Lord" (Westcott).

And receive (paralh>yomai). Here the future tense, will receive. Rev., therefore, much better: I come again and will receive you. The change of tense is intentional, the
future pointing to the future personal reception of the believer through death. Christ is with the disciple alway, continually "coming" to him, unto the end of the world.
Then  He will
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(Matthew 4:5; 17:1; Acts 16:33 on all which see notes): of taking to (Matthew 1:20; John 14:3): of taking from, receiving by transmission; so mostly in Paul (Galatians
1:12; Colossians. 2:6; 4:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13 etc. See also Matthew 24:40, 41). It is scarcely fanciful to see the first two meanings blended in the use of the verb in
this passage. Jesus, by the Spirit, takes His own along with Him through life, and then takes them to His side at death. He himself conducts them to Himself.
from the moment of His resurrection, ever coming into the world and to the Church, and to men as the risen Lord" (Westcott).

And receive (paralh>yomai). Here the future tense, will receive. Rev., therefore, much better: I come again and will receive you. The change of tense is intentional, the
future pointing to the future personal reception of the believer through death. Christ is with the disciple alway, continually "coming" to him, unto the end of the world.
Then He will receive him into that immediate fellowship, where he "shall see Him as He is." The verb paralamba>nw is used in the New Testament of taking along with
(Matthew 4:5; 17:1; Acts 16:33 on all which see notes): of taking to (Matthew 1:20; John 14:3): of taking from, receiving by transmission; so mostly in Paul (Galatians
1:12; Colossians. 2:6; 4:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13 etc. See also Matthew 24:40, 41). It is scarcely fanciful to see the first two meanings blended in the use of the verb in
this passage. Jesus, by the Spirit, takes His own along with Him through life, and then takes them to His side at death. He himself conducts them to Himself.

I am. See on John 7:34.

4. I go (uJpa>gw). Withdraw from you. See on John 8:21.

Ye know, and the way ye know (oi]date, kai). The best texts omit the second ye know, and the and before the way; reading, whither I go ye know the way.

5. And how can we know (kaimeqa thnai). The best texts substitute oi]damen, know we, for duna>meqa, can we; reading, how know we the way. So Rev. Some also
omit and before how.

6. I am the way. The disciples are engrossed with the thought of separation from Jesus. To Thomas, ignorance of whither Jesus is going involves ignorance of the way.
"Therefore, with loving condescension the figure is taken up, and they are assured that He is Himself, if we may so speak, this distance to be traversed" (Milligan and
Moulton). All along the course to the Father's house they are still with Him.

The truth. As being the perfect revelation of God the Father: combining in Himself and manifesting all divine reality, whether in the being, the law, or the character of
God. He embodies what men ought to know and believe of God; what they should do as children of God, and what they should be.

The life. Not only life in the future world. He is "the principle and source of life in its temporal development and future consummation, so that whoever has not received
Him into himself by faith, has become a prey to spiritual and eternal death" (Meyer). "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." Compare Colossians 3:4; John
6:50, 51; 11:25, 26.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. Without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing; without the life there is no living. I am the way which thou
shouldst pursue; the truth which thou shouldst believe; the life which thou shouldst hope for" (Thomas a Kempis, "Imitation of Christ," 3:56). On zwh>, life, see on 1:4.

Unto the Father. The end of the way.

7. Had known (ejgnw>keite). Rather, had learned to know, through my successive revelations of myself.

Ye should have known (ejgw>keite a]n). The same verb as above. Some editors, however, read h|]deite, the verb signifying absolute knowledge, the knowledge of
intuition and satisfied conviction. If this is adopted, it marks a contrast with the progressive knowledge indicated by ejgnw>keite. See on John 2:24.

My Father. Not the Father, as ver. 6. It is the knowledge of the Father in His relation to the Son. Through this knowledge the knowledge of God as the Father, "in the
deepest verity of His being," is attained. This latter knowledge is better expressed by oi=da. See on 4:21.

Have seen. See on John 1:18.

9. Have I been (eijmi). Literally, am I.

Known (ejgnwka>v). Come to know.

Sayest thou (su). Emphatic. Thou who didst say, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write" (John 1:46). Omit and before how sayest
thou.

10. Of myself (ajp' ejmautou~). Rev., better, from myself. See on John 7:17.

The Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works (oJ denwn, aujto). The best texts read, oJ denwn poiei~ ta; the Father abiding in me doeth His works. Philip
doubts whether Christ is in the Father, and the Father in Him. The answer is twofold, corresponding to the two phases of the doubt. His words, spoken not from
Himself, are from the Father, and therefore He utters them from within the Father, and is Himself in the Father. His works are the works of the Father abiding in Him;
therefore the Father is in Him.

11. Believe me (pisteu>ete> moi). The plural of the imperative: "believe ye me." Compare believest thou, ver. 10. These words are addressed to the disciples
collectively, whose thought Philip had voiced.

Or else (eij de). Literally, but if not. If you do not believe on the authority of my personal statement.

For the very works' sake (dia). Literally, on account of the works themselves, irrespective of my oral testimony.

12. Greater works. Not more remarkable miracles, but referring to the wider work of the apostolic ministry under the dispensation of the Spirit. This work was of a
higher nature than mere bodily cures. Godet truthfully says: "That which was done by St. Peter at Pentecost, by St. Paul all over the world, that which is effected by an
ordinary preacher, a single believer, by bringing the Spirit into the heart, could not be done by Jesus during His sojourn in this world." Jesus' personal ministry in the
flesh must be a local ministry. Only under the dispensation of the Spirit could it be universal.

13. In my name. The first occurrence of the phrase. See on Matthew 28:19. Prayer is made in the name of Jesus, "if this name, Jesus Christ, as the full substance of the
saving faith and confession of him who prays, is, in his consciousness, the element in which the prayerful activity moves; so that thus that Name, embracing the whole
revelation of redemption, is that which specifically measures and defines the disposition, feeling, object, and contents of prayer. The express use of the name of Jesus
therein is no specific token; the question is of the spirit and mind of him who prays" (Meyer). Westcott cites Augustine to the effect that the prayer in Christ's name must
be consistent with Christ's character, and that He fulfills it as Savior, and therefore just so far as it conduces to salvation.

14. If ye shall ask anything. Some authorities insert me. So Rev. This implies prayer to Christ.
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15. Keep (thrh>sate). The best tests read thrh>sete, ye will keep. Lay up in your hearts and preserve by careful watching. See on reserved, 1 Peter 1:4.

My commandments (ta). Literally, the commandments which are mine. See on 10:27.
be consistent with Christ's character, and that He fulfills it as Savior, and therefore just so far as it conduces to salvation.

14. If ye shall ask anything. Some authorities insert me. So Rev. This implies prayer to Christ.

15. Keep (thrh>sate). The best tests read thrh>sete, ye will keep. Lay up in your hearts and preserve by careful watching. See on reserved, 1 Peter 1:4.

My commandments (ta). Literally, the commandments which are mine. See on 10:27.

16. I will pray (ejrwth>sw). See on John 11:22.

Comforter (para>klhton). Only in John's Gospel and First Epistle (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; 1 Epistle 2:13. From para>, to the side of, and kale>w, to summon.
Hence, originally, one who is called to another's side to aid him, as an advocate in a court of justice. The later, Hellenistic use of parakalei~n and para>klhsiv, to denote
the act of consoling and consolation, gave rise to the rendering Comforter, which is given in every instance in the Gospel, but is changed to advocate in 1 John 2:1
agreeably to its uniform signification in classical Greek. The argument in favor of this rendering throughout is conclusive. It is urged that the rendering Comforter is
justified by the fact that, in its original sense, it means more than a mere consoler, being derived from the Latin confortare, to strengthen, and that the Comforter is
therefore one who strengthens the cause and the courage of his client at the bar: but, as Bishop Lightfoot observes, the history of this interpretation shows that it is not
reached by this process, but grew out of a grammatical error, and that therefore this account can only be accepted as an apology after the fact, and not as an
explanation of the fact. The Holy Spirit is, therefore, by the word para>klhtov, of which Paraclete is a transcription, represented as our Advocate or Counsel, "who
suggests true reasonings to our minds, and true courses of action for our lives, who convicts our adversary, the world, of wrong, and pleads our cause before God our
Father." It is to be noted that Jesus as well as the Holy Spirit is represented as Paraclete. The Holy Spirit is to be another Paraclete, and this falls in with the statement
in the First Epistle, "we have an advocate with God, even Jesus Christ." Compare Romans 8:26. See on Luke 6:24. Note also that the word another is a]llon, and not e
[teron, which means different. The advocate who is to be sent is not different from Christ, but another similar to Himself. See on Matthew 6:24. 48

With you (meq' uJmw~n). Notice the three prepositions used in this verse to describe the Spirit's relation to the believer. With you (meta>), in fellowship; by you
(para>), in His personal presence; in you (ejn), as an indwelling personal energy, at the springs of the life.

17. The Spirit of Truth. "A most exquisite title," says Bengel. The Spirit, who has the truth, reveals it, by knowledge in the understanding; confers it by practical proof
and taste in the will; testifies of it to others also through those to whom He has revealed it; and defends that truth, of which John 1:17 speaks, grace and truth.... The
truth makes all our virtues true. Otherwise there is a kind of false knowledge, false faith, false hope, false love; but there is no such thing as false truth."

The world. See on John 1:9.

Shall be in you. Some editors read, ejsti>n, is in you.

18. Leave (ajfh>sw). See on John 4:3.

Comfortless (ojrfanou>v). Literally, bereft or orphans. Only here and James 1:27 where it is rendered fatherless. Compare my little children (John 13:33). "He hath not
left us without a rule (John 13:34); nor without an example (John 13:15); nor without a motive (John 14:15); nor without a strength (John 15:5); nor without a warning
(John 15:2, 6); nor without a Comforter (John 14:18); nor without a reward (John 14:2) (James Ford, "The Gospel of St. John Illustrated").

I will come (e]rcomai). Present tense, I come. See on ver. 3.

19. Ye shall live also (kaisesqe). This may also be rendered, and ye shall live, explaining the former statement, ye behold me. So Rev., in margin. This is better. John is
not arguing for the dependence of their life on Christ's, but for fellowship with Christ as the ground of spiritual vision.

21. Hath. "Who has in memory and keeps in life" (Augustine).

Will manifest (ejmfani>sw). Properly, of manifestation to the sight, as distinguished from dhlo>w, to make evident to the mind (1 Corinthians 3:13; Colossians 1:8 etc.).
A clear, conspicuous manifestation is indicated. Compare ye see me (ver. 19). "It conveys more than the disclosing of an undiscovered presence (ajpokalu>ptw), or
the manifesting of a hidden one (fanero>w)" (Westcott).

22. Judas. See on Thaddaeus, Mark 3:18.

Not Iscariot. The Rev. improves the translation by placing these words immediately after Judas. "He distinguishes the godly Judas, not by his own surname, but by the
negation of the other's; marking at the same time the traitor as present again after his negotiation with the adversaries, but as having no sympathy with such a
question" (Bengel).

How is it (ti> ge>g onen). Literally, what has come to pass. Implying that Judas thought that some change had taken place in Jesus' plans. He had assumed that Jesus
would, as the Messiah, reveal Himself publicly.

23. My word (lo>gon mou). The entire gospel message, as distinguished from its separate parts or commandments.

We will come. Compare John 10:30; Revelation 3:20.

Abode (monh). See on ver. 2. Compare 1 John 2:24; 5:15.

24. My sayings (lo>gouv). Rev., words. Compare word, ver. 23. The constituent parts of the one word.

25. Being yet present (me>nwn). Rev., stronger and more literally, while yet abiding.

26. In my name. See on ver. 13.

He (ejkei~nov). Setting the Advocate distinctly and sharply before the hearers. The pronoun is used in John's First Epistle, distinctively of our Lord. See 1 John 2:6;
3:3, 5, 7, 16; 4:17.

I have said (ei+pon). The aorist tense, I said.
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27.         (c) 2005-2009,
    Peace. "These            Infobase
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                                                 is about to go away and says 'good-night' or gives his blessing" (Luther). Peace! was the ordinary oriental 74 / 189
                                                                                                                                                                    at
parting. Compare John 20:21.
3:3, 5, 7, 16; 4:17.

I have said (ei+pon). The aorist tense, I said.

27. Peace. "These are last words, as of one who is about to go away and says 'good-night' or gives his blessing" (Luther). Peace! was the ordinary oriental greeting at
parting. Compare John 20:21.

My peace I give. Compare 1 John 3:1. "It is of his own that one gives" (Godet).

Let it be afraid (deilia>tw). Only here in the New Testament. Properly it signifies cowardly fear. Rev., fearful. The kindred adjective deilo>v fearful, is used by Matthew
of the disciples in the storm (John 8:26), and in Revelation of those who deny the faith through fear of persecution (John 21:8). The kindred noun, deili>a, occurs only in
2 Timothy 1:7"God hath not given us the spirit of fear," contrasted with the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.

28. I said. Omit, and read, ye would have rejoiced because I go unto the Father.

30. Hereafter I will not talk (oujk e]pi lalh>sw). Rev., more correctly, I will no more speak.

The prince of this world. The best texts read, "of the world."

Hath nothing in me. No right nor power over Christ which sin in Him could give. The Greek order is, in me he hath nothing.

31. But that the world may know, etc. The connection in this verse is much disputed. Some explain, Arise, let us go hence, that the world may know that I love the
Father, and that even as the Father commanded me so I do. Others, So I do, that the world may know - and even as the Father, etc. Others, again, take the opening
phrase as elliptical, supplying either, he cometh, i.e., Satan, in order that the world may know - and that as the Father, etc.; or, I surrender myself to suffering and death
that the world may know, etc. In this case, Arise, etc., will form, as in A.V. and Rev., an independent sentence. I incline to adopt this. The phrase ajll' i[na, but in order
that, with an ellipsis, is common in John. See John 1:8, 31; 9:3; 13:18; 15:25; 1 John 2:19.

CHAPTER 15

Where the following discourses were uttered is a matter of uncertainty. Some suppose that after the words, Arise, let us go hence, the disciples still lingered at the table.
Others, that the discourses were spoken on the way to the Mount of Olives; and others, again, in the court of the temple. Assuming that the figure of the vine was
suggested by some external object, that object is explained according to the different views of the scene of the discourses. Those who think that it was the chamber
which the company had not yet left, suggest the cup of wine of which they had recently partaken (Meyer); or a vine whose tendrils had crept into the room (Tholuck);
or the view of vineyards outside in the light of the moon (Storr). Those who assign the discourses to the walk to the Mount of Olives, down to Kedron through the
vineyards, draw the figure from the vineyards, and the fires burning along the sides of the Kedron valley in order to consume the vine-cuttings (Lange, Godet). Those
who place the discourses in the court of the temple, find the suggestion in the great golden vine over the temple-gate (Westcott, Lampe). Others, again, think that the
similitude was not drawn from any external object, but was suggested by the familiar Old Testament symbolism of the vineyard and the vine, as in Psalms 80:8-19;
Isaiah 5:1 sqq.; Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 19:10 sqq. (So Lucke, Alford, Milligan and Moulton, and Trench).

1. The true vine (hJ a]mpelov hJ ajlhqinh). Literally, the vine, the true (vine). True, genuine, answering to the perfect ideal. See on 1:9. The vine was a symbol of the
ancient church. See the passages cited above, and Hosea 10:1; Matthew 21:33; Luke 13:6.

Husbandman (gewrgo>v). From gh~, the earth, and e]rgw, to work. The vine-dresser is ajmpelourgo>v, occurring only at Luke 13:7; but the office of the vine-dresser
is a subordinate one, while gewrgo>v may indicate the proprietor. See 2 Chronicles 26:10 (Sept.), where the word is applied to King Uzziah. So of Noah, Genesis
9:20. In Matthew 21:33 41, the gewrgoi represent the chiefs and leaders of the Jews. Wyc., an earth-tiller.

2. Branch (klh~ma). Occurring only in this chapter. Both this and kla>dov, branch (see on Matthew 24:32; Mark 11:8) are derived from kla>w, to break. The word
emphasizes the ideas of tenderness and flexibility.

Purgeth (kaqai>rei). Cleanseth, Rev.

3. Clean (kaqai>rei). Etymologically akin to kaqai>rei, purgeth. The Rev. indicates this by rendering kaqai>rei, cleanseth.

4. Of itself (ajf' eJautou~). Properly, from itself. See on John 7:17.

No more can ye (ou[twv oujde). Literally, so neither can ye. So Rev.

5. Without me (cwri). Properly, apart from me. So Rev. Compare John 1:3; Ephesians 2:12.

6. He is cast forth (ejblh>qh e]xw). The aorist tense. Literally, was cast forth. The aorist, denoting a momentary act, indicates that it was cast forth at the moment it
ceased to abide in the vine. Forth signifies from the vineyard; e]xw, outside.

As a branch (wjv to). Strictly, the branch: the unfruitful branch.

Is withered (ejxhra>nqh). The aorist, as in was cast forth. Wyc, shall wax dry.

Men gather. Or, as Rev., they gather. Indefinite. Compare Isaiah 27:11; Ezekiel 15:5.

7. Ye shall ask (aijth>sesqe). The best texts read the imperative, aijth>sasqe, ask. 49

Shall be done unto you (genh>setai uJmi~n). Literally, it shall come to pass for you.

8. Herein (ejn tou>tw|). Commonly referred to what follows. My Father is glorified in this, namely, that ye bear much fruit. It is better to refer it back to ver. 7. In the
perfect unity of will between the Son and the disciple, which results in the disciple's obtaining whatever he asks, the Father is glorified. To this effect is John 14:13,
"Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." The design of this glorification is that (i]na) you may bear much fruit.
This retrospective reference of ejn tou>tw|, in this, or herein, occurs in John 4:37; 16:30; 1 John 4:17.

IsCopyright
   glorified (ejdoxa>sqh).
             (c) 2005-2009,The aorist tense;
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with Christ's.

So shall ye be (kaisesqe). Literally, and ye shall become. Some editors, however, read ge>nhsqe, and connect, in the same construction with the preceding clause,
perfect unity of will between the Son and the disciple, which results in the disciple's obtaining whatever he asks, the Father is glorified. To this effect is John 14:13,
"Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." The design of this glorification is that (i]na) you may bear much fruit.
This retrospective reference of ejn tou>tw|, in this, or herein, occurs in John 4:37; 16:30; 1 John 4:17.

Is glorified (ejdoxa>sqh). The aorist tense; was glorified. As in ver. 6, marking the point when the Father's glory was realized in the perfect union of the believer's will
with Christ's.

So shall ye be (kaisesqe). Literally, and ye shall become. Some editors, however, read ge>nhsqe, and connect, in the same construction with the preceding clause,
rendering, "Herein is (was) my Father glorified, that ye might bear much fruit and become my disciples." Note that the word is become, not be. Christian discipleship
implies progress and growth.

9. In my love (ejn th~| ajga>ph| th|~ ejmh|~). Literally, in the love, that which is mine. Not only the love of the disciple for Christ, nor the love of Christ for the disciple,
but the Christ-principle of love which includes both. See the same form of expression in the joy that is mine, John 15:11; 3:29; 17:13; the judgment (John 5:30; 8:16);
the commandments (John 14:15); peace (John 14:27).

11. My joy. The joy that is mine; characteristic of me. See on ver. 9.

Might remain (mei>nh|~). The best texts read h|+, may be.

Might be full (plhrwqh|~). Rev., more correctly, may be fulfilled. The A.V. loses the distinction between the absolute joy which is Christ's, and the progressive, but
finally consummated joy which is the disciple's.

12. My commandment (hJ ejntolh). The commandment which is mine.

That ye love (i[na). Indicating not merely the nature of the commandment, but its purport.

13. Greater love hath no man than this, that (i[na). Some of the more subtle phases of John's thought cannot be apprehended without a careful study of this often-
recurring conjunction. It is still claimed by some grammarians that it is used to mark, not only design and end, but also result. 50 But it may fairly be claimed that its
predominant sense is intent, purpose, purport, or object. Hence that, as representing i[na, is to be taken in the sense of to the end or intent that; in order that. Here the
use of the word is very subtle and suggestive, as well as beautiful. No man hath greater love than this (love), which, in its original conception, was intended and
designed to reach to the extent of sacrificing life for a friend. Christ, therefore, here gives us more than a mere abstract comparison and more than a merely human
gauge of love. He measures love according to its divine, original, far-reaching intent.

Lay down his life. See on John 10:11.

14. I command (ejnte>llomai). Of several words for command in the New Testament, this one is always used of giving a specific injunction or precept. The kindred
noun, ejntolh>, means an order, a charge, a precept and hence is used of a separate precept of the law as distinguished from the law as a whole (no>mov). See
Matthew 22:36, 38. It is, however, sometimes used of the whole body of the moral precepts of Christianity. See on John 13:34. The sense of specific commands here
falls in with the reading of the Rec. Text, o[sa, whatsoever, literally, as many things as.

15. Henceforth - not (oujke>ti). Rev., better, no longer. No longer servants, as you were under the dispensation of the law. Compare Galatians 4:7.

Servants (dou>louv). Strictly, bond-servants.

Knoweth not (oujk oi+de>). Has no instinctive perception. See on John 2:24.

You. The position of the pronoun in the Greek is emphatic: "You I have called friends."

16. Ye - chosen. The pronoun is emphatic: "It was not ye that chose me."

Ordained (e]qhka). Rev., appointed is better, because it divests the word of its conventional meaning. Ordain is from the Latin ordinare, and means to set in order.
Thus, Robert of Gloucester's "Chronicle:" "He began to ordain his folk," i.e., set his people in order. Hakluyt, "Voyages:" "He ordained a boat made of one tree." The
Greek verb means to set, put, or place. Hence of appointing one to service. See 1 Timothy 1:12. Wyc., Matthew 24:47: "Upon all his goods he shall ordain him."

Should go (uJpa>ghte). Withdraw from His personal society and go out into the world.

That whatsoever, etc. (i[na). Coordinated with the preceding i[na, that, as marking another result of their choice and appointment by Christ. He has appointed them that
they should bring forth fruit, and that they should obtain such answers to their prayer as would make them fruitful.

17. That (i[na). All my teachings are to the end that you should love one another.

18. If the world hate (eiJ misei~). Literally, hates. The indicative mood with the conditional particle assumes the fact as existing: If the world hates you, as it does.

Ye know (ginw>skete). This may also be rendered as imperative: Know ye.

It hated (memi>shken). The perfect tense, hath hated. The hatred continues to the present time.

Before it hated you (prw~ton uJmw~n). Literally, first in regard of you. See on John 1:15.

19. Of the world (ejk tou~ ko>smou). Sprung out of the world. See on of the earth, John 3:31.

Would love (a}n ejfi>lei). The verb for natural affection. See on John 5:20.

20. Persecuted (ejdi>wxan). The verb means originally to put to flight; thence to run swiftly in order to overtake or attain, as the goal or the competitor in the race. Thus
Sophocles ("Electra," 738): "He urged his swift steeds vehemently with shouts that pierced their ears, and makes for him (diw>kei)." Compare I follow after (diw>kw,
Philippians 3:12). Hence to pursue with hostile intent, and, generally, to molest, harass, persecute. Persecute is from the equivalent Latin persequor, to follow up, and is
used earlier, in the sense of pursue, while pursue, in turn, is used in the sense of persecute. Thus Wyc, Matthew 5:44for men pursuing you. Sir Thomas More
("Utopia"),
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            (c) 2005-2009,          rejoicing
                               Infobase  Mediain Corp.
                                                 the victory have persecuted (i.e., pursued) them."                                                     Page 76 / 189
21. For my name's sake (dia mou). Literally, on account of my name. The name of Christ represented the faith, the attitude, the claims, and the aim of the disciples. His
name was their confession. Luther says: "The name of Christ from your mouth will be to them nothing but poison and death."
20. Persecuted (ejdi>wxan). The verb means originally to put to flight; thence to run swiftly in order to overtake or attain, as the goal or the competitor in the race. Thus
Sophocles ("Electra," 738): "He urged his swift steeds vehemently with shouts that pierced their ears, and makes for him (diw>kei)." Compare I follow after (diw>kw,
Philippians 3:12). Hence to pursue with hostile intent, and, generally, to molest, harass, persecute. Persecute is from the equivalent Latin persequor, to follow up, and is
used earlier, in the sense of pursue, while pursue, in turn, is used in the sense of persecute. Thus Wyc, Matthew 5:44for men pursuing you. Sir Thomas More
("Utopia"), "Whiles their enemies rejoicing in the victory have persecuted (i.e., pursued) them."

21. For my name's sake (dia mou). Literally, on account of my name. The name of Christ represented the faith, the attitude, the claims, and the aim of the disciples. His
name was their confession. Luther says: "The name of Christ from your mouth will be to them nothing but poison and death."

22. Had sin (aJmarti>an ei+con). See on John 9:41; 1 John 1:8.

Cloke (pro>fasin). From pro>, before, in front of, and fhmi>, to say or affirm. Hence something which is placed in front of the true cause of a thing, a pretext. Compare
1 Thessalonians 2:5; Acts 27:30. Pretext carries the same idea, Latin, proetextum, something woven in front, with a view to concealment or deception. Rev., excuse.
Wyc, excusation. The A.V. follows Tyndale: nothing to cloke their sin withal. Latimer ("Sermons"): "By such cloaked charity, when thou dost offend before Christ but
once, thou hast offended twice herein." The word appears in the low Latin cloca, a bell (compare the French cloche, and English clock), and the name was given to a
horseman's cloak because of its resemblance to a bell. The word palliate is from the Latin pallium, a cloak.

25. Without a cause (dwrea>n). Gratuitously. Akin to di>dwmi, to give. Their hatred was a voluntary gift.

27. Shall bear witness (marturei~te). Present tense, bear witness. So Rev. Or, it may be taken as imperative: bear ye witness.

CHAPTER 16

1. Be offended (skandalisqh~te) Rev., made to stumble. In this Gospel only here and John 6:61. See on Matthew 5:29. Wyc, be not slandered.

2. They shall put you out of the synagogues. See on John 9:22.

Yea (ajll'). Literally, but. They shall excommunicate you, but worse than this, the hour cometh, etc.

The hour cometh that (i[na). Literally, "there cometh an hour in order that." The hour is ordained with that end in view: it comes fraught with the fulfillment of a divine
purpose.

Whosoever (pa~v oJ). Literally, everyone who.

Doeth service (latrei>an prosfe>rein). Literally, bringeth or offereth service. Latrei>a means, strictly, service for hire, but is used of any service, and frequently of the
service of God.

3. Unto you. Omit.

4. But (ajlla). Marks a breaking off of the enumeration of fearful details; but (to say no more of these things),I have spoken these, etc.

At the beginning (ejx ajrch~v). Properly, from the beginning. So Rev. The phrase only here and John 6:64.

7. It is expedient (sumfe>rei). From so>n together, and fe>rw to bear or bring. The underlying idea of the word is concurrence of circumstances.

Go away (ajpe>lqw). The different words for go should be noted in this verse, and ver. 10. Here, expressing simple departure from a point.

Depart (poreuqw~). Rev., go. With the notion of going for a purpose, which is expressed in I will send him.

8. Will reprove (ejle>gxei). See on John 3:20. Rev., convict.

Of sin - righteousness - judgment (peri>) Literally, concerning. Rev., in respect of. Of gives a wrong impression, viz., that He will convict the world of being sinful,
unrighteous, and exposed to judgment. This is true, but the preposition implies more. He will convict the world as respects these three; that is, will convict it of
ignorance of their real nature.

Righteousness (dikaiosu>nhv). Only here and ver. 10 in the Gospel. It occurs in the First Epistle and in Revelation.

10. I go (uJpa>gw). Withdraw from their sight and earthly fellowship. See on John 8:21, and footnote.

Ye see (qewrei~te). Rev., behold. See on John 1:18.

11. Is judged (ke>kritai). Perfect tense. Rev., therefore, rightly, hath been judged.

12. Bear (basta>zein). See on John 10:31; 12:6.

Now (a]rti). See on John 13:33. With reference to a future time, when they will be able to bear them.

13. Spirit of truth. Literally, of the truth. See on John 14:7.

Will guide (oJdhgh>sei). From oJdo>v, way, and hJge>omai, to lead. The kindred noun, oJdhgo>v, guide, leader, occurs Matthew 15:14; Acts 1:16 etc.

Into all truth (eijv pa~san thqeian). Rev., more correctly, into all the truth. Some editors read, ejn th|~ ajlhqei>a| pa>sh|, in all the truth. Others, eijv thqeian pa~san,
joining pa~san in an adverbial sense with will guide you: i.e., will guide you wholly into the truth. The Spirit does not reveal all truth to men, but He leads them to the
truth as it is in Christ.

Of himself. Rev., rightly, from himself. See on John 7:17.

He shall hear
Copyright  (c)(a}n ajkou>sh|).
               2005-2009,      Some read,
                           Infobase  Mediaajkou>ei,
                                             Corp. heareth, and omit a}n, the conditional particle. %Osa a}n ajkou>sh|, the reading of the Rec. Text,
                                                                                                                                                 Page is, strictly,
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whatsoever things he may have heard.

Will shew (ajnaggelei~). Better, as Rev., declare. Compare Mark 5:14, 19; Acts 20:27; 2 Corinthians 7:7. Also to rehearse; Acts 14:27. Used of the formal
truth as it is in Christ.

Of himself. Rev., rightly, from himself. See on John 7:17.

He shall hear (a}n ajkou>sh|). Some read, ajkou>ei, heareth, and omit a}n, the conditional particle. %Osa a}n ajkou>sh|, the reading of the Rec. Text, is, strictly,
whatsoever things he may have heard.

Will shew (ajnaggelei~). Better, as Rev., declare. Compare Mark 5:14, 19; Acts 20:27; 2 Corinthians 7:7. Also to rehearse; Acts 14:27. Used of the formal
proclamation of the Christian religion (Acts 20:20; 1 Peter 1:12; 1 John 1:5). See on Acts 19:18.

Things to come (tamena). The article, omitted by A.V., is important. The meaning is not, He will show you some things to come, but the things that are to come, or the
things that are coming. These things are whatsoever He shall hear. The phrase occurs only here in the New Testament.

14. Shall receive (lh>yetai). Rev., take. See on John 3:32.

15. All things that (pa>nta o[sa). Literally, all things as many as. Rev., all things whatsoever.

Shall take (lh>yetai). The best texts read lamba>nei, taketh. The relation between the Son and the Spirit is put by Jesus as present and constant.

16. Ye shall not see (ouj qewrei~te). The present tense: "ye behold me no more." So Rev.

Ye shall see (o]yesqe). A different verb for seeing is used here. For the distinction, see on John 1:18. Qewre>w emphasizes the act of vision, oJra>w, the result.
Qewre>w denotes deliberate contemplation conjoined with mental or spiritual interest. "The vision of wondering contemplation, in which they observed little by little the
outward manifestation of the Lord, was changed and transfigured into sight, in which they seized at once, intuitively, all that Christ was. As long as His earthly presence
was the object on which their eyes were fixed, their view was necessarily imperfect. His glorified presence showed Him in His true nature" (Westcott).

Because I go unto the Father. The best texts omit.

17. Then (ou=n). Rev., correctly, therefore. It is a particle of logical connection, not of time.

18. He saith (lalei~). Emphasizing the purport of the saying.

A little while (ton). In vv. 16, 17, without the article. Here the article the or this little while defines the special point of their difficulty; this "little while" of which He
speaks.

We cannot tell (oujk oi]damen). Rev., more simply and literally, we know not.

He saith (lalei~). Emphasizing the form of the saying.

19. Knew (e]gnw). Better, Rev., perceived. See on John 2:24.

20. Weep - lament - be sorrowful (klau>sete qrhnh>sete luphqh>sesqe). Of these three words, the last is the most general in meaning, expressing every species of
pain, of body or of soul, and not necessarily the outward manifestation of sorrow. Both the other words denote audible expressions of grief. Qrhne>w marks the more
formal expression. It means to utter a dirge over the dead. Thus Homer, of the mourning over Hector in Troy:

"On a fair couch they laid the corse, and placed

Singers beside it leaders of the dirge (qrhnwn),

Who sang (ejqrh>neon) a sorrowful, lamenting strain,

And all the women answered it with sobs."

"Iliad," 24:720-722.

The verb occurs Matthew 11:17; Luke 7:32; 23:27. Klai>w means audible weeping, the crying of children, as distinguished from dakru>w, to shed tears, to weep
silently, which occurs but once in the New Testament, of Jesus' weeping (John 11:35). See on Luke 7:32.

21. A woman (hJ gunh). Literally, the woman. The generic article marking the woman as representing her sex: woman as such.

She is in travail. A common Old Testament image of sorrow issuing in joy. See Isaiah 21:3; 26:17; 66:7; Hosea 13:13; Micah 4:9, 10.

The anguish (th~v qli>yewv). Commonly rendered affliction or tribulation in A.V. See on Matthew 13:21.

Joy (th). Properly, the joy which answers to the anguish.

A man (a]nqrwpov). See on John 1:30.

22. Have sorrow (lu>phn e]cete). This form of expression occurs frequently in the New Testament, to denote the possession or experience of virtues, sensations,
desires, emotions, intellectual or spiritual faculties, faults, or defects. It is stronger than the verb which expresses any one of these. For instance, to have faith is stronger
than to believe: to have life, than the act of living. It expresses a distinct, personal realization of the virtue or fault or sentiment in question. Hence, to have sorrow is
more than to be sorrowful. In Matthew 17:20 Christ does not say if ye believe, but if ye have faith; if faith, in ever so small a degree, is possessed by you as a
conscious, living principle and motive. Compare have love (John 13:35; 1 John 4:16); have peace (16:33); have trust (2 Corinthians 3:4); have boldness (Hebrews
10:19; 1 John 2:28).

23. Ye shall ask (ejrwth>sete). Or, as Rev., in margin, ask - question. To question is the primary meaning of the verb, from which it runs into the more general sense of
request, beseech. So Mark 7:26; Luke 4:38; John 17:15 etc. Here the meaning is, ye shall ask me no question (compare ver. 19, where the same verb is used).
Compare
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                                              Corp.absolutely, Luke 22:68. Note, moreover, the selection of the word here as marking the asking onPage    familiar78
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on John 11:22. Another verb for ask occurs in the following sentence: "If ye shall ask (aijth>sthte) anything," etc. Here the sense is, if ye shall make any request.
Compare Matthew 5:42; 7:7, 9, 10 etc. Note, also, that this word for asking the Father marks the asking of an inferior from a superior, and is the word which Christ
never uses of His own requests to the Father. Compare 1 John 3:22.
10:19; 1 John 2:28).

23. Ye shall ask (ejrwth>sete). Or, as Rev., in margin, ask - question. To question is the primary meaning of the verb, from which it runs into the more general sense of
request, beseech. So Mark 7:26; Luke 4:38; John 17:15 etc. Here the meaning is, ye shall ask me no question (compare ver. 19, where the same verb is used).
Compare Matthew 16:13; 21:24; John 1:19. Ask, absolutely, Luke 22:68. Note, moreover, the selection of the word here as marking the asking on familiar terms. See
on John 11:22. Another verb for ask occurs in the following sentence: "If ye shall ask (aijth>sthte) anything," etc. Here the sense is, if ye shall make any request.
Compare Matthew 5:42; 7:7, 9, 10 etc. Note, also, that this word for asking the Father marks the asking of an inferior from a superior, and is the word which Christ
never uses of His own requests to the Father. Compare 1 John 3:22.

Verily, verily. See on John 1:51; 10:1.

Whatsoever ye shall ask - in my name - give. The best texts change o[sa a}n, whatsoever, to a]nt, if (ye shall ask) anything; and place in my name after give it you. So
Rev. If ye shall ask anything of the Father, He will give it you in my name. Not only is the prayer offered, but the answer is given in Christ's name.

24. Ask (aijtei~te). The present imperative, implying continuous asking. Be asking. Compare Mark 6:22ai]thson, the aorist imperative, marking a single, definite
petition.

May be full (h|+ peplhrwme>nh). Very literally, may be having been fulfilled. Rev., more correctly, fulfilled. Compare John 15:11.

25. Proverbs (paroimi>aiv). See on parables, Matthew 13:3. He had spoken under figures, as the vine, and the woman in travail.

Shall shew (ajnaggelw~). Rev., tell. See on ver. 13. The best texts read ajpaggelw~, the original force of which is to bring tidings from (ajpo>) something or someone.

Plainly (parjrJhsi>a|). See on John 7:13.

26. Ye shall ask - I will pray. Note again the use of the two verbs for asking. Ye shall ask (aijth>sesqe); I will pray (ejrwth>sw). See on ver. 23.

27. Loveth (filei~). As sons, with the love of natural affection. See on John 5:20. The same verb in the following clause, of the love of the disciples for Christ.

From God. Some editors read, from the Father. Para>, from beside.

28. From the Father (para>). The best texts read, ejk, out of.

Go (poreu>omai). See on ver. 7.

29. Speakest - speakest (lalei~v le>geiv) The first, of the form; the second, of the purport. See on ver. 18.

30. We are sure (oi]damen). Better, as Rev., we know.

By this (ejn tou>tw|). Literally, in this. Compare 1 John 2:3, 5; 3:16, 19, 24; 4:9, 10, 13, 17; 5:2.

31. Now (a]rti). See on John 13:33. With reference to the coming time of greater trial.

32. That (i[na). See on ver. 2, and John 15:12. In the divine counsel the hour cometh that ye may be scattered, and may leave, etc.

To his own (eijv ta). To his own home. See on John 1:11.

33. Ye shall have (e[xete). The best texts read, e]xete, ye have.

Be of good cheer (qarsei~te). Only here in John.

I have overcome (neni>khka). The verb occurs only three times outside of John's writings. Only here in the Gospel, and frequently in First Epistle and Revelation.
Uniformly of spiritual victory.

CHAPTER 17

THE HIGH-PRIESTLY PRAYER.

"Out of Christ's divinely rich prayer-life there emerge, as from an ocean, the pearls of those single prayers of His that are preserved to us; the prayer given in the
sermon on the Mount for the use of His people - Our Father; the ascription of praise to God at the departure from Galilee (Matthew 11:25); the prayers at the grave of
Lazarus, and within the precincts of the temple; our high-priestly prayer; the supplication in Gethsemane, and the prayer-words of the Crucified One - Father, forgive
them - Eli, Eli, - and the closing prayer, Father, into thy hands, etc., to which the exultant cry, It is finished, attaches itself, inasmuch as from one point of view, it may be
regarded as a word of prayer. Add to these the mentions of the prayings, the thanksgivings, the heavenward sighings of Christ, as also His summonses and
encouragements to prayer, and He appears as the Prince of humanity even in the realm of prayer; in the manner, likewise, in which He has concealed His prayer-life,
exhibiting it only as there was necessity for its presentment. If we regard His work as a tree that towers into heaven and overshadows the world, His prayer-life is the
root of this tree; His overcoming of the world rests upon the infinite depth of His self-presentation before God, His self-devotion to God, His self-immersion in God,
His self-certitude and power from God. In His prayer-life the perfect truth of His human nature has also approved itself. The same who, as the Son of God, is complete
revelation, is, as the Son of Man, complete religion" (Lange).

In the "Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 6.) Christ sets forth what His disciples should desire for themselves. In this prayer He indicates what He desires for them. It is
interesting to study the forms in which the ideas of the Lord's Prayer are reproduced and developed in this.

1. These words (tau~ta). Literally, these things. So Rev.

Said. John nowhere says that Jesus prayed, as the other Evangelists do.

Thy Son - thy Son (sou~ to uiJo oJ uiJo>v). Properly, thy Son - the Son. The second phrase marks a change from the thought of personal relationship to that of the
relation in which
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2. Power (ejxousi>an). Rev., rightly, authority. See on John 1:12.
Said. John nowhere says that Jesus prayed, as the other Evangelists do.

Thy Son - thy Son (sou~ to uiJo oJ uiJo>v). Properly, thy Son - the Son. The second phrase marks a change from the thought of personal relationship to that of the
relation in which Jesus manifests the Father's glory.

2. Power (ejxousi>an). Rev., rightly, authority. See on John 1:12.

All flesh. A Hebrew phrase, denoting the whole of humanity in its imperfection. See Genesis 6:12; Psalms 65:2; Isaiah 40:5 etc.

That He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him (i[na pa~n o{ de>dwkav aujtw|~, dw>sh| aujtoi~v zwhnion). Literally, that all that Thou hast given
Him, to them He should give eternal life. All (pa~n), singular number, regards the body of Christian disciples collectively: to them, individually.

3. Life eternal. With the article: the life eternal. Defining the words in the previous verse. The life eternal (of which I spoke) is this.

That (i[na). Expressing the aim.

Might know (ginw>skwsi). Might recognize or perceive. This is striking, that eternal life consists in knowledge, or rather the pursuit of knowledge, since the present
tense marks a continuance, a progressive perception of God in Christ. That they might learn to know. Compare John 17:23; 10:38; 1 John 5:20; 4:7, 8.

"I say, the acknowledgment of God in Christ

Accepted by thy reason, solves for thee

All questions in the earth and out of it,

And has so far advanced thee to be wise.

Wouldst thou improve this to reprove the proved?

In life's mere minute, with power to use that proof,

Leave knowledge and revert to how it sprung?

Thou hast it; use it, and forthwith, or die.

For this I say is death, and the sole death,

When a man's loss comes to him from his gain,

Darkness from light, from knowledge ignorance,

And lack of love from love made manifest."

Robert Browning, "A Death in the Desert."

The relation of perception of God to character is stated in 1 John 3:2 on which see note.

True (ajlhqino). See on John 1:9. Compare 1 Corinthians 8:4; 1 Timothy 6:15.

Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. The Rev. brings out better the emphasis of the Greek order: and Him whom Thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. Didst send
(ajpe>steilav). The aorist tense, emphasizing the historic fact of Christ's mission.

4. I have glorified - I have finished (ejdo>xasa ejtelei>wsa). The best texts read, teleiw>sav, having finished; the participle defining the manner in which He had glorified
the Father upon earth. So Rev.

To do (i[na poih>sw). Literally, in order that I should do (it).

5. With Thyself (para). In fellowship with Thyself. So with Thee (para).

I had. Actually possessed.

8. The words (tamata). Compare thy word (lo>gon), ver. 6. That signified the gospel message in its entirety. This, the message considered in its constituent parts. See
on Luke 1:37. Compare John 5:38, 47; 6:60, 63, 68; 8:43, 47, 51; 12:47, 48; 15:3, 7.

9. I pray (ejrwtw~). More strictly, I make request. See on John 16:23. The I is emphatic, as throughout the prayer.

10. All mine (tanta). All things that are mine. So Rev.

11. I come (e]rcomai). I am coming. Spoken of His departure to the Father.

Holy (a[gie). See on saints, Acts 26:10; also on 1 Peter 1:15. Compare 1 John 2:20 and righteous Father (di>kaie), ver. 25. This epithet, now first applied to the
Father, contemplates God, the holy One, as the agent of that which Christ desires for His disciples - holiness of heart and life; being kept from this evil world.

Those whom (ou{v). The correct reading is w|=, referring to name. Thy name which Thou hast given me. So in ver. 12. Compare Philippians 2:9, 10; Revelation 2:17;
19:12; 22:4.

12. In the world. Omit.
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I kept (ejth>roun). Imperfect tense. I continued to keep. The I is emphatic: I kept them, now do Thou keep them.
19:12; 22:4.

12. In the world. Omit.

I kept (ejth>roun). Imperfect tense. I continued to keep. The I is emphatic: I kept them, now do Thou keep them.

I kept (ejth>roun). Rev., rightly, I guarded. The A.V. overlooks the distinction between the two words for keeping. The former word means, I preserved them; the
latter, I guarded them as a means to their preservation. See on reserved, 1 Peter 1:4.

Is lost - perdition (ajpw>leto ajpwlei>av). A play of words: "None of them perished, but the son of perishing" (Westcott).

The scripture (hJ grafh). See close of note on John 5:47, and on Mark 12:10.

15. From the evil (tou~ ponhrou~). Or, the evil one. This rendering is according to John's usage. See 1 John 2:13, 14; 3:12; 5:18, 19; and compare John 12:31; 14:30;
16:11. From (ejk), literally, out of, means out of the hands of.

17. Sanctify (aJgi>ason). Constantly used in the Septuagint to express the entire dedication and consecration of both persons and things to God. See Exodus 29:1, 36;
40:13; Leviticus 22:2, 3. Rev., in margin, consecrate. See on John 10:36.

Through thy truth (ejn th|~ ajlhqei>a| sou). The best texts omit thy. Through (ejn) is to be rendered literally, in, marking the sphere or element of consecration. Rev.,
sanctify them in the truth.

Thy word (oJ lo>gov o so). Properly, the word which is thine. See on John 15:9.

18. Sent (ajpe>steilav ajpe>steila). On a mission. See on Matthew 10:16.

Sanctify. See on ver. 17.

20. Shall believe (pisteuso>ntwn). The best texts read pisteuo>ntwn, the present participle, that believe. The future body of believers is conceived as actually existing.

On me through their word. The Greek order is, believe through their word on me. "Believe through their word" forms a compound idea.

21. One. Omit.

24. They - whom (ou{v). The best texts read o{, that which. The construction is similar to that in ver. 2, "that He should give eternal life," etc. Like pa~n, all, in that
passage, that which here refers to the body of believers taken collectively.

I will (qe>lw). See on Matthew 1:19. 51

My glory. The glory which is mine.

CHAPTER 18

1. Compare Matthew 26:30, 36-46; Mark 14:26; 32, 42; Luke 22:39-46.

1. Brook (ceima>rjrJou). From cei~ma, winter, and rJe>w, to flow. Properly, a winter torrent. Only here in the New Testament. Rev., in margin, ravine. In classical
Greek it occurs in Demosthenes in the sense of a drain or conduit. It may be taken as equivalent to the Arabic wady, which means a stream and its bed, or properly,
the valley of a stream even when the stream is dry.

Kidron (Ke>drwn). Which might also be rendered of the cedars, which some editors prefer. There is some uncertainty as to the exact meaning of the word cedar,
which occurs frequently, some supposing it to be a general name for the pine family. A tree of dark foliage is mentioned in the Talmud by the name of cedrum. The
ravine of Kidron separated the Mount of Olives from the Temple-Mount. Westcott cites from Derenbourg ("On the History and Geography of Palestine") a passage of
the Talmud to the effect that on the Mount of Olives there were two cedars, under one of which were four shops for the sale of objects legally pure; and that in one of
them pigeons enough were sold for the sacrifices of all Israel. He adds: "Even the mention of Kidron by the secondary and popular name of 'the ravine of the cedars'
may contain an allusion to a scandal felt as a grievous burden at the time when the priests gained wealth by the sale of victims by the two cedars." The Kidron is the
brook over which David passed, barefoot and weeping, when fleeing from Absalom (2 Samuel 15:23-30. There King Asa burned the obscene idol of his mother (1
Kings 15:13). It was the receptacle for the impurities and abominations of idol-worship, when removed from the temple by the adherents of Jehovah (2 Chronicles
29:16); and, in the time of Josiah, was the common cemetery of the city (2 Kings 23:6). In the vision of Ezekiel (47:5, 6, 7) he goes round to the eastern gate of the
temple, overhanging the defile of Kidron, and sees the waters rushing down into the valley until the stream becomes a mighty river.

A garden. Neither John nor Luke give the name Gethsemane.

2-12. Compare Matthew 26:47-56; Mark 16:43-52; Luke 22:47-53.

2. Which betrayed (oJ paradidou). The present participle, marking the betrayal as in progress. Literally, who is betraying.

Resorted (sunh>cqh). Literally, assembled. The items of this verse are peculiar to John.

3. A band (th). Properly, the band. See on Mark 15:16; also on centurion, Luke 7:2; and Acts 21:31. The band, or cohort, was from the Roman garrison in the tower
of Antonia.

Officers (uJphre>tav). See on Matthew 5:25. Sent from the Sanhedrim. The temple police. The Synoptists speak of the body which arrested Jesus as o]clov, a
multitude or rabble; but both Matthew and Mark mention the band (spei~ra) later in the narrative (Matthew 27:27; Mark 15:16).

Lanterns (fanw~n). Only here in the New Testament. A detail peculiar to John. Though it was full moon, it was feared that Jesus might hide and escape.

4.Copyright
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5. Of Nazareth (to). Literally, the Nazarene.
multitude or rabble; but both Matthew and Mark mention the band (spei~ra) later in the narrative (Matthew 27:27; Mark 15:16).

Lanterns (fanw~n). Only here in the New Testament. A detail peculiar to John. Though it was full moon, it was feared that Jesus might hide and escape.

4. That should come (tamena). Literally, that are coming. The details in 4-9 are peculiar to John.

5. Of Nazareth (to). Literally, the Nazarene.

Stood (eiJsth>kei). Imperfect tense. Rev., correctly, was standing.

8. These. The disciples.

Go their way (uJpa>gein). Withdraw.

10. Simon Peter. The names of Simon Peter and Malchus are mentioned only by John in connection with this incident. The incident itself is related by all the Evangelists.

A sword. Contrary to the rule which forbade the carrying of weapons on a feast-day.

The high priest's servant. See on Matthew 26:51.

Right ear. Luke and John. The others do not specify which ear. For ear John and Mark have wjta>rion, a diminutive; Luke, oujv, and Matthew, wjti>on, a diminutive in
form, but not in force. See on Matthew 26:51.

11. Thy sword. Omit thy, and read, the sword.

Sheath (qh>khn). Only here in the New Testament. From ti>qhmi, to put. That into which the sword is put.

The cup. Compare Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42. Peculiar to John.

12. The captain (cili>arcov). See on Mark 6:21 and on centurion, Luke 7:2.

Took (sune>labon). Rev., better, seized. It is the technical word for arresting. Literally, took with them, of which there is a suggestion in the modern policeman's
phrase, go along with me. Compare Luke 22:54.

13-18. Compare Matthew 26:57, 58, 69-75; Mark 14:53, 54, 66-72; Luke 22:54-62.

13. Annas first. This supplies the detail of an examination preliminary to that before the high-priest, which is omitted by the Synoptists.

Father-in-law (penqero). Only here in the New Testament.

That same year. See on 11:49.

15. Followed (hjkolou>qei). Imperfect, was following.

The other disciple. The correct reading omits the article. Another. Probably John himself.

Palace (aujlh). Not palace, but court, as Rev. See on Matthew 26:3; Luke 11:21.

16. Stood. Properly, was standing.

Door. The door opening from the street into the court.

Her that kept the door (th|~ qurwrw|~). See on 10:3.

17. The damsel (hJ paidi>skh). See on Acts 12:13.

Art thou (mh). The question is put in a negative form, as if expecting a negative answer: thou art not, art thou?

Also. Showing that she recognized John as a disciple.

18. Stood. It is discouraging to see how the A.V. habitually ignores the imperfect tense, and thus detracts from the liveliness of the narrative. Render, as Rev., were
standing.

Fire of coals (ajnqrakia). Only here and 21:9. Matthew does not mention the fire. Mark has to, strictly, the light of the fire. Luke says they had kindled a fire (pu~r).

Warmed. Rev., correctly, were warming. So, ver. 25, was standing and was warming, for stood and warmed.

19-24. Compare Matthew 26:59-68; Mark 14:55-65; Luke 22:63-71.

19. Asked (hjrw>thsen). Or, questioned.

Doctrine (didach~v). Rev., better, teaching.

20. In the synagogue (ejn th|~ sunagwgh|~). The best texts omit the article. Render, in synagogue: when the people were assembled. Like our phrase, in church.

Always resort (pa>ntote sune>rcontai). For pa>ntote always, read pa>ntev all. Sune>rcontai is rather come together, assemble. Rev., where all the Jews come
together.
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22. Struck - with the palm of his hand (e]dwke rJa>pisma). Literally, gave a blow. Interpreters differ as to whether it was a blow with a rod, or with the hand. The
kindred verb rJapi>zw, from rJapi>v, a rod, is etymologically related to rJabdi>zw, from rJa>bdov, a rod, and occurs Matthew 5:39 of smiting on the cheek, and
Matthew 26:67 where it is distinguished from kolafi>zw, to strike with the fist. This latter passage, however, leaves the question open, since, if the meaning to smite with
20. In the synagogue (ejn th|~ sunagwgh|~). The best texts omit the article. Render, in synagogue: when the people were assembled. Like our phrase, in church.

Always resort (pa>ntote sune>rcontai). For pa>ntote always, read pa>ntev all. Sune>rcontai is rather come together, assemble. Rev., where all the Jews come
together.

22. Struck - with the palm of his hand (e]dwke rJa>pisma). Literally, gave a blow. Interpreters differ as to whether it was a blow with a rod, or with the hand. The
kindred verb rJapi>zw, from rJapi>v, a rod, is etymologically related to rJabdi>zw, from rJa>bdov, a rod, and occurs Matthew 5:39 of smiting on the cheek, and
Matthew 26:67 where it is distinguished from kolafi>zw, to strike with the fist. This latter passage, however, leaves the question open, since, if the meaning to smite with
a rod can be defended, there is nothing to prevent its being understood there in that sense. The earlier meaning of the word was, undoubtedly, according to its
etymology, to smite with a rod. So Herodotus of Xerxes. "It is certain that he commanded those who scourged (rJapi.zontav) the waters (of the Hellespont) to utter, as
they lashed them, these barbarian and wicked words" (7:35). And again: "The Corinthian captain, Adeimantus, observed, 'Themistocles, at the games they who start
too soon are scourged (rJapi>zontai)'" (8:59). It passes, in classical Greek, from this meaning to that of a light blow with the hand. The grammarian Phrynichus (A. D.
180) condemns the use of the word in the sense of striking with the hand, or slapping, as not according to good Attic usage, and says that the proper expression for a
blow on the cheek with the open hand is ejpirrhv pata>xai. This shows that the un-Attic phrase had crept into use. In the Septuagint the word is clearly used in the
sense of a blow with the hand. See Isaiah 50:6: "I gave my cheeks to blows (eijv rJapi.smata). Hosea 11:4"As a man that smiteth (rJapi>zwn) upon his cheeks" (A.V.
and Rev., that take off the yoke on their jaws). In 1 Kings 22:24 we read, "Zedekiah - smote Micaiah on the cheek (ejpa>taxe ejpina)." The word in ver. 23, de>reiv,
literally, flayest, hence, do beat or thrash (compare Luke 12:47), seems better to suit the meaning strike with a rod; yet in 2 Corinthians 11:20 that verb is used of
smiting in the face (eijv pro>swpon de>rei), and in 1 Corinthians 9:27 where Paul is using the figure of a boxer, he says, "So fight I (pukteu>w, of boxing, or fighting
with the fists), not as one that beateth (de>rwn) the air." These examples practically destroy the force of the argument from de>reiv. It is impossible to settle the point
conclusively; but, on the whole, it seems as well to retain the rendering of the A.V. and Rev. 52

24. Annas had sent (ajpe>steilen oJ &Annav). The best texts insert ou+n, therefore. The rendering of the aorist by the pluperfect here is inadmissible, and is a device to
bring this examination of Jesus into harmony with that described in Matthew 26:56-68 and to escape the apparent inconsistency between the mention of the high-priest
(Caiaphas) as conducting this examination and the statement of ver. 13, which implies that this was merely a preliminary examination before Annas. Render, Annas
therefore sent him.

Bound. Probably He had been unbound during His examination.

27. The cock crew. The Greek has not the definite article. See on Matthew 26:34. The use of the article would seem to mark the time, cock-crowing, rather than the
incident.

28-38. Compare Matthew 27:1, 2; 11-14; Mark 15:1-6; Luke 23:1-5.

28. Led (a]gousin). Present tense, lead.

Hall of judgment (praitw>rion). A Latin word, proetorium, transcribed. Originally, the general's tent. In the Roman provinces it was the name for the official residence
of the Roman governor, as here. Compare Acts 23:35. It came to be applied to any spacious villa or palace. So Juvenal: "To their crimes they are indebted for their
gardens, palaces (proetoria), etc." ("Sat.," 1:75). In Rome the term was applied to the proetorian guard, or imperial bodyguard. See on Philippians 1:13. Rev., palace.

Early (prwi`>). Used technically of the fourth watch, 3-6 A. M. See Mark 13:35. The Sanhedrim could not hold a legal meeting, especially in capital cases, before
sunrise; and in such cases judicial proceedings must be conducted and terminated by day. A condemnation to death, at night, was technically illegal. In capital cases,
sentence of condemnation could not be legally pronounced on the day of trial. If the night proceedings were merely preliminary to a formal trial, they would have no
validity; if formal, they were, inso facto, illegal. In either case was the law observed in reference to the second council. According to the Hebrew computation of time, it
was held on the same day.

Be defiled (mianqw~sin). Originally, to stain, as with color. So Homer: "Tinges (mih>nh|) the white ivory with purple." Not necessarily, therefore, in a bad sense, like
molu>vw, to besmear or besmirch with filth (1 Corinthians 8:7; Revelation 3:4). In classical Greek, miai>nw, the verb here used, is the standing word for profaning or
unhallowing. So Sophocles:

"Not even fearing this pollution (mi>asma) dire,

Will I consent to burial. Well I know

That man is powerless to pollute (miai>nein) the gods."

"Antigone," 1042-1044.

And Plato: "And if a homicide... without purification pollutes the agora, or the games, or the temples," etc. ("Laws," 868). See on 1 Peter 1:4. The defilement in the
present case was apprehended from entering a house from which all leaven had not been removed.

Eat the Passover. The purpose of this work forbids our entering upon the much-vexed question of the apparent inconsistency between John and the Synoptists as to the
time of celebrating the Passover.

29. Pilate. Note the abruptness with which he is introduced as one well known. Two derivations of the name are given. Pilatus, one armed with the pilum or javelin, like
Torquatus, one adorned with a collar (torques). Or, a contraction from Pileatus, wearing the pileus or cap, which was the badge of manumitted slaves. Hence some
have supposed that he was a freedman. Tacitus refers to him as connected with Christ's death. "The author of that name (Christian), or sect, was Christ, who was
capitally punished in the reign of Tiberius, by Pontius Pilate" ("Annals," 15:44). He was the sixth Roman procurator of Judea.

What accusation. Not implying Pilate's ignorance of the charge, but his demand for the formal accusation.

30. Malefactor (kakopoio). Rev., evil-doer. From kako, evil, and poie>w, to do. Luke uses a different word, kakou~rgov, from kako, evil, and e]rgw, to work. See
on 1 Peter 2:12.

31. Take ye him (la>bete aujto). The A.V. obscures the emphatic force of uJmei~v, you. Pilate's words display great practical shrewdness in forcing the Jews to
commit themselves to the admission that they desired Christ's death. "Take him yourselves (so Rev.), and judge him according to your law." "By our law," reply the
Jews, "he ought to die." But this penalty they could not inflict. "It is not lawful," etc.

32. By what(c)
 Copyright  death (poi>w| qana>tw|).
               2005-2009,            More correctly,
                           Infobase Media Corp.      by what manner of death. So Rev. Compare 12:32; Matthew 20:19. Crucifixion was not a Jewish
                                                                                                                                           Pagepunishment.
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33. Art thou (su). Thou is emphatic. Thou, the despised malefactor.
31. Take ye him (la>bete aujto). The A.V. obscures the emphatic force of uJmei~v, you. Pilate's words display great practical shrewdness in forcing the Jews to
commit themselves to the admission that they desired Christ's death. "Take him yourselves (so Rev.), and judge him according to your law." "By our law," reply the
Jews, "he ought to die." But this penalty they could not inflict. "It is not lawful," etc.

32. By what death (poi>w| qana>tw|). More correctly, by what manner of death. So Rev. Compare 12:32; Matthew 20:19. Crucifixion was not a Jewish punishment.

33. Art thou (su). Thou is emphatic. Thou, the despised malefactor.

King of the Jews. The civil title. The theocratic title, king of Israel (John 1:49; 12:13) is addressed to Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:42; Mark 15:32) in mockery.

35. Am I a Jew? As if Jesus' question implied that Pilate had been taking counsel with the Jews.

36. Servants (uJphre>tai). Only in this passage in the Gospels, of Christians. Compare Acts 13:5; 1 Corinthians 4:1. Corresponding with Christ as a king.

Fight (hjgwni>zonto). The imperfect tense, denoting action in progress: would now be striving.

37. Art thou then (oujkou~n ei= su>). The interrogative particle oujkou~n, not therefore, occurs only here in the New Testament. It is ironical. In ver. 33 the emphasis
is on thou: here upon king. So then, after all, thou art a king.

Was I born - came I (gege>nnhmai ejlh>luqa). Both perfects. Have I been born-am I come. So Rev. The Greek order is I for this have been born, etc., throwing the
emphasis on Christ's person and destiny. The perfect describes His birth and coming not merely as historical facts, but as abiding in their results. Compare this
confession before Pilate (1 Timothy 6:13) with the corresponding confession before the high-priest (Matthew 26:64). "The one, addressed to the Jews, is framed in the
language of prophecy; the other, addressed to a Roman, appeals to the universal testimony of conscience. The one speaks of a future manifestation of glory, the other
speaking of a present manifestation of truth. The one looks forward to the Return, the other looks backward to the Incarnation" (Westcott).

Of the truth (ejk th~v ajlhqei>av). Literally, out of: sprung from: whose life and words issue from the truth. See on 14:6, and compare John 8:47.

38. Truth. Not with the article as in the previous verse, the truth. Jesus meant the absolute truth: Pilate, truth in any particular case. "Pilate's exclamation is neither the
expression of an ardent thirst for truth, nor that of the despair of a soul which has long sought it in vain; it is the profession of a frivolous skepticism, such as is frequently
met with in the man of the world, and especially in the statesman" (Godet).

Fault (aijti>an). Properly, cause of accusation. Rev., crime. See on Matthew 27:37 and compare on Matthew 19:10.

39, 40. Compare Matthew 27:15-26; Mark 6:15.

39. Ye have a custom. The word sunh>qeia, custom, originally means intimacy, habitual intercourse, and thence naturally passes into the meaning of habit or custom.
Only John puts the statement of this custom into the mouth of Pilate. Matthew and Mark relate it as a fact.

At the Passover (ejn tw|~ pa>sca). More specific than Matthew and Mark, where the expression is general, katan, at feast-time.

40. Cried (ejkrau>gasan). Peculiarly of a loud, importunate cry; a shout. Plato uses it of the howling of a dog: "The yelping hound, howling (krauga>zousa) at her
Lord" ("Republic," 607). Others, of the cries of spectators in the theaters and of the croak of a raven. See on Matthew 15:22.

Again. Assuming John's recollection of a previous "crying out," which he has not recorded.

Robber (lh|sth>v). See on Matthew 26:55; Mark 11:17; Luke 10:30. Matthew calls him a "notable prisoner" (John 27:16). Mark states that he had made insurrection,
and had committed murder (John 15:7), speaking of the insurrection as a well-known event. Luke says, "for some insurrection (sta>sin tina) that had arisen in the city,
and for murder" (John 23:19). Writing for Gentiles, Luke would not refer to the event as something familiar. Bandits of this kind were numerous in the neighborhood of
Jerusalem under the Roman dominion. Their leaders were well known. Josephus describes them by the same word which Matthew uses, ejpi>shmoi, notable. Their
depredations were often committed under patriotic pretenses, so that Barabas might have had influential friends among the people.

CHAPTER 19

1-3. Compare Matthew 27:26-30; Mark 15:15-19.

1. Scourged (ejmasti>gwsen). Matthew and Mark use the Greek form of the Latin word flagellare, fragello>w, which occurs only in those two instances in the New
Testament. John uses the more common Greek word, though he has fragelli>on (flagellum), scourge, at John 2:15. Matthew and Mark, however, both use mastigo>w
elsewhere (Matthew 10:17; 20:29; Mark 10:34). Its kindred noun, ma>stix, occurs several times in the metaphorical sense of a plague. See on Mark 3:10 and
compare Mark 5:29, 34; Luke 7:21. The verb is used metaphorically only once, Hebrews 12:6. Scourging was the legal preliminary to crucifixion, but, in this case, was
inflicted illegally before the sentence of crucifixion was pronounced, with a view of averting the extreme punishment, and of satisfying the Jews. (Luke 23:22). The
punishment was horrible, the victim being bound to a low pillar or stake, and beaten, either with rods, or, in the case of slaves and provincials, with scourges, called
scorpions, leather thongs tipped with leaden balls or sharp spikes. The severity of the infliction in Jesus' case is evident from His inability to bear His cross.

2. Crown (ste>fanon). So Matthew and Mark. Luke does not mention the crown of thorns. See on 1 Peter 5:4.

Of thorns (ejx ajkanqw~n). So Matthew. Mark has ajka>nqinon, the adjective, made of thorns, which John also uses in John 19:5. All attempts to define the botanical
character of the thorns used for Christ's crown are guesses. The word for thorns used here is the only one that occurs in the New Testament; the sko>loy (thorn in the
flesh) of 2 Corinthians 12:7 being properly an impaling-stake.

Both the crowning with thorns and the flagellation are favorite subjects in Christian art. Some of the earliest representations of the latter depict the figure of the Lord as
fully draped, and standing unbound at the column, thus illustrating the voluntariness of His sacrifice. In a MS. of the fourteenth century, in the British Museum, He
stands, wholly clothed, holding a book in one hand, and blessing with the other. The more devout feeling which predominated in such representations was gradually
overpowered by the sense of physical suffering. The earlier paintings represented the back turned toward the spectator, and the face, turned in a forced attitude,
exhibited in profile. Later, the face and figure are turned full to the front, and the strokes fall upon the chest. Hence Jerome, in his commentary on Matthew, says that
the capacious chest of God (!) was torn with strokes. The standing position is the accepted one, but instances occur in which the Savior is on the ground attached to
the column by one hand. Such is the revolting picture by L. Caracci in the Bologna gallery, in which the soldier clutches Jesus by the hair as he plies the bundle of twigs.
In a Psalter of the fifteenth century the Savior stands in front of the column, covering His face with His hands.
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According to the later type, the moment chosen is when the execution of the sentence is just beginning. One man is binding the hands to the pillar, another is binding
together a bundle of loose switches. The German representations are coarser than the Italian, but with more incident. They lack the spiritual feeling which appears in the
best Italian specimens.
exhibited in profile. Later, the face and figure are turned full to the front, and the strokes fall upon the chest. Hence Jerome, in his commentary on Matthew, says that
the capacious chest of God (!) was torn with strokes. The standing position is the accepted one, but instances occur in which the Savior is on the ground attached to
the column by one hand. Such is the revolting picture by L. Caracci in the Bologna gallery, in which the soldier clutches Jesus by the hair as he plies the bundle of twigs.
In a Psalter of the fifteenth century the Savior stands in front of the column, covering His face with His hands.

According to the later type, the moment chosen is when the execution of the sentence is just beginning. One man is binding the hands to the pillar, another is binding
together a bundle of loose switches. The German representations are coarser than the Italian, but with more incident. They lack the spiritual feeling which appears in the
best Italian specimens.

A field for a higher feeling and for more subtle treatment is opened in the moments succeeding the scourging. One of the very finest examples of this is the picture of
Velasquez, "Christ at the Column," in the National Gallery of London. The real grandeur and pathos of the conception assert themselves above certain prosaic and
realistic details. The Savior sits upon the ground, His arms extended, and leaning backward to the full stretch of the cord which binds His crossed hands. The face is
turned over the left shoulder full upon the spectator. Rods, ropes, and broken twigs lie upon the ground, and slender streams of blood appear upon the body. A
guardian angel behind the figure of the Lord, stands bending slightly over a child kneeling with clasped hands, and points to the sufferer, from whose head a ray of light
passes to the child's heart. The angel is a Spanish nursery-maid with wings, and the face of the child is of the lower Spanish type, and is in striking contrast with the
exquisite countenance of Murillo's Christ-child, which hangs next to this picture, and which is of the sweetest type of Andalusian beauty. The Savior's face is of a
thoroughly manly, indeed, of a robust type, expressing intense suffering, but without contortion. The large, dark eyes are ineffably sad. The strong light on the right arm
merges into the deep shadow of the bound hands, and the same shadow falls with startling effect across the full light on the left arm, marked at the wrist by a slight
bloody line.

In the portrayal of the crowning with thorns, in a few instances, the moment is chosen after the crown has been placed, the action being in the mock-worship; but the
prevailing conception is that of the act of crowning, which consists in pressing the crown upon the brow by means of two long staves. A magnificent specimen is Luini's
fresco in the Ambrosian Library at Milan. Christ sits upon a tribune, clad in a scarlet robe, His face wearing an expression of infinite sweetness and dignity, while a
soldier on either side crowds down the crown with a staff. The Italian artists represent the crown as consisting of pliable twigs with small thorns; but the northern artists
"have conceived," to quote Mrs. Jameson, "an awful structure of the most unbending, knotted boughs, with tremendous spikes half a foot long, which no human hands
could have forced into such a form." In a few later instances the staves are omitted, and the crown is placed on the head by the mailed hand of a soldier.

Put on (perie>balon). Literally, threw about. Rev., arrayed.

Purple (porfurou~n). An adjective. Found only here, ver. 5, and Revelation 18:16. Mark uses the noun porfu>ra, purple, which also occurs in Revelation 17:4; 18:12.
See on Luke 16:19. Matthew has kokki>nhn, scarlet.

Robe (iJma>tion). Better, as Rev., garment, since robe gives the impression of a trailing garment. See on Matthew 5:40. Matthew has clamu>da, a short military cloak
(28:28). Luke describes the garment as lampra, gorgeous, bright or brilliant (23:11).

3. And said. Add kain, and kept coming unto Him, before and said or kept saying. The imperfect denotes the successive acts of homage of the soldiers as they came
up one after the other.

They smote Him with their hands (ejdi>doun aujtw|~ rJapi>smata). Literally, kept giving Him blows with their hands. See on John 18:22.

5. Came Jesus forth. From the Praetorium.

Wearing (forw~n). Not fe>rwn, bearing, but the frequentative form of that verb, denoting an habitual or continuous bearing; hence, wearing, as though it were His
natural dress.

6. They cried out. See on John 18:40.

Crucify. The best texts omit Him.

Take ye Him (la>bete aujto). According to the Greek order, "take Him ye." Rev., take Him yourselves. See on John 18:31.

7. We have a law. We, emphatic. Whatever your decision may be, we have a law, etc.

By our law. The best texts omit our: Read by that law, as Rev.

8. The more afraid. "These words of the Jews produced an effect on Pilate for which they were not prepared. The saying gives strength to a dreadful presentiment
which was gradually forming within him. All that he had heard related of the miracles of Jesus, the mysterious character of His person, of His words and of His conduct,
the strange message which he had just received from his wife - all is suddenly explained by the term "Son of God." Was this extraordinary man truly a divine being who
had appeared on the earth? The truth naturally presents itself to his mind in the form of pagan superstitions and mythological legends" (Godet).

11. He that delivered. Caiaphas.

12. From thenceforth (ejk tou>tou). Incorrect. Rev., rightly, upon this.

Sought (ejzh>tei). Imperfect tense. Made repeated attempts.

Caesar's friend. A title conferred, since the time of Augustus, upon provincial governors. Probably, however, not used by the Jews in this technical sense, but merely as
a way of saying "Thou art not true to the emperor."

Caesar (tw|~ Kai>sari). Literally, the Caesar. The term, which was at first a proper name, the surname of Julius Caesar, adopted by Augustus and his successors,
became an appellative, appropriated by all the emperors as a title. Thus the emperor at this time was Tiberius Caesar. A distinction was, however, introduced between
this title and that of Augustus, which was first given to Octavianus the first emperor. The title "Augustus" was always reserved for the monarch, while "Caesar" was
more freely communicated to his relations; and from the reign of Hadrian at least (A. D. 117-138) was appropriated to the second person in the state, who was
considered as the presumptive heir of the empire.

13. That saying (tou~ton togon). The best texts read tw~n lo>gwn tou>twn, these words. He was afraid of an accusation at Rome before Tiberius, an accusation which
could be justified by his misrule.
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Judgment-seat (bh>matov). See on Acts 7:5. The best texts omit the article, which may indicate that the tribunal was an improvised one.

The Pavement (Liqo>strwton). From li>qov, stone, and strwto>v, strewn or spread.
considered as the presumptive heir of the empire.

13. That saying (tou~ton togon). The best texts read tw~n lo>gwn tou>twn, these words. He was afraid of an accusation at Rome before Tiberius, an accusation which
could be justified by his misrule.

Judgment-seat (bh>matov). See on Acts 7:5. The best texts omit the article, which may indicate that the tribunal was an improvised one.

The Pavement (Liqo>strwton). From li>qov, stone, and strwto>v, strewn or spread.

Gabbatha. From the Hebrew gab, "back," and meaning, therefore, a raised place. Thus the Aramaic term is not a translation of the Greek term, which indicates that the
place, wherever it was, was distinguished by a mosaic or tessellated pavement. Suetonius relates that Julius Caesar used to carry about with him on his expeditions a
portable tessellated pavement for his tribunal. It is not likely, however, that there is any allusion to such a practice here. Westcott explains Gabbatha as the ridge of the
house.

14. Sixth hour. See on John 1:39.

15. They (oiJ). The best texts read ejkei~noi, those (people). The pronoun of remote reference isolates and sharply distinguishes them from Jesus. See on John 13:27.

Away with him (a+ron). Literally, take away.

We have no king but Caesar. These words, uttered by the chief priests, are very significant. These chief representatives of the theocratic government of Israel thus
formally and expressly renounce it, and declare their allegiance to a temporal and pagan power. This utterance is "the formal abdication of the Messianic hope."

16-17. Compare Matthew 27:31-34; Mark 15:20-23; Luke 23:26-33.

16. Delivered. Luke says, delivered to their will (23:25). Pilate pronounced no sentence, but disclaimed all responsibility for the act, and delivered Christ up to them
(aujtoi~v), they having invoked the responsibility upon themselves. See Matthew 27:24, 25.

And led Him away. The best texts omit.

17. Bearing (basta>zwn). See on John 12:6; 10:31.

His cross (to). The best texts read auJtw|~ or eJautw|~, "bearing the cross for Himself." John does not mention the impressment of Simon of Cyrene for this service.
Compare Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26.

Skull. See on Matthew 27:33.

18-24. Compare Matthew 27:35-38; Mark 15:24-28; Luke 23:33, 34, 38.

18. In the midst. All the Synoptists describe the character of the two who were crucified with Jesus. Matthew and Mark, robbers; Luke, malefactors (kakou>rgouv).
All three use the phrase, one on the right, the other on the left, and so, substantially, John: on either side one. John says nothing about the character of these two, but
simply describes them as two others.

19. Title (ti>tlon). Only here and ver. 20, in the New Testament. John uses the technical Roman term titulus, a placard or notice. Used for a bill or notice of sale affixed
to a house. Thus Ovid, of a heartless creditor: "She sent our household goods under the placard (sub-titulum);" i.e., put the house and furniture up for sale ("Remedia
Amoris," 302). Meaning also the title of a book; an epitaph. Matthew has aijti>an, accusation; Mark, ejpigrafhav superscription of the accusation; Luke, ejpigrafh
superscription. John alone mentions the fact that Pilate wrote the inscription.

Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews. The wording of the title is differently given by each Evangelist.

Matthew: This is Jesus the King of the Jews.

Mark: The King of the Jews.

Luke: This is the King of the Jews.

John: Jesus the Nazarene the King of the Jews.

The essential element of the superscription, King of the Jews, is common to all. It expressed, on its face, the main intent of Pilate, which was to cast contempt on the
Jews. "In the sense of the man Pilate, it meant: Jesus, the King of the Jewish fanatics, crucified in the midst of Jews, who should all be thus executed. In the sense of the
Jews: Jesus, the seditionary, the King of the rebels. In the sense of the political judge: Jesus, for whose accusation the Jews, with their ambiguous accusation, may
answer. In the sense of the divine irony which ruled over the expression: Jesus, the Messiah, by the crucifixion become in very truth the King of the people of
God" (Lange).

20. Hebrew, Greek, Latin. Some editors vary the order. Rev., Latin, Greek. Such inscriptions in different languages were not uncommon. Julius Capitolinus, a
biographer (A. D. 320), in his life of the third Gordian, says that the soldiers erected his tomb on the Persian borders, and added an epitaph (titulum) in Latin, Persian,
Hebrew, and Egyptian characters, in order that it might be read by all. Hebrew was the rational dialect, Latin the official, and Greek the common dialect. As the
national Hebrew, King of the Jews was translated into Latin and Greek, so the inscription was prophetic that Christ should pass into civil administration and common
speech: that the Hebrew Messiah should become equally the deliverer of Greek and Roman: that as Christ was the real center of the religious civilization of Judaism, so
He should become the real center of the world's intellectual movement as represented by Greece, and of its legal and material civilization as represented by Rome. The
three civilizations which had prepared the way for Christ thus concentrated at His cross. The cross is the real center of the world's history.

21 The chief priests of the Jews. A unique expression, possibly by way of contrast with the King of the Jews.

23. Four parts. All the Synoptists relate the parting of the garments. The four pieces to be divided would be, the head-gear, the sandals, the girdle, and the tallith or
square outer garment with fringes. Delitzsch thus describes the dress of our Lord: "On His head He wore a white sudar, fastened under the chin and hanging down from
the shoulders behind. Over the tunic which covered the body to the hands and feet, a blue tallith with the blue and white fringes on the four ends, so thrown over and
gathered together
 Copyright        that the gray,
           (c) 2005-2009,        red-striped
                             Infobase   Mediaundergarment
                                               Corp.         was scarcely noticeable, except when the sandal-shod feet came into view" ("A Day in Capernaum").
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Coat (citw~na). Or tunic. See on Matthew 5:40.
23. Four parts. All the Synoptists relate the parting of the garments. The four pieces to be divided would be, the head-gear, the sandals, the girdle, and the tallith or
square outer garment with fringes. Delitzsch thus describes the dress of our Lord: "On His head He wore a white sudar, fastened under the chin and hanging down from
the shoulders behind. Over the tunic which covered the body to the hands and feet, a blue tallith with the blue and white fringes on the four ends, so thrown over and
gathered together that the gray, red-striped undergarment was scarcely noticeable, except when the sandal-shod feet came into view" ("A Day in Capernaum").

Coat (citw~na). Or tunic. See on Matthew 5:40.

Without seam (a]rjrJafov, or a]rafov). Only here in the New Testament. From aj, not, and rJa>ptw, to sew together. Like the tunic of the High-Priest. Only John
records this detail.

Woven (uJfanto). Only here in the New Testament.

24. Vesture (iJmatismo>n). Clothing, collectively. Rev., garments, for iJma>tia, is better than raiment, which is collective, while the word is used of the separate pieces
of clothing.

25. There stood. Imperfect tense, were standing.

Mary Magdalene. Strictly, the (hJ) Magdalene. She is introduced abruptly, as well known.

26. Woman. See on John 2:4.

Behold. Canon Westcott remarks upon the four exclamations in this chapter - Behold the man! Behold your King! Behold thy son! Behold thy mother! as a remarkable
picture of what Christ is, and what He reveals men to be.

27. His own home (ta). See on John 1:11.

28-30. Compare Matthew 27:45-50; Mark 15:33-37; Luke 23:44-46.

28. Were accomplished (tete>lestai). Rev., with stricter rendering of the perfect tense, are finished. Finished corresponds better with it is finished, ver. 30. This
sentence may be taken with the preceding one, or with that which follows.

29. Vinegar. See on Matthew 27:48.

Hyssop. Matthew and Mark have kala>mw|, a reed. Luke says merely that they offered Him vinegar. The vinegar mingled with gall (Matthew 27:34), or the wine
mingled with myrrh (Mark 15:23) was offered to Jesus before his crucifixion as a stupefying draught. The hyssop gives a hint of the height of the cross, as the greatest
length of the hyssop reed was not more than three or four feet. The vinegar in this case was offered in order to revive Christ. John does not mention the stupefying
draught.

30. Gave up the ghost (pare>dwke to). Rev., his spirit. Matthew, ajfh~ken dismissed. Mark, ejxe>pneusen, breathed forth (his life). So Luke, who adds, "Father, into
thy hands I commend (parati>qemai, see on Luke 9:16) my spirit."

31-42. Compare Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-60.

31. The Jews - Sabbath. The Jews, who had so recently asserted their sole allegiance to Caesar, are now scrupulous about observing the letter of the law.

32. Brake the legs. A detail recorded only by John. This crurifragium, leg-breaking, consisted in striking the legs with a heavy mallet in order to expedite death. It was
sometimes inflicted as a punishment upon slaves. Some horrible illustrations are furnished by Suetonius, in his lives of Augustus and Tiberius.

34. With a spear (lo>gch|). Only here in the New Testament. Properly, the head of a spear. So Herodotus, of the Arabians: "They also had spears (aijcma) tipped with
an antelope's horn sharpened like a spear-point (lo>gchv)" (John 7:96). Used also, as here, for the spear itself.

Pierced (e]nuxen). Only here in the New Testament. The question has been raised whether the Evangelist means to describe a gash or a prick. Another verb is
rendered pierced in ver. 37, the quotation from Zechariah 12:10ejxeke>nthsan, which occurs also at Revelation 1:7 with reference to Christ's crucifixion, and is used in
classical Greek of putting out the eyes, or stabbing, and in the Septuagint of Saul's request to his armor-bearer: "Draw thy sword and thrust me through therewith" (1
Chronicles 10:4). The verb used here, however, nu>ssw, is also used to describe severe and deadly wounds, as in Homer:

"As he sprang

Into his car, Idomeneus, expert

To wield the ponderous javelin, thrust (nu>x) its blade

Through his right shoulder. From the car he fell,

And the dark night of death came over him."

"Iliad," 5:45-47.

It has been suggested that the body was merely pricked with the spear to ascertain if it were yet alive. There seems, on the whole, no reason for departing from the
ordinary understanding of the narrative, that the soldier inflicted a deep thrust on the side of Jesus (compare John 20:25, 27); nor is it quite apparent why, as Mr. Field
urges, a distinction should be kept up between the two verbs in vv. 34 and 37. 53

Blood and water. It has been argued very plausibly that this was a natural phenomenon, the result of a rupture of the heart which, it is assumed, was the immediate
cause of death, and which was followed by an effusion of blood into the pericardium. This blood, separated into its thicker and more liquid parts, flowed forth when the
pericardium was pierced by the spear. 54 I think, however, with Meyer, that John evidently intends to describe the incident as something entirely unexpected and
marvelous, and that this explanation better suits the solemn asseveration of ver. 35. That the fact had a symbolic meaning to the Evangelist is evident from 1 John 5:6.
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35. He that saw it bare record (oJ eJwrakw~v memartu>rhken). Rev., rendering the perfect tense in both verbs, he that hath seen hath born witness. This can refer
only to the writer of this Gospel. Compare 1 John 1:1.
Blood and water. It has been argued very plausibly that this was a natural phenomenon, the result of a rupture of the heart which, it is assumed, was the immediate
cause of death, and which was followed by an effusion of blood into the pericardium. This blood, separated into its thicker and more liquid parts, flowed forth when the
pericardium was pierced by the spear. 54 I think, however, with Meyer, that John evidently intends to describe the incident as something entirely unexpected and
marvelous, and that this explanation better suits the solemn asseveration of ver. 35. That the fact had a symbolic meaning to the Evangelist is evident from 1 John 5:6.

35. He that saw it bare record (oJ eJwrakw~v memartu>rhken). Rev., rendering the perfect tense in both verbs, he that hath seen hath born witness. This can refer
only to the writer of this Gospel. Compare 1 John 1:1.

True (ajlhqinh). Genuine, according to the true ideal of what testimony should be. See on John 1:9.

And he (kakei~nov). This pronoun is urged by some as a reason for regarding the witness as some other than John, because it is the pronoun of remote reference. But
John 9:37 shows clearly that a speaker can use this pronoun of himself; and it is, further, employed in this Gospel to indicate a person "as possessing the quality which is
the point in question in an eminent or even exclusive degree" (Godet). See John 1:18; 5:39.

True (ajlhqh~). Literally, true things. As distinguished from false. Thus, by the use of the two words for true, there are brought out, as Westcott remarks, "the two
conditions which testimony ought to satisfy; the first, that he who gives it should be competent to speak with authority; and the second, that the account of his
experience should be exact."

38. A disciple of Jesus. Matthew calls him a rich man; Mark, an honorable counselor, i.e., a member of the Sanhedrim; and Luke, a counselor, good and just.

Besought (hjrwthse). Better, as Rev., asked. See on John 11:22; 16:23. Mark adds that he went in boldly, which is suggestive in view of John's statement of his secret
discipleship, a fact which is passed over by the Synoptists.

Gave him leave. According to Roman law. Ulpian, a Roman jurist of the third century, says: "The bodies of those who are capitally punished cannot be denied to their
relatives. At this day, however, the bodies of those who are executed are buried only in case permission is asked and granted; and sometimes permission is not given,
especially in the cases of those who are punished for high treason. The bodies of the executed are to be given for burial to any one who asks for them." Avaricious
governors sometimes sold this privilege. Cicero, in one of his orations against Verres, has a terribly graphic passage describing such extortions. After dwelling upon the
tortures inflicted upon the condemned, he says: "Yet death is the end. It shall not be. Can cruelty go further? A way shall be found. For the bodies of the beheaded shall
be thrown to the beasts. If this is grievous to parents, they may buy the liberty of burial" (John 5:45). Compare Matthew 14:12; Acts 8:2.

39. Came Nicodemus - came by night. The contrast is marked between his first and his second coming.

Mixture (mi>gma). Only here in the New Testament. Some authorities read e[ligma, a roll.

Pounds. Roman pounds, of nearly twelve ounces. The large quantity may be explained by the intention of covering the entire body with the preparation, and by the fact
that a portion was designed for the couch of the body in the grave. Compare the account of the burial of Asa, 2 Chronicles 16:14. "Extraordinary reverence in its
sorrowful excitement does not easily satisfy itself" (Meyer).

40. Linen cloths (ojqoni>oiv). Used only by John, if Luke 24:12 is rejected, as by some editors. The Synoptists all have sindw>n, linen cloth. See on Mark 14:51.
Matthew and Luke have ejntu>lixen, rolled or wrapped, and Mark ejnei>lhsen, wound, instead of John's e]dhsan bound.

With the spices. Spread over the sheet or bandages in which the body was wrapped.

The manner of the Jews. As contrasted with that of the Egyptians, for instance, which is thus described by Herodotus: "They take first a crooked piece of iron, and with
it draw out the brains through the nostrils, thus getting rid of a portion, while the skull is cleared of the rest by rinsing with drugs; next they make a cut along the flank
with a sharp Ethiopian stone, and take out the whole contents of the abdomen, which they then cleanse, washing it thoroughly with palm-wine, and again, frequently
with an infusion of pounded aromatics. After this they fill the cavity with the purest bruised myrrh, with cassia, and every other sort of spicery except frankincense, and
sew up the opening. Then the body is placed in natrum (subcarbonate of soda) for seventy days, and covered entirely over. After the expiration of that space of time,
which must not be exceeded, the body is washed, and wrapped round, from head to foot, with bandages of fine linen cloth, smeared over with gum" (2:86). Or,
possibly, a contrast may be implied with the Roman custom of burning the bodies of the dead. Tacitus says of the Jews: "The bodies of the deceased they choose rather
to bury than burn, following in this the Egyptian custom; with whom also they agree in their attention to the dead" ("History," 5:5).

To bury (ejntafia>zein). Properly, to prepare for burial. See on John 12:7. Compare Septuagint, Genesis 1:2 where the same word is used for embalming the body of
Joseph.

41. A garden. Mentioned by John only.

New (kaino). See on Matthew 26:29. John omits the detail of the tomb being hewn in the rock, which is common to all the Synoptists.

CHAPTER 20

1, 2. Compare Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2-4; Luke 24:1-3.

1 First day of the week (th|~ mia|~ tw~n sabba>aton). The Hebrew idiom, day one of the week. See on Luke 4:31; Acts 20:7.

Dark. Matthew says, as it began to dawn; Mark, when the sun was risen; Luke, very early in the morning, or at deep dawn; see on Luke 24:1.

Taken away (hjrme>non ejk). Lifted out of. All the Synoptists have rolled.

2. Loved (ejfi>lei). The word for personal affection. In John 13:23; 21:7, 20, hjga>pa is used. See on John 5:20.

We know not. The plural indicates that Mary was not alone, though she alone is mentioned as coming to the tomb. She may have preceded the others.

3. Came to (h]rconto eijv). Wrong. The tense is the imperfect; they were coming. Rev., they went toward.

4. They ran (e]trecon). Still the imperfect, they were running. How much the A.V. loses by its persistent ignoring of the force of this tense.

Did outrun (proe>drame
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"O holy father, spirit who beholdest
3. Came to (h]rconto eijv). Wrong. The tense is the imperfect; they were coming. Rev., they went toward.

4. They ran (e]trecon). Still the imperfect, they were running. How much the A.V. loses by its persistent ignoring of the force of this tense.

Did outrun (proe>drame ta>cion). Literally, ran on in front more quickly. Dante, addressing the spirit of John in Paradise says:

"O holy father, spirit who beholdest

What thou believedst so that thou o'ercamest,

Toward the sepulchre, more youthful feet."

"Paradise," 24:124-126.

5. Stooping down (paraku>yav). See on James. 1:25 and compare 1 Peter 1:12. See also Song of Solomon, 2:9 (Sept.). "He looketh forth (paraku>ptwn) at the
windows."

Seeth (ble>pei). Simple sight. Compare the intent gaze of Peter (qewrei~), ver. 6, which discovered the napkin, not seen by John.

7. Napkin (souda>rion). See on Luke 19:20.

Wrapped together (ejntetuligme>non). Rev., much better, rolled up. The orderly arrangement of everything in the tomb marks the absence of haste and precipitation in
the awakening and rising from the dead.

8. Believed. This word is explained by what follows. He believed (at length) that Jesus was risen; for up to this time (oujde>pw) he, with his fellow-disciple (plural, h|]
deisan) knew not, etc. The singular number, he believed, as Meyer profoundly remarks, "only satisfies the never-to-be-forgotten personal experience of that moment,
though it does not exclude the contemporaneous faith of Peter also." On knew (h|]deisan), see on John 2:24.

9. The scripture (th). The passage of scripture. See on John 5:47. The reference may be to Psalms 16:10.

Must. On this necessity attaching in the divine counsel to the sufferings, death, and resurrection of Jesus, see Matthew 26:54; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22; 17:25; 22:37;
24:7, 26, 44; John 3:14; 12:34; Acts 1:16.

11-18. Compare Mark 16:12, 13; Luke 24:13-35.

11. Stood. Imperfect, was standing, or continued standing, after the two apostles had gone away.

12. Seeth (qewrei~). Rev., beholdeth. See on ver. 5.

Angels. Angels are rarely mentioned in John's narrative. See John 1:51; 12:29; 20:12.

13. She saith. She is so absorbed in her grief and love that she is not appalled by the supernatural manifestation which, under ordinary circumstances, would have
terrified her, but enters into conversation as if addressed by a human being.

14. Turned herself back. Canon Westcott, with that beautiful subtilty of perception which so eminently characterizes him, remarks: "We can imagine also that she
became conscious of another Presence, as we often feel the approach of a visitor without distinctly seeing or hearing him. It may be, too, that the angels, looking
toward the Lord, showed some sign of His coming."

Saw (qewrei~). Present tense. Rev., beholdeth. She looks at Him steadfastly and inquiringly as at a stranger. The observance of these distinctions between verbs of
seeing, is very important to the perception of the more delicate shading of the narrative.

Knew not (h]|dei). Indicating a knowledge based on spiritual fellowship and affinity, an inward, conscious, sure conviction of His identity.

16. Saith unto Him, Rabboni. Insert, as Rev., after Him, in Hebrew.

17. Touch me not (mh> mou~ a[ptou). The verb, primarily, means to fasten to. Hence it implies here, not a mere momentary touch, but a clinging to. Mary thought that
the old relations between her Lord and herself were to be renewed; that the old intercourse, by means of sight, sound, and touch, would go on as before. Christ says,
"the time for this kind of intercourse is over. Henceforth your communion with me will be by faith through the Spirit. This communion will become possible through my
ascending to the Father."

My Father. The best texts omit the pronoun and read the Father. See on John 12:26. This expression, emphasizing the relation of God to humanity rather than to Christ
himself, is explained by what follows - "my Father and your Father."

My brethren. The word brethren, applied to the disciples, occurs before (John 7:3, 5, 10), but not the phrase my brethren, which follows from my Father and your
Father. Compare Matthew 28:10.

I ascend (ajnabai>nw). The present tense is used, not in the sense of the near future, but implying that He had already entered upon that new stage of being which the
actual ascension formally inaugurated. The resurrection was really the beginning of the ascension.

18. Came and told (e]rcetai ajgge>llousa). Literally, cometh telling.

19-23. Compare Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:36-49.

19. Assembled. Omit.

21. Hath sent (ajpe>stalken). Note the distinction between this verb and that applied to the sending of the disciples (pe>mpw). See on John 1:6.

22. Breathed(c)on2005-2009,
 Copyright        them (ejnefu>shsen). Only here
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                                                                                                                                                    37:5.
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The Holy Ghost. The article is wanting. The gift bestowed was not that of the personal Holy Spirit, but rather an earnest of that gift; an effusion of the Spirit.
19. Assembled. Omit.

21. Hath sent (ajpe>stalken). Note the distinction between this verb and that applied to the sending of the disciples (pe>mpw). See on John 1:6.

22. Breathed on them (ejnefu>shsen). Only here in the New Testament. The act was symbolic, after the manner of the Hebrew prophets. Compare Ezekiel 37:5.

The Holy Ghost. The article is wanting. The gift bestowed was not that of the personal Holy Spirit, but rather an earnest of that gift; an effusion of the Spirit.

23. Remit (ajfh~te). Only here in this Gospel in connection with sins. Often in the Synoptists (Matthew 6:12; 9:5; Mark 2:5; Luke 5:23 etc.).

25. Print (tu>pon). See on 1 Peter 5:3.

Put - thrust (ba>lw). The same verb in both cases. Hence better, as Rev., put for thrust.

I will not (ouj mh). Double negative: in nowise.

26. Then came Jesus. There is no connecting particle, then, and the verb is in the present tense. The abrupt Jesus cometh is more graphic.

27. Be not (mhnou). Literally, become not. Thomas was in a fair way to become unbelieving, through his doubt of the resurrection.

Faithless - believing (a]pistov pisto>v). There is a correspondence of the words here, to which, perhaps, the nearest approach in English is unbelieving, believing.

29. Thomas. Omit.

31. Are written (ge>graptai). Have been or stand written. The perfect tense. John's intent was to write a gospel rather than a biography.

CHAPTER 21

1. Shewed (ejfane>rwsen). This rendering might easily convey merely the sense of appearing; but its meaning is much deeper. Occurring frequently in the New
Testament, it is used most frequently of God and Christ, or of men in their relation to these. Thus, of Christ in person while upon earth (Mark 16:12, 14; John 1:31;
2:11; 1 Peter 1:20; 1 John 1:2). Of the works of Christ (John 2:11; 9:3; 1 John 3:5). Of Christ in redemption (1 John 3:5). Of Christ in His second coming (1 John
2:28). Of Christ in glory (1 John 3:2; Colossians 3:4). It is used of God. Of His revelation to men of the knowledge of Himself (Romans 1:19). Of His manifestation in
Christ (1 Timothy 3:16). Of His righteousness (Romans 3:21). Of His love (1 John 4:9). It is used of men. As epistles manifesting the character and spirit of Christ (2
Corinthians 3:3; 5:11). In the judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10). In all these cases the appearing is not merely an appeal to sense, but is addressed to spiritual perception,
and contemplates a moral and spiritual effect. It is the setting forth of the law or will or character of God; of the person or work of Christ; of the character or deeds of
men, with a view to the disclosure of their quality and to the producing of a moral impression. Rev., manifested.

Sea. See on Matthew 4:18.

Of Tiberias. Not elsewhere in the Gospels. The Synoptists say, Sea of Galilee or Lake of Gennesaret.

3. A ship (to). Rev., the boat; restoring the article, which indicates a familiar implement. See on Luke 5:2.

Immediately. Omit.

That night. The emphatic pronoun that (ejkei>nh|) may indicate that their ill success was unusual.

Caught (ejpi>asan). So ver. 10. The verb means to lay hold of, and is nowhere else used in the New Testament of taking fish. Elsewhere in this Gospel always of the
seizure of Christ by the authorities (John 7:30, 39, 44; 8:20; 10:39; 11:57). Of apprehending Peter and Paul (Acts 12:4; 2 Corinthians 11:32). Of the taking of the
beast (Revelation 19:20). Of taking by the hand (Acts 3:7).

4. Was come (genome>nhv). The best texts read the present participle, ginome>nhv, is coming. Rev., when day was now breaking. The A.V. does not agree so well
with the fact that Jesus was not at once recognized by the disciples, owing in part, perhaps, to the imperfect light.

On the shore (eijv ton). Rev., beach. See on Matthew 13:2. The preposition eijv, to, makes the phrase equivalent to "Jesus came to the beach and stood there."

5. Children (paidi>a). Or, little children. Used also by John, in address, twice in the First Epistle (John 2:13, 18), where, however, the more common word is tekni>a,
little children.

Have ye any meat (mh> ti prosfa>gion e]cete)? The interrogative mh> ti indicates that a negative answer is expected: you have not, I suppose, anything. Prosfa>gion is
equivalent to ojya>rion, what is added to bread at a meal, especially fish. See on 6:9. Only here in the New Testament. Wyc, any supping-thing. 55

6. The net (di>ktuon). See on Matthew 4:18; 13:47.

Were not able (oujk i]scusan). See on Luke 14:30; 16:3; James 5:16.

To draw (eJlku~sai). Into the boat. Compare su>rontev, ver. 8, dragging the net behind the boat.

7. Fisher's coat (ejpendu>thn). An upper garment or blouse. Only here in the New Testament. In the Septuagint, 1 Samuel 18:4 the robe which Jonathan gave to
David. 2 Samuel 13:18the royal virgin garment of Tamar. The kindred verb, ejpendu>omai, occurs twice (2 Corinthians 5:2, 4), meaning "to be clothed upon," with the
house which is from heaven, i.e., clothed as with an upper garment. See on that passage.

Naked. Not absolutely, but clothed merely in his undergarment or shirt.

8. A little ship (tw|~ ploiari>w|). The noun is diminutive. Rev., the little boat. It is hardly probable that this refers to a smaller boat accompanying the vessel. Compare
the alternation of ploi~on and ploia>rion in John 6:17, 19, 21, 22, 24.

Two hundred
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With fishes (tw~n ijcqu>wn). Or, the net of the fishes. So Wyc, Rev., full of fishes.
8. A little ship (tw|~ ploiari>w|). The noun is diminutive. Rev., the little boat. It is hardly probable that this refers to a smaller boat accompanying the vessel. Compare
the alternation of ploi~on and ploia>rion in John 6:17, 19, 21, 22, 24.

Two hundred cubits. A little over a hundred yards.

With fishes (tw~n ijcqu>wn). Or, the net of the fishes. So Wyc, Rev., full of fishes.

9. They were come to land (ajpe>bhsan eijv th). Not of the arrival of the boat, but of the going ashore of the boatmen. Rev., therefore, correctly, they got out upon the
land.

A fire of coals. Charcoal. See John 18:18.

Fish (ojya>rion). See on John 6:9.

Bread (a]rton). Or, a loaf. See on Matthew 4:1; 7:9.

10. Of the fish (tw~n ojyari>wn). As in ver. 9. Emphasizing the fish as food.

Ye hate caught (ejpia>sate). See on ver. 3. Bengel says: "By the Lord's gift they had caught them: and yet, He courteously says, that they have caught them."

11. Went up. Into the vessel.

To land (ejpi). Strictly, upon the land.

Great fishes. All authorities agree as to the abundance of fish in the Lake of Galilee. M. Lortet, cited by Dr. Thomson, says that two castings of the net usually filled his
boat. Bethsaida (there were two places of that name on the lake) means House of the Fisheries. The fame of the lake in this particular reached back to very early times;
so that, according to the Rabbinical legend, one of the ten fundamental laws laid down by Joshua on the division of the country was, that any one might fish with a hook
in the Lake of Galilee, so that they did not interfere with the free passage of boats. The Talmud names certain kinds of fish which might be eaten without being cooked,
and designates them as small fishes. So ojya>ria is rendered in John 6:9. Possibly the expression great fishes may imply a contrast with the small fishes which swarmed
in the lake, and the salting and pickling of which was a special industry among its fishermen.

12. Dine (ajristh>sate). Rather, breakfast. In Attic Greek a]riston signified the mid-day meal; the evening meal being known as dei~pnon. The regular hour for the a]
riston cannot be fixed with precision. The drift of authority among Greek writers seems to be in favor of noon. The meal described here, however, evidently took place
at an earlier hour, and would seem to have answered more nearly to the ajkrati>sma, or breakfast of the Greeks, which was taken directly upon rising. Plutarch,
however, expressly states that both names were applied to the morning meal, and says of Alexander, "He was accustomed to breakfast (hjri>sta) at early dawn, sitting,
and to sup (ejdei>pnei) late in the evening." In Matthew 22:4 it is an a]riston to which the king's wedding-guests are invited.

Ask (ejxeta.sai). Rev., inquire. Implying careful and precise inquiry. It occurs only three times in the New Testament; of Herod's command to search diligently for the
infant Christ (Matthew 2:8), and of the apostles' inquiring out the worthy members of a household (Matthew 10:11).

13. Bread - fish. Both have the article - the loaf, the fish - apparently pointing to the provision which Jesus himself had made.

Giveth them. Nothing is said of His partaking Himself. Compare Luke 24:42, 43.

14. The third time. The two former occasions being recorded in John 20:19, 26. The appearance to Mary Magdalene is not counted, because the Evangelist expressly
says to His disciples.

15. Simon, son of Jonas. Compare Christ's first address to Peter, John 1:43. He never addresses him by the name of Peter, while that name is commonly used, either
alone or with Simon, in the narrative of the Gospels, and in the Greek form Peter, not the Aramaic Cephas, which, on the other hand, is always employed by Paul. For
Jonas read as Rev., John.

Lovest (ajgapa~v). Jesus uses the more dignified, really the nobler, but, as it seems to Peter, in the ardor of his affection, the colder word for love. See on John 5:20.

More than these. More than these disciples love me. Compare John 13:37; Matthew 26:33. The question conveys a gentle rebuke for his former extravagant
professions.

I love (filw~). Peter substitutes the warmer, more affectionate word, and omits all comparison with his fellow-disciples.

Feed (bo>ske). See on 1 Peter 5:2.

Lambs (ajrni>a). Diminutive: little lambs. Godet remarks: "There is a remarkable resemblance between the present situation and that of the two scenes in the previous
life of Peter with which it is related. He had been called to the ministry by Jesus after a miraculous draught of fishes; it is after a similar draught that the ministry is
restored to him. He had lost his office by a denial beside a fire of coal; it is beside a fire of coal that he recovers it."

16. Lovest (ajgapa|~v). Again the colder word, but more than these is omitted.

I love (filw~). Peter reiterates his former word expressive of personal affection.

Feed (poi>maine). A different word: tend, as Rev. See on 1 Peter 5:2.

Sheep (pro>bata). Some of the best texts read proba>tia, diminutive, little sheep.

17. Lovest (filei~v). Here Jesus adopts Peter's word. Canon Westcott, however, ascribes Peter's use of file>w to his humility, and his hesitation in claiming that higher
love which is implied in ajgapa|~v. This seems to me to be less natural, and to be refining too much.

18. Young (new>terov). Literally, younger. Peter was apparently of middle age. See Matthew 8:14.
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Thou girdedst thyself (ejzw>nnuev seauto). The word may have been suggested by Peter's girding his fisher's coat round him. The imperfect tense signifies something
habitual. Thou wast wont to clothe thyself and to come and go at will.
love which is implied in ajgapa|~v. This seems to me to be less natural, and to be refining too much.

18. Young (new>terov). Literally, younger. Peter was apparently of middle age. See Matthew 8:14.

Thou girdedst thyself (ejzw>nnuev seauto). The word may have been suggested by Peter's girding his fisher's coat round him. The imperfect tense signifies something
habitual. Thou wast wont to clothe thyself and to come and go at will.

Walkedst (periepa>teiv). Literally, walkedst about. Peculiarly appropriate to describe the free activity of vigorous manhood.

Stretch forth thy hands. The allusion to the extending of the hands on the cross, which some interpreters have found here, is fanciful. It is merely an expression for the
helplessness of age.

Whither thou wouldest not. According to tradition Peter suffered martyrdom at Rome, and was crucified with his head downward.

19. By what death (poi>w|). Properly, by what manner of death. So Rev.

20. Leaned (ajne>pesen). Rev., leaned back. See on John 13:25. The reference is to the special act of John, leaning back to whisper to Jesus, and not to his position at
table.

21. And what shall this man do (ou=tov de;)? Literally, and this one what?

22. Till I come (e[wv e]rcomai). Rather, while I am coming. Compare John 9:4; 12:35, 36; 1 Timothy 4:13.

What is that to thee (ti> pro>v se;)? Literally, what as concerns thee?

23. Should not die (oujk ajpoqnh>skei). Literally, dieth not.

24, 25. Many interpreters think that these two verses were written by some other hand than John's. Some ascribe vv. 24 and 25 to two different writers. The entire
chapter, though bearing unmistakable marks of John's authorship in its style and language, was probably composed subsequently to the completion of the Gospel.

THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN

CHAPTER 1

The term (kaqolikh>), catholic or general, applied to the Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude, was used from the second century onward in the sense of something
addressed to the faithful generally, as distinguished from Christians of particular nations or cities, as the Galatians or Ephesians. Hence, Clement of Alexandria speaks of
the letter of Acts 15 as "the catholic letter of all the Apostles, given to the faithful." The term was also used of letters specially addressed, but with a general application,
which made no claim to canonical authority.

In the later Western Church the group of letters known as catholic was called canonical through a mistaken interpretation of the words of Junilius, 56 who referred to
the letters of James, 2 Peter, Jude 1:2, 3 John as added by many to the collection of canonical books. This was understood to mean that the term canonical applied to
those books peculiarly.

1. Compare John 1:1, 9, 14. The construction of the first three verses is somewhat involved. It will be simplified by throwing it into three parts, represented respectively
by vv. 1, 2, 3. The first part, That which was from the beginning - Word of Life, forms a suspended clause, the verb being omitted for the time, and the course of the
sentence being broken by ver. 2, which forms a parenthesis: and the Life - manifested unto us. Ver. 3, in order to resume the broken sentence of ver. 1, repeats in a
condensed form two of the clauses in that verse, that which we have seen and heard, and furnishes the governing verb, we declare. Thus the simple sentence, divested
of parenthesis and resumptive words would be, We declare unto you that which was from the beginning, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld,
and our hands handled concerning the Word of Life.

That which (o{). It is disputed whether John uses this in a personal sense as equivalent to He whom, or in its strictly neuter sense as meaning something relating to the
person and revelation of Christ. On the whole, the (peri>), concerning (A. V., of), seems to be against the personal sense. The successive clauses, that which was from
the beginning, etc., express, not the Eternal Word Himself, but something relating to or predicated concerning (peri) Him. The indefinite that which, is approximately
defined by these clauses; that about the Word of Life which was from the beginning, that which appealed to sight, to hearing is, to touch. 57 Strictly, it is true, the peri>
is appropriate only with we have heard, but it is used with the other clauses in a wide and loose sense (compare John 16:8). "The subject is not merely a message, but
all that had been made clear through manifold experience concerning it" (Westcott).

Was (h+n). Not ejge>neto came into being. See on John 1:3; 8:34; 8:58. It was already existing when the succession of life began.

From the beginning (ajp' ajrch~v). The phrase occurs twice in the Gospel (John 8:44; 15:27); nine times in the First Epistle, and twice in the Second. It is used both
absolutely (1 John 3:8; 2:13, 14), and relatively (John 15:27; 1 John 2:24). It is here contrasted with "in the beginning" (John 1:1). The difference is that by the words
"in the beginning," the writer places himself at the initial point of creation, and, looking back into eternity, describes that which was already in existence when creation
began. "The Word was in the beginning." In the words "from the beginning," the writer looks back to the initial point of time, and describes what has been in existence
from that point onward. Thus, "in the beginning" characterizes the absolute divine Word as He was before the foundation of the world and at the foundation of the
world. "From the beginning" characterizes His development in time. Note the absence of the article both here and in John 1:1. Not the beginning as a definite, concrete
fact, but as apprehended by man; that to which we look as "beginning."

Have heard - have seen (ajkhko>amen - eJwra>kamen). Both in the perfect tense, denoting the still abiding effects of the hearing and seeing.

With our eyes. Emphasizing the direct, personal experience in a marvelous matter.

Have looked upon (ejqeasa>meqa). Rev., correctly, beheld. The tense is the aorist; marking not the abiding effect of the vision upon the beholder, but the historical
manifestation to special witnesses. On the difference between this verb and eJwra>kamen we have seen, see on John 1:14,18.

Have handled (ejyhla>hsan). The aorist tense. Rev. handled. For the peculiar force of the verb see on Luke 24:39. The reference is, probably, to handle me (Luke
24:39), and to John 20:27. This is the more noticeable from the fact that John does not mention the fact of the Resurrection in the Epistles, and does not use the word in
his own narrative of the Resurrection. The phrase therefore falls in with the numerous instances in which John assumes the knowledge of certain historic facts on the part
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of his readers.

Of the Word (peri). Better, as Rev., concerning the Word.
Have handled (ejyhla>hsan). The aorist tense. Rev. handled. For the peculiar force of the verb see on Luke 24:39. The reference is, probably, to handle me (Luke
24:39), and to John 20:27. This is the more noticeable from the fact that John does not mention the fact of the Resurrection in the Epistles, and does not use the word in
his own narrative of the Resurrection. The phrase therefore falls in with the numerous instances in which John assumes the knowledge of certain historic facts on the part
of his readers.

Of the Word (peri). Better, as Rev., concerning the Word.

Of life (th~v zwh~v). Lit., the life. See on John 1:4. The phrase oJ lo>gov th~v zwh~v, the Word of the Life, occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. The nearest
approach to it is Philippians 2:16; but there neither word has the article. In the phrase words of eternal life (John 6:68), and in Acts 5:20all the words of this life,
rJh>mata is used. The question is whether lo>gov is used here of the Personal Word, as John 1:1 or of the divine message or revelation. In the four passages of the
Gospel where lo>gov is used in a personal sense (John 1:1, 14), it is used absolutely, the Word (compare Revelation 19:13). On the other hand, it is often used
relatively in the New Testament; as word of the kingdom (Matthew 8:19); word of this salvation (Acts 8:26); word of His grace (Acts 20:32); word of truth (James
1:18). By John zwh~v of life, is often used in order to characterize the word which accompanies it. Thus, crown of life (Revelation 2:10); water of life (Revelation
21:6); book of life (Revelation 3:5); bread of life (John 6:35); i.e., the water which is living and communicates life; the book; which contains the revelation of life; the
bread which imparts life. In the same sense, John 6:68; Acts 5:20. Compare Titus 1:2, 3

Though the phrase, the Word of the Life, does not elsewhere occur in a personal sense, I incline to regard its primary reference as personal, 58 from the obvious
connection of the thought with John 1:1, 4. "In the beginning was the Word, - in Him was life." "As John does not purpose to say that he announces Christ as an
abstract single idea, but that he declares his own concrete historical experiences concerning Christ, - so now he continues, not the Logos (Word), but concerning the
Word, we make annunciation to you" (Ebrard). At the same time, I agree with Canon Westcott that it is most probable that the two interpretations are not to be sharply
separated. "The revelation proclaims that which it includes; it has, announces, gives life. In Christ life as the subject, and life as the character of the revelation, were
absolutely united."

2. This verse is parenthetical. Compare, for similar interruptions of the construction, ver. 3, John 1:14, 3:16, 31; 19:35.

And (kai. See on John 1:10; 8:20.

The Life (hJ zwh). The Word Himself who is the Life. 59 Compare John 14:6; 5:26; 1 John 5:11, 12. Life expresses the nature of the Word (John 1:4). The phrase, the
Life, besides being equivalent to the Word, also indicates, like the Truth and the Light, an aspect of His being.

Was manifested (ejfanerw>qh). See on John 21:1. Corresponding with the Word was made flesh (John 1:14). The two phrases, however, present different aspects of
the same truth. The Word became flesh, contemplates simply the historic fact of incarnation. The life was manifested, sets forth the unfolding of that fact in the various
operations of life. The one denotes the objective process of the incarnation as such, the other the result of that process as related to human capacity of receiving and
understanding it. "The reality of the incarnation would be undeclared if it were said, 'The Life became flesh.' The manifestation of the Life was a consequence of the
incarnation of the Word, but it is not coextensive with it" (Westcott).

Have seen - bear witness - shew. Three ideas in the apostolic message: experience, testimony, announcement.

Bear witness. See on John 1:7.

Shew (ajpagge>llomen) Better, as Rev., declare. See on John 16:25. So here. The message comes from (ajpo) God.

That eternal life (thnion). A particularly faulty translation, since it utterly fails to express the development of the idea of life, which is distinctly contemplated by the
original. Render, as Rev., the life, the eternal life; or the life, even the eternal life. For a similar repetition of the article compare 1 John 2:8; 4:9; 2 John 1:11. This
particular phrase occurs only here and 2:25. John uses zwhniov eternal life, and hJ aijw>niov zwh the eternal life, the former expressing the general conception of life
eternal, and the latter eternal life as the special gift of Christ. Aijw>niov eternal, describes the life in its quality of not being measured by time, a larger idea than that of
mere duration.

Which (h[tiv). Not the simple relative h[ which, but defining the quality of the life, and having at the same time a kind of confirmatory and explanatory force of the word
eternal: seeing that it was a life divine in its nature - "with the Father" - and therefore independent of temporal conditions.

With the Father (prora). See on with God (John 1:1). In living, active relation and communion with the Father. "The preposition of motion with the verb of repose
involves eternity of relation with activity and life" (Coleridge). The life eternally tended to the Father, even as it emanated from Him. It came forth from Him and was
manifested to men, but to the end that it might take men into itself and unite them with the Father. The manifestation of life to men was a revelation of life, as, first of all
and beyond all, centering in God. Hence, though life, abstractly, returns to God, as it proceeds from God, it returns bearing the redeemed world in its bosom. The
complete divine ideal of life includes impartation, but impartation with a view to the practical development of all that receives it with reference to God as its vivifying,
impelling, regulating, and inspiring center.

The Father. See on John 12:26. The title "the Father" occurs rarely in the Synoptists, and always with reference to the Son. In Paul only thrice (Romans 6:4; 1
Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 2:18). Nowhere in Peter, James, Jude, or Revelation. Frequent in John's Gospel and Epistles, and in the latter, uniformly. 60

3. The regular course of the sentence, broken by ver. 2, is now resumed, by the repetition of that which we have seen and heard. Only the order is reversed: seen and
heard instead of heard and seen (ver. 1), and the two elements of experience, sight and hearing, are thrown together without the repeated relative that which. In ver. 1,
the climax advanced from the lower evidence of hearing to that of sight. Here, in recapitulating, the process is reversed, and the higher class of evidence is put first.

Unto you also (kai). The also is variously explained. According to some, referring to a special circle of Christian readers beyond those addressed at the conclusion of
the Gospel. Others, again, as referring to those who had not seen and heard as contrasted with eye-witnesses. Thus Augustine on John 20:26 sqq. "He (Thomas)
touched the man, and confessed the God. And the Lord, consoling us who, now that He is seated in heaven, cannot handle Him with the hand, but touch Him by faith,
says, 'Because thou hast seen thou hast believed; blessed are they who have not seen and believe.' It is we that are described; we that are pointed out. May there
therefore come to pass in us that blessedness which the Lord predicted should be: the Life itself has been manifested in the flesh, so that the thing which can be seen
with the heart alone might be seen with the eyes also, that it might heal our hearts."

Fellowship (koinwni>an). This word introduces us to one of the main thoughts of the Epistle. The true life in man, which comes through the acceptance of Jesus as the
Son of God, consists in fellowship with God and with man. On the word, see on Acts 2:42; Luke 5:10. The verb koinwne>w to come into fellowship, to be made a
partner, to be partaker of, occurs 1 Peter 4:13; 2 John 1:11; Hebrews 2:14 etc. The expression here, (eceis koinwnian) is stronger, since it expresses the enjoyment or
realization of fellowship, as compared with the mere fact of fellowship. See on John 16:22.
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Our fellowship (hJ koinwni>a hJ hJmete>ra). More strictly, the fellowship, that which is ours, according to John's characteristic practice of defining and emphasizing a
noun by an article and possessive pronoun. See on John 10:27. Ours (possessive instead of personal pronoun) indicating fellowship as a distinguishing mark of
Christians rather than as merely something enjoyed by them.
Fellowship (koinwni>an). This word introduces us to one of the main thoughts of the Epistle. The true life in man, which comes through the acceptance of Jesus as the
Son of God, consists in fellowship with God and with man. On the word, see on Acts 2:42; Luke 5:10. The verb koinwne>w to come into fellowship, to be made a
partner, to be partaker of, occurs 1 Peter 4:13; 2 John 1:11; Hebrews 2:14 etc. The expression here, (eceis koinwnian) is stronger, since it expresses the enjoyment or
realization of fellowship, as compared with the mere fact of fellowship. See on John 16:22.

Our fellowship (hJ koinwni>a hJ hJmete>ra). More strictly, the fellowship, that which is ours, according to John's characteristic practice of defining and emphasizing a
noun by an article and possessive pronoun. See on John 10:27. Ours (possessive instead of personal pronoun) indicating fellowship as a distinguishing mark of
Christians rather than as merely something enjoyed by them.

With the Father and with His Son (meta). Note the repeated preposition meta> with; distinguishing the two persons, and coordinating the fellowship with the Father,
and the fellowship with the Son, thus implying the sameness of essence. The fellowship with both contemplates both as united in the Godhead. Plato says of one who
lives in unrestrained desire and robbery, "Such an one is the friend neither of God nor man, for he is incapable of communion (koinwnei~n ajdu>natov), and he who is
incapable of communion (koinwni>a) us also incapable of friendship" ("Gorgias," 507). So in the "Symposium" (188), and he defines divination as "the art of
communion (koinwni>a) between gods and men."

4. These things. The whole Epistle.

Write we unto you (gra>fomen uJmi~n). The best texts read hJmei~v we, instead of uJmi~n to you. Both the verb and the pronoun are emphatic. The writer speaks
with conscious authority, and his message is to be not only announced (ajpagge>llomen, ver. 3), but written. We write is emphasized by the absence of the personal
object, to you.

Your joy (hJ cara). The best texts read hJmw~n, our, though either reading gives a good sense.

Full (peplhrwme>nh) More correctly, fulfilled. Frequent in John. See John 3:29; 7:8; 8:38; 15:11; 2 John 1:12; Revelation 6:11. "The peace of reconciliation, the
blessed consciousness of sonship, the happy growth in holiness, the bright prospect of future completion and glory, - all these are but simple details of that which, in all
its length and breadth is embraced by one word, Eternal Life, the real possession of which is the immediate source of our joy. We have joy, Christ's joy, because we
are blessed, because we have life itself in Christ" (Dusterdieck, cit. by Alford). And Augustine: "For there is a joy which is not given to the ungodly, but to those who
love Thee for thine own sake, whose joy Thou thyself art. And this is the happy life, to rejoice to Thee, of Thee; this is it and there is no other" ("Confessions," 10:22).
Alford is right in remarking that this verse gives an epistolary character to what follows, but it can hardly be said with him that it "fills the place of the cai>rein greeting,
lit., rejoice, so common in the opening of Epistles." 61

5. This then is (kai). Rev., correctly and literally, and this. According to the proper reading the verb stands first in order (ejsti), with emphasis, not merely as a copula,
but in the sense "there exists this as the message." For a similar use of the substantive verb, see 1 John 5:16,17; 2:15; John 8:50.

Message (ejpaggeli>a). This word, however, is invariably used in the New Testament in the sense of promise. The best texts read ajggeli>a, message, which occurs
only at 1 John 3:11; and the corresponding verb, ajgge>llw, only at John 10:18.

We have heard of Him (ajkhko>amen ajp' aujtou~). A form of expression not found elsewhere in John, who commonly uses par' aujtou~. See on John 6:46 The
phrase here points to the ultimate and not necessarily the immediate source of the message. Not only John, but others in earlier times had heard this message. Compare
1 Peter 1:10, 11. > points to the source para> to the giver. Thus, John 5:41" I receive not honor from (para>) men." They are not the bestowers of honor upon me.
Ver. 44, "How can ye believe which receive honor from (para>) one another;" the honor which men have to give, "and seek not the honor that cometh from (para>)
God;" the honor which God alone bestows. On the other hand, 1 John 3:22"Whatsoever we ask we receive from (ajpo>) Him," the ultimate source of our gifts. So
Matthew 17:25: "Of (ajpo>) whom do the kings of the earth take custom - of (ajpo>) their own children or of (ajpo>) strangers?" What is the legitimate and ultimate
source of revenue in states?

Declare (ajnagge>llomen). Compare the simple verb ajgge>llein to bring tidings, John 20:18 and only there.'Anagge>llein is to bring the tidings up to (ajna>) or back to
him who receives them. >llein is to announce tidings as coming from (ajpo>) some one, see Matthew 2:8; John 4:51. Katagge>llein is to proclaim with authority, so as
to spread the tidings down among (kata>) those who hear. See Acts 17:23. Found only in the Acts and in Paul.

God is Light (Qeo). A statement of the absolute nature of God. Not a light, nor the light, with reference to created beings, as the light of men, the light of the world, but
simply and absolutely God is light, in His very nature. Compare God is spirit, and see on John 4:24: God is love, 1 John 4:8, 16. The expression is not a metaphor. "All
that we are accustomed to term light in the domain of the creature, whether with a physical or metaphysical meaning, is only an effluence of that one and only primitive
Light which appears in the nature of God" (Ebrard). Light is immaterial, diffusive, pure, and glorious. It is the condition of life. Physically, it represents glory;
intellectually, truth; morally, holiness. As immaterial it corresponds to God as spirit; as diffusive, to God as love; as the condition of life, to God as life; as pure and
illuminating, to God as holiness and truth. In the Old Testament, light is often the medium of God's visible revelations to men. It was the first manifestation of God in
creation. The burning lamp passed between the pieces of the parted victim in God's covenant with Abraham. God went before Israel in a pillar of fire, descended in fire
upon Sinai, and appeared in the luminons cloud which rested on the mercy-seat in the most holy place. In classical Greek fw~v light, is used metaphorically for delight,
deliverance, victory, and is applied to persons as a term of admiring affection, as we say that one is the light of our life, or the delight of our eyes. So Ulysses, on seeing
his son Telemachus, says, "Thou hast come, Telemachus, sweet light (glukeroov)" (Homer, "Odyssey," 16:23). And Electra, greeting her returning brother, Orestes, "O
dearest light (fi>ltaton fw~v)" (Sophocles, "Electra," 1223). Occasionally, as by Euripides, of the light of truth ("Iphigenia at Tauris," 1046). No modern writer has
developed the idea of God as light with such power and beauty as Dante. His "Paradise" might truthfully be called a study of light. Light is the only visible expression of
God. Radiating from Him, it is diffused through the universe as the principle of life. This key-note is struck at the very opening of "the Paradise."

"The glory of Him who moveth everything

Doth penetrate the universe, and shine

In one part more and in another less.

Within that heaven which most His light receives

Was I."

"Paradiso," i., 1-5.

In the final, beatific vision, God Himself is imagined as a luminous point which pours its rays through all the spheres, upon which the spirits gazed, and in which they read
the past, the present, and the future.
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"Paradiso," i., 1-5.

In the final, beatific vision, God Himself is imagined as a luminous point which pours its rays through all the spheres, upon which the spirits gazed, and in which they read
the past, the present, and the future.

"O grace abundant, by which I presumed

To fix my sight upon the Light Eternal,

So that the seeing I consumed therein!

I saw that in its depth far down is lying

Bound up with love together in one volume,

What through the universe in leaves is scattered;

Substance, and accident, and their operations,

All interfused together in such wise

That what I speak of is one simple light."

"Paradiso," xxxiii., 82-90.

"In presence of that light one such becomes,

That to withdraw therefrom for other prospect

It is impossible he e'er consent;

Because the good, which object of will,

Is gathered all in this, and out of it

That is defective which is perfect there."

"Paradiso," xxxiii., 100-105.

"O Light eterne, sole in thyself that dwellest,

Sole knowest thyself, and, know unto thyself

And knowing, lovest and smilest on thyself!

"Paradiso xxxiii., 124-126.

Light enkindles love.

"If in the heat of love I flame upon thee

Beyond the measure that on earth is seen,

So that the valor of thine eyes I vanquish,

Marvel thou not thereat; for this proceeds

From perfect sight, which, as it apprehends,

To the good apprehended moves its feet.

Well I perceive how is already shining

Into thine intellect the eternal Light,

That only seen enkindles always love."

"Paradiso," v., 1-9

See also " Paradiso," cantos 30, 31.

In Him is no darkness at all (kaia oujk e]stin ejn aujtw|~ oujdemi>a). It is characteristic of John to express the same idea positively and negatively. See John 1:7, 8, 20;
3:15, 17, 20; 4:42; 5:24; 8:35; 10:28; 1 John 1:6, 8; 2:4, 27; 5:12. According to the Greek order, the rendering is: "And darkness there is not in Him, no, not in any
way." For a similar addition of oujdei>v not one, to a complete sentence, see John 6:63; 11:19; 19:11. On skoti>a darkness, see on John 1:5.

6. If we say (eja). The subjunctive mood puts the case as supposed, not as assumed.

Walk   in the(c)
 Copyright    darkness. The phrase
                 2005-2009,         occurs
                              Infobase MediaonlyCorp.
                                                 in John's Gospel and First Epistle. Darkness here is sko>tov, instead of skoti>a (ver. 5). See on JohnPage
                                                                                                                                                        1:5. Walk
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(peripatw~men), is, literally, walk about; indicating the habitual course of the life, outward and inward. The verb, with this moral sense, is common in John and Paul,
and is found elsewhere only in Mark 7:5; Acts 21:21.
way." For a similar addition of oujdei>v not one, to a complete sentence, see John 6:63; 11:19; 19:11. On skoti>a darkness, see on John 1:5.

6. If we say (eja). The subjunctive mood puts the case as supposed, not as assumed.

Walk in the darkness. The phrase occurs only in John's Gospel and First Epistle. Darkness here is sko>tov, instead of skoti>a (ver. 5). See on John 1:5. Walk
(peripatw~men), is, literally, walk about; indicating the habitual course of the life, outward and inward. The verb, with this moral sense, is common in John and Paul,
and is found elsewhere only in Mark 7:5; Acts 21:21.

We lie and do not the truth. Again the combination of the positive and negative statements. See on ver. 5. The phrase to do the truth occurs only in John's Gospel and
First Epistle. See on John 3:21. All walking in darkness is a not doing of the truth. "Right action is true thought realized. Every fragment of right done is so much truth
made visible" (Westcott).

7. We walk in the light (ejn tw|~ fwti). The phrase occurs only in the First Epistle. Walk, as above. In the light, having our life in God, who is light.

He is in the light. God is forever and unchangeable in perfect light. Compare Psalms 104:2; 1 Timothy 6:16. We walk, advancing in the light and by means of the light to
more light. "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18).

One with another (met' ajllh>lwn). Not, we with God and God with us, but with our brethren. Fellowship with God exhibits and proves itself by fellowship with
Christians. See 1 John 4:7, 12; 3:11, 23.

Of Jesus Christ His Son. Omit Christ. The human name, Jesus, shows that His blood is available for man. The divine name, His Son, shows that it is efficacious. I shall
be rendering a service to students of John's Epistles by giving, in a condensed form, Canon Westcott's note, classifying the several names of our Lord and their uses in
the Epistles.

The name in John, as in the Bible elsewhere, has two distinct, but closely connected meanings.

1.The Revelation of the Divine Being by a special title.

2.The whole sum of the manifold revelations gathered up so as to form one supreme revelation.

The latter sense is illustrated in 3 John 1:7 where "the name" absolutely includes the essential elements of the Christian creed, the complete revelation of Christ's work in
relation to God and man. Compare John 20:31; Acts 5:41.

In 1 John 2:12, the term is more limited, referring to Christ as He lived on earth and gave Himself for "the brethren." In 1 John 3:23; 5:13, the exact sense is defined by
what follows.

ACTUAL NAMES USED.

(I.) His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3; 3:23; 5:20. The divine antecedent is differently described in each case, and the difference colors the phrase. In 1 John 1:23, the
Father (compare John 3). In 1 John 3:23, God. In 1 John 5:20, He that is true. Thus the sonship of Christ is regarded in relation to God as Father, as God, and as
satisfying the divine ideal which man is able to form. The whole phrase, His Son Jesus Christ, includes the two elements of the confessions which John makes
prominent.

1. Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 4:15; 5:5).

2. Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22; 5:1).

The constituents of the compressed phrase are all used separately by John.

(1.)Jesus. 1 John 2:22; 5:1; 4:3 (where the correct reading omits Christ). The thought is that of the Lord in His perfect historic humanity.

(2.)Christ. 2 John 1:9. Pointing to the preparation made under the old covenant.

(3).Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:1; 5:6; 2 John 1:7. Combining the ideas of true humanity and messianic position.

In 1 John 4:15, the reading is doubtful: Jesus or Jesus Christ.

On 1 John 4:2, see note.

(4.)The Son. 1 John 2:22, 23, 24; 4:14; 5:12. The absolute relation of Sonship to Fatherhood.

(5.)The Son of God. 1 John 3:8; 5:10, 12, 13, 20. Compare His Son (1 John 4:10; 5:9), where the immediate antecedent is oJ Qeo>v God; and 1 John 5:18, He that
was begotten of God. Combination of the ideas of Christ's divine dignity and divine sonship.

(6.)Jesus His (God's) Son. 1 John 1:7. Two truths. The blood of Christ is available and efficacious.

(7).His (God's) Son, His only Son. 1 John 4:9. The uniqueness of the gift is the manifestation of love.

The Son in various forms is eminently characteristic of the First and Second Epistles, in which it occurs more times than in all Paul's Epistles.

Ku>riov Lord, is not found in the Epistles (omit from 2 John 1:3), but occurs in the Gospel, and often in Revelation.

The expression, the blood of Jesus His Son, is chosen with a profound insight. Though Ignatius uses the phrase blood of God yet the word blood is inappropriate to the
Son conceived in His divine nature. The word Jesus brings out His human nature, in which He assumed a real body of flesh and blood, which blood was shed for us.

Cleanseth (kaqari>zei). See on Mark 7:19. Not only forgives but removes. Compare Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:13 sq.; 22 sq.; Ephesians 5:26 sq.; Matthew 5:8; 1 John
3:3. Compare also ver. 9, where, forgive (ajfh|~) and cleanse (kaqari>sh|) occur, with an obvious difference of meaning. Note the present tense cleanseth. The
cleansing
 Copyrightis(c)
              present  and continuous.
                 2005-2009,    InfobaseAlexander   (Bishop of Derry) cites a striking passage from Victor Hugo ("Le Parricide"). The usurper Canute, who
                                          Media Corp.                                                                                                    Pagehas had
                                                                                                                                                                 96 /a 189
                                                                                                                                                                       share
in his father's death, expiring after a virtuous and glorious reign, walks towards the light of heaven. But first he cuts with his sword a shroud of snow from the top of Mt.
Savo. As he advances towards heaven, a cloud forms, and drop by drop his shroud is soaked with a rain of blood.
Son conceived in His divine nature. The word Jesus brings out His human nature, in which He assumed a real body of flesh and blood, which blood was shed for us.

Cleanseth (kaqari>zei). See on Mark 7:19. Not only forgives but removes. Compare Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:13 sq.; 22 sq.; Ephesians 5:26 sq.; Matthew 5:8; 1 John
3:3. Compare also ver. 9, where, forgive (ajfh|~) and cleanse (kaqari>sh|) occur, with an obvious difference of meaning. Note the present tense cleanseth. The
cleansing is present and continuous. Alexander (Bishop of Derry) cites a striking passage from Victor Hugo ("Le Parricide"). The usurper Canute, who has had a share
in his father's death, expiring after a virtuous and glorious reign, walks towards the light of heaven. But first he cuts with his sword a shroud of snow from the top of Mt.
Savo. As he advances towards heaven, a cloud forms, and drop by drop his shroud is soaked with a rain of blood.

All sin (pa>shv aJmarti>av). The principle of sin in all its forms and

manifestations; not the separate manifestations. Compare all joy (James. 1:2); all patience (2 Corinthians 7:12); all wisdom (Ephesians. 1:8); all diligence (2 Peter 1:5).

8. That we have no sin. %Oti that, may be taken merely as a mark of quotation: "If we say, sin we have not." On the phrase to have sin, see on John 16:22 and
compare have fellowship, ver. 3. Sin (aJmarti>an) is not to be understood of original sin, or of sin before conversion, but generally. "It is obvious that this e]cein
aJmarti>an (to have sin), is infinitely diversified, according to the successive measure of the purification and development of the new man. Even the apostle John does
not exclude himself from the universal if we say" (Ebrard).

Heathen authors say very little about sin, and classic paganism had little or no conception of sin in the Gospel sense. The nearest approach to it was by Plato, from
whose works a tolerably complete doctrinal statement might be gathered of the origin, nature, and effects of sin. The fundamental idea of aJmarti>a (sin) among the
Greeks is physical; the missing of a mark (see on Matthew 1:21; 6:14); from which it develops into a metaphysical meaning, to wander in the understanding. This
assumes knowledge as the basis of goodness; and sin, therefore, is, primarily, ignorance. In the Platonic conception of sin, intellectual error is the prominent element.
Thus: "What then, I said, is the result of all this? Is not this the result - that other things are indifferent, and that wisdom is the only good, and ignorance the only
evil?" ("Euthydemus," 281). "The business of the founders of the state will be to compel the best minds to attain that knowledge which has been already declared by us
to be the greatest of all - they must continue to rise until they arrive at the good" ("Republic," 7, 519). Plato represents sin as the dominance of the lower impulses of the
soul, which is opposed to nature and to God (see "Laws," 9, 863. "Republic," 1, 351). Or again, as an inward want of harmony. "May we not regard every living being
as a puppet of the gods, either their plaything only or created with a purpose - which of the two we cannot certainly know? But this we know, that these affections in us
are like cords and strings which pull us different and opposite ways, and to opposite actions; and herein lies the difference between virtue and vice" ("Laws," 1, 644).
He traces most sins to the influence of the body on the soul. "In this present life, I reckon that we make the nearest approach to knowledge when we have the least
possible communion or fellowship with the body, and are not infected with the bodily nature, but remain pure until the hour when God himself is pleased to release us.
And then the foolishness of the body will be cleared away, and we shall be pure, and hold converse with other pure souls, and know of ourselves the clear light
everywhere, which is no other than the light of truth" ("Phedo," 67). 62

We find in the classical writers, however, the occasional sense of the universal faultiness of mankind, though even Plato furnishes scarcely any traces of accepting the
doctrine of innate depravity. Thus Theognis: "The sun beholds no wholly good and virtuous man among those who are now living" (615). "But having become good, to
remain in a good state and be good, is not possible, and is not granted to man. God only has this blessing; but man cannot help being bad when the force of
circumstances overpowers him" (Plato, "Protagoras," 344). " How, then: is it possible to be sinless? It is impossible; but this is possible, to strive not to sin" ("Epictetus,"
4, 12, 19).

We deceive ourselves (eJautou). Lit., we lead ourselves astray. See on Mark 7:24; Matthew 27:63, 64; Jude 1:13. Not only do we err, we are responsible for it. The
phrase only here in the New Testament. For the verb as applied to deceivers of various kinds, see Matthew 24:4; Revelation 2:20; 8:14; 19:20; 8:9; 20:3. Compare
pla>noi deceivers (2 John 1:7); pla>nh error (Jude 1:11; 1 John 4:6).

The truth. The whole Gospel. All reality is in God. He is the only true God (ajlhqino>v John 17:3; see on John 1:9). This reality is incarnated in Christ, the Word of
God, "the very image of His substance," and in His message to men. This message is the truth, a title not found in the Synoptists, Acts, or Revelation, but in the Catholic
Epistles (James 5:19; 1 Peter 1:22; 2 Peter 2:2), and in Paul (2 Corinthians 8:8; Ephesians 1:13 etc.). It is especially characteristic of the Gospel and Epistles of John.

The truth is represented by John objectively and subjectively.

1.Objectively. In the person of Christ. He is the Truth, the perfect revelation of God (John 1:18; 14:6). His manhood is true to the absolute law of right, which is the law
of love, and is, therefore, our perfect pattern of manhood.

Truth, absolutely existing in and identified with God, was also, in some measure, diffused in the world. The Word was in the world, before as after the incarnation (John
1:10. See on John 1:4, 5). Christ often treats the truth as something to which He came to bear witness, and which it was His mission to develop into clearer recognition
and expression (John 18:37). This He did through the embodiment of truth in His own person (John 1:14, 17; 14:6), and by His teaching (John 8:40; 17:17); and His
work is carried out by the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13), sent by God and by Christ himself (John 14:26; 16:7). Hence the Spirit, even as Christ, is the Truth (1 John
5:6). The whole sum of the knowledge of Christ and of the Spirit, is the Truth (1 John 2:21; 2 John 1).

This truth can be recognized, apprehended, and appropriated by man, and can be also rejected by him (John 8:32; 1 John 2:21; John 8:44).

2.Subjectively. The truth is lodged in man by the Spirit, and communicated to his spirit (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). It dwells in man (1 John 1:8; 2:4; 2 John 1:2), as
revelation, comfort, guidance, enlightenment, conviction, impulse, inspiration, knowledge. It is the spirit of truth as opposed to the spirit of error (1 John 4:6). It
translates itself into act. God's true children do the truth (John 3:21; 1 John 1:6). It brings sanctification and freedom (John 8:32; 17:17). See on John 14:6, 17.

9. Confess (oJmologw~men). From oJmo>v, one and the same, and le>gw, to say. Hence, primarily, to say the same thing as another, and, therefore, to admit the
truth of an accusation. Compare Psalms 51:4. The exact phrase, oJmologei~n taav confess the sins, does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. Compare
ejxomologei~sqai aJmarti>av (paraptw>mata) Matthew 3:6; Mark 1:5; James 5:16. See on Matthew 3:6; 11:25; Luke 22:6; Acts 19:18; James 5:16.

Sins. Note the plural, as compared with the singular, sin, in the previous verse. See note. The plural indicates that the confession is to be specific as well as general.
Augustine's words are exactly to the point, but his play upon pardon and confess cannot be reproduced in English. "Vis ut ille ignoscat? Tu agnosce." Do you wish Him
to forgive? Do you confess.

Faithful (pisto>v). True to His own nature and promises; keeping faith with Himself and with man. The word is applied to God as fulfilling His own promises (Hebrews
10:23; 11:11); as fulfilling the purpose for which He has called men (1 Thessalonians 5:24; 1 Corinthians 1:9); as responding with guardianship to the trust reposed in
Him by men (1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Peter 4:19). "He abideth faithful. He cannot deny Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). The same term is applied to Christ (2 Thessalonians
3:3; Hebrews 3:2; 2:17). God's faithfulness is here spoken of not only as essential to His own being, but as faithfulness toward us; "fidelity to that nature of truth and
light, related to His own essence, which rules in us as far as we confess our sins" (Ebrard). The essence of the message of life is fellowship with God and with His
children (ver. 3). God is light (ver. 5). Walking in the light we have fellowship, and the blood of Jesus is constantly applied to cleanse us from sin, which is darkness and
which   interrupts
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                                           in darkness
                                                 Corp. we do not the truth. If we deny our sin the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, "God, by whom we were
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unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful" (1 Corinthians 1:9) to forgive our sins, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and thus to restore and
maintain the interrupted fellowship.
Him by men (1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Peter 4:19). "He abideth faithful. He cannot deny Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). The same term is applied to Christ (2 Thessalonians
3:3; Hebrews 3:2; 2:17). God's faithfulness is here spoken of not only as essential to His own being, but as faithfulness toward us; "fidelity to that nature of truth and
light, related to His own essence, which rules in us as far as we confess our sins" (Ebrard). The essence of the message of life is fellowship with God and with His
children (ver. 3). God is light (ver. 5). Walking in the light we have fellowship, and the blood of Jesus is constantly applied to cleanse us from sin, which is darkness and
which interrupts fellowship. If we walk in darkness we do not the truth. If we deny our sin the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, "God, by whom we were called
unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful" (1 Corinthians 1:9) to forgive our sins, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and thus to restore and
maintain the interrupted fellowship.

Just (di>kaiov). Rev., righteous. From di>kh right. The term is applied both to God and to Christ. See Revelation 16:5; John 17:25; 1 John 2:1; 3:7; 1 Peter 3:18. The
two words, faithful and righteous, imply each other. They unite in a true conception of God's character. God, who is absolute rightness, must be faithful to His own
nature, and His righteous dealing with men who partake of that nature and walk in fellowship with Him, is simply fidelity to Himself. "Righteousness is truth passing into
action" (Westcott).

To forgive (i[na ajfh|~). See John 20:23; 1 John 2:12. Primarily the word means to send away, dismiss; hence of sins, to remit, as a debt. Cleansing (ver. 7)
contemplates the personal character of the sinner; remission, his acts. See on Matthew 6:12; James 5:15. To forgive is, literally, that he may forgive. On John's use of i
[na in order that, see on John 15:13; 14:31. Forgiveness answers to the essential purpose of His faithful and righteous being.

Our sins (taav). Sin is defined by John as ajnomi>a, lawlessness. Compare Romans 6:19. A.V., transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). It may be regarded either as
condition or as act; either with reference to the normal, divine ideal of manhood, or to an external law imposed upon man by God. Any departure from the normal ideal
of man as created in God's image puts man out of true relation and harmony with his true self, and therefore with God and with his fellowman. He thus comes into false,
abnormal relation with right, love, truth, and light. He walks in darkness and forfeits fellowship with God. Lawlessness is darkness, lovelessness, selfishness. This false
principle takes shape in act. He doeth (poiei~) or committeth sin. He doeth lawlessness (than poiei~; 1 John 3:4, 8). He transgresses the words (rJh>mata, John 17:8)
of God, and His commandments (ejntolai>, 1 John 2:3) as included and expressed in His one word or message (lo>gov, 1 John 2:7, 14). Similarly the verb
aJmarta>nein, to sin, may signify either to be sinful (1 John 3:6), or to commit sin (1 John 1:10). Sin, regarded both as principle and act, is designated by John by the
term aJmarti>a. The principle expressed in the specific acts is hJ aJmarti>a (John 1:29), which occurs in this sense in Paul, but not in the Synoptists, nor in Acts. Many
of the terms used for sin by other New Testament writers are wanting in John; as ajse>beia ungodliness (see on Jude 1:14); ajsebei~n to be ungodly (2 Peter 2:6);
parabai>nein to transgress; para>basiv transgression; paraba>thv transgressor (see on Matthew 6:14; James 2:11); paranomei~n to act contrary to the law;
paranomi>a breach of law (see on Acts 23:3; 2 Peter 2:16); para>ptwma trespass (see on Matthew 6:14).

To cleanse. See on ver. 7.

Unrighteousness (ajdiki>av). With reference to di>kaiov righteous. The righteous One who calls us into fellowship with Himself, purges away the unrighteousness which
is contrary to His nature, and which renders fellowship impossible. The word occurs in John's writings only at John 7:18; 1 John 5:17.

10. We have not sinned (oujc hJmarth>kamen). Committed sins. Sin regarded as an act. The state is expressed by aJmarti>an oujk e]comen we have no (or not) sin
(ver. 8).

We make Him (poiou~men aujto). A phrase characteristic of John. See John 5:18; 8:53; 10:33; 19:7, 12.

His word (oJ lo>gov aujtou~). Not the personal Word, as John 1:1 but the divine message of the Gospel. See Luke 5:1; 8:11; Acts 4:31; 6:2, 7 etc. Compare "the
truth is not in us" (ver. 8). The truth is the substance of the word. The word carries the truth. The word both moves the man (John 8:31, 32) and abides in him (John
5:38; 8:37). The man also abides in the word (John 8:31).

CHAPTER 2

1. My little children (tekni>a mou). Tekni>on, little child, diminutive of te>knon child, occurs in John 8:33; 1 John 2:12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21. This particular phrase is
found only here (best texts omit my in 1 John 3:18). Used as a term of affection, or possibly with reference to the writer's advanced age. Compare Christ's word,
paidi>a children (John 21:5) which John also uses (1 John 2:13, 18). In the familiar story of John and the young convert who became a robber, it is related that the
aged apostle repaired to the robber's haunt, and that the young man, on seeing him, took to flight. John, forgetful of his age, ran after him, crying: "O my son why dost
thou fly from me thy father? Thou, an armed man, - I, an old, defenseless one! Have pity upon me! My son, do not fear! There is still hope of life for thee. I wish myself
to take the burden of all before Christ. If it is necessary, I will die for thee, as Christ died for us. Stop! Believe! It is Christ who sends me." 63

I write. More personal than we write (1:4), and thus better suiting the form of address, my little children.

If any man sin, we have. The change from the indefinite third person, any man, to the first person, we have, is significant. By the we have, John assumes the possibility
of sinful acts on the part of Christians, and of himself in common with them, and their common need of the intervention of the divine Advocate. So Augustine: "He said,
not 'ye have,' nor 'ye have me,' nor 'ye have Christ himself;' but he put Christ, not himself, and said 'we have,' and not 'ye have.' He preferred to place himself in the
number of sinners, so that he might have Christ for his advocate, rather than to put himself as the advocate instead of Christ, and to be found among the proud who are
destined to condemnation."

An advocate (para>klhton). See on John 14:16.

With the Father (prora). See on with God, John 1:1. An active relation is indicated. On the terms the Father and my Father, see on John 4:21.

The righteous. Compare righteous, 1 John 1:9. There is no article in the Greek. Jesus Christ righteous. See on 1 John 1:9.

2. And He (kai). The He is emphatic: that same Jesus: He himself.

The propitiation (iJlasmo>v). Only here and 1 John 4:10. From iJla>skomai to appease, to conciliate to one's self, which occurs Luke 28:13; Hebrews 2:17. The noun
means originally an appeasing or propitiating, and passes, through Alexandrine usage, into the sense of the means of appeasing, as here. The construction is to be
particularly noted; for, in the matter of (peri>) our sins; the genitive case of that for which propitiation is made. In Hebrews 2:17 the accusative case, also of the sins to
be propitiated. In classical usage, on the other hand, the habitual construction is the accusative (direct objective case), of the person propitiated. So in Homer, of the
gods. Qeoskesqai is to make a God propitious to one. See "Iliad," 1, 386, 472. Of men whom one wishes to conciliate by divine honors after death. So Herodotus, of
Philip of Crotona. "His beauty gained him honors at the hands of the Egestaeans which they never accorded to any one else; for they raised a hero-temple over his
grave, and they still propitiate him (aujtoskontai) with sacrifices" (5:47). Again, "The Parians, having propitiated Themistocles (Qemistokle>a iJlasa>menoi) with gifts,
escaped the visits of the army" (8:112). The change from this construction shows, to quote Canon Westcott, "that the scriptural conception of the verb is not that of
appeasing one who is angry, with a personal feeling, against the offender; but of altering the character of that which, from without, occasions a necessary alienation, and
interposes
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reconciled (2 Corinthians 5:18 sqq.; Romans 5:10 sq.). There is a propitiation in the matter of the sin or of the sinner."

For the sins of the whole world (perismou). The sins of (A. V., italicized) should be omitted; as in Revelation, for the whole world. Compare 1 John 4:14; John 4:42;
Philip of Crotona. "His beauty gained him honors at the hands of the Egestaeans which they never accorded to any one else; for they raised a hero-temple over his
grave, and they still propitiate him (aujtoskontai) with sacrifices" (5:47). Again, "The Parians, having propitiated Themistocles (Qemistokle>a iJlasa>menoi) with gifts,
escaped the visits of the army" (8:112). The change from this construction shows, to quote Canon Westcott, "that the scriptural conception of the verb is not that of
appeasing one who is angry, with a personal feeling, against the offender; but of altering the character of that which, from without, occasions a necessary alienation, and
interposes an inevitable obstacle to fellowship. Such phrases as 'propitiating God,' and God 'being reconciled' are foreign to the language of the New Testament. Man is
reconciled (2 Corinthians 5:18 sqq.; Romans 5:10 sq.). There is a propitiation in the matter of the sin or of the sinner."

For the sins of the whole world (perismou). The sins of (A. V., italicized) should be omitted; as in Revelation, for the whole world. Compare 1 John 4:14; John 4:42;
7:32. "The propitiation is as wide as the sin" (Bengel). If men do not experience its benefit, the fault is not in its efficacy. Dusterdieck (cited by Huther) says, "The
propitiation has its real efficacy for the whole world; to believers it brings life, to unbelievers death." Luther: "It is a patent fact that thou too art a part of the whole
world; so that thine heart cannot deceive itself, and think, the Lord died for Peter and Paul, but not for me." On ko>smou see on John 1:9.

3. Hereby (ejn tou>tw|). Lit., in this. Characteristic of John. See John 8:35; 15:8; 16:30; 1 John 2:5; 3:24; 4:13; 5:2; 3:16; 3:19; 4:2. The expression points to what
follows, "if we keep His commandments," yet with a covert reference to that idea as generally implied in the previous words concerning fellowship with God and
walking in the light.

We know (ginw>skomen). Or, perceive. By experience, from day to day; distinguished from oi]damen we know, expressing absolute, immediate knowledge of a fact
once for all. Compare 1 John 3:2.

That we know (o[ti ejgnw>kamen). Or, more literally, have come to know. John does not use the compound forms ejpiginw>skein and ejpi>gnwsiv (see on Matthew
7:16. See Luke 1:4; Acts 4:13; Romans 1:28; Ephesians 1:17 etc.), nor the kindred word gnw~siv knowledge (Luke 1:77; Romans 2:20 etc.).

We keep His commandments (ta). A phrase peculiar to John and occurring elsewhere only Matthew 19:17; 1 Timothy 6:14. In 1 Corinthians 7:19 we find th>rhsiv
ejntolw~n the keeping of the commandments. On thre>w to keep, see on 1 Peter 1:5.

4. A liar. Compare we lie, 1 John 1:6.

In him (ejn tou>tw|). Emphatic. Lit., in this one the truth is not. See on 1 John 1:8.

Keepeth His word (thrh|~ aujtou~ togon). Note the changed phrase: word for commandments. The word is the revelation regarded as a whole, which includes all the
separate commandments or injunctions. See the use of lo>gov word, and ejntolh> precept, in John 14:21-24.

Is the love of God perfected (hJ ajga>ph tou~ Qeou~ tetelei>wtai). Rev., rendering the perfect tense more closely, hath the love of God been perfected. The change in
the form of this antithetic clause is striking. He who claims to know God, yet lives in disobedience, is a liar. We should expect as an offset to this: He that keepeth His
commandments is of the truth; or, the truth is in him. Instead we have, "In him has the love of God been perfected." In other words, the obedient child of God is
characterized, not by any representative trait or quality of his own personality, but merely as the subject of the work of divine love: as the sphere in which that love
accomplishes its perfect work.

The phrase hJ ajga>ph tou~ Qeou~ the love of God, may mean either the love which God shows, or the love of which God is the object, or the love which is
characteristic of God whether manifested by Himself or by His obedient child through His Spirit. John's usage is not decisive like Paul's, according to which the love of
God habitually means the love which proceeds from and is manifested by God. The exact phrase, the love of God or the love of the Father, is found in 1 John 3:16;
4:9, in the undoubted sense of the love of God to men. The same sense is intended in 1 John 3:1, 9, 16, though differently expressed. The sense is doubtful in 1 John
2:5; 3:17; 4:12. Men's love to God is clearly meant in 1 John 2:15; 5:3. The phrase occurs only twice in the Gospels (Luke 6:42; John 5:42), and in both cases the
sense is doubtful. Some, as Ebrard, combine the two, and explain the love of God as the mutual relation of love between God and men.

It is not possible to settle the point decisively, but I incline to the view that the fundamental idea of the love of God as expounded by John is the love which God has
made known and which answers to His nature. In favor of this is the general usage of ajga>ph love, in the New Testament, with the subjective genitive. 64 The object is
more commonly expressed by eijv towards, or to. See 1 Thessalonians. 3:12; Colossians. 1:4; 1 Peter 4:8. Still stronger is John's treatment of the subject in John 4.
Here we have, ver. 9, the manifestation of the love of God in us (ejn hJmi~n) By our life in Christ and our love to God we are a manifestation of God's love. Directly
following this is a definition of the essential nature of love. "In this is love; i.e., herein consists love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us" (ver. 10). Our
mutual love is a proof that God dwells in us. God dwelling in us, His love is perfected in us (ver. 12). The latter clause, it would seem, must be explained according to
ver. 10. Then (ver. 16), "We have known and believed the love that God hath in us" (see on John 16:22 on the phrase have love). "God is love;" that is His nature, and
He imparts this nature to be the sphere in which His children dwell. "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God." Finally, our love is engendered by His love to us. "We
love Him because He first loved us" (ver. 19).

In harmony with this is John 15:9. "As the Father loved me, I also loved you. Continue ye in my love." My love must be explained by I loved you. This is the same idea
of divine love as the sphere or element of renewed being; and this idea is placed, as in the passage we are considering, in direct connection with the keeping of the
divine commandments. "If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love."

This interpretation does not exclude man's love to God. On the contrary, it includes it. The love which God has, is revealed as the love of God in the love of His
children towards Him, no less than in His manifestations of love to them. The idea of divine love is thus complex. Love, in its very essence, is reciprocal. Its perfect ideal
requires two parties. It is not enough to tell us, as a bare, abstract truth, that God is love. The truth must be rounded and filled out for us by the appreciable exertion of
divine love upon an object, and by the response of the object. The love of God is perfected or completed by the perfect establishment of the relation of love between
God and man. When man loves perfectly, his love is the love of God shed abroad in his heart. His love owes both its origin and its nature to the love of God.

The word verily (ajlhqw~s) is never used by John as a mere formula of affirmation, but has the meaning of a qualitative adverb, expressing not merely the actual
existence of a thing, but its existence in a manner most absolutely corresponding to ajlh>qeia truth. Compare John 1:48; 8:31. Hath been perfected. John is presenting
the ideal of life in God. "This is the love of God that we keep His commandments." Therefore whosoever keepeth God's word, His message in its entirety, realizes the
perfect relation of love.

We are in Him. Compare Acts 17:28. See note on 1 John 2:15.

6. He abideth in Him (ejn aujtw|~ me>nein). To abide in God is a more common expression with John than to be in God, and marks an advance in thought. The phrase
is a favorite one with John. See John 15:4 sqq.; John 6:56; 1 John 2:24, 27, 28; 3:6, 24; 4:12 sq.; John 4:15 sq. Bengel notes the gradation in the three phrases "to
know Him, to be in Him, to abide in Him; knowledge, fellowship, constancy."

Ought (ojfei>lei). An obligation, put as a debt. See Luke 27:10, and on debts, Matthew 6:12. The word expresses a special, personal obligation, and not as dei~ must,
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He (ejkei~nov). Always of Christ in the Epistles of John. See ejkei>nhv, referring to aJmarti>a sin, 1 John 5:16.
know Him, to be in Him, to abide in Him; knowledge, fellowship, constancy."

Ought (ojfei>lei). An obligation, put as a debt. See Luke 27:10, and on debts, Matthew 6:12. The word expresses a special, personal obligation, and not as dei~ must,
an obligation in the nature of things. See John 20:9 and compare 1 John 3:16; 4:11; 3 John 1:8.

He (ejkei~nov). Always of Christ in the Epistles of John. See ejkei>nhv, referring to aJmarti>a sin, 1 John 5:16.

7. Brethren (ajdelfoi). The correct reading is ajgaphoi> beloved. The first occurrence of this title, which is suggested by the previous words concerning the relation of
love.

No new commandment (oujk ejntolh). The Rev., properly, places these words first in the sentence as emphatic, the point of the verse lying in the antithesis between the
new and the old. On new, see on Matthew 26:29.

Old (palaia). Four words are used in the New Testament for old or elder. Of these ge>rwn and presbu>terov refer merely to the age of men, or, the latter, to official
position based primarily upon age. Hence the official term elder. Between the two others, ajrcai~ov and palaio>v, the distinction is not sharply maintained. ~ov
emphasizes the reaching back to a beginning (ajrch>). Thus Satan is "that old (ajrcai~ov) serpent," whose evil work was coeval with the beginning of time (Revelation
7:9; 20:2). The world before the flood is "the old (ajrcai~ov) world" (2 Peter 2:5). Mnason was "an old (ajrcai~ov) disciple;" not aged, but having been a disciple from
the beginning (Acts 21:16). Sophocles, in "Trachiniae," 555, gives both words. "I had an old (palaio) gift," i.e., received long ago, "from the old (ajrcai>ou) Centaur."
The Centaur is conceived as an old-world creature, belonging to a state of things which has passed away. It carries, therefore, the idea of old fashioned: peculiar to an
obsolete state of things.

Palaio>v carries the sense of worn out by time, injury, sorrow, or other causes. Thus the old garment (Matthew 9:16) is palaio>n. So the old wine-skins (Matthew
9:17). The old men of a living generation compared with the young of the same generation are palaioi>. In palaio>v the simple conception of time dominates. In
ajrcai~ov there is often a suggestion of a character answering to the remote age.

The commandment is here called old because it belonged to the first stage of the Christian church. Believers had had it from the beginning of their Christian faith.

Commandment. The commandment of love. Compare John 13:34. This commandment is fulfilled in walking as Christ walked. Compare Ephesians 5:1, 2.

8. New commandment. The commandment of love is both old and new. Old, because John's readers have had it from the beginning of their Christian experience. New,
because, in the unfolding of Christian experience, it has developed new power, meaning, and obligation, and closer correspondence "with the facts of Christ's life, with
the crowning mystery of His passion, and with the facts of the Christian life."

Which thing is true (o[ ejstin ajlhqe). The expression which thing, or that which, refers either to the commandment of love, or to the fact stated, viz., that the old
commandment is new. The fact that the old commandment is new is true in Him and in us. On the whole I prefer this.

In Him and in us. For us, read you. The fact that the old commandment is new, is true in Him (Christ), since He gave it as a new commandment, and illustrated it by His
word and example. It is true in you, since you did not receive it until Christ gave it, and since the person and life of Christ are appealing to you in new lights and with
fresh power as your Christian life develops. In Him, points back to as He walked.

Because. Explaining the apparent paradox.

The darkness (hJ skoti>a). See on John 1:5. God is light; and whatever is not in fellowship with God is therefore darkness. In all cases where the word is not used of
physical darkness, it means moral insensibility to the divine light; moral blindness or obtuseness. Compare John 8:12; 12:35, 46; l John 2:9, 11.

Is past (para>getai). Wrong. The passing is not represented as accomplished, but as in progress. Rev., rightly rendering the present tense, is passing away.

The true light (to). Lit., the light, the true (light). See on that eternal life (1:2). True, not as distinguished from false, but as answering to the true ideal. See on John 1:9.
The true light is the revelation of God in Christ. See on 1 John 1:5.

Shineth (fai>nei). See on John 1:5. Compare Revelation 1:16; 8:12; 21:23; 2 Peter 1:19. See also Romans 13:11 sqq.; Titus 2:11; 3:4.

9. Hateth (misw~n). The sharp issue is maintained here as in Christ's words, "He that is not with me is against me" (Luke 11:23). Men fall into two classes, those who
are in fellowship with God, and therefore walk in light and love, and those who are not in fellowship with God, and therefore walk in darkness and hatred. "A direct
opposition," says Bengel; where love is not, there is hatred. "The heart is not empty." See John 3:20; 7:7; 15:18 sqq.; John 17:14. The word hate is opposed both to
the love of natural affection (filei~n), and to the more discriminating sentiment - love founded on a just estimate (ajgapa~n). For the former see John 12:25; 15:18, 19;
compare Luke 14:26. For the latter, 1 John 3:14, 15; 4:20Matthew 5:43; 6:24; Ephesians 5:28, 29. "In the former case, hatred, which may become a moral duty,
involves the subjection of an instinct. In the latter case it expresses a general determination of character" (Westcott).

His brother (ton). His fellow-Christian. The singular, brother, is characteristic of this Epistle. See 1 John 2:10, 11; 3:10, 15, 17; 4:20, 21; 5:16. Christians are called in
the New Testament, Christians (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16), mainly by those outside of the Christian circle. Disciples, applied to all followers of Christ (John
2:11; 6:61) and strictly to the twelve (John 13:5 sqq.). In Acts 19:1 to those who had received only John's baptism. Not found in John's Epistles nor in Revelation.
Brethren. The first title given to the body of believers after the Ascension (Acts 1:15 where the true reading is ajdelfw~n brethren, for maqhtw~n disciples). See Acts
9:30; 10:23; 11:29; 1 Thessalonians 4:10; 5:26; 1 John 3:14; 3 John 1:5, 10; John 21:23. Peter has hJ ajdelfo>thv the brotherhood (1 Peter 2:17; 5:9). The believers.
Under three forms: The believers (oiJ pistoi>; Acts 10:45; 1 Timothy 4:12); they that believe (oiJ pisteu>ontev; 1 Peter 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 1:7; Ephesians 1:19); they
that believed (oiJ pisteu>santev; Acts 2:44; 4:32; Hebrews 4:3). The saints (oiJ a[gioi); characteristic of Paul and Revelation. Four times in the Acts (9:13, 32, 41;
26:10), and once in Jude 1:3. Also Hebrews 6:10; 13:24. In Paul, 1 Corinthians 6:1; 14:33; Ephesians 1:1, 15 etc. In Revelation 5:8; 8:3, 4; 11:18 etc.

Until now (e[wv a]rti). Though the light has been increasing, and though he may claim that he has been in the light from the first. The phrase occurs in John 2:10; 5:17;
26:24; and is used by Paul, 1 Corinthians 4:13; 8:7; 25:6.

10. Abideth (me>nei). See on ver. 6. Compare ver. 9, is in.

Occasion of stumbling (ska>ndalon). See on offend, Matthew 5:29. For the image in John, see John 6:61; 11:9; 16:1; Revelation 2:14. The meaning is not that he gives
no occasion of stumbling to others, but that there is none in his own way. See John 11:9, 10.

11. Is - walketh - whither. The condition of him who hates is viewed as related to being, action, and tendency.
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He goeth (uJpa>gei). Or, is going. See on John 6:21; 8:21.
no occasion of stumbling to others, but that there is none in his own way. See John 11:9, 10.

11. Is - walketh - whither. The condition of him who hates is viewed as related to being, action, and tendency.

He goeth (uJpa>gei). Or, is going. See on John 6:21; 8:21.

Hath blinded (ejtu>flwsen). For the image see Isaiah 6:10. See on closed, Matthew 13:15. Compare John 1:5 and see note on kate>laben, overtook; John 11:35, 40.
The aorist tense, blinded, indicates a past, definite, decisive act. When the darkness overtook, it blinded. The blindness is no new state into which he has come.

12. Little children. See on ver. 1, and John 1:12. Not children in age, but addressed to the readers generally.

Name. See on John 1:12; 2:23.

13. Fathers. Indicating age and authority.

Have known (ejgnw>kate) Rev., correctly, ye know. Knowledge is the characteristic of fathers; knowledge as the fruit of experience. Ye have perceived, therefore ye
know.

Have overcome (nenikh>kate). Compare John 16:33. The image is characteristic of Revelation and First Epistle. See Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 12:11; 21:7; 1 John
2:14; 4:4; 5:4, 5.

The evil one (ton). See on wickedness, Mark 7:22; evils, Luke 3:19; evil spirits, Luke 7:21. The prince of darkness is styled by John oJ dia>bolov the false accuser
(John 8:44; 13:2; 1 John 3:8, 10. See on Matthew 4:1): oJ Satana~v Satan, the adversary (John 13:27; compare oJ kath>gwr the accuser, properly, in court,
Revelation 12:10): oJ ponhro>v the evil one (John 17:15; 1 John 2:13, 14; 3:12; 5:18, 19): oJ a]rcwn tou~ ko>smou tou>tou the ruler of this world (John 12:31;
14:30; 16:11). Note the abrupt introduction of the word here, as indicating something familiar.

I have written (e]graya). Or, strictly, I wrote. Compare I write (vv. 12, 13), and note the change of tense. The past tense, I wrote, does not refer to some previous
writing, as the Gospel, but, like the present, to this Epistle. The present, I write, refers to the immediate act of writing: the aorist is the epistolary aorist, by which the
writer places himself at the reader's stand-point, regarding the writing as past. See on 1 Peter 5:12. I write, therefore, refers to the Apostle's immediate act of writing; I
have written, or I wrote, to the reader's act of reading the completed writing.

Little children (paidi>a). Compare tekni>a little children (ver. 1), which emphasizes the idea of kinship, while this word emphasizes the idea of subordination and
consequent discipline. Hence it is the more appropriate word when spoken from the stand-point of authority rather than of affection.

Ye have known (ejgnw>kate). Rev., correctly, ye known.

The Father. In His rightful authority, as a Father over little children.

14. Him that is from the beginning. The eternal, pre-existent Christ, who was from the beginning (John 1:1). The eternal Son, through whom men are brought into the
relation of children of God, and learn to know the Father. The knowledge of God involves, on the part of both fathers and children, the knowledge of Christ.

Strong (ijscuroi>). See on was not able, Luke 14:30; I cannot, Luke 16:3.

15. The world (tosmon). See on John 1:9.

The love of the Father (hJ ajga>ph tou~ patro). The phrase occurs only here in the New Testament. It means love towards the Father, yet as generated by the Father's
love to man. Compare 1 John 3:1. See on love of God, ver. 5.

Is not in him. This means more than that he does not love God: rather that the love of God does not dwell in him as the ruling principle of his life. Westcott cites a
parallel from Philo: "It is impossible for love to the world to coexist with love to God, as it is impossible for light and darkness to coexist." Compare Plato. "Evils,
Theodorus, can never pass away; for there must always remain something which is antagonist to good. Having no place among the gods in heaven, of necessity they
hover around the earthly nature, and this mortal sphere. Wherefore we ought to fly away from earth to heaven as quickly as we can; and to fly away is to become like
God, as far as this is possible; and to become like Him is to become holy and just and wise" ("Theaetetus," 176).

16. All (pa~n). Not all things severally, but all that is in the world collectively, regarded as a unit.

The lust (hJ ejpiqumi>a). See on Mark 4:19.

Of the flesh. Sensual appetite. The desire which resides in the flesh, not the desire for the flesh. For this subjective usage of the genitive with lust, see John 8:44;
Romans 1:24; Revelation 18:14. Compare 1 Peter 2:11; Titus 2:12. The lust of the flesh involves the appropriation of the desired object. On the flesh, see on John
1:14.

The lust of the eyes. This is included in the lust of the flesh, as a specific manifestation. All merely sensual desires belong to the economy which "is not of the Father."
The desire of the eyes does not involve appropriation. It is satisfied with contemplating. It represents a higher type of desire than the desire of the flesh, in that it seeks
mental pleasure where the other seeks physical gratification. There is thus a significant hint in this passage that even high artistic gratification may have no fellowship with
God.

The pride of life (hJ ajlazonei>a tou~ bi>ou). Rev., vainglory. The word occurs only here and James 4:16 on which see note. It means, originally, empty, braggart talk
or display; swagger; and thence an insolent and vain assurance in one's own resources, or in the stability of earthly things, which issues in a contempt of divine laws. The
vainglory of life is the vainglory which belongs to the present life. On bi>ov life, as distinguished from zwh. life, see on John 1:4.

Of the Father (ejk tou~ patro>v). Do not spring forth from the Father. On the expression ei+nai ejk to be of, see on John 1:46. "He, therefore, who is always occupied
with the cravings of desire and ambition, and is eagerly striving after them, must have all his opinions mortal, and, as far as man can be, must be all of him mortal,
because he has cherished his mortal part. But he who has been earnest in the love of knowledge and true wisdom, and has been trained to think that these are the
immortal and divine things of a man, if he attain truth, must of necessity, as far as human nature is capable of attaining immortality, be all immortal, for he is ever
attending on the divine power, and having the divinity within him in perfect order, he has a life perfect and divine" (Plato, "Timsaeus," 90).
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17. Forever (eijv to). The only form in which aijw~n age, life, occurs in the Gospel and Epistles of John, except ejk tou~ aijw~nov since the world began (John 9:32).
Some old versions add, "as God abideth forever."
with the cravings of desire and ambition, and is eagerly striving after them, must have all his opinions mortal, and, as far as man can be, must be all of him mortal,
because he has cherished his mortal part. But he who has been earnest in the love of knowledge and true wisdom, and has been trained to think that these are the
immortal and divine things of a man, if he attain truth, must of necessity, as far as human nature is capable of attaining immortality, be all immortal, for he is ever
attending on the divine power, and having the divinity within him in perfect order, he has a life perfect and divine" (Plato, "Timsaeus," 90).

17. Forever (eijv to). The only form in which aijw~n age, life, occurs in the Gospel and Epistles of John, except ejk tou~ aijw~nov since the world began (John 9:32).
Some old versions add, "as God abideth forever."

18. Little children (paidi>a). See on ver. 13.

The last hour (ejsca>th w[ra). The phrase only here in the New Testament. On John's use of w[ra hour, as marking a critical season, see John 2:4; 4:21, 23; 5:25, 28;
7:30; 8:20; 11:23, 27; 16:2, 4, 25, 32. The dominant sense of the expression last days, in the New Testament, is that of a period of suffering and struggle preceding a
divine victory. See Acts 2:17; James 5:3; 1 Peter 1:20. Hence the phrase here does not refer to the end of the world, but to the period preceding a crisis in the advance
of Christ's kingdom, a changeful and troublous period, marked by the appearance of "many antichrists."

Antichrist. Peculiar to John in the New Testament. The absence of the article shows its currency as a proper name. It may mean one who stands against Christ, or one
who stands instead of Christ; just as ajntistra>thgov may mean either one who stands in the place of a strathgo>v praetor, a propraetor (see Introd. to Luke, vol. 1, p.
246, and note on Acts 16:20), or an opposing general. John never uses the word yeudo>cristov false Christ (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22). While the false Christ is
merely a pretender to the Messianic office, the Antichrist "assails Christ by proposing to do or to preserve what he did, while denying Him." Antichrist, then, is one who
opposes Christ in the guise of Christ. Westcott's remark is very important, that John's sense of Antichrist is determined by the full Christian conception of Christ, and
not by the Jewish conception of the promised Savior.

Cometh (e]rcetai). The prophetic present, equivalent to is about to come. The same term is used of Christ (John 14:3; 21:22; Revelation 22:20).

Are there (gego>nasin). Rev., more correctly, have there arisen.

Whereby (o[qen). Lit., whence. Only here in John. It is found in Matthew and Luke, and frequently in Hebrews, and not elsewhere.

19. They went out from us (ejx hJmw~n ejxh~lqan). The phrase went out from, may mean either removal (Revelation 28:4; John 8:59) or origin (Revelation 9:3; 14:13,
15, 17; 19:5, 21). Here the latter, as appears from the following clause. Compare Acts 20:30.

Were not of. See on John 1:46.

No doubt. A needless addition of the A.V.

With us (meq' hJmw~n). hJmi~n, among us, would be more according to John's ordinary usage; but his thought rests here rather on fellowship than on the unity of
believers as one body.

They might be made manifest (fanerwqw~sin). See on John 21:1.

They were not all (oujk eijsintev). Rev., more correctly, they all are not. 65

20. An unction (cri>sma). The word means that with which the anointing is performed - the unguent or ointment. In the New Testament only here and ver. 27. Rev., an
anointing. The root of this word and of Cristo>v, Christ, is the same. See on Matthew 1:1. the anointing is from the Anointed.

The Holy One. Christ. See John 6:69; Acts 3:14; 4:27, 30; Revelation 3:7.

Ye know all things (oi]date pa.nta). The best texts read pa>ntev, ye all know; in which case the connection is with the following clause: "I have not written unto you
because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it."

21. I have not written (oujk e]graya). Or, I wrote not. See on ver. 13.

22. A liar (oJ yeu>sthv). Rev., correctly, "the liar." For a similar interrogative phrase see 1 John 5:5. It marks the lively feeling with which the apostle writes. By the
definite article, the liar, the lie is

set forth in its concrete personality: the one who impersonates all that is false, as antichrist represents every form of hostility and opposition to Christ. The denial that
Jesus is the Christ is the representative falsehood. He that denies is the representative liar.

He that denieth (oJ ajrnou>menov). The article with the participle denotes the habitual denial. Lit., the one denying, the one who habitually represents this attitude
towards Christ. The words are aimed at the heresy of Cerinthus, a man of Jewish decent and educated at Alexandria. He denied the miraculous conception of Jesus,
and taught that, after His baptism, the Christ descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and that He then announced the unknown Father and wrought miracles; but
that, towards the end of His ministry, the Christ departed again from Jesus, and Jesus suffered and rose from the dead, while the Christ remained impassible (incapable
of suffering) as a spiritual being.

The Father. The title the Father occurs always in its simple form in the Epistle. Never his or our Father, or the Father in heaven.

23. Hath not the Father (oujdera e]cei). Properly, "hath not even the Father," though he professes to reverence the Father while rejecting the Son. Compare John 8:42.

24. As for you (uJmei~v). This is the rendering of the Rev. The force of the emphatic you at the beginning of the sentence is utterly lost in the A.V., which takes the
pronoun simply as nominative to ye have heard. You is emphatic by way of contrast with the false teachers (ver. 22).

From the beginning. See on 1 John 1:1. Notice the change in the order of the repeated sentence, that which ye heard from the beginning: o{ hjkou>sate ajp' ajrch~v,
that which ye heard; the emphasis being on their reception of the message: o{ ajp ajrch~v hjkou>sate, that which ye heard from the beginning; emphasizing the time of
the reception as coincident with the origin of their faith.

In the Son and in the Father. Compare the reverse order in ver. 22. "Here the thought is that of rising through the confession of the Son to the knowledge of the Father;
there the thought is of the issue of denial culminating in the denial of the Father" (Westcott).
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25. The promise (hJ ejpaggeli>a). See on Acts 1:4.

Eternal life (thnion). Lit., the life, the eternal (life).
the reception as coincident with the origin of their faith.

In the Son and in the Father. Compare the reverse order in ver. 22. "Here the thought is that of rising through the confession of the Son to the knowledge of the Father;
there the thought is of the issue of denial culminating in the denial of the Father" (Westcott).

25. The promise (hJ ejpaggeli>a). See on Acts 1:4.

Eternal life (thnion). Lit., the life, the eternal (life).

26. Seduce (planw>ntwn). See on 1 John 1:8. Rev., lead astray.

27. As for you (uJmei~v). Emphatic, as in ver. 24.

Of Him (ajp' aujtou~). See on 1 John 1:5.

The same anointing (tosma). The best texts read aujtou~, His anointing.

Is truth, and is no lie. The characteristic combination of positive and negative statement. See on 1 John 1:5.

Ye shall abide (menei~te). Wrong. The best tests read me>nete, which may be taken either as imperative, abide ye, or as indicative, ye abide. The indicative is
preferable, as answering to me>nei abideth.

In Him. Christ.

28. When He shall appear (o[tan fanerwqh|~). The best texts read eja if, for when. So Rev., which gives also the proper passive force of fanerwqh|~, if He shall be
manifested. Not expressing a doubt of the fact, but uncertainty as to the circumstances. On fanero>w to make manifest, see on John 21:1. John never uses
ajpokalu>ptw to reveal, of the revelation of Christ. Indeed, neither the verb nor the kindred noun, ajpoka>luyiv, occurs in his writings except in John 12:38 which is a
citation from Isaiah, and in Revelation 1:1.

We may have. Thus identifying himself with his children in the faith. Teacher and pupil must alike abide in Him.

We may have confidence (scw~men parjrJhsi>an). Rev., boldness. For the phrase have boldness, see 1 John 3:21; 4:17; 5:14; Hebrews 3:6; 10:19; Philemon 1:8. For
the word parjrJhsi>a boldness, see on John 7:13; Acts 2:29. It is opposed, as here, to aijscu>nomai to be ashamed, in Proverbs 13:5 where the Septuagint reads "a
wicked man is ashamed (aijscu>netai) and shall not have boldness (parjrJhsi>an). Also in Philippians 1:20. Compare 2 Corinthians 3:12. The idea of free, open speech
lies at the bottom of the word: coming before God's bar with nothing to conceal. The thought is embodied in the general confession of the Book of Common Prayer:
"That we should not dissemble nor cloke them before the face of Almighty God our Heavenly Father, but confess them." So John Wesley's Hymn:

"Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness

My beauty are, my glorious dress:

'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,

With joy shall I lift up my head.

Bold shall I stand in Thy great day,

For who aught to my charge shall lay?

Fully absolved through these I am,

From sin and fear, from guilt and shame."

Be ashamed before Him (aijscunqw~men ajp' aujtou~). The expression is peculiar. Lit., "be ashamed from Him." The fundamental thought is that of separation and
shrinking from God through the shame of conscious guilt. The same construction is found in the Septuagint. Isaiah 1:29"They shall be ashamed from their idols."
Jeremiah 2:36"Thou shalt be ashamed of (from) Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of (from) Assyria." Jeremiah 12:13.

Coming (parousi>a|). Lit., presence. So 2 Corinthians 10:10. Hence, the presence of one coming, and so coming, especially in the New Testament, of the future, visible
return of our Lord to raise the dead, judge the world, and finally establish the kingdom of God. The word does not occur elsewhere in John, nor does he use
ejpifa>neia, which is Paul's word for the same event.

29. If ye know - ye know (eja ginw>skete). If ye know absolutely that He is righteous, ye perceive that every one, etc. See on John 2:24. Ye perceive may be taken as
imperative: perceive or know ye.

Is born of Him (ejx aujtou~ gege>nnhtai). The interpreters differ as to the reference of Him; some referring it to God, and others to Christ. Against the latter is the fact
that men are not said to be born of Christ, but of God; and that to be born of God is a characteristic phrase of John, while to be born of Christ is a phrase which occurs
nowhere. On the other hand, the undoubted reference to Christ in ver. 28, would seem to demand a similar reference here. Men are said to abide in Christ as well as in
God, and to be born of the Spirit. Westcott's remark is pertinent. "When John thinks of God in relation to men, he never thinks of Him apart from Christ (see 1 John
5:20); and again, he never thinks of Christ in His human nature without adding the thought of His divine nature. Thus a rapid transition is possible from the one aspect of
the Lord's divine-human person to the other."

Righteous (di>kaiov). Used by John both of God and of Christ. Of God, 1 John 1:9; John 17:25; Revelation 16:5; of Christ, 1 John 2:1; 3:7. Compare Acts 3:14;
7:52; 22:14.

Is born of Him (ejx aujtou~ gege>nnhtai). Rev., begotten. The first occurrence of the phrase in the Epistle.

CHAPTER 3
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1. Behold (i]dete). Lit., behold ye. The plural is peculiar. The usual form is the singular i]de or ijdou>. See John 1:29; 11:3 etc.; 1 John 4:35; 19:26, 27. Elsewhere the
plural is used of something actually visible (Galatians 6:11).
Is born of Him (ejx aujtou~ gege>nnhtai). Rev., begotten. The first occurrence of the phrase in the Epistle.

CHAPTER 3

1. Behold (i]dete). Lit., behold ye. The plural is peculiar. The usual form is the singular i]de or ijdou>. See John 1:29; 11:3 etc.; 1 John 4:35; 19:26, 27. Elsewhere the
plural is used of something actually visible (Galatians 6:11).

What manner of (potaph). The word is of infrequent occurrence in the New Testament, but is found in all the Synoptists and in 2 Peter 3:11. Only here in John's
writings. Originally it means from what country or race; then, of what sort or quality. It is used of the quality of both persons and things.

Hath bestowed (de>dwken). Emphasizing the endowment of the receiver. Compare cari>zomai, from ca>riv grace, favor, which emphasizes the goodwill of the giver.
See Galatians 3:18; Philippians 2:9; 1:29.

That (i[na). See on John 25:13.

We should be called (klhqw~men). Or, named. As Matthew 2:23; 21:13; Luke 1:13, 31 etc. The verb is never used by John of the divine call. In John 10:3 for kalei~
calleth, read fwnei~.

The sons (te>kna). Rev., better, children. See on John 1:12.

And such we are (kai). Lit., and we are. Added by Rev., according to the best texts. A parenthetical, reflective comment, characteristic of John. See on 1 John 1 1:2.

2. Beloved. See 1 John 2:7.

Now are we and, etc. The two thoughts of the present and the future condition of God's children are placed side by side with the simple copula, and, as parts of one
thought. Christian condition, now and eternally, centers in the fact of being children of God. In that fact lies the germ of all the possibilities of eternal life.

It doth not yet appear (ou]pw ejfanerw>qh). Rev., more correctly, it is not yet made manifest. See on John 21:1. The force of the aorist tense is, was never manifested
on any occasion.

What we shall be (ti> ejso>meqa). "This what suggests something unspeakable, contained in the likeness of God" (Bengel).

But we know. Omit but.

When He shall appear (eja). Rev., correctly, if He (or it) shall be manifested. We may render either "if it shall be manifested," that is what we shall be; or, "if He," etc.
The preceding ejfanerw>qh it is (not yet) made manifest, must, I think, decide us in favor of the rendering it. We are now children of God. It has not been revealed
what we shall be, and therefore we do not know. In the absence of such revelation, we know (through our consciousness of childship, through His promise that we
shall behold His glory), that if what we shall be were manifested, the essential fact of the glorified condition thus revealed will be likeness to the Lord. This fact we know
now as a promise, as a general truth of our future state. The condition of realizing the fact arvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, Volume 2is the
manifestation of that glorified state, the revealing of the ti> ejso>meqa what we shall be; for that manifestation will bring with it the open vision of the Lord. When the
what we shall be shall be manifest, it will bring us face to face with Him, and we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is.

As He is (kaqw>v ejstin). Strictly, just as. Rev., even as.

"As long as the festivity

Of Paradise shall be, so long our love

Shall radiate round about us such a vesture.

Its brightness is proportioned to the ardor,

The ardor to the vision; and the vision

Equals what grace it has above its worth.

Dante, "Paradiso," iv., 37-42.

8. Every man that hath (pa~v oJ e]cwn). A characteristic form of expression with John, containing "a reference to some who had questioned the application of a general
principle in particular cases." Here to some persons who had denied the practical obligation to moral purity involved in their hope. See vv. 1 John 3:4, 6, 9, 10, 15, 23,
29; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18; 2 John 1:9.

Hope. John's only reference to Christian hope. The phrase used here, to have the hope upon one, is unique in the New Testament. Compare ejp' aujtw|~ e]qnh
ejlpiou~sin "on Him shall the Gentiles hope" (Romans 15:12): hjlpi>kamen ejpi "we have hoped on the living God" (1 Timothy 4:10). On the force of e]cwn, see on
John 26:22.

In Him (ejp' aujtw|~). Ambiguous. Better, as Rev., set on Him.

Purifieth himself (aJgni>zei eJauto>n). On the verb, see on 1 Peter 1:22; James 4:8. In the Septuagint used only of ceremonial purification, and so four out of the seven
instances in which it occurs in the New Testament (John 11:55; Acts 21:24, 26; 24:18). In the remaining cases, of purifying the heart and the soul (James 4:8; 1 Peter
1:22). The kindred adjective aJgno>v pure, has a moral signification in every case, as has the noun aJgo>thv pureness (only 2 Corinthians 6:6). qr>v purification (only
Acts 21:26), ceremonial.

He (ejkei~nov). Christ, as always in the Epistle.

Pure (aJgno>v). See above. Though marking moral and spiritual purity, and that of a very high grade, since it is applied to Christ here, yet it admits the thought of
possible temptation or pollution, thus differing from a[giov, which means absolutely holy. Hence aJgno>v cannot properly be applied to God, who is a[giov; but both
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4. Whosoever committeth sin (pa~v oJ poiw~n than). Rev., better, every one that doeth sin. See on ver. 3, every man that hath, and note the frequent repetition of this
He (ejkei~nov). Christ, as always in the Epistle.

Pure (aJgno>v). See above. Though marking moral and spiritual purity, and that of a very high grade, since it is applied to Christ here, yet it admits the thought of
possible temptation or pollution, thus differing from a[giov, which means absolutely holy. Hence aJgno>v cannot properly be applied to God, who is a[giov; but both
may be used of Christ, the latter in virtue of His human perfection.

4. Whosoever committeth sin (pa~v oJ poiw~n than). Rev., better, every one that doeth sin. See on ver. 3, every man that hath, and note the frequent repetition of this
form of expression in the present chapter. Compare pa~v oJ aJmarta>nwn whosoever sinneth (ver. 6). The phrase to do sin regards sin as something actually realized
in its completeness. He that does sin realizes in action the sin (note the article th) that which includes and represents the complete ideal of sin. Compare do
righteousness, 1 John 2:29.

Transgresseth also the law (kaian poiei~). Rev., more accurately, doeth also lawlessness. Compare Matthew 13:41 and the phrase oiJ ejrgazo>menoi than ye that
work iniquity (Matthew 7:23).

For (kai). Rev., correctly, and. This and the preceding clause are coordinated after John's manner.

Is the transgression of the law (ejstia). Rev., correctly, is lawlessness. Sin is the violation of the law of our being, the law which includes our threefold relation to God, to
the men and things around us, and to ourselves. Compare James 1:14; 4:17.

5. Ye know. John's characteristic appeal to Christian knowledge. Compare 1 John 2:20, 21; 4:2, 14, 16; 5:15, 18; 3 John 1:12.

He (ejkei~nov). Christ, as always in this Epistle. See on John 1:18.

Was manifested. See on John 21:1. Including Christ's whole life on earth and its consequences. The idea of manifestation here assumes the fact of a previous being.
John various terms to describe the incarnation. He conceives it with reference to the Father, as a sending, a mission. Hence oJ pe>myav me He that sent me (John
4:34; 6:38; 9:4; 12:44 etc.): oJ pe>myav me path>r the Father that sent me (John 5:37; 8:18; 12:49 etc.): with the verb ajposte>llw to send as an envoy, with a
commission; God sent (ajpe>steilen) His Son (John 3:17; 10:36; 1 John 4:10; conpare John 6:57; 7:29; 17:18). With reference to the Son, as a coming, regarded as a
historic fact and as an abiding fact. As a historic event, He came (h=lqen, John 1:11); this is He that came (oJ ejlqw, 1 John 5:6). Came forth (ejxh~lqon; John 8:42;
16:27, 28; 27:8). As something abiding in its effects, am come, hath come, is come, marked by the perfect tense: Light is come (ejlh>luqen, John 3:19). Jesus Christ is
come (ejlhluqo>ta, 1 John 4:2). Compare John 5:43; 12:46; 18:37). In two instances with h[kw I am come, John 8:42; 1 John 5:20. Or with the present tense, as
describing a coming realized at the moment: whence I come (e]rcomai, John 8:14); compare John 14:3, 18, 28; also Jesus Christ coming (ejrco>menon, 2 John 1:7).
With reference to the form: in flesh (sa.rx). See John 1:14; 1 John 4:2; 2 John 1:7. With reference to men, Christ was manifested (1 John 1:2; 3:5, 8; John 1:31; 21:1,
14). 66

To take away (i[na a]rh|). See on John 1:29.

Our sins (taav hJmw~n). Omit hJuw~n our. Compare John 1:29than, the sin. The plural here regards all that is contained in the inclusive term the sin: all manifestations
or realizations of sin.

In Him is no sin (aJmarti>a ejn aujtw|~ oujk e]stin). Lit., in Him sin is not. He is essentially and forever without sin. Compare John 7:18.

6. Abideth. Compare John 15:4-10. To abide in Christ is more than to be in Him, since it represents a condition maintained by communion with God and by the
habitual doing of His will. See on 1 John 2:6.

Sinneth not. John does not teach that believers do not sin, but is speaking of a character, a habit. Throughout the Epistle he deals with the ideal reality of life in God, in
which the love of God and sin exclude each other as light and darkness.

Seen - known. The vision of Christ and the appropriation of what is seen. Rev., correctly, knoweth.

7. Little children. See on 1 John 2:1.

Deceive (plana>tw). Rev., better, lead astray. See on 1 John 1:8.

Doeth righteousness. See on ver. 4, and compare 1 John 2:29. Note the article th, the righteousness, in its completeness and unity. Not merely doing righteous acts. "In
his relation to other men he will do what is just; and in his relation to the gods he will do what is holy; and he who does what is just and holy cannot be other than just
and holy" (Plato, "Gorgias," 507).

8. The Devil. See on 1 John 2:13. Compare John 8:44. "The devil made no one, he begot no one, he created no one; but whosoever imitates the devil, is, as it were, a
child of the devil, through imitating, not through being born of him" (Augustine).

Sinneth. The present tense indicates continuousness. He sinned in the beginning, and has never ceased to sin from the beginning, and still sinneth.

The Son of God. For the first time in the Epistle. Hitherto the title has been the Son, or His Son. See on 1 John 1:7.

Might destroy (lu>sh|). Lit., dissolve, loosen. Compare Acts 27:41; 13:43. "The works of the devil are represented as having a certain consistency and coherence.
They show a kind of solid front. But Christ, by His coming, has revealed them in their complete unsubstantiality. He has 'undone' the seeming bonds by which they were
held together" (Westcott).

9. Whosoever is born (pa~v oJ gegennhme>nov). On the form of expression, see on ver. 4. Rev., begotten. The perfect participle indicates a condition remaining from
the first: he who hath been begotten and remains God's child.

His seed. The divine principle of life.

Cannot. See on ver. 6. Conceived as a perfect ideal, life in God excludes the possibility of sin. Compare Romans 4 throughout.

10. In this (ejn tou>tw|). See on 1 John 2:3.

Children
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                               tou~ diabo>lou). The only occurrence of the phrase. Compare Acts 13:10 and see John 8:44.
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Righteousness. Here the article is wanting, compare ver. 7. Righteousness is regarded, not in its completeness, but as bearing a particular character. It will be interesting
to follow out the same distinction between the following words with and without the article: ajmarti>a sin; ajga>ph love; zwh> life; ajlh>qeia truth.
Cannot. See on ver. 6. Conceived as a perfect ideal, life in God excludes the possibility of sin. Compare Romans 4 throughout.

10. In this (ejn tou>tw|). See on 1 John 2:3.

Children of the devil (te>kna tou~ diabo>lou). The only occurrence of the phrase. Compare Acts 13:10 and see John 8:44.

Righteousness. Here the article is wanting, compare ver. 7. Righteousness is regarded, not in its completeness, but as bearing a particular character. It will be interesting
to follow out the same distinction between the following words with and without the article: ajmarti>a sin; ajga>ph love; zwh> life; ajlh>qeia truth.

11. From the beginning. See on 1:1.

That (i[na). The purport and aim of the message. See on John 15:13.

12. Cain who was (Ka>i`n h=n). Who is not in the Greek. The construction is irregular. Lit., as Rev., not as Cain was of the evil one.

Slew (e]sfaxen). The verb occurs only in John, and only here outside of Revelation. Originally, to slay by cutting the throat; so in Homer, of cattle:

"the suitor train who slay (sfa>zousi)

His flocks and slow-paced beeves with crooked horns."

"Odyssey," i., 92.

To slaughter victims for sacrifice:

"Backward they turned the necks of the fat beeves,

And cut their throats (e[sfazan), and flayed the carcasses."

"Iliad," i., 459.

Thence, generally, to slay or kill.

Wherefore (ca>rin ti>nov). Lit., on account of what. Ca>rin for the sake of, on account of, is elsewhere placed after the genitive. See Ephesians 3:1, 14; 1 Timothy
5:14; Galatians 3:19.

13. Brethren (ajdelfoi>). The only occurrence of this mode of address in the Epistle.

Hate (misei~). Indicative mood, pointing to the fact as existing: if the world hate you, as it does.

14. We know. Emphatic; we as distinguished from the world.

Have passed (meatbebh>kamen). Lit., have passed over.

From death (ejk tou~ qana>tou). Lit., out of the death. The article marks it as one of the two spheres in which men must be; death or life. The death, the life, present
one of those sharp oppositions which are characteristic of the Epistle; as love, hatred; darkness, light; truth, a lie. qa>natov the death, occurs in John's Epistles only here
and in the next clause. In the Gospel, only John 5:24. Personified in Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 9:6; 20:13.

Unto life (eijv thn). Rev., better, into. Compare enter into the life, Matthew 28:8; 19:17.

Because. The sign of having passed into life; not the ground.

We love the brethren (ajgapw~men tou,v ajdelfou>v). The only occurrence of the phrase. Elsewhere, love one another, or love his brother. See on 1 John 2:9.

His brother. Omit.

15. Murderer (ajqrwpokto>nov). Manslayer. Only here and John 8:44 of the devil.

Hath eternal life, etc. The contrast is suggestive between the sentiment embodied in this statement and that of Pagan antiquity respecting murder, in the Homeric age, for
instance. "With regard to the practice of homicide, the ordinary Greek morality was extremely loose.... Among the Greeks, to have killed a man was considered in the
light of misfortune, or, at most, a prudential error, when the perpetrator of the act had come among strangers as a fugitive for protection and hospitality. On the spot,
therefore, where the crime occurred, it could stand only as in the nature of a private and civil wrong, and the fine payable was regarded, not (which it might have been)
as a mode, however defective, of marking any guilt in the culprit, but as, on the whole, an equitable satisfaction to the wounded feelings of the relatives and friends, or
as an actual compensation for the lost services of the dead man. The religion of the age takes no notice of the act whatever" (Gladstone "Homer and the Homeric Age,"
2, 436).

16. Hereby (ejn toi>tw|). See on 1 John 2:3.

Perceive (ejgnw>kamen). Rev., correctly, know.

The love. Omit the italics of A.V., of God, and render as Rev., hereby know we love.

Laid down His life (th). See on John 10:11.

We ought (ojfei>lomen). See on 1 John 2:6.

17. This world's good (toon tou~ ko>smou). Rev., the worlds goods. Bi>ov means that by which life is sustained, resources, wealth.
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Seeth (qewrh|~). Deliberately contemplates. See on John 1:18. Rev., beholdeth. The only occurrence of the verb in John's Epistles.

Have need (crei>an e]conta). Lit., having need. Rev., in need.
We ought (ojfei>lomen). See on 1 John 2:6.

17. This world's good (toon tou~ ko>smou). Rev., the worlds goods. Bi>ov means that by which life is sustained, resources, wealth.

Seeth (qewrh|~). Deliberately contemplates. See on John 1:18. Rev., beholdeth. The only occurrence of the verb in John's Epistles.

Have need (crei>an e]conta). Lit., having need. Rev., in need.

Bowels of compassion (tagcna). See on pitiful, 1 Peter 3:8. Rev., much better, his compassion. The word only here in John.

19. Shall assure (pei>somen). Two renderings are possible; the primitive meaning persuade (Acts 19:26; 17:4; 2 Corinthians 5:11); or the secondary and consequent
sense, assure, quiet, conciliate (Matthew 28:14). Render as A.V., and Rev. as sure. See critical note at the end of the commentary on this Epistle.

Before Him (e]mprosqen aujtou~). Emphatic, the order being, before Him we shall assure our heart. These words are to be kept in mind as the key-note of what
follows.

20. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater, etc. A very difficult passage. See critical note as above. Render, as Rev., shall assure our heart before Him
whereinsoever our heart condemn us, because God is greater than our heart.

For (o[ti). To be rendered not as a conjunction (for, because) but as a relative, in whatsoever or whereinsoever.

Condemn (kataginw>skh|). The word occurs only three times in the New Testament; here, ver. 21, and Galatians 2:11. It signifies (1.) To note accurately, usually in a
bad sense. Hence to detect (Proverbs 28:11); compare Aristophanes: "Having observed (katagnou) the foibles of the old man" ("Knights," 46). To form an unfavorable
prejudice against. So Herodotus. Datis says to the Delians, "Why are ye fled, O holy men, having judged me (katagno>ntev kat' ejmeu~) in so unfriendly a
way?" (6:97). (2.) To note judicially: to accuse: to accuse one's self. So Thucydides: "No one, when venturing on a perilous enterprise, ever yet passed a sentence of
failure on himself" (katagnousesqai; 3:45). To give sentence, or condemn. To condemn to death. "Those who had fled they condemned to death" (qa>naton
katagno>ntev; Thucydides, 6, 60). To decide a suit against one. So Aristophanes: "You judges have no maintenance if you will not decide against (katagnw>sesqe) this
suit" ("Knights," 1360). In Galatians 2:11 it is said of Peter that, because of his concessions to the Jewish ritualists, kategnwsme>nov h+n he stood condemned or self-
condemned (not as A.V., he was to be blamed). His conduct was its own condemnation. This is the sense in this passage, the internal judgment of conscience.

Because (o[ti). This second o[ti does not appear in the A.V. It is a conjunction.

Greater (mei>zwn). Is this superior greatness to be regarded as related to God's judgment, or to His compassion? If to His judgment, the sense is: God who is greater
than our heart and knows all things, must not only endorse but emphasize our self-accusation. If our heart condemn, how much more God, who is greater than our
heart. If to His compassion, the sense is: when our heart condemns us we shall quiet it with the assurance that we are in the hands of a God who is greater than our
heart - who surpasses man in love and compassion no less than in knowledge. This latter sense better suits the whole drift of the discussion. See critical note. There is a
play of the words ginw>skei knoweth, and kataginw>skh| condemneth, which is untranslatable.

21. Beloved. The affectionate address is suggested by the preceding thought of tormenting self-accusation.

Confidence (parjrJhsi>an). Rev., boldness. See on 1 John 2:28.

22. We ask (aijtw~men). See on Luke 11:9.

We receive of Him (lamba>nomen ajp' aujtou~) On the form of expression, see on 1 John 1:5. For the thought, compare John 15:7.

We keep (throu~men). See on 1 Peter 1:5. Note the combination of keep and do. Watchful discernment and habitual practice. Compare Psalms 123:2. The same
combination occurs 1 John 5:2, 3, where instead of the first thrw~men keep, read poiw~men do.

Pleasing (ajresta>). See John 8:29.

In His sight (ejnw>pion aujtou~). Compare e[mprosqen aujtou~ before Him, or in His presence (ver. 19). In His sight "accentuates the thought of the divine regard.
Compare John 7:37 and 20:30" (Westcott).

23. Believe on the name (pisteu>swmen tw|~ ojno>mati). See on John 1:12; 1 John 1:7.

24. Abideth in Him and He in Him. "Therefore let God be a home to thee, and be thou the home of God: abide in God, and let God abide in thee" (Bede).

Spirit. The first mention of the Spirit in the Epistle. Never found with Holy in the Epistles or Revelation.

CHAPTER 4

1. Beloved. Again the recognition of danger from false spirits prompts this affectionate address. Compare 1 John 3:21.

Try (dokima>zete). Better, as Rev., prove. See on 1 Peter 1:7; Luke 12:55. Compare the phrase discerning of spirits, 1 Corinthians 12:10.

Of God (ejk). Out of: proceeding from.

False prophets (yeudoprofh~tai). The term is applied in the New Testament to rivals of true prophets under the old dispensation (Luke 6:26; 2 Peter 2:1), and to rivals
of the apostles under the gospel economy (Matthew 7:15; 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22). In Revelation to "the embodied power of spiritual falsehood" (Revelation 16:13;
19:20; 20:10). The false prophet supports his claims by signs and portents (Matthew 24:24; Acts 13:6; Revelation 19:20) and is thus distinguished from the false
teacher. See 2 Peter 2:1 where the two terms occur together.

Are gone out (ejxalhlu>qasin). The perfect tense indicates that the influence of their going out on their false mission is in operation at the present.

2. Hereby (ejn tou>tw|). See on 1 John 2:3.
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Confesseth (oJmologei~). See on Matthew 7:23; 10:32.
Are gone out (ejxalhlu>qasin). The perfect tense indicates that the influence of their going out on their false mission is in operation at the present.

2. Hereby (ejn tou>tw|). See on 1 John 2:3.

Know ye (ginw~skete). Perceive. See on John 2:24.

Confesseth (oJmologei~). See on Matthew 7:23; 10:32.

That Jesus Christ is come in the flesh (x~n Cristota). Lit., Jesus Christ having come, etc. The whole phrase forms the direct object of the verb confesseth.

Of God. Compare 1 Corinthians 12:3.

3. Is come in the flesh. Omit. Render, confesseth not Jesus. So Rev. An ancient reading is lu>ei to annulleth or destroyeth Jesus." The simple Jesus emphasizes the
humanity of our Lord considered in itself. See Romans 3:26; 10:9; 2 Corinthians 11:4; Ephesians 4:21; Hebrews 2:9.

This (tou~to). Not this spirit, but this non-confession, summed up in all its manifestations.

Cometh. See on 1 John 2:18.

4. Have overcome. See on 1 John 2:13.

Greater. Compare 1 John 3:20.

In you. The Christian society. Compare John 6:56; 14:20; 15:4-10; 17:23, 26; Galatians 2:20 (of the individual).

He that is in the world. In 1 John 5:19, the world is said to be in the evil one. Compare Ephesians 2:2.

5. Of the world (ejk tou~ ko>smou). Proceeding from, as their source (ejk). Different from ejk th~v gh`v from the earth (John 3:31), as marking the whole worldly
economy morally considered.

Speak they of the world (ejk tou~ ko>smou lalou~sin) An ambiguous rendering, which might readily be interpreted "they speak concerning the world." Literally it is:
"they speak out of the world; i.e., the character of their utterances corresponds to their origin. Rev., "speak they as of the world." The position of the world in the
sentence is emphatic: "it is out of the world that they speak."

6. He that knoweth (oJ ginw>skwn). Lit., the one knowing: he who is habitually and ever more clearly perceiving and recognizing God as his Christian life unfolds. The
knowledge is regarded as progressive and not complete. Compare Philippians 3:12 and He who is calling (oJ kalw~n, 1 Thessalonians 5:24) also oJ ajgapw~n he that
loves (ver. 7).

Hereby (ejk tou>tou). Not the same as the common ejn tou>tw| (ver. 2). It occurs only here in the Epistle. tou>tw| is in this: ejk tou>tou from this. The former marks
the residing or consisting of the essence or truth of a thing in something the apprehension of which conveys to us the essential nature of the thing itself. The latter marks
the inference or deduction of the truth from something, as contrasted with its immediate perception in that something. Rev., by this.

The spirit of error (tonhv). The phrase occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. Compare pneu>masi pla>noiv misleading spirits, 1 Timothy 4:1.

7. Of God (ejk tou~ Qeou~). Flows from God.

8. Knoweth not (oujk e]gnw). The aroist tense: did not know, from the beginning. He never knew.

Is love (ajga>ph ejsti.n). See on God is light (1 John 1:5), and the truth 1 John (1:6); also God is spirit (John 4:24). Spirit and light are expressions of God's essential
nature. Love is the expression of His personality corresponding to His nature. See on love of God (1 John 2:5). Truth and love stand related to each other. Loving is
the condition of knowing.

9. Was manifested. See on John 21:1; 1 John 3:5.

Toward us (ejn hJmi~n). Wrong. Not "among us," as John 1:14 nor "in us;" but as Rev., in margin, in our case.67

Sent (ajpe>stalken). John describes the incarnation as a sending, more frequently than in any other way. ~>llw is to send under commission, as an envoy. The perfect
tense, hath sent, points to the abiding results of the sending. See on 1 John 3:5.

His only-begotten Son (to). Lit., His Son, the only-begotten (Son). A mode of expression common in John, enlarging upon the meaning of a noun by the addition of an
adjective or a participle with the article. See 1 John 1:2; 2:7, 8, 25; 5:4; John 6:41, 44, 50, 51; 15:1 etc. On only-begotten, see on John 1:14.

10. Propitiation. See on 1 John 2:2.

11. So (ou[twv). Emphatic.

We ought. See on 1 John 2:6.

12. God. Beginning the sentence emphatically, and without the article: God as God. "God hath no man ever yet seen." Compare John 1:18.

His love. Not our love to Him, nor His love to us, but the love which is peculiarly His; which answers to His nature.

14. We have seen (peqea>meqa). Have deliberately and steadfastly contemplated. Compare 1 John 1:1, and see on John 1:14.

Do testify (marturou~men). Rev., bear witness. See on John 1:7.

Sent. See on ver. 9.
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The Savior of the world. See the same phrase, John 4:42 and compare John 3:17. Swth.r Savior, occurs in John only here and John 4:42. Elsewhere it is applied both
to God (1 Timothy. 1:1; 2:3; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4; Jude 1:25), and to Christ (Luke 2:11; Acts 5:31; 13:23; 2 Timothy 1:10; Titus 1:4 etc.). The title is found in Paul's
Epistles of the Captivity (Ephesians 5:23; Philippians 3:20), and in the Pastorals (see above), but not in Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, or Thessalonians. In classical
Do testify (marturou~men). Rev., bear witness. See on John 1:7.

Sent. See on ver. 9.

The Savior of the world. See the same phrase, John 4:42 and compare John 3:17. Swth.r Savior, occurs in John only here and John 4:42. Elsewhere it is applied both
to God (1 Timothy. 1:1; 2:3; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4; Jude 1:25), and to Christ (Luke 2:11; Acts 5:31; 13:23; 2 Timothy 1:10; Titus 1:4 etc.). The title is found in Paul's
Epistles of the Captivity (Ephesians 5:23; Philippians 3:20), and in the Pastorals (see above), but not in Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, or Thessalonians. In classical
writings the term is applied to many deities, especially to Zeus (Jupiter); also to Hermes (Mercury), Apollo, Hercules, and even to female deities, as Fortune and
Aphrodite (Venus). "Zeus Soter" (Zeus Savior) was used as a formula in drinking at banquets. The third cup was dedicated to him. Compare Plato: "Then, by way of a
third libation to the savior Zeus, let us sum up and reassert what has been said" ("Philebus," 66). The drinking of this cup was a symbol of good fortune, and the third
time came to mean the lucky time. "Twice then has the just man overthrown the unjust; and now comes the third trial, which, after Olympic fashion, is sacred to Zeus
the savior,... and surely this will prove the greatest and most decisive of falls" (Plato, " Republic," 583). Hence the proverb, toton tw| swth~ri, lit., the third to the savior;
i.e., the third or lucky time. The name was also given later to princes or public benefactors. The kindred noun swthri>a salvation, does not occur in John's Epistles, and
appears only once in the Gospel (4:22). It is found thrice in Revelation (7:10; 12:10; 19:1). Sw>zein to save occurs six times in John's Gospel, and once in Revelation
(21:24). It does not appear in the Epistles.

15. Whosoever (ojv eja). Lit., who if there be any.

Shall confess. See on 1 John 1:9.

Son of God. See on 1 John 1:7.

16. The love which God hath. On this use of e]cein to have, see on John 16:22. Compare John 8:35.

To us (ejn hJmi~n). Rev., in us. Compare God abideth in Him.

Dwelleth in love, etc. See John 15:9, 10. Rev., abideth.

17. Herein (ejn tou>tw|). To what does this refer? Two explanations are given. (1.) To the following that we may have boldness. So Huther, who argues thus on the
ground that ver. 18 shows that the drift of the writer's thought is toward the fearlessness of love. According to this, therefore, love has its fulfillment in freeing us from
fear, and inspiring us with boldness even in view of the final judgment. (2.) To what precedes, viz., our dwelling in God and He in us. So Westcott: "The fellowship of
God with man and of man with God, carries with it the consummation of love." I prefer the latter, principally on the ground that in such phrases as ejn tou>tw| in this,
dia on this account, therefore, the pronoun usually refers to something preceding, though more fully developed in what follows. See John 5:16, 18; 6:65; 8:47; 10:17;
12:18; 16:15.

Our love (hJ ajga>ph meq' hJmw~n). The A.V. construes meq' hJmw~n with us, with love, making with us equivalent to our. In that case it might mean either the love
which is between Christians, or the love which is between God and Christians. The Rev. construes with us with the verb: love is made perfect with us. The latter is
preferable. I do not think it would be easy to point out a parallel in the New Testament to the expression ajga>ph meq' love that with us = our love. The true idea is that
love is perfected in fellowship. The love of God is perfected with us, in communion with us, through our abiding in Him and He in us. "Love is not simply perfected in
man, but in fulfilling this issue God works with man" (Westcott). Compare 2 John 1:3"grace shall be with us" (true reading); and Acts 25:4"what things God had done
with them." See also Matthew 1:23; 1 Corinthians 26:24; Galatians 6:18. Meta> with, is used constantly in the New Testament of ethical relations. See Matthew 20:2;
2:3; Luke 23:12; Acts 7:9; Romans 12:15; 1 John 1:6.

Boldness (parjrJhsi>an). See on 2:28.

The day of judgment (th|~ hJme>ra| th~v kri>sewv). Lit., the day of judgment. The exact phrase occurs here only. b>ra| kri>sewv day of judgment, without the
articles, is found Matthew 10:15; 11:22, 24; 12:36; 2 Peter 2:9; 3:7. The day is called the great day of their wrath (Revelation 6:17); the day of wrath and of revelation
of the righteous judgement of God (Romans 2:5); the day of visitation (1 Peter 2:12); the last day (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54); that day (Matthew 7:22; Luke 6:23; 10:12).
The judgment is found Matthew 12:41, 42; Luke 10:14; 11:31, 32.

Because. Likeness to Christ is the ground of boldness.

As (kaqwNot absolutely, but according to our measure, as men in this world.

He is. The present tense is very significant. Compare 1 John 3:7, "is righteous even as He is righteous." The essence of out being as He is lies in perfected love; and
Christ is eternally love. "He that abideth in love abideth in God and God in him." Compare 1 John 3:2.

In this world. This present economy, physical and moral. The phrase limits the conception of likeness.

18. There is no fear in love (fo>bov oujk e]stin ejn th|~ ajga>ph|). Lit., fear is not. It has no existence. The fear is that spoken of in 1 Peter 1:17; Hebrews 12:28; godly
fear; filial reverence; not slavish fear, as Romans 8:15. In love, lit., the love, that perfected love of which John has been speaking.

Perfect (telei>a). Not perfected, as ver. 17 but perfect as the result of having been perfected. Compare Hebrews 5:14; James 1:4; 3:2.

Casteth out (e]xw ba>llei). A strong expression: turneth out of doors. Fear is cast out of the sphere of the fellowship of love. See the phrase in John 6:37; 9:34, 35;
12:31; 15:6.

Hath torment (ko>lasin e]cei). Torment is a faulty translation. The word means punishment, penalty. It occurs in the New Testament only here and Matthew 25:46. The
kindred verb, kola>zomai to punish, is found Acts 4:21; 2 Peter 2:9. Note the present tense, hath. The punishment is present. Fear by anticipating punishment has it
even now. The phrase hath punishment (see on John 16:22) indicates that the punishment is inherent in the fear. Fear carries its own punishment. Augustine, commenting
on the expulsion of fear by love, says: "As in sewing, we see the thread passed through by the needle. The needle is first pushed in, but the thread cannot be introduced
until the needle is brought out. So fear first occupies the mind, but does not remain permanently, because it entered for the purpose of introducing love." The words
because fear hath punishment are parenthetical.

He that feareth The A.V. omits and (dewhich is important as closely connecting this clause with there is no fear in love, etc. That is an abstract statement; this is
personal; two modes of stating the same truth. Rev. "and he that feareth."

IsCopyright
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                                        varied; without fear and love; with fear without love; with fear and love; without fear with love" (Bengel). Page 109 / 189

19. We love Him (hJmei~v ajgapw~men aujto). The best texts omit Him. Some render let us love, as ver. 7. The statement is general, relating to the entire operation of
He that feareth The A.V. omits and (dewhich is important as closely connecting this clause with there is no fear in love, etc. That is an abstract statement; this is
personal; two modes of stating the same truth. Rev. "and he that feareth."

Is not made perfect. "Men's condition is varied; without fear and love; with fear without love; with fear and love; without fear with love" (Bengel).

19. We love Him (hJmei~v ajgapw~men aujto). The best texts omit Him. Some render let us love, as ver. 7. The statement is general, relating to the entire operation of
the principle of love. All human love is preceded and generated by the love of God.

20. He that loveth not his brother, etc. Note the striking inversion of the clauses: He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, God whom he hath not seen cannot
love.

How. The best tests omit, and give the direct statement cannot love. So Rev.

21. That (i[na). Not defining the contents of the commandment, but expressing intent. Compare John 13:34 and see on John 15:13.

His brother. "To the persecutor Saul, Christ said, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? I have ascended into heaven, yet still I lie upon earth. Here I sit at the right
hand of the Father; there I still hunger, thirst, and am a stranger'" (Augustine).

CHAPTER 5

1. Whosoever believeth (pa~v oJ pisteu>wn). Lit., every one that believeth. For the characteristic form of expression see on 1 John 3:3.

The Christ. See on Matthew 1:1 and 1 John 1:7.

2. By this (ejn tou>tw|). Not by this or from this, as an inference (see on 4:6), but in the very exercise of the sentiment toward God, we perceive.

When (grov). More strictly, whenever. Our perception of the existence of love to our brethren is developed on every occasion when we exercise love and obedience
toward God.

Keep (thrw~men). Read poiw~men do. So Rev. See on John 3:21; 1 John 3:4. The exact phrase poiei~n ta to do the commandments, occurs only here. See on
Revelation 22:14.

3. Grievous (barei~ai). Lit., heavy. The word occurs six times in the New Testament. Acts 20:29violent, rapacious; "grievous wolves": 2 Corinthians 10:10weighty,
impressive, of Paul's letters: Matthew 23:23; Acts 25:7important, serious; the weightier matters of the law; serious charges against Paul.

4. Overcometh (nika|~). See on 1 John 2:13.

The victory (hJ ni>kh). Only here in the New Testament.

That overcometh (hJ nikh>sasa). The aorist tense, overcame. On the cumulative form of expression, the victory, that which overcame, see on 1 John 4:9. The aorist is
to be held here to its strict sense. The victory over the world was, potentially, won when we believed in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. We overcome the world
by being brought into union with Christ. On becoming as He is (3:17) we become partakers of His victory (John 16:33). "Greater is He that is in you than He that is in
the world" (4:4).

Our faith (pi>stiv hJmw~n). Pi>stiv faith, only here in John's Epistles and not in the Gospel. Our faith is embraced in the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God. On the question of the subjective and objective use of the faith, see on Acts 6:7.

5. He that overcometh (oJ nikw~n). The article with the participle denoting what is habitual; one who leads a life of victory over the world.

6. This. Jesus.

He that came (oJ ejlqw). Referring to the historic fact. See Matthew 11:3; Luke 7:19; John 1:15, 27. Compare, for the form of expression, John 1:33; 3:13.

By water and blood (dij u[datov kai Dia> by, must be taken with oJ ejlqw He that came. It has not mere]y the sense of accompaniment, but also of instrumentality, i.e.,
by, through, by means of. Water and blood are thus the media through which Jesus the Mediator wrought, and which especially characterized the coming. See
especially Hebrews 9:12: "Christ being come... neither by the blood (dij ai[matov) of goats and calves, but by His own blood (diaou ai[matov"). Compare "we walk by
faith not by sight (diastewv ouj dia" 2 Corinthians 5:7): we wait with (lit., through) patience (dij uJpomonh~v," Romans 8:25).

Water refers to Christ's baptism at the beginning of His Messianic work, through which He declared His purpose to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15). Blood
refers to His bloody death upon the cross for the sin of the world.

Other explanations are substituted for this or combined with it. Some refer the words water and blood to the incident in John 19:34. To this it is justly objected that
these words are evidently chosen to describe something characteristic of Christ's Messianic office, which could not be said of the incident in question. Nevertheless, as
Alford justly remarks, "to deny all such allusion seems against probability. The apostle could hardly, both here and in that place, lay such evident stress on the water and
the blood together, without having in his mind some link connecting this place and that." The readers of the Epistle must have been familiar with the incident, from oral or
from written teaching.

Others refer the words to the Christian sacraments. These, however, as Huther observes, are only the means for the appropriation of Christ's atonement; whereas the
subject here is the accomplishment of the atonement itself. Ai=ma blood, standing by itself, never signifies the Lord's Supper in the New Testament.

The true principle of interpretation appears to be laid down in the two canons of Dusterdieck. (1.) Water and blood must point both to some purely historical facts in
the life of our Lord on earth, and to some still present witnesses for Christ. (2.) They must not be interpreted symbolically, but understood of something so real and
powerful, as that by them God's testimony is given to believers, and eternal life assured to them. Thus the sacramental reference, though secondary, need not be
excluded. Canon Westcott finds "an extension of the meaning" of water and blood in the following words: "Not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood,"
followed by the reference to the present witness of the Spirit. He argues that the change of the prepositions (ejn in, for dia> by), the use of the article (tw|~), and the
stress laid on actual experience (it is the Spirit that witnesseth), these, together with the fact that that which was spoken of in its unity (by water and blood) is now
spoken   of in(c)
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                               Infobase   Mediaand   in the blood) - "all show that St. John is speaking of a continuation of the first coming under some Page
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form. The first proof of the Messiahship of Jesus lay in His complete historical fulfillment of Messiah's work once for all, in bringing purification and salvation; that proof
is continued in the experience of the Church in its two separate parts." Thus we are led to the ideas underlying the two sacraments.
powerful, as that by them God's testimony is given to believers, and eternal life assured to them. Thus the sacramental reference, though secondary, need not be
excluded. Canon Westcott finds "an extension of the meaning" of water and blood in the following words: "Not in the water only, but in the water and in the blood,"
followed by the reference to the present witness of the Spirit. He argues that the change of the prepositions (ejn in, for dia> by), the use of the article (tw|~), and the
stress laid on actual experience (it is the Spirit that witnesseth), these, together with the fact that that which was spoken of in its unity (by water and blood) is now
spoken of in its separate parts (in the water and in the blood) - "all show that St. John is speaking of a continuation of the first coming under some new but analogous
form. The first proof of the Messiahship of Jesus lay in His complete historical fulfillment of Messiah's work once for all, in bringing purification and salvation; that proof
is continued in the experience of the Church in its two separate parts." Thus we are led to the ideas underlying the two sacraments.

The subject opened by the word blood is too large for discussion within these limits. The student is referred to Dr. Patrick Fairbairn's "Typology of Scripture; "Andrew
Jukes, "The Law of the Offerings;" Professor William Milligan, "The Resurrection of our Lord," note, p. 274 sqq.; Canon Westcott's "Additional Note" on 1 John 1:7 in
his "Commentary on John's Epistles;" and Henry Clay Trumbull, "The Blood Covenant."

Not by water only (oujk ejn tw|~ u[dati mo>non). Lit., not in the water only Rev., with. The preposition ejn in, marks the sphere or element in which; dia> by, the
medium through which. For the interchange of ejn and dia> see 2 Corinthians 6:7. The words are probably directed against the teaching of Cerinthus. See on 2:22.
John asserts that Jesus is the Christ, and that He came by blood as well as by water.

And it is the Spirit that beareth witness (kai ejstin to). Lit., and the Spirit is that which is bearing witness. Note the present tense, beareth witness, and compare ver. 9,
hath born witness. The witness is present and continuous in the Church, in the sacraments for instance, in water and in blood. Witnessing is the peculiar office of the
Spirit. See John 14:26; 15:26; 16:8 sqq. See on John 1:7.

Because (o[ti). Some render that, as presenting the substance of the testimony, which is absurd: the Spirit witnesseth that the Spirit is the truth. The Spirit is the Holy
Ghost, not the spiritual life in man.

The truth (hJ ajlh>qeia). Just as Christ is the truth (John 14:6).

7. There are three that bear record (trei~v eijsin oiJ marturou~ntev). Lit., three are the witnessing ones.

The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. These words are rejected by the general verdict of critical authorities. For the details of the
memorable controversy on the passage, the student may consult Frederick Henry Scrivener, "Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament;" Samuel P. Tregelles,
"An Account of the Printed Text of the Greek New Testament;" John Selby Watson, "The Life of Richard Porson, M.A.;" Professor Ezra Abbot, "Orme's Memoir of
the Controversy on 1 John 5:7;" Charles Foster, "A New Plea for the Authenticity of the Text of the Three Heavenly Witnesses," or "Porson's Letters to Travis
Eclectically Examined," Cambridge, 1867. On the last-named work, Scrivener remarks, "I would fain call it a success if I could with truth. To rebut much of Porson's
insolent sophistry was easy, to maintain the genuineness of this passage is simply impossible." Tregelles gives a list of more than fifty volumes, pamphlets, or critical
notices on this question. Porson, in the conclusion of his letters to Travis, says: "In short, if this verse be really genuine, notwithstanding its absence from all the visible
Greek manuscripts except two (that of Dublin and the forged one found at Berlin), one of which awkwardly translates the verse from the Latin, and the other
transcribes it from a printed book; notwithstanding its absence from all the versions except the Vulgate, even from many of the best and oldest manuscripts of the
Vulgate; notwithstanding the deep and dead silence of all the Greek writers down to the thirteenth, and of most of the Latins down to the middle of the eighth century;
if, in spite of all these objections, it be still genuine, no part of Scripture whatsoever can be proved either spurious or genuine; and Satan has been permitted for many
centuries miraculously to banish the 'finest passage in the New Testament,' as Martin calls it, from the eyes and memories of almost all the Christian authors, translators,
and transcribers."

8. Agree in one (eijv to). Lit., are for the one. They converge upon the one truth, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, come in the flesh.

9. If we receive (eij lamba>nomen). The indicative mood, assuming such reception as a fact. If we receive, as we do. On the verb receive, see on John 3:32.

The witness of God is greater. Supply mentally, and therefore we should receive that.

For (o[ti). Not explaining why it is greater, but why the principle of the superior greatness of divine testimony should apply and be appealed to in this case. Supply
mentally, and this applies in the case before us, for, etc.

This is the witness of God which (h{n). The best texts read o[ti that or because. Render that. This is the witness of God, even the fact that, etc.

10. On the Son of God. Faith in the person of Christ, not merely in the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.

God. Also personal. To believe God, is to believe the message which comes from Him. See on John 1:12.

Hath made - hath believed (prpoi>hken - pepi>steuken). The perfect tense marks the two results expressed by the verbs as connected with a past act. The act
perpetuates itself in the present condition of the unbeliever.

Believed on the witness (pepi>steuken eijv than). The phrase occurs only here. See on John 1:12. In one other case to believe on is used with an object not directly
personal, pisteu>ete eijv to; but the reference is clearly to the personal Christ as the Light of the World (John 8:12).

11. Hath given (e]dwken). The aorist tense, gave. So Rev. The reference is to the historic fact of the gift. So 1 John 3:23: "We should love one another as He gave (e]
dwken) us commandment." Ver. 24: "We know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He gave (e]dwken) us." On the other hand, 1 John 3:1: "Behold what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed (de>dwken) upon us." The gift of love abides in the fact that we are now children of God (ver. 2).

Eternal life (zwhnion). Compare the phrase thnion the life, the eternal life (1:2), and hJ aijw>niov zwh the eternal life (John 17:3). For the distinction between the
phrases see on 1:2. The phrase here, without either article, merely defines the character of the life.

12. Hath life (e]cei th). More strictly, as Rev., the life; i.e., the life which God gave (ver. 11). See on John 16:22. Compare Christ who is our life (Colossians 3:4).

The Son of God. Hath the Son, hath not the Son of God, pointing back to God as the giver of life in His Son. Bengel observes: "The verse has two clauses: in the
former, of God is not added, because believers know the Son; in the other it is added, that unbelievers may know at length how serious it is not to have Him."

Hath not life. Note the inversion "He that hath the Son hath the life. He that hath not the Son of God, the life hath he not."

13. Have I written (e]graya). Lit., I wrote. John speaks as looking back over his Epistle and recalling the aim with which he wrote. See on 1 John 2:13.
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May know (eijdh~te). Not perceive (ginw>skein), but know with settled and absolute knowledge. See on John 2:24.

Ye have eternal life (zwhnion). The Greek order is peculiar, "ye may know that life ye have eternal." The adjective eternal is added as an after-thought. So Westcott:
Hath not life. Note the inversion "He that hath the Son hath the life. He that hath not the Son of God, the life hath he not."

13. Have I written (e]graya). Lit., I wrote. John speaks as looking back over his Epistle and recalling the aim with which he wrote. See on 1 John 2:13.

May know (eijdh~te). Not perceive (ginw>skein), but know with settled and absolute knowledge. See on John 2:24.

Ye have eternal life (zwhnion). The Greek order is peculiar, "ye may know that life ye have eternal." The adjective eternal is added as an after-thought. So Westcott:
"that ye have life - yes, eternal life."

Unto you that believe. In the A.V., these words follow have I written. The Rev. follows the Greek order. The words, like eternal, above, are added as an after-thought,
defining the character of the persons addressed.

On the name (eijv to). See on John 2:23; 1:12.

14. Confidence (parjrJhsi>a). Rev., boldness. See on 1 John 2:28; John 7:13. On have boldness, see on John 16:22.

We ask (aijtw>meqa). With a possible reference in the middle voice to asking for ourselves.

According to His will (katalhma aujtou~). For the phrase compare 1 Peter 4:19; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:5, 11.

He heareth us (ajkou>ei hJmw~n). Compare John 9:31; 11:41, 42. Hear is used in this sense by John only.

15. Whatsoever we ask. The whole phrase is governed by the verb hear. If we know that He heareth our every petition.

16. If any man see (eja>n tiv i]dh|). A supposed case.

His brother. Christian brother.

Sin a sin (aJmarta>nonta aJmarti>an). Lit., as Rev., sinning a sin. There is no exact parallel to the phrase in the New Testament. Compare the promise which He
promised, 1 John 2:25.

Not unto death (mhnaton). Describing the nature of the sin. The preposition unto, signifies tendency toward, not necessarily involving death. See on ver. 17.

He shall ask (aijth>sei). In prayer. The future tense expresses not merely permission (it shall be permitted him to ask), but the certainty that, as a Christian brother, he
will ask. An injunction to that effect is implied.

He shall give. He may refer either to God or to the petitioner, as being the means of bestowing life through his intercession, as in James 5:20. The former explanation is
the more natural. So Rev.

Him (aujtw|~). The brother for whom intercession is made.

For them that sin (toi~v aJmarta). In apposition with aujtw|~ to him. God shall give life unto him (the erring brother), even unto them that sin. The plural generalizes the
particular ease described by aJmarta>nonta aJmarti>an sinning a sin.

There is a sin (e]stin aJmarti>a). Rev., margin, better, sin. A sin would express a specific act as such. Sin describes the character of a class of acts.

Unto death. The difficulty of the passage lies in the explanation of these words. It is impossible to determine their exact meaning with certainty. Some of the many
explanations are as follows: Such sin as God punishes with deadly sickness or sudden death. All those sins punished with excommunication (so the older Catholic
theologians). An unrepented sin. Envy. A sinful state or condition. The sin by which the Christian falls back from Christian life into death. The anti-Christian denial that
Jesus is the Christ.

The phrase labei~n aJmarti>an qanhtofo>ron to incur a death-bearing sin (A. V., bear sin and die), occurs Numbers 18:22 Sept., and the distinction between sins unto
death and sins not unto death is common in Rabbinic writings. However John's expression may have been suggested by these, it cannot be assumed that they determine
the sense in which he uses it.

Life and death in the passage must correspond. Bodily death and spiritual life cannot be meant. The passage must be interpreted in the light of John's utterances
elsewhere concerning life and death. In ver. 12, he says: He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. In 3:14, 15, he says that he
that loveth not abideth in death: that he that hateth his brother is a manslayer, and that no manslayer hath eternal life abiding in him. These canons of interpretation point
to the explanation, in which some of the best authorities agree, that the sin unto death does not refer to a specific act, but to a class or species of sins, the tendency of
which is to cut the bond of fellowship with Christ. Hence the passage is in the key-note of fellowship which pervades the Epistle. Whatever breaks the fellowship
between the soul and Christ, and, by consequence, between the individual and the body of believers, is unto death, for there is no life apart from Christ. It is indeed true
that this tendency inheres in all sin. Sin is essentially death. But a distinction is to be made, as Canon Westcott observes, between sins which flow from human
imperfection and infirmity, and sins which are open manifestations of a character alien from God. "All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death." It must be
carefully born in mind in the study of the passage, that John is speaking of sinful acts as revelations of character, and not simply in themselves. So Huther: "Such sinning
as is characterized, not by the object with which it is connected, but by the disposition from which it proceeds." 68

I do not say that he shall pray for it (ouj perinhv le>gw i[na ejrwth>sh). Lit., not concerning this do I say that he should make request. So Rev. Prayer even for this sin
unto death is not forbidden, but John says that he does not enjoin it. Note the sharp distinctness with which that terrible sin is thrown out by the pronoun of remote
reference and its emphatic position in the sentence. Note also the words make request (ejrwth>sh|), and compare aijtn>sei he shall ask. On the distinction, see on Luke
11:9. Aijte>w to ask, is used of the petition of an inferior, and is never used of Christ's own requests to God. Hence it is properly used here of the humble and
affectionate petition of a Christian to God on behalf of a sinning brother. w>w is used of the request of an equal, or of one who asks on equal terms. Hence it may mark
a request based upon fellowship with God through Christ, or it may hint at an element of presumption in a prayer for a sin unto death. Westcott cites a very early
inscription in the Roman Catacombs as an illustration of the use of ejrwta|~n in the sense of Christian prayer for Christians: ejrwta~ uJpe pray for us.

17. Unrighteousness (ajdiki>a). This is the character of every offense against that which is right. Every breach of duty is a manifestation of sin. Compare 1 John 3:4,
where sin is defined as ajnomi>a lawlessness, and lawlessness as sin. See Romans 6:13.
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18. We know(c)(oi]damen).
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He that is begotten of God (oJ gennhqei). Lit., was begotten. This exact phrase does not occur elsewhere. Some refer it to the man who is born of God, making it
17. Unrighteousness (ajdiki>a). This is the character of every offense against that which is right. Every breach of duty is a manifestation of sin. Compare 1 John 3:4,
where sin is defined as ajnomi>a lawlessness, and lawlessness as sin. See Romans 6:13.

18. We know (oi]damen). John uses this appeal to knowledge in two forms: we know (1 John 3:2, 14; 5:18, 19, 20); ye know (1 John 2:20; 3:5, 15).

He that is begotten of God (oJ gennhqei). Lit., was begotten. This exact phrase does not occur elsewhere. Some refer it to the man who is born of God, making it
parallel with oJ gegennhme>nov ejk tou~ Qeou~, he that is begotten of God. Others to Christ, the only-begotten of God. The later is preferable.

That wicked one (oJ ponhro). See on 1 John 2:13. Rev., the evil one.

Toucheth (a[ptetai). See on John 20:17 the only other passage in John's writings where the verb occurs. Both this verb and qigga>nw (Colossians 2:21; Hebrews
11:28; 12:20) express a touch which exerts a modifying influence upon the object, though qigga>nw indicates rather a superficial touch. On yhlafa>w (Acts 27:27;
Hebrews 12:18; 1 John 1:1), see on Luke 24:39. Compare Colossians 2:21. The idea here is layeth not hold of him.

19. We are of God (ejk tou~ Qeou~ ejsme>n). For the phrase ei=nai ejk to be from, see on John 1:46. For ejsme>n we are, see on 3:1. John expresses the relation of
believers to God by the following phrases: To be born or begotten of God, gennhqh~nai ejk tou~ Qeou~ (1 John 5:1; 2:29; 4:7): denoting the initial communication of
the new life. To be of God, ei=nai ejk tou~ Qeou~ (John 8:47; 1 John 3:10; 4:6): denoting the essential connection in virtue of the new life. Child of God, te>knon
Qeou~ (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1, 10): denoting the relation established by the new life.

World (ko>smov). See on John 1:9.

Lieth (kei~tai). The word is stronger than ejsti is, indicating the passive, unprogressive state in the sphere of Satan's influence. "While we are from God, implying a birth
and a proceeding forth, and a change of state, the ko>smov the world, all the rest of mankind, remains in the hand of the evil one" (Alford).

In wickedness (ejn tw|~ ponhrw|~). Rev., better, in the evil one. The expression to lie in has a parallel in Sophocles'"Anti-gone:"

ejn uJmi~n ga

kei>meqa tla>monev

"Wretched we lie in you as in a God" (247).

20. An understanding (dia>noian). Only here in John's writings. The faculty of understanding. See on Luke 1:51. Westcott remarks that nouns which express intellectual
powers are rare in the writings of John.

We may know (ginw>skomen). Apprehend progressively. Compare John 17:3.

Him that is true (ton). Compare Revelation 3:7, 14; 6:10. On true, see on John 1:9. "God very strangely condescends indeed in making things plain to me, actually
assuming for the time the form of a man, that I at my poor level may better see Him. This is my opportunity to know Him. This incarnation is God making Himself
accessible to human thought - God opening to man the possibility of correspondence through Jesus Christ. And this correspondence and this environment are those I
seek. He Himself assures me, 'This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.' Do I not now discern the
deeper meaning in Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent? Do I not better understand with what vision and rapture the profoundest of the disciples exclaims, 'The Son of
God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we might know Him that is true?'" (Drummond, "Natural Law in the Spiritual World").

This. God the Father. Many, however, refer it to the Son.

Eternal life. See on 1 John 1:2. 69

21. Keep yourselves (fula>xate eJauta). The exact phrase is not found elsewhere in the New Testament. See 2 Peter 3:17. Rev., rightly, guard. See on 1 Peter 1:4.

Idols (eijdw>lwn). Strictly, images. The command, however, has apparently the wider Pauline sense, to guard against everything which occupies the place due to God.

CRITICAL NOTE ON 1 JOHN 3:19-22.

The second great division of John's First Epistle treats of the conflict of truth and falsehood. This section extends from 1 John 2:18. to 1 John 4:6, and is subdivided
under the following topics:

1. The revelation of falsehood and truth (1 John 2:18-29).

2. The children of God and the children of the devil (1 John 1 John 3:1-12).

3. Brotherhood in Christ and the hatred of the world (1 John 3:13-24).

4. The Rival Spirits of Truth and Error (1 John 4:1-6).

This passage lies within the third of these subdivisions; but the line of thought runs up into the second subdivision, which begins with this chapter, - the children of God
and the children of the Devil.

Let us first briefly review the contents of this chapter down to the point of our text.

God shows His wonderful love in calling us children of God (te>kna); as expressing community of nature, rather than uiJoi> (sons), which expresses the position of
privilege.

The world, therefore, does not know us, even as it did not know Him.

We are children of God; and in this fact lies enfolded our future, the essence of which will be likeness to God, coming through unveiled and transfiguring vision.
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The result of such a relation and hope is persistent effort after moral purity. "Every one that hath this hope in Him, purifieth himself, even as He is pure."

This attempt to purify corresponds with the fulfillment of our true destiny which Christ has made possible. Sin is irreconcilable with a right relation to God, for
The world, therefore, does not know us, even as it did not know Him.

We are children of God; and in this fact lies enfolded our future, the essence of which will be likeness to God, coming through unveiled and transfiguring vision.

The result of such a relation and hope is persistent effort after moral purity. "Every one that hath this hope in Him, purifieth himself, even as He is pure."

This attempt to purify corresponds with the fulfillment of our true destiny which Christ has made possible. Sin is irreconcilable with a right relation to God, for
Christianity emphasizes the law of God, and "sin is lawlessness." The object of Christ's manifestation was to "take away sin;" therefore, "everyone that abideth in Him
sinneth not." "He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous." "He that committeth sin is of the devil;" but the Son of God was manifested in order to
destroy the works of the devil. The divine seed - the divine principle of growth - the germ of the new life is in the true believer; and the ideas of divine sonship and sin
are mutually exclusive.

The being a child of God will manifest itself not only in doing righteousness, but in love - the love to God, taking shape in love and ministry to the brethren. This is the
highest expression of righteousness. The whole aim of the Gospel is the creation and strengthening of love; and the type of life in God through Christ is therefore the
direct opposite of Cain, who being of the evil one, slew his brother.

Over against this love is the world's hatred. This is bound up, as love is, with the question of origin. God's children share God's nature, which is love. The children of the
world are the children of the evil one, whose nature is lawlessness and hatred. Love is the outgrowth of life; hatred, of death. He that loveth not, abideth in death. For
ourselves, children of God, we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren.

Christ is the perfect type and revelation of love, since He gave His life for us. We, likewise, ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. The practical test of our
brotherly love is ministry. The love of God does not dwell in us if we refuse to relieve our brother's need.

The fruit of love is confidence. "In this, we perceive that we are of the truth; and, perceiving this, we shall assure our hearts in the presence of God, in whom we live and
move and have our being. It is of the very essence of Christian life that it is lived and tested before God. No assurance or confidence is possible except from being in
right relation to God.

Through the consciousness of love, then, which is of God, and which marks the children of God, we perceive that we are children of God - of the truth; and in this
knowledge we find assurance and confidence before the very highest tribunal. "We shall assure our heart before Him."

This brings us to the heart of our passage. What is the specific character and direction of our assurance? Of what are we confident? Here we strike the differences in
the exposition of the passage. The questions resolve themselves into three:

1. What is the meaning of pei>somen (we shall assure or persuade)?

2. How are the o[tiv (that or because) to be explained?

3. What is the meaning of mei>zw (greater)?

Pei>somen may be taken either according to its primitive meaning, persuade, induce, prevail upon (Acts 19:26; 18:4; 2 Corinthians 5:11), or in its secondary and
consequent sense, to assure, quiet, appease (Matthew 28:14).

1. If we render persuade, two courses are possible.

(a.)Either we may use it absolutely, and mentally supply something as the substance of the persuasion. "Hereby know we that we are of the truth, and shall persuade
our hearts before Him." The mind might then supply:

We shall persuade our heart to be confident in asking anything from God. Objection. This would anticipate ver. 21. "If our heart condemn us not, then have we
boldness toward God, and whatsoever we ask of Him we receive," etc.; or,

We shall persuade our heart to show love in life and act. Objection. This does not suit the connection; for we recognize ourselves by our love as children of faith, and
do not need first to move our hearts to love which already dwells there; or,

We shall persuade our heart that we are of the truth. Objection. This is tautological. We know or perceive that we are of the truth, by the fact of our love. We therefore
reject the absolute use of pei>somen.

(b.)Still rendering persuade, we may attempt to find the substance of the persuasion in the following clauses. Here we run into the second of our three questions, the
double o[ti, for o[ti becomes the sign of definition of pei>somen. The different combinations and translations proposed center in two possible renderings for o[ti:
because or that.

If we render because, it leaves us with the absolute pei>somen which we have rejected. We have then to render - "Hereby perceive we that we are of the truth, and
shall persuade our heart before Him: because, if our heart condemn us, because, I say (second o[ti), God is greater than our heart," etc.

All the other renderings, like this, involve what is called the epanaleptic use of o[ti; the second taking up and carrying forward the sense of the first. This is very
objectionable here, because

1.There is no reason for it. This use of o[ti or similar words is appropriate only in passages where the course of thought is broken by a long, interjected sentence or
parenthesis, and where the conjunction takes up again the thread of discourse. It is entirely out of place here after the interjection of only a few words.

2.There is no parallel to it in the writings of John, nor elsewhere in the New Testament, so far as I know (but see 1 John 5:9).

The case is no better if we translate o[ti that. Here indeed we get rid of the absolute pei>somen, but we are compelled to hold by the resumptive o[ti. For instance,

"We shall persuade ourselves that, if our heart condemn us, that, I say, God is greater than our heart."

Moreover, some of these explanations at least, commit the apostle to misstatement. Suppose, for example, we read: "We shall persuade our heart that God is greater
than our heart:" we make the apostle say that the consciousness of brotherly love, and of our consequent being "of the truth," is the basis of our conviction of the
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                                                                                                                                                               is greater
than our heart, and knoweth all things."
"We shall persuade ourselves that, if our heart condemn us, that, I say, God is greater than our heart."

Moreover, some of these explanations at least, commit the apostle to misstatement. Suppose, for example, we read: "We shall persuade our heart that God is greater
than our heart:" we make the apostle say that the consciousness of brotherly love, and of our consequent being "of the truth," is the basis of our conviction of the
sovereign greatness of God. Thus: "Herein (in our brotherly love) do we perceive that we are of the truth, and herein we shall persuade ourselves that God is greater
than our heart, and knoweth all things."

The case is not improved if we render the first o[ti as pronominal, and read as follows: "We shall persuade ourselves in whatever our heart condemn us, that God is
greater than our heart." The object of persuasion, then, is the greatness of God. The sense of condemnation is the occasion of our persuading ourselves: the foundation
of our persuasion of God's greatness is our consciousness of being of the truth.

We conclude therefore,

1.That we must reject all renderings founded on the absolute use of pei>somen.

(a.)Because it leaves the mind to supply something which the text leads us to expect that it will supply.

(b.)Because the conception of persuasion or assurance takes its character from the idea of condemning or accusing (kataginw>skh|), and becomes vague if we
separate it from that.

2.We must reject explanations founded on the epanaleptic use of o[ti for the reasons already given.

We turn now to the rendering adopted by the New Testament Revisers.

This rendering takes the first o[ti with eja as relative pronominal, and the second as casual; and is as follows:

"Herein do we know (or, more properly, perceive) that we are of the truth; and shall assure (or quiet) our heart before Him in whatsoever our heart may condemn (or
accuse) us; because God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things."

The only grammatical objection to this rendering, which is entitled to any weight, is that the exact pronominal phrase o[ti eja does not occur elsewhere in the New
Testament; but this is little better than a quibble, since we have really the same combination under another form, viz., Galatians 5:10o[stiv eja (so Lach., West. and H.,
Tisch., Lightfoot), and possibly in Acts 3:23 where Tisch. reads h[tiv eja. In Colossians 3:17 West. and H., Lightfoot, and Ellicott, read o[ti eja ("whatsoever ye do in
word or deed"). Moreover, it is born out by the frequent use of eja for ajn after relatives (Matthew 5:19; 8:19; 10:42; 11:27; John 15:7). See Moulton's "Winer," 2nd
ed., p. 390.

This rendering introduces the third question: What is the meaning of mei>zwn? Shall we take it as indicating judgment or compassion on the part of God? i.e.:

1st. Shall we allay the accusation of heart by saying: "God is greater than our heart, His judgment is therefore stricter than ours; and so, apart from fellowship with Him
we can have no hope;" or, as Meyer puts it,

"Only in conscious brotherly love shall we calm our hearts, for, if we do not love, our heart condemns us, and God is greater than our heart, and there is no peace for
the accusing conscience:" or, again, as it is popularly interpreted:

"If our heart condemn us, then God, who is greater than our hearts, and knows all things, must not only endorse, but emphasize our self-accusation." If our heart
condemn, how much more God?

Or, 2nd. Shall we take mei>zwn as the expression of God's compassionate love, and say, "when our heart condemns us, we shall quiet it with the assurance that we are
the proved children of God, and therefore, in fellowship with a God who is greater than our heart, greater in love and compassion no less than in knowledge?

The choice between these must be largely determined by the drift of the whole discussion, and here, therefore, we leave the textual and grammatical side of the
question, and proceed to the homiletical aspect of the passage.

Generally, we may observe that the whole drift of the chapter is consolatory and assuring. The chapter is introduced with a burst of affectionate enthusiasm. "Behold
what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God, and such we are." The darker shades - the origin and nature of sin;
the truth that sinners are of the evil one; the hatred of the world, springing out of this radical opposition between the origin and motive of children of God and children of
the evil one - are thrown in to heighten and emphasize the position and privilege of God's children. They are to be left in no doubt as to their relation to God. They are
thrown for decisive testimony upon the supreme fact of love. If God the Father is love, and they are His children, they must share His nature; and they prove that they
do by loving Him and His children. Hence, John elsewhere says (4:7 sq.), "Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and every one that loveth hath been
born of God (or begotten) and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knew not God, for God is love.... If we love one another, God abideth in us, and His love is
perfected in us. In this we perceive that we abide in Him and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.... We have known and believed the love that God hath to
us. God is love, and he that abideth in love, abideth in God, and God in him."

And again, in this chapter, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren."

This testimony of love all tends to the assurance of the heart. All comes to a head in this 19th verse. "Herein," - in the fact and consciousness of love, - "herein, perceive
we that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him, in whatsoever our heart condemn us." In striking parallelism with this is the fourth chapter of this
Epistle just alluded to, especially the way in which, as in this chapter, the evidence of love makes for assurance. Look at the verses from the 7th to the 16th - the
burden of which is, as we have seen, that love is the evidence of our dwelling in God; and then note how this evidence runs into assurance in the 17th and 18th verses.
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness (compare 'shall assure our heart') in the day of judgment (compare 'before Him'), because as He is so are
we in this world (like Christ). There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment."

Now there was a very good and obvious reason for emphasizing this thought of assurance. John knew the misgivings of the Christian heart; and he knew, moreover,
how they would be awakened by the high standard of Christian character which he set up in this chapter. Look at these statements: "Every one that hath this hope in
Him, purifieth himself, even as He is pure." "Every one that abideth in Him sinneth not. Every one that sinneth hath not even seen Him nor known Him." "He that
committeth sin is of the devil." "He that is born of God doth not commit sin." It is not difficult to conceive the effect of such statements upon a sensitive conscience. Let
us bring ourselves to these tests. Shall we not need to assure our hearts? In the consciousness of infirmity, with the remembrance of error, under the pressure and thrust
of daily temptation, is it strange if the heart accuses? Is it strange if the question is raised, "Am I indeed a child of God? Do not these errors and lapses prove me to be a
child of the devil?"
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Now I think we should all be led to anticipate, in view of this fact, and as the natural sequence of the former part of the chapter, a thought, not of severe criticism and
judgment, based upon God's infinite knowledge, but of fatherly compassion and assurance dealing with our self-accusations, and quieting our misgivings.
Him, purifieth himself, even as He is pure." "Every one that abideth in Him sinneth not. Every one that sinneth hath not even seen Him nor known Him." "He that
committeth sin is of the devil." "He that is born of God doth not commit sin." It is not difficult to conceive the effect of such statements upon a sensitive conscience. Let
us bring ourselves to these tests. Shall we not need to assure our hearts? In the consciousness of infirmity, with the remembrance of error, under the pressure and thrust
of daily temptation, is it strange if the heart accuses? Is it strange if the question is raised, "Am I indeed a child of God? Do not these errors and lapses prove me to be a
child of the devil?"

Now I think we should all be led to anticipate, in view of this fact, and as the natural sequence of the former part of the chapter, a thought, not of severe criticism and
judgment, based upon God's infinite knowledge, but of fatherly compassion and assurance dealing with our self-accusations, and quieting our misgivings.

The Christian consciousness exercises a judicial office in us, accusing or approving. Our heart passes judgment. But what we especially need to remember, and what,
as it seems to me, is the very core of the teaching of this passage, is that the decrees of the heart are not final, but must be carried up to a higher tribunal for ratification.
Even our renewed heart is ignorant and blind. God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. Whatever power of discernment conscience has, it receives from
God. Hence, in the interpretation of the passage more stress should be laid than is commonly done upon the words "before Him." "If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is greater" (1 John 5:14. Compare Hebrews 4:16). It is, as already hinted, essential to the idea of Christian life that it is lived in the very sight of God.
The true child of God sets the Lord always before his face. The prime regulator of his life is the sense of God's presence. God's manifestation in Christ's perfect
obedience is his pattern: God's law imparts to his conscience its tone of rebuke or of commendation. This is a natural and necessary result of the relation assumed in the
passage - children of God. As children of God, in our Father's house, life is regulated by the perpetual consciousness of our Father's presence and scrutiny. No
assurance or confidence is possible which does not grow out of a right relation to Him.

John, then, does not mean to say that a child of God is sinless by virtue of his relation as a child; and that his self-accusation is quieted by being pronounced groundless.

He does not mean to say that the heart may not accuse him justly. God's judgment may confirm that of the heart.

He does mean to say that the heart is not the supreme and final arbiter.

The ordinary interpretation presents a radical defect in this; - that it assumes the infallibility of the heart, and brings in God to confirm and emphasize its decision. If your
heart condemn you, then God, who is greater than your heart, condemns you more severely, because He sees your sin in the light of His omniscience. Further, it makes
our confidence toward God depend primarily on the testimony of our hearts. If our heart condemn us not, then we may go before God with confidence and ask what
we will, because God, being greater than our heart, confirms its testimony. The voice of the heart, in short, on this construction, is the voice of God. As I read it, John's
teaching is the direct opposite of this. It is only God who knoweth all things. No assurance, no accusation is to be received as final until it has passed before Him. We
must look outside of self for the highest tests of self. It is not before ourselves that we are either to assure or to condemn ourselves. Self-condemnation will not be
allayed by self-communion. We need, not to be self-assured, but to be assured by Him.

It is almost needless to say, but it should be kept in mind, that these words are addressed to Christians; and this opens another and interesting question, - that of sin in
Christians. The heart sometimes condemns unjustly, or unduly. The conscience is sometimes diseased and morbidly exacting, and the heart is distressed with
accusations which are as fanciful as they are painful. But the heart's condemnation is, as has been already said, often just. This, however, as well as the other cases, is
covered by the apostle's words: "We shall assure our heart before Him, whereinsoever our heart condemn us." It may well be asked then, how, when God endorses
the conviction of the heart, we are to assure our heart before Him? What, when the apostle himself has just told us that "whosoever is born of God doth not commit
sin? - that he cannot sin, because he is born of God? - that whosoever sinneth hath not seen or known God? These utterances, by themselves, are terrible. They
destroy all hope of assurance. They make sinlessness the test of being in Christ. How shall we assure our heart?

Here we must be particular to note that all through this chapter, and it might be said, throughout the Epistle, John is dealing with something broader than specific errors
or good deeds. He is dealing with the question of a Christian's relation to God. Note the sharp and broad classifications of this chapter to this effect, indicating the order
or economy to which the man belongs rather than his specific acts.

He that doeth righteousness.

He that doeth sin; where sin as a whole answers to righteousness as a whole.

He is righteous even as He is righteous. He is of the devil: where, in each case, the man's character is shown to be a reflection of his spiritual master.

So, too, the phrases, "children of God;" "of the truth;" " passed from death unto life." And in chapter 1, "in darkness;" "in the light." Again, in chapter 4, "dwelleth in
God;" "of the world;" "of God." And, once more, the fact that the entire Epistle turns on a question of relation between man and God. Its key-note is fellowship - "That
which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us; yea, and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus
Christ."

This being true, the tests applied are directed at this relation. "Hereby we perceive that we are of the truth:" that is our sphere, our genesis, our economy. And
accordingly specific acts are treated in the light of this general relation. No man goes sinless before God. This is treated in the first chapter with reference to certain
actual delusions in this matter. Those who maintain that sin is an accident and not a principle, a transient phenomenon which leaves no abiding issues, are met with "if we
say that we have no sin (aJmarti>an oujk e]comen), we lead ourselves astray and the truth is not in us." Those who deny that, personally, they have sinned, are met with
"if we say that we have not sinned (oujc hJmarth>kamen), we make of Him a liar, and His word is not in us." So that, I repeat, the test here contemplated is a test of
relation and not of specific act. As Westcott truthfully says: "As long as the relationship with God is real" (if a man is truly born of God) "sinful acts are but accidents.
They do not touch the essence of the man's being." (Compare also Westcott on 1 John 5:16.) Consequently, when our heart condemns us of sin, and we appear before
God, our assurance or quieting of heart comes through God's throwing us back upon this relation to Him, and its accompanying proof, love for the brethren. God
teaches the heart to meet its self-accusation with the fact and evidence of sonship. Hereby we shall assure our heart before Him.

It is noteworthy how John exalts and emphasizes the sufficiency and decisiveness of this test. "He that abideth in love abideth in God, and God in him." "We know that
we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren." And in the fourth chapter he is even more emphatic; asserting (ver. 12) that love to the brethren is
the only possible proof of love to God; for "God hath no man ever beheld. If we love one another, God abideth in us, and His love is perfected in us."

So, then, the man takes his justly accusing heart before Him, and God says, "It is true, you have sinned. But you are my child, proven to be such by your love. Shall not
I, your Father, forgive your sin? Do you fear to bring it to me? 'If any man sin, he hath an advocate with me, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He is the propitiation for his
sins.' If you confess your sin, I am faithful and just to forgive you your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness."

If he goes under the accusation of imperfect love, he is met with the assurance that his relation to God is not determined nor perpetuated by the scant measure of the
purest human love. "Herein is love; not that we have loved (hjgaph>kamen) God, but that He loved us (hJga>phsen, associating His love with a definite act) and sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
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If the self-accusation is morbid and unfounded, a freak of a diseased religious fancy, rather than a truthful verdict of a healthy conscience, the complex and confused
witness of our ignorant heart is resolved into the simple testimony of love. I am God's child. At my Father's hand I shall meet with no encouragement to continue in sin,
but with pardon for my sin; with tonics for my morbid conditions; with allowance for my infirmity. Only by that perfect wisdom will the error be duly weighed; only by
If he goes under the accusation of imperfect love, he is met with the assurance that his relation to God is not determined nor perpetuated by the scant measure of the
purest human love. "Herein is love; not that we have loved (hjgaph>kamen) God, but that He loved us (hJga>phsen, associating His love with a definite act) and sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

If the self-accusation is morbid and unfounded, a freak of a diseased religious fancy, rather than a truthful verdict of a healthy conscience, the complex and confused
witness of our ignorant heart is resolved into the simple testimony of love. I am God's child. At my Father's hand I shall meet with no encouragement to continue in sin,
but with pardon for my sin; with tonics for my morbid conditions; with allowance for my infirmity. Only by that perfect wisdom will the error be duly weighed; only by
that perfect love will it be forgiven; only by that perfect strength will the soul be energized to renew the life-long fight with sin. If we are trembling lest the things of which
our heart accuses us be the warrant for disinheriting us of our position and privilege, we are pointed past our individual lapses and errors to the great, dominant
sentiment of our relation to God. We love Him, we love the brethren, therefore we are His children; erring children no doubt, but still His. Will He disinherit His child?

Observe again, how John finds comfort in the fact of omniscience. We shall assure our heart because God knoweth all things. The natural instinct of imperfection is to
evade the contact and scrutiny of perfection. But that instinct is false and misleading. The Gospel creates a contrary instinct, in creating a filial consciousness. If God's
holiness shames our sinfulness, and God's perfect wisdom dwarfs our folly, nevertheless, perfection is the only safe refuge for the imperfect. No man wants to be tried
before an ignorant or a corrupt judge. If that omniscient knowledge sees deeper into our sin than we do, it also sees deeper into our weakness. If it weighs the act in
more nicely-poised scales, it weighs the circumstances in the same scales. If it knows our secret faults, it knows likewise our frame and our frailty. If it discerns
aggravations, it equally discerns palliations. If infinite knowledge compasses the sin, so does infinite love. There mercy and truth meet together, and righteousness and
peace kiss each other.

So we shall assure our heart before Him in whatsoever our heart condemn us. Not with the conceited assurance of self-righteousness; not with a drugged and dulled
perception of the vileness of sin; not with an elixir which shall relax our spiritual fiber and moderate our enthusiasm for spiritual victory; but with the thought that we are
God's children, loving, though erring, in our Father's hand; with our elder brother Christ interceding for us; with the knowledge that the judicial element in our Christian
experience is transferred from our own heart to God; with the knowledge that, being His, "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." As I
read this passage I wonder if John, as he penned it, had not in mind that interview of Christ and Peter at the lake after the resurrection. There was Peter with a heart
stung with self-accusation, as well it might be: Peter who had denied and forsaken his Lord: and yet Christ meets all this self-accusation with the words "Loveth thou
Me?" And Peter's reply is in the very vein of our passage. "God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things:" "Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I
love Thee."

On this interpretation, the remainder of the passage follows simply and naturally. Once assured that we are children of God, we have boldness toward God. That
assurance, carrying with it the assurance of pardon and sympathy, is the only means by which the heart's condemnation is legitimately allayed. If, by which the heart's
condemnation is legitimately allayed. If, under that assurance, our heart ceases to condemn us, "then have we confidence toward God." It is noteworthy how the line of
thought coincides with that in the latter part of the fourth of Hebrews. There too we see the Divine omniscience emphasized - the discernment of the living word, "quick
and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but
all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Then comes the priesthood and the sympathy of Jesus, the Great High-Priest,
"touched with the feeling of our infirmities;" and then the same conclusion: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace."

This latter part of the passage must therefore be interpreted by the former. That the heart feels no sense of condemnation is not, of itself, a legitimate nor a safe ground
of boldness toward God. There is a boldness which is born of presumption, of spiritual obtuseness, of ignorance of the character and claims of God, of false and
superficial conceptions of sin. A valid absence of condemnation must have a definite and valid fact, a substantial evidence behind it; and that it has, according to the
interpretation we have given: "We shall assure our heart before Him in whatsoever our heart condemn us, by this; namely that the all-knowing God is our forgiving
Father, that Christ is our Propitiator and Savior, and that the Spirit of love in our hearts, and the loving ministry of our lives testify that we are children of God. Note at
this point how John answers to Paul. Look first at the fourth chapter of this Epistle. "If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. Hereby
know we that we dwell in Him and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit." Now turn to the eighth chapter of Romans. "There is therefore now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and death. Ye are not in the flesh, but in
the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For ye received not the spirit of bondage
again unto fear, but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness unto our spirit that we are children of God; and if
children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." And, in like manner, "the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity; the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered; and He that searcheth the hearts (being greater than our heart and knowing all things) knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God" - for the saints that love God, foreordained, called, justified, glorified. "What then shall we
say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us
all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth, who is he that shall condemn? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was
raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or anguish,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Even as it is written,

'For Thy sake we are killed all the day long;

We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.'

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord."

Finally, the whole passage carries a protest and an antidote against an introverted, morbidly subjective and self-scrutinizing type of piety, which habitually studies self for
the evidence of right spiritual relation and condition: which tests growth in grace by tension of feeling, and reckons spiritual latitude and longitude by spiritual moods.
Feeling, religious sensibility, has its place, and a high and sacred place it is; but its place is not the judgment-seat; and right feelings in Christian experience is always
based upon right relation to the facts of the plan of redemption. The Christian consciousness give no valid testimony, save as it reflects the great objective verities of the
Christian faith. If our spirit witnesses with the Spirit, the Spirit must first bear witness to our spirit that we are children of God.

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF JOHN

1. The elder (oJ presbu>terov). The word is used originally of seniority in age. So Luke 15:25. Afterward as a term of rank or office. Applied to members of the
Sanhedrim (Matthew 16:21; Acts 6:12). Those who presided over the Christian assemblies or churches (Acts 11:30; 1 Timothy 5:17, 19). The twenty-four members
of the heavenly court in John's vision (Revelation 4:4, 10; 5:5, 6, 8, 11, 14). Here, with reference to official position, coupled, presumably, with age.

Unto the elect lady (ejklekth|~ kuri>a|). An expression which baffles all the commentators. It is supposed by some that the title describes a person, by others, a society.
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(1.) That the letter was addressed to a certain Babylonian named Electa.
of the heavenly court in John's vision (Revelation 4:4, 10; 5:5, 6, 8, 11, 14). Here, with reference to official position, coupled, presumably, with age.

Unto the elect lady (ejklekth|~ kuri>a|). An expression which baffles all the commentators. It is supposed by some that the title describes a person, by others, a society.
The views of the former class as to the person designated, are

(1.) That the letter was addressed to a certain Babylonian named Electa.

(2.) To a person named Kyria.

(3.) To Electa Kyria, a compound proper name. Those who regard the phrase as describing a society, divide on the question whether a particular Christian society or
the whole Church is intended. It is impossible to settle the question satisfactorily.

Children (te>knoiv). May be taken either in a literal or in a spiritual sense. For the later, see 1 Timothy 1, 2; Galatians 4:25; 3 John 1:4. Compare also vv. 4, 13. The
explanation turns on the meaning of ejklekth|~ kuri>a|. If it mean the Church, children will have the spiritual sense. If it be a proper name, the literal.

Whom (ou{v). Comprehensive, embracing the mother and the children of both sexes.

I love (ajgapw~). See on John 5:20.

In the truth (ejn ajlhqei>a|. Omit the. The expression in truth marks the atmosphere or element of truth in which something is said, or felt, or done. See John 17:17. In
truth is equivalent to truly, really. Compare Colossians 1:6; John 17:19.

That have known (oiJ ejgnwko>tev). Either have come to know, or as Rev., know. The perfect tense of ginw>skw, to learn to know, is rendered as a present: I have
learned to know, therefore I know. See on 1 John 2:3.

2. Which dwelleth (thnousan). Rev., abideth. Enlarging on the idea of the truth: that which abideth. See on 1 John 4:9 on the phrase to abide in, see on 1 John 2:6.

Shall be with us (meq' hJmw~n e]stai). With us has the emphatic position in the sentence: and with us it shall be. Note the change from abideth in to shall be with, and
see on John 14:16, 17.

3. Grace be with you, mercy and peace (e]stai meq hJmw~n ca>riv e]leov eijrh>nh). The verb is in the future tense: shall be. In the Pauline Epistles the salutations
contain no verb. In 1 and 2 Peter and Jude, plhqunqei>h be multiplied, is used. Grace (ca>riv) is of rare occurrence in John's writings (John 1:14, 16, 17; Revelation
1:4; 22:21); and the kindred cari>zomai to favor, be kind, forgive, and ca>risma gift, are not found at all. See on Luke 1:30. Mercy (e]leov), only here in John. See on
Luke 1:50. The pre-Christian definitions of the word include the element of grief experienced on account of the unworthy suffering of another. So Aristotle. The Latin
misericordia (miser "wretched," cor "the heart") carries the same idea. So Cicero defines it, the sorrow arising from the wretchedness of another suffering wrongfully.
Strictly speaking, the word as applied to God, cannot include either of these elements, since grief cannot be ascribed to Him, and suffering is the legitimate result of sin.
The sentiment in God assumes the character of pitying love. Mercy is kindness and goodwill toward the miserable and afflicted, joined with a desire to relieve them.
Trench observes: "In the Divine mind, and in the order of our salvation as conceived therein, the mercy precedes the grace. God so loved the world with a pitying love
(herein was the mercy), that He gave His only-begotten Son (herein the grace), that the world through Him might be saved. But in the order of the manifestation of
God's purposes of salvation, the grace must go before the mercy and make way for it. It is true that the same persons are the subjects of both, being at once the guilty
and the miserable; yet the righteousness of God, which it is quite as necessary should be maintained as His love, demands that the guilt should be done away before the
misery can be assuaged; only the forgiven may be blessed. He must pardon before He can heal.... From this it follows that in each of the apostolic salutations where
these words occur, grace precedes mercy" ("Synonyms of the New Testament").

With you. The best texts read with us.

From God - from Jesus Christ (para - para). Note the repeated preposition, bringing out the twofold relation to the Father and Son. In the Pauline salutations ajpo>
from, is invariably used with God, and never repeated with Jesus Christ. On the use of para> from, see on John 6:46; 1 John 1:5.

God the Father. The more common expression is "God our Father."

The Son of the Father. The phrase occurs nowhere else. Compare John 1:18; 1 John 2:22, 23; 1 John 1:3.

In truth and in love. The combination is not found elsewhere. The words indicate the contents of the whole Epistle.

4. I rejoiced. Expressions of thankful joy are common in the Pauline salutations. See Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2
Thessalonians, Philemon.

Greatly (li>an). The word is found in John's writings only here and 3 John 1:3.

I found (eu[rhka). See on John 1:41. Rev., I have found.

Of thy children (ejk tw~n te>knwn). The rendering is obscure. Rev., rightly, supplies certain. Compare John 16:17.

In truth (ejn ajlhqei>a|). Compare 3 John 1:3. See on 1 John 1:8.

5. New (kainh). See on Matthew 26:29.

We had (ei]camen). The apostle identifies himself with his readers.

6. Love (hJ ajga>ph). The love just mentioned in the verb we love.

That (i[na). See on John 15:13.

After His commandments (kata). For walk, with kata> after, according to, see Mark 7:5; Romans 8:4; 14:15; 1 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 10:2. Very often with
ejn in. See John 8:12; 11:9, 10; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 1 John 1:7, 11. Both constructions are found 2 Corinthians 10:2, 3.
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From the beginning (ajp' ajrch~v). See on John 1:1.

In it (ejn aujth|~). In love: not the commandment.
After His commandments (kata). For walk, with kata> after, according to, see Mark 7:5; Romans 8:4; 14:15; 1 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 10:2. Very often with
ejn in. See John 8:12; 11:9, 10; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 1 John 1:7, 11. Both constructions are found 2 Corinthians 10:2, 3.

From the beginning (ajp' ajrch~v). See on John 1:1.

In it (ejn aujth|~). In love: not the commandment.

7. Deceivers (pla>noi). See on we deceive ourselves, 1 John 1:8.

Are entered into (ejxh~lqan eijv). Rev., are gone forth into. The A.V. follows the reading eijsh~lqon entered into. The tense is the aorist, strictly rendered, went forth. It
may indicate a particular crisis, at which they went forth from the Christian society.

Who confess not (oiJ mh). The article with the participle describes the character of this class of deceivers, and does not merely assert a definite fact concerning them.
Compare Mark 15:41"other women which came up with Him" (aiJ sunsnsba~sai). Confess. See on Matthew 7:23; 10:32.

Is come (ejrco>menon). Wrong. The verb is in the present participle, coming, which describes the manhood of Christ as still being manifested. See on 1 John 3:5. In 1
John 4:2 we have the manifestation treated as a past fact by the perfect tense, ejlhluqo.ta has come. Rev., that Jesus Christ cometh. So in 1 Thessalonians 1:10th~v
ojrgh~v th~v ejrcome>nhv is the wrath which is coming; which has already begun its movement and is advancing: not merely, as A.V., the wrath to come, which makes
it wholly a future event. See on lingereth, 2 Peter 2:3.

An antichrist (oJ ajnti>cristov) Rev, rendering the definite article, the antichrist. See on 1 John 2:18.

8. Look to yourselves that (ble>pete eJautou>v i[na). %Ina in order that, marks the intent of the caution. See on John 15:13.

We lose (ajpole>swmen). The best texts read ajpole>shte, ye lose. So Rev, with destroy in margin. For the meanings of the verb see on Luke 9:25.

We receive (ajpola>bwmen). The best texts read ajpola>bhte ye receive. The compounded preposition ajpo>, has the force of back: receive back from God.

Reward (misqo). See on 2 Peter 2:13 and compare Matthew 5:12; John 4:36; 1 Corinthians 3:8; Revelation 11:18; 22:12.

9. Whosoever transgresseth (pa~v oJ parabai>nwn). The best texts read proa>gwn goeth onward. So Rev., with taketh the lead in margin. The meaning is, whosoever
advances beyond the limits of Christian doctrine. Others explain of those who would set themselves up as teachers, or take the lead. Such false progress is contrasted
with abiding in the teaching. On the construction, pa~v every one, with the article and participle, see on 1 John 3:3.

Abideth - in (me>nwn ejn). See on 1 John 2:6.

Doctrine (didach|~). Better, as Rev., teaching.

Of Christ. Not the teaching concerning Christ, but the teaching of Christ Himself and of His apostles. See Hebrews 2:3. So according to New Testament usage. See
John 18:19; Acts 2:12; Revelation 2:14, 15.

In the doctrine of Christ. Omit of Christ. Didach> teaching, is used thus absolutely, Romans 16:17; Titus 1:9.

10. If there come any (ei] tiv e]rcetai). Better, Rev., if anyone cometh. The indicative mood assumes the fact: if anyone comes, as there are those that come. Cometh is
used in an official sense as of a teacher. See on 1 John 3:5.

Bring (fe>rei). For the use of the verb see John 18:29; Acts 25:18; 2 Peter 2:11; 1:17, 18; 1 Peter 1:13.

Neither bid him God speed (kairein aujtw|~ mhgete). Lit., and say not unto him "greeting!" Cai>rein rejoice, hail, was the customary form of salutation. It was also used
in bidding farewell; but in the New Testament always of greeting (Acts 15:23; 23:26; James 1:1). 70 "Now whoever cometh and teacheth you all these things, before
spoken, receive him; but if the teacher himself turn aside and teach another teaching, so as to overthrow this, do not hear him" ("Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," ch.
11. See on Matthew 10:10).

11. Is partaker (koinwnei~). The verb occurs nowhere else in John's writings. The kindred noun koinwni>a fellowship, is peculiar to the First Epistle. See on 1 John
1:3; also on partners (Luke 5:10); fellowship (Acts 2:42); partaker (1 Peter 5:1.).

Paper (ca>rtou). Only here in the New Testament. The Egyptian papyrus or byblus, Cyperus papyrus, anciently very common, but not now found within the limits of
the country. It is a tall, smooth flag or reed, with a large triangular stalk, containing the pith which furnished the paper. The paper was manufactured by cutting the pith
into strips, arranging them horizontally, and then placing across them another layer of strips, uniting the two layers by a paste, and subjecting the whole to a heavy
pressure. The upper and middle portions of the reed were used for this purpose. The fact that the plant is no longer found is significant in connection with Isaiah's
prophecy that "the flags (Hebrews suph, papyrus) shall waste away" (Isaiah 19:6). The plant grew in shallow water or in marshes, and is accordingly represented on the
monuments as at the side of a stream or in irrigated lands. 71 The Jews wrote on various materials, such as the leaves of the olive and palm, the rind of the
pomegranate, and the skins of animals. The tablet (pinaki>dion, Luke 1:63) was in very common use. It consisted of thin pieces of wood, strung together, and either
plain, or covered with papyrus or with wax.

Ink (me>lanov). Lit., that which is black. The word occurs only once outside of John's Epistles (2 Corinthians 3:3), and only three times in all (2 John 1:12; 3 John
1:13). Ink was prepared of soot or of vegetable or mineral substances. Gum and vitriol were also used. Colored inks, red and gold, were also employed. 72

To come unto you (gene>sqai pro). Or, to be present with you. For the phrase, see 1 Corinthians 2:3; 16:10.

Face to face (sto>ma proma). Lit, mouth to mouth. Compare pro>swpon prov pro>swpon, face to face, 1 Corinthians 8:12.

Full (peplhrwme>nh). Rev., rightly, fulfilled.

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN

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Gaius. The name occurs several times in the New Testament, as Acts 19:29; 20:4; Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:14. The person addressed here cannot be identified.
Full (peplhrwme>nh). Rev., rightly, fulfilled.

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN

1. The elder. See on 2 John 1:1.

Gaius. The name occurs several times in the New Testament, as Acts 19:29; 20:4; Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:14. The person addressed here cannot be identified.

The well-beloved. Rev., the beloved. In the Greek order the name comes first. Gaius the beloved.

In the truth (ejn alhqei>a|). Rev., properly, omitting the article, in truth. See on 2 John 1:4.

2. Beloved. Compare the plural, 1 John 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11.

I wish above all things (perintwn eu]comai). Wrong. This sense of peri> is contrary to New Testament usage. The preposition means concerning. So Rev. "I pray that
in all things thou mayst prosper." Eu]comai I pray or wish, occurs only here in John's writings, and not often elsewhere. See Acts 26:29; Romans 9:3; James 5:16.

Mayst prosper (eujodou~sqai). Lit., have a prosperous journey. From ejn well, and oJdo>v a way. In this original sense, Romans 1:10. The word occurs only three
times in the New Testament. See 1 Corinthians 16:2.

Be in health (uJgiai>nein). Used in the New Testament both in a physical and moral sense. The former is found only here and in Luke's Gospel. See Luke 5:31; 7:10;
15:27. Paul uses it of soundness in faith or doctrine. See 1 Timothy 1:10; 6:3; 2 Timothy 1:13; Titus 2:2. Here of Gaius' bodily health, as is shown by soul in the next
clause.

Soul (yuch>). See on Mark 12:30; Luke 1:46. The soul (yuch>) is the principle of individuality, the seat of personal impressions. It has a side in contact with both the
material and the spiritual element of humanity, and is thus the mediating organ between body and spirit. Its meaning, therefore, constantly rises above life or the living
individual, and takes color from its relation to either the emotional or the spiritual side of life, from the fact of its being the seat of the feelings, desires, affections,
aversions, and the bearer and manifester of the divine life-principle (pneu~ma). Consequently yuch> is often used in our sense of heart (Luke 1:46; 2:35; John 10:24;
Acts 14:2); and the meanings of yuch> soul and pneu~ma spirit, occasionally approach each other very closely. Compare John 12:27, 11:33; Matthew 11:29 and 1
Corinthians 16:18. Also both words in Luke 1:47. In this passage yuch> soul, expresses the soul regarded as moral being designed for everlasting life. See Hebrews
6:19; 10:39; 8:17; 1 Peter 2:11; 4:19. John commonly uses the word to denote the principle of the natural life. See John 10:11, 15; 13:37; 15:13; 1 John 3:16;
Revelation 8:9; 12:11; 16:3.

3. Rejoiced greatly. See on 2 John 1:4.

Brethren came (ejrcome>nwn ajdelfw~n). Lit., coming. The present participle denotes coming from time to time, and not coming on a single occasion, which would
require the aorist. On brethren, see on 1 John 2:9.

Thou walkest in truth. See on 1 John 1:8. for the phrase walk in, see on 2 John 1:6. Thou is emphatic, suggesting a contrast with less faithful ones, as Diotrephes, ver.
9.

4. Joy (cara). The texts vary; some reading ca>rin grace or favor from God, on which see 2 John 1:3. Note the Greek order: greater joy than this have I not.

My children (takna). Lit., mine own children.

Walk (peripatou~nta). Rev., rightly, walking. The participle expresses something habitual.

5. Thou doest faithfully (pisto). Rev., thou doest a faithful work. A third interpretation is thou givest a pledge or guaranty, and a fourth, akin to this, thou makest sure.
The Rev. is best. There is no parallel to justify the third and fourth. 73

Thou doest (ejrga>sh|). Or lit., according to the eymology, workest (e]rgon work). See on James 2:9. The distinction between this verb and others signifying to do,
such as poiei~n, pra>ssein, dra~n, which last does not occur in the New Testament, is not sharply maintained in Attic Greek. In certain connections the difference
between them is great, in others, it is hardly perceptible. On poiei~n and pra.ssein, see on John 3:21.'Erga>zomai, like pra>ssein, contemplates the process rather than
the end of action, carrying the ideas of continuity and repetition. It means to labor, to be active, to perform, with the idea of continued exertion, and therefore is used of
servants, or of those who have an assigned business or office. See Matthew 21:28; 25:26; Luke 13:14; John 5:17; 6:27; 9:4; 1 Thessalonians 2:9. For the phrase
ejrga>sh| eijv thou doest toward (Rev.), see Matthew 26:10.

And to strangers (kainouv). The best texts read, instead of eijv tou to the (strangers), tou~to, that; so that the sentence is, literally, "to them that are brethren, and that
strangers." For the phrase and that, compare 1 Corinthians 6:6; Philippians 1:28; Ephesians 2:8.

6. The Church (ejkklhsi>av). See on Matthew 16:18.

If thou bring forward on their journey (prope>myav). Lit., having sent forward. The aorist tense represents the act as accomplished. Compare Acts 15:3; Titus 3:13.
Rev., set forward.

After a godly sort (ajxi>wv tou~ Qeou~). Lit., worthily of God. So Rev. Compare 1 Thessalonians 2:12; Colossians 1:10.

Thou shalt do well (kalw~v poih). For the phrase, see Acts 10:33; Philippians 4:14; James 2:8, 19; 2 Peter 1:19. Rev., renders the whole: whom thou wilt do well to
set forward on their journey worthily of God.

7. For His Name's sake (uJpematov). His is supplied by the A.V. It is not in the text. Rev., correctly, for the sake of the Name. The Name (Jesus Christ) is used thus
absolutely in Acts 5:41; compare James 2:7. For a similar absolute use of the way, see on Acts 4:2. See on 1 John 1:7.

Taking nothing of (mhdenontev ajpo). For the phrase taking of, or from, see on 1 John 1:5.

The Gentiles (ejqnikw~n). This word occurs elsewhere only in the Gospel of Matthew. The more common word is e]qnh, which is the reading of the Tex. Rec. here:
ejqnw~n. See on Luke 2:32.
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8. Ought (ojfei>lomen). See on 1 John 2:6.
Taking nothing of (mhdenontev ajpo). For the phrase taking of, or from, see on 1 John 1:5.

The Gentiles (ejqnikw~n). This word occurs elsewhere only in the Gospel of Matthew. The more common word is e]qnh, which is the reading of the Tex. Rec. here:
ejqnw~n. See on Luke 2:32.

8. Ought (ojfei>lomen). See on 1 John 2:6.

To receive (ajpolamba>nein). The best texts read uJpolamba>nein to support; i.e., to welcome with the provision of hospitality. Rev., welcome. The verb means,
originally, to take underneath in order to raise. Hence, to support. Figuratively, to take upon the mind, to suppose, as Luke 7:43; Acts 2:15: to take up or follow in
speech; hence to answer, as Luke 10:30.

Fellow-helpers to the truth (sunergoia|). Lit., fellow-workers. The expression is explained in two ways: either fellow-workers with the teachers (toiou>touv such) in
support of the truth; or fellow-workers with the truth. Adopt the latter, as Rev. 74

9. I wrote unto the Church. The best texts insert ti somewhat, which indicates that the apostle did not regard the communication as specially important.

Diotrephes (Diotrefh). The name is from Di>ov of Zeus (Jove), and tre>fw to nourish, and means Jove-nursed.

Who loveth to have the pre-eminence (oJ filoprwteu>wn). From the adjective filo>prwtov fond of being first. The word occurs here only.

10. Prating (fluarw~n). From flu>w to bubble up or boil over. Hence of talk which is both fluent and empty. Compare the kindred adjective flu>aroi tattlers, 1 Timothy
5:13.

Them that would. Those who were disposed to receive the strangers.

Casteth them out. By excommunication, which, through his influence, he had power to bring about.

11. Follow (mimou~). More correctly, as Rev., imitate. Elsewhere only 2 Thessalonians 3:7, 9; Hebrews 13:7. The kindred word mimhth>v imitator, uniformly
rendered follower in A.V., occurs 1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; Ephesians 5:1. Hence our word mimic; also pantomime. Mi~mov means both an actor and a kind of prose
drama, intended as a familiar representation of life and character, and without any distinct plot.

That which is evil - that which is good (to - ton). Compare ta good, ta evil, John 5:29.

12. Demetrius hath good report (Dhmhtri>w| memartu>rhtai). Lit., unto Demetrius witness hath been born. See John 3:26.

13. I had (ei=con). The imperfect tense: I was having, when I began to write.

Pen (kala>mou). Lit., reed. See Matthew 11:7. The staff or scepter placed in mockery in Jesus' hand, Matthew 27:29. A measuring-reed, Revelation 11:1

14. Face to face. See on 2 John 1:12.

THE REVELATION OF JOHN.

(or The Apocalypse)

CHAPTER 1

1. The Revelation (ajpoka>luyiv). The Greek word is transcribed in Apocalypse. The word occurs only once in the Gospels, Luke 2:32 where to lighten should be
rendered for revelation. It is used there of our Lord, as a light to dispel the darkness under which the heathen were veiled. It occurs thirteen times in Paul's writings, and
three times in first Peter.

It is used in the following senses:

(a.)The unveiling of something hidden, which gives light and knowledge to those who behold it. See Luke 2:32 (above). Christianity itself is the revelation of a mystery
(Romans 16:25). The participation of the Gentiles in the privileges of the new covenant was made known by revelation (Ephesians 3:3). Paul received the Gospel which
he preached by revelation (Galatians 1:12), and went up to Jerusalem by revelation (Galatians 2:2).

(b.)Christian insight into spiritual truth. Paul asks for Christians the spirit of revelation (Ephesians 1:17). Peculiar manifestations of the general gift of revelation are given
in Christian assemblies (1 Corinthians 14:6, 26). Special revelations are granted to Paul (2 Corinthians 12:1, 7).

(c.)The second coming of the Lord (1 Peter 1:7, 13; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:7) in which His glory shall be revealed (1 Peter 4:13), His righteous judgment
made known (Romans 2:5), and His children revealed in full majesty (Romans 8:19).

The kindred verb ajpokalu>ptw is used in similar connections. Following the categories given above,

(a.)Galatians 1:16; 3:23; Ephesians 3:5; 1 Peter 1:12.

(b.)Matthew 11:25, 27; 16:17; Luke 10:21, 22; 1 Corinthians 2:10; 14:30; Philippians 3:15.

(c.)Matthew 10:26; Luke 2:35; 12:2; 17:30; Romans 1:17, 18; 8:18; 1 Corinthians 3:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 6, 8; 1 Peter 1:5; 5:1.

The word is compounded with ajpo> from, and kalu>ptw to cover. Hence, to remove the cover from anything; to unveil. So of Balaam, the Lord opened or unveiled
his eyes (ajpeka>luyen tou: Numbers 22:31 Sept.). So Boaz to Naomi's kinsman: "I thought to advertise thee:" Rev., "disclose it unto thee" (ajpokalu>yw to: Ruth 4:4
Sept.). Lit., I will uncover thine ear.

The noun ajpoka>luyiv revelation, occurs only once in the Septuagint (1 Samuel 20:30), in the physical sense of uncovering. The verb is found in the Septuagint in
Daniel 2:19, 22, 28.
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In classical Greek, the verb is used by Herodotus (i., 119) of uncovering the head; and by Plato: thus, "reveal (ajpokalu>yav) to me the power of Rhetoric" ("Gorgias,"
460): "Uncover your chest and back" ("Protagoras," 352). Both the verb and the noun occur in Plutarch; the latter of uncovering the body, of waters, and of an error.
Sept.). Lit., I will uncover thine ear.

The noun ajpoka>luyiv revelation, occurs only once in the Septuagint (1 Samuel 20:30), in the physical sense of uncovering. The verb is found in the Septuagint in
Daniel 2:19, 22, 28.

In classical Greek, the verb is used by Herodotus (i., 119) of uncovering the head; and by Plato: thus, "reveal (ajpokalu>yav) to me the power of Rhetoric" ("Gorgias,"
460): "Uncover your chest and back" ("Protagoras," 352). Both the verb and the noun occur in Plutarch; the latter of uncovering the body, of waters, and of an error.
The religious sense, however, is unknown to heathenism.

The following words should be compared with this: jOptasi>a a vision (Luke 1:22; Acts 26:19; 2 Corinthians 12:1). [Orama a vision (Matthew 17:9; Acts 9:10; 16:9).
[Orasiv a vision (Acts 2:17; Revelation 9:17. Of visible form, Revelation 4:3). These three cannot be accurately distinguished. They all denote the thing seen or shown,
without anything to show whether it is understood or not.

As distinguished from these, ajpoka>luyiv includes, along with the thing shown or seen, its interpretation or unveiling.

jEpifa>neia appearing (hence our epiphany), is used in profane Greek of the appearance of a higher power in order to aid men. In the New Testament by Paul only,
and always of the second appearing of Christ in glory, except in 2 Timothy 1:10 where it signifies His first appearing in the flesh. See 2 Thessalonians 2:8; 1 Timothy
6:14; Titus 2:13. As distinguished from this, ajpola>luyiv is the more comprehensive word. An apocalypse may include several ejpifa>neiai appearings. The appearings
are the media of the revealings.

Fane>rwsiv manifestation; only twice in the New Testament; 1 Corinthians 12:7; 2 Corinthians 4:2. The kindred verb fanero>w to make manifest, is of frequent
occurrence. See on John 21:1. It is not easy, if possible, to show that this word has a less dignified sense than ajpoka>luyiv. The verb fanero>w is used of both the first
and the second appearing of our Lord (1 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 1:2; 1 Peter 1:20; Colossians 3:4; 1 Peter 5:4). See also John 2:11; 21:l.

Some distinguish between fane>rwsiv as an external manifestation, to the senses, but single and isolated; while ajpoka>luyiv is an inward and abiding disclosure.
According to these, the Apocalypse or unveiling, precedes and produces the fane>rwsiv or manifestation. The Apocalypse contemplates the thing revealed; the
manifestation, the persons to whom it is revealed.

The Revelation here is the unveiling of the divine mysteries.

Of Jesus Christ. Not the manifestation or disclosure of Jesus Christ, but the revelation given by Him.

To shew (dei~xai). Frequent in Revelation 4:1; 17:1; 21:9; 22:1. Construe with e]dwken gave: gave him to shew. Compare "I will give him to sit" (chapter. Revelation
3:21): "It was given to hurt" (chapter. Revelation 7:2): "It was given him to do;" (A. 5:"had power to do;" chapter. Revelation 13:14).

Servants (dou>loiv). Properly, bond-servants. See on Matthew 20:26; Mark 9:35.

Must (dei~). As the decree of the absolute and infallible God.

Shortly come to pass (gene>sqai ejn ta>cei). For the phrase ejn ta>cei shortly, see Luke 18:8 where yet long delay is implied. Expressions like this must be
understood, not according to human measurement of time, but rather as in 2 Peter 3:8. The idea is, before long, as time is computed by God. The aorist infinitive
gene>sqai is not begin to come to pass, but denotes a complete fulfilment: must shortly come to pass in their entirety.

He sent (ajpostei>lav). See on Matthew 10:2, 16.

Signified (ejsh>manen). From sh~ma a sign. Hence, literally, give a sign or token. The verb occurs outside of John's writings only in Acts 11:28; 25:27. See John
12:33; 18:32; 21:19. This is its only occurrence in Revelation. The word is appropriate to the symbolic character of the revelation, and so in John 12:33 where Christ
predicts the mode of His death in a figure. Compare sign, Revelation 12:1.

Angel (ajgge>lou). Strictly, a messenger. See Matthew 11:10; Luke 8:24; 9:52. Compare the mediating angel in the visions of Daniel and Zechariah (Daniel 8:15, 16;
9:21; 10:10; Zechariah 1:19). See on John 1:51.

Servant. Designating the prophetic office. See Isaiah 59:5; Amos 3:7; compare Revelation 19:10; 22:9.

John. John does not name himself in the Gospel or in the Epistles. Here "we are dealing with prophecy, and prophecy requires the guarantee of the individual who is
inspired to utter it" (Milligan). Compare Daniel 8:1; 9:2.

2. Bare record (ejmartu>rhsen). See on John 1:7. Rev., bear witness. The reference is to the present book and not to the Gospel. The aorist tense is the epistolary
aorist. See on 1 John 2:13 and compare the introduction to Thucydides'"History:" "Thucydides, an Athenian, wrote (xune>graye) the history of the war," etc.; placing
himself at the reader's stand point, who will regard the writing as occurring in the past.

Word of God. Not the personal Word, but the prophetic contents of this book. See Revelation 22:6.

Testimony (marturi>an). For the phrase to witness a witness see John 4:32. For the peculiar emphasis on the idea of witness in John, see on John 1:7. The words and
the ides are characteristic of Revelation as of the Gospel and Epistles.

And (te) Omit. The clause all things that he saw is in apposition with the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, marking these as seen by him. Rev. adds even.

All things that he saw (o[sa ei+den). Lit., as many things as he saw. In the Gospel John uses the word ei+den saw, only twice of his own eye-witness (Revelation 1:40;
20:8). In Revelation it is constantly used of the seeing of visions. Compare Revelation 1:19. For the verb as denoting the immediate intuition of the seer, see on John
2:24.

3. Blessed (maka>riov). See on Matthew 5:3.

He that readeth (oJ ajnaginw>skwn). See on Luke 4:16. The Reader in the Church. See 2 Corinthians 3:14. They that hear, the congregation. The words imply a
public, official reading, in full religious assembly for worship. The passage is of some weight in determining the date of this book. The stated reading of the Apostolical
writings did not exist as a received form before the destruction of Jerusalem, A.D. 70.
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And keep (kai). The absence of the article from throu~ntev keeping (compare oiJ ajkou>ntev they that hear), shows that the hearers and the keepers form one class.
Threi~n to keep, is a peculiarly Johannine word, and is characteristic of Revelation as of the other writings in its own peculiar sense of "keeping" in the exercise of active
and strenuous care, rather than of watching over to preserve. See on reserved, 1 Peter 1:4.
He that readeth (oJ ajnaginw>skwn). See on Luke 4:16. The Reader in the Church. See 2 Corinthians 3:14. They that hear, the congregation. The words imply a
public, official reading, in full religious assembly for worship. The passage is of some weight in determining the date of this book. The stated reading of the Apostolical
writings did not exist as a received form before the destruction of Jerusalem, A.D. 70.

And keep (kai). The absence of the article from throu~ntev keeping (compare oiJ ajkou>ntev they that hear), shows that the hearers and the keepers form one class.
Threi~n to keep, is a peculiarly Johannine word, and is characteristic of Revelation as of the other writings in its own peculiar sense of "keeping" in the exercise of active
and strenuous care, rather than of watching over to preserve. See on reserved, 1 Peter 1:4.

Prophecy. See on prophet, Luke 7:26.

Which are written (tana). Perfect participle, have been written, and therefore stand written.

The time (oJ kairo). See on Matthew 12:1.

At hand (ejggu>v). Lit., near. See on shortly, verse. 1.

4. John. Note the absence of all official titles, such as are found in Paul; showing that John writes as one whose position is recognized.

Seven. Among every ancient people, especially in the East, a religious significance attaches to numbers. This grows out of the instinctive appreciation that number and
proportion are necessary attributes of the created universe. This sentiment passes over from heathenism into the Old Testament. The number seven was regarded by
the Hebrews as a sacred number, and it is throughout Scripture the covenant number, the sign of God's covenant relation to mankind, and especially to the Church. The
evidences of this are met in the hallowing of the seventh day; in the accomplishment of circumcision, which is the sign of a covenant, after seven days; in the part played
by the number in marriage covenants and treaties of peace. It is the number of purification and consecration (Leviticus 4:6, 17; 8:11, 33; Numbers 19:12). "Seven is the
number of every grace and benefit bestowed upon Israel; which is thus marked as flowing out of the covenant, and a consequence of it. The priests compass Jericho
seven days, and on the seventh day seven times, that all Israel may know that the city is given into their hands by God, and that its conquest is a direct and immediate
result of their covenant relation to Him. Naaman is to dip in Jordan seven times, that he may acknowledge the God of Israel as the author of his cure. It is the number of
reward to those who are faithful in the covenant (Deuteronomy 28:7; 1 Samuel 2:5); of punishment to those who are froward in the covenant (Leviticus 26:21, 24, 28;
Deuteronomy 28:25), or to those who injure the people in it (Genesis 4:15, 24; Exodus 7:25; Psalms 79:12). All the feasts are ordered by seven, or else by seven
multiplied into seven, and thus made intenser still. Thus it is with the Sabbath, the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, of Tabernacles, the Sabbath-year, and the Jubilee."

Similarly the number appears in God's dealing with nations outside the covenant, showing that He is working for Israel's sake and with respect to His covenant. It is the
number of the years of plenty and of famine, in sign that these are for Israel's sake rather than for Egypt's. Seven times pass over Nebuchadnezzar, that he may learn
that the God of his Jewish captives is king over all the earth (partly quoted and partly condensed from Trench's "Epistles to the Seven Churches").

Seven also occurs as a sacred number in the New Testament. There are seven beatitudes, seven petitions in the Lord's Prayer; seven parables in Matthew 13; seven
loaves, seven words from the cross, seven deacons, seven graces (Romans 12:6-8, seven characteristics of wisdom (James 3:17). In Revelation the prominence of the
number is marked. To a remarkable extent the structure of that book is molded by the use of numbers, especially of the numbers seven, four, and three. There are
seven spirits before the throne; seven churches; seven golden candlesticks; seven stars in the right hand of Him who is like unto a son of man; seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne; seven horns and seven eyes of the Lamb; seven seals of the book; and the thunders, the heads of the great dragon and of the beast from the
sea, the angels with the trumpets, the plagues, and the mountains which are the seat of the mystic Babylon, - are all seven in number.

So there are four living creatures round about the throne, four angels at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds; the New Jerusalem is foursquare. Authority
is given to Death to kill over the fourth part of the earth, and he employs four agents.

Again the use of the number three is, as Professor Milligan remarks, "so remarkable and continuous that it would require an analysis of the whole book for its perfect
illustration." There are three woes, three unclean spirits like frogs, three divisions of Babylon, and three gates on each side of the heavenly city. The Trisagion, or "thrice
holy," is sung to God the Almighty, to whom are ascribed three attributes of glory.

Seven Churches. Not all the churches in Asia are meant, since the list of those addressed in Revelation does not include Colossae, Miletus, Hierapolis, or Magnesia.
The seven named are chosen to symbolize the whole Church. Compare chapter 2:7. Seven being the number of the covenant, we have in these seven a representation
of the Church universal.

In Asia. See on Acts 2:9.

Grace - peace. For grace (ca>riv), see on Luke 1:30. Both words are used by Paul in the salutations of all his Epistles, except the three Pastorals.

From Him which is, and which was, and which is to come (ajpomenov). The whole salutation is given in the name of the Holy Trinity: the Father (Him which is, and
was, and is to come), the Spirit (the seven spirits), the Son (Jesus Christ). See further below. This portion of the salutation has no parallel in Paul, and is distinctively
characteristic of the author of Revelation. It is one of the solecisms in grammatical construction which distinguishes this book from the other writings of John. The Greek
student will note that the pronoun which (oJ) is not construed with the preposition from (ajpo>), which would require the genitive case, but stands in the nominative
case.

Each of these three appellations is treated as a proper name. The Father is Him which is, and which was, and which is to come. This is a paraphrase of the unspeakable
name of God (Exodus 3:14), the absolute and unchangeable. JO w}n, the One who is, is the Septuagint translation of Exodus 3:14"I am the oJ w}n (I am):" "oJ w}n (I
am), hath sent me unto you." The One who was (oJ h+n). The Greek has no imperfect participle, so that the finite verb is used. Which is and which was form one
clause, to be balanced against which is to come. Compare Revelation 11:17; 16:5; and "was (h+n) in the beginning with God" (John 1:2). Which is to come (oJ
ejrco>menov). Lit., the One who is coming. This is not equivalent to who shall be; i.e., the author is not intending to describe the abstract existence of God as covering
the future no less than the past and the present. If this had been his meaning, he would have written oJ ejso>menov, which shall be. The phrase which is to come would
not express the future eternity of the Divine Being. The dominant conception in the title is rather that of immutability.

Further, the name does not emphasize so much God's abstract existence, as it does His permanent covenant relation to His people. Hence the phrase which is to come,
is to be explained in accordance with the key-note of the book, which is the second coming of the Son (chapter Revelation 1:7; 22:20).

The phrase which is to come, is often applied to the Son (see on 1 John 3:5), and so throughout this book. Here it is predicated of the Father, apart from whom the
Son does nothing. "The Son is never alone, even as Redeemer" (Milligan). Compare "We will come unto him," John 14:23. Origen quotes our passage with the words:
"But that you may perceive that the omnipotence of the Father and of the Son is one and the same, hear John speaking after this manner in Revelation, 'Who is, etc.'"
Dean  Plumptre
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                                         Media   the temple of Isis at Sais in Egypt: "I am all that has come into being, and that which is, and that which shall be,
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man hath lifted my veil."

The Spirit is designated by
The phrase which is to come, is often applied to the Son (see on 1 John 3:5), and so throughout this book. Here it is predicated of the Father, apart from whom the
Son does nothing. "The Son is never alone, even as Redeemer" (Milligan). Compare "We will come unto him," John 14:23. Origen quotes our passage with the words:
"But that you may perceive that the omnipotence of the Father and of the Son is one and the same, hear John speaking after this manner in Revelation, 'Who is, etc.'"
Dean Plumptre cornpares the inscription over the temple of Isis at Sais in Egypt: "I am all that has come into being, and that which is, and that which shall be, and no
man hath lifted my veil."

The Spirit is designated by

The seven Spirits (tw~n eJptatwn). Paul nowhere joins the Spirit with the Father and the Son in his opening salutations. The nearest approach is 2 Corinthians 13:13.
The reference is not to the seven principal angels (chapter Revelation 8:2). These could not be properly spoken of as the source of grace and peace; nor be associated
with the Father and the Son; nor take precedence of the Son, as is the case here. Besides, angels are never called spirits in this book. With the expression compare
chapter 4:5, the seven lamps of fire, "which are the seven Spirits of God:" chapter 3:1, where Jesus is said to have "the seven Spirits of God." Thus the seven Spirits
belong to the Son as well as to the Father (see John 15:26). The prototype of John's expression is found in the vision of Zechariah, where the Messiah is prefigured as a
stone with seven eyes, "the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth" (Zechariah 3:9; 4:10). Compare also the same prophet's vision of the seven-
branched candlestick (Zechariah 4:2).

Hence the Holy Spirit is called the Seven Spirits; the perfect, mystical number seven indicating unity through diversity (1 Corinthians 12:4). Not the sevenfold gifts of the
Spirit are meant, but the divine Personality who imparts them; the one Spirit under the diverse manifestations. Richard of St. Victor (cited by Trench, "Seven
Churches") says: "And from the seven Spirits, that is, from the sevenfold Spirit, which indeed is simple in nature, sevenfold in grace."

5. Jesus Christ. The Son. Placed after the Spirit because what is to follow in verses 5-8 relates to Him. This is according to John's manner of arranging his thoughts so
that a new sentence shall spring out of the final thought of the preceding sentence. Compare the Prologue of the Gospel, and verses 1, 2, of this chapter.

The faithful witness (oJ ma>rtuv oJ pisto). For the phraseology see on 1 John 4:9. For witness, see on John 1:7; 1 Peter 5:1. As applied to the Messiah, see Psalms.
89:37; Isaiah 55:4. The construction again departs from the grammatical rule. The words witness, first-born, ruler, are in the nominative case, instead of being in the
genitive, in apposition with Jesus Christ. This construction, though irregular, nevertheless gives dignity and emphasis to these titles of the Lord. See on verse 4. The
word pisto, faithful is used (1), of one who shows Himself faithful in the discharge of a duty or the administration of a trust (Matthew 24:45; Luke 12:42). Hence,
trustworthy (1 Corinthians 7:25; 2 Timothy 2:2). Of things that can be relied upon (1 Timothy 3:1; 2 Timothy 2:11). (2), Confiding; trusting; a believer (Galatians 3:9;
Acts 16:1; 2 Corinthians 6:15; 1 Timothy 5:16). See on 1 John 1:9. The word is combined with ajlhqino>v, true, genuine in Revelation 3:14; 19:11; 21:5; 22:6. Richard
of St. Victor (cited by Trench) says: "A faithful witness, because He gave faithful testimony concerning all things which were to be testified to by Him in the world. A
faithful witness, because whatever He heard from the Father, He faithfully made known to His disciples. A faithful witness, because He taught the way of God in truth,
neither did He care for any one nor regard the person of men. A faithful witness, because He announced condemnation to the reprobate and salvation to the elect. A
faithful witness, because He confirmed by miracles the truth which He taught in words. A faithful witness, because He denied not, even in death, the Father's testimony
to Himself. A faithful witness, because He will give testimony in the day of judgment concerning the works of the good and of the evil."

The first-begotten of the dead (oJ prwto>tokov ejk tw~n nekrw~n). Rev., the first-born. The best texts omit ejk from. Compare Colossians 1:18. The risen Christ
regarded in His relation to the dead in Christ. He was not the first who rose from the dead, but the first who so rose that death was thenceforth impossible for Him
(Romans 6:9); rose with that resurrection-life in which He will finally bring with Him those who sleep in Him (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Some interpreters, rendering first-
born, find in the phrase the metaphor of death as the womb which bare Him (see on Acts 2:24). Others, holding by the rendering first-begotten, connect the passage
with Psalms 2:7 which by Paul is connected with the resurrection of Christ (Acts 13:32, 33). Paul also says that Jesus "was declared to be the Son of God with power
by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4). The verb ti>ktw which is one of the components of prwto>tokov first-begotten or born, is everywhere in the New
Testament used in the sense of to bear or to bring forth, and has nowhere the meaning beget, unless James 1:15 be an exception, on which see note. In classical Greek
the meaning beget is common.

The Ruler of the kings of the earth (oJ a]rcwn tw~n basile>wn th~v gh~v). Through resurrection He passes to glory and dominion (Philippians 2:9). The comparison
with the kings of the earth is suggested by Psalms 2:2. Compare Psalms 89:27; Isaiah 52:15; 1 Timothy 6:16; and see Revelation 6:15; 17:4; 19:16.

Unto Him that loved (tw| ajgaph>santi). The true reading is ajgapw~nti that loveth. So Rev. Christ's love is ever present See John 13:1.

Washed (lou>santi). Read lu>santi loosed. Trench remarks on the variation of readings as having grown out of a play on the words loutro>n, a bathing, and lu>tron a
ransom, both of which express the central benefits which redound to us through the sacrifice and death of Christ. He refers to this play upon words as involved in the
etymology of the name Apollo as given by Plato; viz., the washer (oJ ajpolou>wn) and the absolver (oJ ajpolu>wn) from all impurities. Either reading falls in with a
beautiful circle of imagery. If washed, compare Psalms 51:2; Isaiah 1:16, 18; Ezekiel 36:25; Acts 22:16; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5. If loosed, compare Matthew 20:28;
1 Timothy 2:6; 1 Peter 1:18; Hebrews 9:12; Galatians 3:13; 4:5; Revelation 5:9; 14:3, 4.

6. Kings (basilei~v). The correct reading is, basilei>an a kingdom. The term King is never applied in the New Testament to individual Christians. The reigning of the
saints is emphasized in this book. See chapter 5:10; 20:4, 6; 22:5. Compare Daniel 7:18, 22.

Priests (iJerei~v). Kingdom describes the body of the redeemed collectively. Priests indicates their individual position. Peter observes the same distinction (1 Peter 2:5)
in the phrases living stones (individuals) and a spiritual house (the body collectively), and combines both kings and priests in another collective term, royal priesthood
(verse 9). The priesthood of believers grows out of the priesthood of Christ (Psalms. 60:4; Zechariah. 6:13; Hebrews 7-10). This dignity was promised to Israel on the
condition of obedience and fidelity to God. "Ye shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus. 19:6). In the kingdom of Christ each individual is a priest. The
priest's work is not limited to any order of the ministry. All may offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving: all have direct access to the holiest through the blood of
Jesus: all Christians, as priests, are to minister to one another and to plead for one another. The consummation of this ideal appears in Revelation 21:22 where the
heavenly Jerusalem is represented as without temple. It is all temple. "It is the abolition of the distinction between holy and profane (Zechariah 14:20, 21) - nearer and
more remote from God - through all being henceforth holy, all being brought to the nearest whereof it is capable, to Him" (Trench).

Unto God and His Father (tw|~ Qew|~ kai). Lit., to the God and Father of Him. Hence Rev., correctly, His God and Father. For the phrase compare Romans 15:6; 2
Corinthians 1:3; Ephesians 1:3.

Glory and dominion (hJ do>xa kaitov). Rev., correctly, rendering the two articles, "the glory and the dominion." The articles express universality: all glory; that which
everywhere and under every form represents glory and dominion. The verb be (the glory) is not in the text. We may render either as an ascription, be, or as a
confession, is. The glory is His. Do>xa glory means originally opinion or judgment. In this sense it is not used in Scripture. In the sacred writers always of a good or
favorable opinion, and hence praise, honor, glory (Luke 14:10; Hebrews 3:3; 1 Peter 5:4). Applied to physical objects, as light, the heavenly bodies (Acts 22:11; 1
Corinthians 15:40). The visible brightness in manifestations of God (Luke 2:9; Acts 7:55; Luke 9:32; 2 Corinthians 3:7). Magnificence, dignity (Matthew 4:8; Luke
4:6). Divine majesty or perfect excellence, especially in doxologies, either of God or Christ (1 Peter 4:11; Jude 1:25; Revelation 4:9, 11; Matthew 16:27; Mark 10:37;
8:38; Luke 9:26;
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                                                 glory or majesty of divine grace (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14, 18; 1 Timothy 1:11). The majesty of angelsPage(Luke 124
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1:8; 2 Peter 2:10). The glorious condition of Christ after accomplishing His earthly work, and of the redeemed who share His eternal glory (Luke 24:26; John 17:5;
Philippians 3:21; 1 Timothy 3:16; Romans 8:18, 21; 9:23; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Colossians 1:27).
confession, is. The glory is His. Do>xa glory means originally opinion or judgment. In this sense it is not used in Scripture. In the sacred writers always of a good or
favorable opinion, and hence praise, honor, glory (Luke 14:10; Hebrews 3:3; 1 Peter 5:4). Applied to physical objects, as light, the heavenly bodies (Acts 22:11; 1
Corinthians 15:40). The visible brightness in manifestations of God (Luke 2:9; Acts 7:55; Luke 9:32; 2 Corinthians 3:7). Magnificence, dignity (Matthew 4:8; Luke
4:6). Divine majesty or perfect excellence, especially in doxologies, either of God or Christ (1 Peter 4:11; Jude 1:25; Revelation 4:9, 11; Matthew 16:27; Mark 10:37;
8:38; Luke 9:26; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:4). The glory or majesty of divine grace (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14, 18; 1 Timothy 1:11). The majesty of angels (Luke 9:26; Jude
1:8; 2 Peter 2:10). The glorious condition of Christ after accomplishing His earthly work, and of the redeemed who share His eternal glory (Luke 24:26; John 17:5;
Philippians 3:21; 1 Timothy 3:16; Romans 8:18, 21; 9:23; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Colossians 1:27).

Trench remarks upon the prominence of the doxological element in the highest worship of the Church as contrasted with the very subordinate place which it often
occupies in ours. "We can perhaps make our requests known unto God, and this is well, for it is prayer; but to give glory to God, quite apart from anything to be
directly gotten by ourselves in return, this is better, for it is adoration." Dr. John Brown in his Memoir of his father, one of the very finest biographical sketches in English
literature, records a formula used by him in closing his prayers on specially solemn occasions: "And now unto Thee, O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the one Jehovah
and our God, we would - as is most meet - with the Church on earth and the Church in heaven, ascribe all honor and glory, dominion and majesty, as it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen" ("Horae Subsecivae"). Compare the doxologies in 1 Peter 4:11; Galatians 1:5; Revelation 4:9, 11; 5:13;
7. 12; Jude 1:25; 1 Chronicles 29:11.

Forever and ever (eijv tounwn). Lit., unto the ages of the ages. For the phrase compare Galatians 1:5; Hebrews 13:21; 1 Peter 4:11. It occurs twelve times in
Revelation, but not in John's Gospel or Epistles. It is the formula of eternity.

Amen (ajmh). The English word is a transcription of the Greek and of the Hebrew. A verbal adjective, meaning firm, faithful. Hence oJ ajmh, the Amen, applied to
Christ (Revelation 3:14). It passes into an adverbial sense by which something is asserted or confirmed. Thus often used by Christ, verily. John alone uses the double
affirmation, verily, verily. See on John 1:51; 10:1.

7. He cometh with clouds (e]rcetai meta). The clouds are frequently used in the descriptions of the Lord's second coming. See Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:30; 26:64;
Mark 14:62. Compare the manifestation of God in the clouds at Sinai, in the cloudy pillar, the Shekinah, at the transfiguration, and see Psalms 97:2; 18:11; Nahum 1:3;
Isaiah 19:1.

Shall see (o]yetai). The verb denotes the physical act, but emphasizes the mental discernment accompanying it, and points to the result rather than to the act of vision.
See on John 1:18. Appropriate here as indicating the quickened spiritual discernment engendered by the Lord's appearing, in those who have rejected Him, and who
now mourn for their folly and sin.

They which (oi[tinev). The compound relative describes a class. See on Matthew 13:52; 21:41; Mark 12:18.

Pierced (ejxeke>nthsan). See on John 19:34 and compare Zechariah 12:10; John 19:36. The expression here refers not to the Jews only, but to all who reject the Son
of Man; those who "in any age have identified themselves with the Spirit of the Savior's murderers" (Milligan). The passage is justly cited as a strong evidence that the
author of the Gospel is also the author of Revelation.

Kindreds (fulai). More correctly, tribes. The word used of the true Israel in chapter 5:5; 7:4-8; 21:12. As the tribes of Israel are the figure by which the people of God,
Jew or Gentile, are represented, so unbelievers are here represented as tribes, "the mocking counterpart of the true Israel of God." Compare Matthew 24:30, 31.

Shall wail because of Him (ko>yontai ejp' aujto). Rev., better, shall mourn over Him. Lit., shall beat their breasts. See on Matthew 11:17.

8. Alpha and Omega (to). Rev., rightly, gives the article, "the Alpha," etc. The words are explained by the gloss, properly omitted from the text, the beginning and the
ending. The Rabbinical writers used the phrase from Aleph to Tav, to signify completely, from beginning to end. Thus one says, "Adam transgressed the whole law from
Aleph even to Tav." Compare Isaiah 41:4; 43:10; 44:6.

The Lord (oJ Ku>riov). See on Matthew 21:3. The best texts read Ku>riov oJ Qeo the Lord the God. Rev., the Lord God.

Which is, etc. See on verse 4. "God, as the old tradition declares, holding in His hand the beginning, middle, and end of all that is" (Plato, "Laws," 715).

The Almighty (oJ pantokra>twr). Used only once outside of Revelation, in 2 Corinthians 6:18 where it is a quotation. Constantly in the Septuagint.

9. I John. Compare Daniel 7:28; 9:2; 10:2.

Who am also your brother (oJ kai). Omit kai, also, and render as Rev., John your brother.

Companion (sugkoinwno). Rev., better, partaker with you. See Philippians 1:7 and note on partners, Luke 5:10. Koinwno, is a partner, associate. Su>n strengthens the
term: partner along with. Compare John's favorite word in the First Epistle, koinwni>a fellowship, 1 John 1:3.

In the tribulation, etc. Denoting the sphere or element in which the fellowship subsisted.

Tribulation (qli>yei). See on Matthew 13:21 Persecution for Christ's sake, and illustrated by John's own banishment.

Kingdom (basilei>a|). The present kingdom. Trench is wrong in saying that "while the tribulation is present the kingdom is only in hope." On the contrary, it is the
assurance of being now within the kingdom of Christ - under Christ's sovereignty, fighting the good fight under His leadership - which gives hope and courage and
patience. The kingdom of God is a present energy, and it is a peculiality of John to treat the eternal life as already present. See John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47, 54; 1 John 5:11.
"In all these things we are abundantly the conquerors (Romans 8:37 sqq.). This may go to explain the peculiar order of the three words; tribulation and kingdom, two
apparently antithetic ideas, being joined, with a true insight into their relation, and patience being added as the element through which the tribulation is translated into
sovereignty. The reference to the future glorious consummation of the kingdom need not be rejected. It is rather involved in the present kingdom. Patience, which links
the life of tribulation with the sovereignty of Christ here upon earth, likewise links it with the consummation of Christ's kingdom in heaven. Through faith and patience the
subjects of that kingdom inherit the promises. "Rightly he says first 'in the tribulation' and adds afterwards 'in the kingdom,' because, if we suffer together we shall also
reign together" (Richard of St. Victor, cited by Trench). Compare Acts 14:22.

Patience. See on 2 Peter 1:6; James 5:7.

Of Jesus Christ (jIhsou~ Cristou~). The best texts omit Christ and insert ejn in; rendering, as Rev., "kingdom and patience which are in Jesus."

Was (ejgeno>mhn).
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Patmos. Now called Patmo and Palmosa. In the Aegean, one of the group of the Sporades, about twenty-eight miles S. S.W. of Samos. It is about ten miles long by
six in breadth. The island is volcanic, and is bare and rocky throughout; the hills, of which the highest rises to nearly a thousand feet, commanding a magnificent view of
Patience. See on 2 Peter 1:6; James 5:7.

Of Jesus Christ (jIhsou~ Cristou~). The best texts omit Christ and insert ejn in; rendering, as Rev., "kingdom and patience which are in Jesus."

Was (ejgeno>mhn). Lit., I came to pass, i.e., I found myself: The past tense seems to imply that John was no longer in Patmos when he wrote.

Patmos. Now called Patmo and Palmosa. In the Aegean, one of the group of the Sporades, about twenty-eight miles S. S.W. of Samos. It is about ten miles long by
six in breadth. The island is volcanic, and is bare and rocky throughout; the hills, of which the highest rises to nearly a thousand feet, commanding a magnificent view of
the neighboring sea and islands. The bay of La Scala, running into the land on the east, divides the island into two nearly equal parts, a northern and a southern. The
ancient town, remains of which are still to be seen, occupied the isthmus which separates La Scala from the bay of Merika on the western coast. The modern town is
on a hill in the southern half of the island, clustered at the foot of the monastery of St. John. A grotto is shown called "the grotto of the Apocalypse," in which the apostle
is said to have received the vision. "The stern, rugged barrenness of its broken promontories well suits the historical fact of the relegation of the condemned Christian to
its shores, as of a convict to his prison. The view from the topmost peak, or, indeed, from any lofty elevation in the islands, unfolds an unusual sweep such as well
became the Apocalypse, the unveiling of the future to the eyes of the solitary seer. Above, there was always the broad heaven of a Grecian sky; sometimes bright with
its 'white cloud' (Revelation 14:14), sometimes torn with 'lightnings and thunderings,' and darkened by 'great hail,' or cheered with 'a rainbow like unto an
emerald' (Revelation 4:3; 8:7; 11:19; 16:21). Over the high tops of Icaria, Samos, and Naxos rise the mountains of Asia Minor; amongst which would lie, to the north,
the circle of the Seven Churches to which his addresses were to be sent. Around him stood the mountains and islands of the Archipelago (Revelation 6:14; 16:20).
When he looked round, above or below, 'the sea' would always occupy the foremost place... the voices of heaven were like the sound of the waves beating on the
shore, as 'the sound of many waters' (Revelation 14:2; 19:6); the millstone was 'cast into the sea' (Revelation 18:21); the sea was to 'give up the dead which were in
it' (Revelation 10:13)" (Stanley, "Sermons in the East").

For the word of God (diagon tou~ Qeou~). For is because of: on account of. The expression is commonly explained with reference to John's banishment as a martyr
for Christian truth. Some, however, especially those who desire to overthrow John's authorship of the book, explain that he was in Patmos for the sake of preaching the
word there, or in order to receive a communication of the word of God. Apart, however, from the general tone of John's address, which implies a season of
persecution, the phrase for the word of God occurs in two passages where the meaning cannot be doubtful; chapter Revelation 6:9 and Revelation 20:4.

Testimony (marturi>an). See on John 1:7.

Of Jesus Christ. Omit Christ.

10. I was (ejgeno>mhn). See on verse 9.

In the Spirit (ejn pneu>mhn). The phrase I was in the Spirit occurs only here and chapter Revelation 4:2: in the Spirit, in chapter Revelation 17:3; 21:10. The phrase
denotes a state of trance or spiritual ecstasy. Compare Acts 10:10; 2 Corinthians 12:2, 4. "Connection with surrounding objects through the senses is suspended, and a
connection with the invisible world takes place" (Ebrard). "A divine release from the ordinary ways of men" (Plato, "Phaedrus," 265).

"You ask, 'How can we know the infinite?' I answer, not by reason. It is the office of reason to distinguish and define. The infinite, therefore, cannot be ranked among
its objects. You can only apprehend the infinite by a faculty superior to reason; by entering into a state in which you are your finite self no longer; in which the divine
essence is communicated to you. This is ecstacy. It is the liberation of your mind from its finite consciousness.... But this sublime condition is not of permanent duration.
It is only now and then that we can enjoy this elevation (mercifully made possible for us) above the limits of the body and the world.... All that tends to purify and
elevate the mind will assist you in this attainment, and facilitate the approach and the recurrence of these happy intervals. There are then different roads by which this
end may be reached. The love of beauty which exalts the poet; that devotion to the One, and that ascent of science which makes the ambition of the philosopher; and
that love and those prayers by which some devout and ardent soul tends in its moral purity towards perfection. These are the great highways conducting to heights
above the actual and the particular, where we stand in the immediate presence of the Infinite who shines out as from the deeps of the soul" (Letter of Plotinus, about A
D. 260).

Richard of St. Victor (died 1173) lays down six stages of contemplation: two in the province of the imagination, two in the province of reason, and two in the province
of intelligence. The third heaven is open only to the eye of intelligence - that eye whose vision is clarified by divine grace and a holy life. In the highest degrees of
contemplation penitence avails more than science; sighs obtain what is impossible to reason. Some good men have been ever unable to attain the highest stage; few are
fully winged with all the six pinions of contemplation. In the ecstasy he describes, there is supposed to be a dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit as by the sword of
the Spirit of God. The body sleeps, and the soul and all the visible world is shut away. The spirit is joined to the Lord, and, one with Him, transcends itself and all the
limitations of human thought.

Sufism is the mystical asceticism of Mohammedanism. The ecstasy of a Sufi saint is thus described:

"My tongue clave fever-dry, my blood ran fire,

My nights were sleepless with consuming lore,

Till night and day sped past - as flies a lance

Grazing a buckler's rim; a hundred faiths

Seemed there as one; a hundred thousand years

No longer than a moment. In that hour

All past eternity and all to come

Was gathered up in one stupendous Now,

Let understanding marvel as it may.

Where men see clouds, on the ninth heaven I gaze,

And see the throne of God. All heaven and hell

Are bare to (c)
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The heavens and earth, they vanish at my glance:
Where men see clouds, on the ninth heaven I gaze,

And see the throne of God. All heaven and hell

Are bare to me and all men's destinies,

The heavens and earth, they vanish at my glance:

The dead rise at my look. I tear the veil

From all the world, and in the hall of heaven

I set me central, radiant as the Sun."

Vaughan, "Hours with the Mystics," ii., 19

Beatrice says to Dante:

"We from the greatest body

Have issued to the heaven that is pure light;

Light intellectual replete with love,

Love of true good replete with ecstasy,

Ecstasy that transcendeth every sweetness."

Dante says:

"I perceived myself

To be uplifted over my own power,

And I with vision new rekindled me,

Such that no light whatever is so pure

But that mine eyes were fortified against it."

"Paradiso," xxx., 38-60.

Again, just before the consummate beatific vision, Dante says:

"And I, who to the end of all desires

Was now approaching, even as I ought

The ardor of desire within me ended.

Bernard was beckoning unto me, and smiling,

That I should upward look; but I already

Was of my own accord such as he wished;

Because my sight, becoming purified,

Was entering more and more into the ray

Of the High Light which of itself is true.

From that time forward what I saw was greater

Than our discourse, that to such vision yields,

And yields the memory unto such excess."

"Paradiso," 33., 46-57.

On the Lord's day (ejn kuriakh~| hJme>ra|). The phrase occurs only here in the New Testament. The first day of the week, the festival of the Lord's resurrection. Not,
as some, the day of judgment, which in the New Testament is expressed by hJ hJme>ra tou~ Kuri>ou the day of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:2); or hJme>ra Kuri>ou
the day of the Lard, the article being omitted (2 Peter 3:10); or hJme>ra Cristou~ the day of Christ (Philippians 2:16). The usual New Testament expression for the first
day of the week is hJ mi>a tw~n sabba>twn (Luke 24:1; see on Acts 20:7).

Behind me. The unexpected, overpowering entrance of the divine voice. Compare Ezekiel 3:12.

Of a trumpet(c)(sa>lpiggov).
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11. I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. Omit.
day of the week is hJ mi>a tw~n sabba>twn (Luke 24:1; see on Acts 20:7).

Behind me. The unexpected, overpowering entrance of the divine voice. Compare Ezekiel 3:12.

Of a trumpet (sa>lpiggov). Properly, a war trumpet.

11. I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. Omit.

Thou seest (ble>peiv). See on John 1:29.

Write (gra>yon). The aorist imperative, denoting instantaneous action. Write at once, promptly.

In a book (eijv bibli>on). Lit., into. Commit in writing to a book. For book see on Matthew 19:7; Mark 10:4; Luke 4:17. The command to write is given twelve times
in Revelation.

Seven churches. See on verse 4.

Which are in Asia. Omit.

Ephesus, etc. Five out of the seven cities here named appear in a passage in Tacitus'"Annals" (iv., 55), in which is described a contention among eleven of the cities of
proconsular Asia for the privilege of erecting a statue and a temple to Tiberius. Laodicea is passed over as unequal in wealth and dignity to the task. Philadelphia and
Thyatira do not appear. Pergamum is rejected as having already a temple to Augustus. Ephesus (with Miletus) has sufficient employment for its state in the ceremonies
of its own deity, Diana. Thus the dispute was confined to Sardis and Smyrna; and Smyrna was preferred on the ground of its friendly offices to the Roman people.

12. To see the voice. The voice is put for the speaker.

That spake (h[tiv). The compound relative has a qualitative force: of what sort.

With me (met' ejmou~). The preposition implies conversation and not mere address.

Candlesticks (lucni>av). See on Matthew 5:15. We are at once reminded of the seven-branched candlestick of the tabernacle (Exodus 25:31; Hebrews 9:2; compare
Zechariah 4:2). Here there is not one candlestick with seven branches, but seven candlesticks, representing the Christian Church. The Jewish Church was one, as being
the Church of a single people. The Christian Church, though essentially one, is a Church composed of many peoples. It is no longer outwardly one or in one place.
According to the literal meaning of the word, lampstand, the several lampstands are bearers of the light (Matthew 5:14, 16), "holding forth the word of life" (Philippians
2:15, 16).

The epithet golden, so common in Revelation, indicates the preciousness of all that pertains to the Church of God. Trench observes that throughout the ancient East
there was a sense of sacredness attached to this metal, which still, to a great extent, survives. Thus, golden in the Zend Avesta is throughout synonymous with heavenly
or divine. Even so late as the time of David gold was not used as a standard of value, but merely as a very precious article of commerce, and was weighed. In the
Scriptures it is the symbol of great value, duration, incorruptibility, strength (Isaiah 13:12; Lamentations 4:2; 2 Timothy 2:20; Job 36:19). It is used metaphorically of
Christian character (Revelation 3:18). In the Earthly Paradise, Dante describes trees like gold.

"A little farther on, seven trees of gold

In semblance the long space still intervening

Between ourselves and them did counterfeit."

"Purgatorio," xxix., 43-45

13. Seven. Omit.

The Son of Man. The article is wanting in the Greek Rev., "a son of Man." But the reference is none the less to the Lord, and is not equivalent to a man. Compare John
5:27; Revelation 14:14.

A garment down to the foot (podh>rh). Compare Daniel 10:5. From pou>v, the foot, and a]rw, to fasten: hence that which connects head and foot. The word is
properly an adjective, reaching to the foot, with ci>twn garment, understood. Xenophon speaks of the heavy-armed soldiers of the Persians as bearing wooden shields
reaching to their feet (podh>resi xuli>naiv ajspi>sin) "Anabasis," i., 8, 9). The word occurs only here in the New Testament, but several times in the Septuagint; as
Ezekiel 9:2, 3, 11 where the A.V. gives merely linen; Exodus 28:4 A.V., robe; of the High-Priest's garment, Leviticus 16:4; of Aaron's holy linen coat.

The long robe is the garment of dignity and honor. It may be either royal, or priestly, or both. Compare Isaiah 6:1.

Girt about the paps (periezwsme>non pro). Rev., more correctly, "girt about at (pro) the breasts." Compare chapter Revelation 15:6. The ordinary girding was at the
loins. According to Josephus, the Levitical priests were girded about the breast.

A golden girdle. The girdle is an Old Testament symbol of power, righteousness, truth (Isaiah 22:21; Job 12:18; Isaiah 11:5). Compare Ephesians 6:14 where the girdle
of the Christian panoply is truth, which binds together the whole array of graces as the girdle does the upper and lower parts of the armor. The girdle suits equally
Christ's kingly and priestly office. The girdle of the High-Priest was not golden, but only inwrought with gold. See Exodus 28:8: "curious girdle:" Rev., "cunningly woven
band." So Exodus 29:5.

14. White (leukai). See on Luke 9:29. Compare Daniel 7:9.

Wool - snow. This combination to represent whiteness occurs in Daniel 7:9 and Isaiah 1:18. Snow, in Psalms 51:7.

Flame of fire. Compare Daniel 10:6. Fire, in Scripture, is the expression of divine anger. The figure may include the thought of the clear and penetrating insight of the
Son of Man; but it also expresses His indignation at the sin which His divine insight detects. Compare Revelation 19:11, 12. So Homer, of Agamemnon in a rage: "His
eyes were like shining fire" ("Iliad," i., 104); also of Athene, when she appears to Achilles: "Her eyes appeared dreadful to him" ("Iliad," i., 200).
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15. Fine brass (calkoliba>nw|). Rev., burnished brass. Only here and Revelation 2:18. Compare Daniel 10:; Ezekiel 1:7. The meaning of the word is uncertain. Some
explain electrum, an alloy of gold and silver: others, brass of Lebanon (Ai>banov) others, brass of the color of frankincense (li>banov): others again, that it is an hybrid
compound of the Greek calko>v brass, and the Hebrew lab to make white. Dean Plumptre observes: "Such technical words were likely enough to be current in a
Flame of fire. Compare Daniel 10:6. Fire, in Scripture, is the expression of divine anger. The figure may include the thought of the clear and penetrating insight of the
Son of Man; but it also expresses His indignation at the sin which His divine insight detects. Compare Revelation 19:11, 12. So Homer, of Agamemnon in a rage: "His
eyes were like shining fire" ("Iliad," i., 104); also of Athene, when she appears to Achilles: "Her eyes appeared dreadful to him" ("Iliad," i., 200).

15. Fine brass (calkoliba>nw|). Rev., burnished brass. Only here and Revelation 2:18. Compare Daniel 10:; Ezekiel 1:7. The meaning of the word is uncertain. Some
explain electrum, an alloy of gold and silver: others, brass of Lebanon (Ai>banov) others, brass of the color of frankincense (li>banov): others again, that it is an hybrid
compound of the Greek calko>v brass, and the Hebrew lab to make white. Dean Plumptre observes: "Such technical words were likely enough to be current in a
population like that of Ephesus, consisting largely of workers in metal, some of whom were no doubt Jews" ("Epistles to the Seven Churches of Asia").

Many waters. Compare Ezekiel 1:24; 43:2; Isaiah 17:12. See also Revelation 14:2; 19:6.

16. A sharp, two-edged sword (rJomfai>a di>stomov ojxei~a) The (Greek order is a sword, two-edged, sharp. For the peculiar word for sword see on Luke 2:35.
Two-edged is, literally, two-mouthed. See on edge, Luke 21:24. Homer speaks of poles for sea-fighting, "clad on the tip (sto>ma, mouth) with brass."

Countenance (o]yiv). Used by John only, and only three times: here, John 7:24; 11:44. Not general appearance.

Shineth (fai>ei). See on John 1:5.

In his strength. With the full power of the eastern sun at noonday.

This picture of the Son of Man suggests some remarks on the general character of such symbols in Revelation. It may be at once said that they are not of a character
which tolerates the sharper definitions of pictorial art. They must be held in the mind, not as clearly-cut symbols which translate themselves into appeals to the eye and
which have their exact correspondences in visible facts, but rather in their totality, and with a dominant sense of their inner correspondences with moral and spiritual
ideas. To translate them into picture is inevitably to run at some point into a grotesqueness which impairs and degrades their solemnity. This is shown in Albrecht D.'s
sixteen wood-cuts illustrative of Revelation. 75 Professor Milligan goes too far in saying that these are only grotesque. One must be always impressed with D.'s strong
individuality, "lurking" as Lord Lindsay remarks, below a mind "like a lake, stirred by every breath of wind which descends on it through the circumjacent valleys;" with
the fertility of his invention, the plenitude of his thought, his simplicity and fearlessness. But his very truthfulness to nature is his enemy in his dealing with such themes as
the Apocalyptic visions; investing them as it does with a realism which is foreign to their spirit and intent. Take, for example, "the four riders" (Revelation 6.). The power
is at once felt of the onward movement of the three horsemen with bow, sword, and balances; the intense, inexorable purpose with which they drive on over the
prostrste forms at their feet; but the fourth rider, Death on the pale horse, followed by Hell, portrayed as the wide-opened jaws of a rnonster into which a crowned
head is sinking, degenerates into a ghastly caricature of the most offensive German type - a harlequin, far surpassing in hideousness the traditional skeleton with seythe
and hour-glass.

Similarly, the angel with his feet like pillars of fire, the one upon the sea and the other upon the earth. lf we are solemnly impressed by the awful face of the angel
breaking forth from the sun, the solemnity degenerates into something akin to amusement, at the feet like solid columns, ending in flame at the knees, and at the
Evangelist "who kneels on a promontory with the corner of the great book presented by the angel in his mouth, apparently in danger of choking."

In short, such symbols as the Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes; the four living creatures, each with six wings, and full of eyes before and behind; the beast rising
out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on the horns ten diadems, - do not lend themselves to the pencil. An illustration of the sadly grotesque effect of
such an attempt may be seen in Mr. Elliott's "Horae Apocalypticae," where is a picture of the locust of chapter 9., with a gold crown on the head, hair like women's, a
breastplate of iron, and a tail like a scorpion's.

Archbishop Trench very aptly draws the comparison between the modes in which the Greek and the Hebrew mind respectively dealt with symbolism. With the Greek,
the aesthetic element is dominant, so that the first necessity of the symbol is that it shall satisfy the sense of beauty, form, and proportion. With the Hebrew, the first
necessity is "that the symbol should set forth truly and fully the religious idea of which it is intended to be the vehicle. How it would appear when it clothed itself in an
outward form and shape; whether it would find favor and allowance at the bar of taste, was quite a secondary consideration; may be confidently affirmed not to have
been a consideration at all."

The imagery of Revelation is Hebrew and not Greek. It is doubtful if there is any symbol taken from heathenism, so that the symbols of Revelation are to be read from
the Jewish and not from the Heathen stand-point.

But to say that these symbols jar upon the aesthetic sense is not to detract from their value as symbols, nor to decry them as violations of the fitness of things. It may be
fairly asked if, with all their apparent incongruity, and even monstrousness, they may not, after all, be true to a higher canon of congruity. Certain it is that the great
visible divine economy, both of nature and of man, distinctly includes the grotesque, the monstrous, the ridiculous (or what we style such). We recognize the fact in the
phrase "freaks of Nature." But are they freaks? Are they incongruous? Until we shall have grasped in mind the whole kosmos, it will not be safe for us to answer that
question too positively. The apparent incongruity, viewed from a higher plane, may merge into beautiful congruity. Tested by a more subtle sense; brought into
connection and relation with the whole region of mental and spiritual phenomena; regarded as a factor of that larger realm which embraces ideas and spiritual verities
along with external phenomena; the outwardly grotesque may resolve itself into the spiritually beautiful; the superficial incongruity into essential and profound harmony.

This possibility emerges into fact in certain utterances of our Lord, notably in His parables. Long since, the absurdity has been recognized of attempting to make a
parable "go on all fours;" in other words, to insist on a hard and literal correspondence between the minutest details of the symbol and the thing symbolized. Sound
exposition has advanced to a broader, freer, yet deeper and more spiritual treatment of these utterances, grasping below mere correspondences of detail to that
deeper, "fundamental harmony and parallelism between the two grand spheres of cosmic being - that of Nature and that of Spirit; between the three kingdoms of
Nature, History, and Revelation. The selection of symbols and parables in Scripture, therefore, is not arbitrary, but is based on an insight into the essence of
things" (Milligan).

Thus then, in this picture of the Son of Man, the attempt to portray to the eye the girded figure, with snow-white hair, flaming eyes, and a sword proceeding out of His
mouth, -with feet like shining brass, and holding seven stars in His hand, would result as satisfactorily as the attempt to picture the mysterious combination of eyes and
wheels and wings in Ezekiel's vision. If, on the other hand, we frankly admit the impossibility of this, and relegate this symbolism to a higher region, as a delineation
(imperfect through the imperfection of human speech and the inevitable power of the sensuous) of deep-lying spiritual facts, priestly and royal dignity, purity, divine
insight, divine indignation at sin; if we thus bring the deeper suggestions of outward humanity and nature into relation with their true correspondents in the spiritual realm
- we gain something more and deeper than a pictorial appeal to the imagination. We grasp what we cannot formulate; nevertheless we grasp it. Dropping the outward
correspondence, we are the freer to penetrate to the depths of the symbolism, and reach an inner correspondence no less real and no less apprehensible.

17. l fell. Compare Exodus 23:20; Ezekiel 1:28; Daniel 8:17 sqq.; Daniel 10:7 sqq.; Luke 5:8; Revelation 19:10. The condition of the seer, in the Spirit, does not
supersede existence in the body. Compare Acts 9:3-5.
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The first and the last. This epithet is three times ascribed to Jehovah by Isaiah (41:4; 44:6; 48:12); three times in this book (Revelation 2:8; 22:13). Richard of St.
Victor comments thus: "I am the first and the last. First through creation, last through retribution. First, because before me a God was not formed; last, because after me
there shall not be another. First, because all things are from me; last, because all things are to me; from me the beginning, to me the end. First, because I am the cause
correspondence, we are the freer to penetrate to the depths of the symbolism, and reach an inner correspondence no less real and no less apprehensible.

17. l fell. Compare Exodus 23:20; Ezekiel 1:28; Daniel 8:17 sqq.; Daniel 10:7 sqq.; Luke 5:8; Revelation 19:10. The condition of the seer, in the Spirit, does not
supersede existence in the body. Compare Acts 9:3-5.

The first and the last. This epithet is three times ascribed to Jehovah by Isaiah (41:4; 44:6; 48:12); three times in this book (Revelation 2:8; 22:13). Richard of St.
Victor comments thus: "I am the first and the last. First through creation, last through retribution. First, because before me a God was not formed; last, because after me
there shall not be another. First, because all things are from me; last, because all things are to me; from me the beginning, to me the end. First, because I am the cause
of origin; last, because I am the judge and the end" (cited by Trench).

18. I am He that liveth (kai). Not a fresh sentence connected with the following words as in A.V., but connected with the first and the last by kai and. Rev., and the
living One. Compare John 1:4; 14:6; 5:26.

And l was dead (kaimhn nekro). Strictly, I became. So Rev., in margin. Compare Philippians 2:8"became obedient unto death."

For evermore. See on verse 6.

Amen. Omit.

The keys of Hell and Death. Rev., correctly, of Death and of Hades. Conceived as a prison-house or a walled city. See on Matthew 16:18. The keys are the symbol of
authority. See Matthew 16:19; Revelation 3:7; 9:1; 20:1. The Rabbinical proverb said: "There are four keys lodged in God's hand, which He committeth neither to
angel nor to seraph: the key of the rain, the key of food, the key of the tombs, and the key of a barren woman."

19. Write. See on verse 11. Add therefore.

The things which are (a[ eijsin). Some render, what they are; i.e., what they signify; but the reference of meta after these, hereafter to a[ eijsin which are, seems to be
decisive in favor of the former rendering, which besides is the more natural.

Shall be (me>llei gi>nesqai). Not the future of the verb to be, but are about (me>llei) to come to pass (gi>nesqai). Compare verse 1, "must come to pass." Here the
thought is not the prophetic necessity, but the sequence of events.

20. Mystery (musth>rion). See on Matthew 13:11. Depending in construction upon the verb write, and in apposition with the things which thou sawest.

Stars. __Symbols of pre-eminence and authority. See Numbers 24:17; Daniel 12:3. False teachers are wandering stars (Jude 1:13). Compare Isaiah 14:12.

Angels (a]ggeloi). The exact meaning of the term here is uncertain. The following are the principal interpretations:

1.The officials known as angels or messengers of the synagogue, transferred to the Christian Church. These were mere clerks or readers; so that their position does not
answer to that of the angels presiding over the churches. There is, besides, no trace of the transfer of that office to the Christian Church.

2.Angels proper Heavenly guardians of the churches. This is urged on the ground that the word is constantly used in Revelation of a heavenly being; by reference to the
angels of the little ones (Matthew 18:10), and to Peter's angel (Acts 12:15). It is urged that, if an individual may have a guardian angel, so may a Church. Reference is
also made to the tutelar national angels of Daniel 10:21; 12:1.

But why should the seer be instructed to write to heavenly messengers, with exhortations to repentance and fidelity, and describing them as "rich," "poor," "lukewarm,"
etc. (Revelation 2:4; 3:1, 16)?

3.The angels are a personification of the churches themselves: the Church being spoken of as if concentrated in its angel or messenger. But in verse 20, they are
explicitly distinguished from the golden candlesticks, the churches.

4.The rulers and teachers of the congregation. These are compared by Daniel (12:3) to stars. See Malachi 2:7 where the priest is called the messenger (angel) of the
Lord; and Malachi 3:1 where the same word is used of the prophet. See also Haggai 1:13. Under this interpretation two views are possible. (a) The angels are
Bishops; the word a]ggelov sometimes occurring in that sense (as in Jerome and Socrates). This raises the question of the existence of episcopacy towards the close of
the first century. 76 (b) The word is used of the ministry collectively; the whole board of officers, including both presbyters and deacons, who represented and were
responsible for the moral condition of the churches. See Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Peter 5:1-5.

Dr. Schaff says: "This phraseology of the Apocalypse already looks towards the idea of episcopacy in its primitive form, that is, to a monarchical concentration of
governmental form in one person, bearing a patriarchal relation to the congregation, and responsible in an eminent sense for the spiritual condition of the whole.... But
even in this case we must insist on an important distinction between the angels of the Book of Revelation and the later diocesan Bishops. For aside from the very limited
extent of their charges, as compared with the large territory of most Greek, Roman Catholic, and Anglican Bishops, these angels stood below the Apostles and their
legates, and were not yet invested with the great power (particularly the right to confirm and ordain) which fell to the later Bishops after the death of the Apostles.... The
angels, accordingly, if we are to understand by them single individuals, must be considered as forming the transition from the presbyters of the apostolic age to the
Bishops of the second century" ("History of the Apostolic Church").

CHAPTER 2

Each of the epistles to the seven churches contains: 1. A command to write to the angel of the particular Church. 2. A sublime title of our Lord, taken, for the most part,
from the imagery of the preceding vision. 3. An address to the angel of the Church, always commencing with I know, introducing a statement of its present
circumstances: continuing with an exhortation either to repentance or to constancy; and ending with a prophetic announcement, mostly respecting what shall be at the
Lord's coming. 4. A promise to him that overcometh, generally accompanied with a solemn call to earnest attention: "He that hath an ear," etc. (Alford).

In two churches, Smyrna and Philadelphia, the Lord finds matter for praise only. In two, Sardis and Laodicea, with a very slight exception in the former, for rebuke
only. In Ephesus, Pergamum, and Thyatira the condition is a mixed one, calling for mingled praise and rebuke.

1. Ephesus. Ephesus was built near the sea, in the valley of the Cayster, under the shadows of Coressus and Prion. In the time of Paul it was the metropolis of the
province of Asia. It was styled by Pliny the Light of Asia. Its harbor, though partly filled up, was crowded with vessels, and it lay at the junction of roads which gave it
access to the whole interior continent. Its markets were the "Vanity Fair" of Asia. Herodotus says: "The Ionians of Asia have built their cities in a region where the air
and  climate (c)
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or else the heat and drought are sorely oppressive" (i., 142).

In Paul's time it was the residence of the Roman proconsul; and the degenerate inhabitants descended to every species of flattery in order to maintain the favor of
1. Ephesus. Ephesus was built near the sea, in the valley of the Cayster, under the shadows of Coressus and Prion. In the time of Paul it was the metropolis of the
province of Asia. It was styled by Pliny the Light of Asia. Its harbor, though partly filled up, was crowded with vessels, and it lay at the junction of roads which gave it
access to the whole interior continent. Its markets were the "Vanity Fair" of Asia. Herodotus says: "The Ionians of Asia have built their cities in a region where the air
and climate are the most beautiful in the whole world; for no other region is equally blessed with Ionia. For in other countries, either the climate is over-cold and damp,
or else the heat and drought are sorely oppressive" (i., 142).

In Paul's time it was the residence of the Roman proconsul; and the degenerate inhabitants descended to every species of flattery in order to maintain the favor of
Rome. The civilization of the city was mingled Greek and Oriental. It was the head-quarters of the magical art, and various superstitions were represented by different
priestly bodies. The great temple of Diana, the Oriental, not the Greek divinity, was ranked among the seven wonders of the world, and Ephesus called herself its
sacristan (see on Acts 19:27). To it attached the right of asylum. Legend related that when the temple was finished, Mithridates stood on its summit and declared that
the right of asylum should extend in a circle round it, as far as he could shoot an arrow; and the arrow miraculously flew a furlong. This fact encouraged moral
contagion. The temple is thus described by Canon Farrar: "It had been built with ungrudging magnificence out of contributions furnished by all Asia - the very women
contributing to it their jewels, as the Jewish women had done of old for the Tabernacle of the Wilderness. To avoid the danger of earthquakes, its foundations were
built at vast cost on artificial foundations of skin and charcoal laid over the marsh. It gleamed far off with a star-like radiance. Its peristyle consisted of one hundred and
twenty pillars of the Ionic order, hewn out of Parian marble. Its doors of carved cypress wood were surmounted by transoms so vast and solid that the aid of miracles
was invoked to account for their elevation. The staircase, which led to the roof, was said to have been cut out of a single vine of Cyprus. Some of the pillars were
carved with designs of exquisite beauty. Within were the masterpieces of Praxiteles and Phidias and Scopas and Polycletus. Paintings by the greatest of Greek artists,
of which one - the likeness of Alexander the Great by Apelles - had been bought for a sum equal in value to ,000 of modern money, adorned the inner walls. The roof
of the temple itself was of cedar-wood, supported by columns of jasper on bases of Parian marble. On these pillars hung gifts of priceless value, the votive offerings of
grateful superstition. At the end of it stood the great altar adorned by the bas-relief of Praxiteles, behind which fell the vast folds of a purple curtain. Behind this curtain
was the dark and awful shrine in which stood the most sacred idol of classic heathendom; and again, behind the shrine, was the room which, inviolable under divine
protection, was regarded as the wealthiest and securest bank in the ancient world "("Life and Work of St. Paul," ii., 12).

Next to Rome, Ephesus was the principal seat of Paul's labors. He devoted three years to that city. The commonly received tradition represents John as closing his
apostolic career there. Nothing in early Church history is better attested than his residence and work in Ephesus, the center of the circle of churches established by Paul
in Ionia and Phrygia.

Who walketh (oJ peripatw~n). More than standeth. The word expresses Christ's activity on behalf of His Church.

2. Thy works (ta). See on John 4:47.

Labor (ko>pon). Originally suffering, weariness; hence exhausting labor. The kindred verb kopia>w is often used of apostolic and ministerial labor (Romans 16:12; 1
Corinthians 15:10; Galatians 4:11).

Patience (uJpomonh>n). See on 2 Peter 1:6; James 5:1. Compare Paul's exhortation to Timothy in Ephesus, 2 Timothy 2:25, 26.

Bear (basta>sai). See on John 10:31; 12:6. Compare Galatians 6:2 where the word is used of Christians bearing each others' burdens.

Them which are evil (kakou). Trench observes that "it is not a little remarkable that the grace or virtue here ascribed to the angel of the Ephesian Church (compare
verse 6) should have a name in classical Greek: misoponhri>a hatred of evil; the person of whom the grace is predicated being misopo>nhrov hater of evil; while neither
of these words, nor yet any equivalent to them occurs in the New Testament. It is the stranger, as this hatred of evil, purely as evil, however little thought of or admired
now, is eminently a Christian grace."

Hast tried (ejpeira>sw) Rev., didst try. See on tried, 1 Peter 1:7; and compare 1 John 4:1; 1 Corinthians 12:10.

3. The best texts omit ouj ke>kmhkav hast not grown weary, and read kaiakev hast not grown weary. The transcribers supposed the verb kopia>w to mean only to
labor; whereas it includes the sense of weariness from labor.

4. Somewhat. Not in the text, and unnecessary. The following clause is the object of I have. "I have against thee that thou hast left," etc. "It is indeed a somewhat which
the Lord has against the Ephesian Church; it threatens to grow to be an everything; for see the verse following" (Trench). For the phrase have against, see Matthew
5:23; Mark 11:25; Colossians 3:13.

Hast left (ajfh~kav) Rev., more correctly, rendering the aorist, didst leave. The verb originally means to send, away or dismiss. See on John 4:3.

First love. Compare Jeremiah 2:2. The first enthusiastic devotion of the Church to her Lord, under the figure of conjugal love.

5. Thou art fallen (ejkpe>ptwkav) Lit., hast fallen out.

Repent (metano>hson). See on Matthew 3:2; 21:29.

l will come (e]rcomai). Rev., correctly, I come.

Quickly. Omit.

Will remove thy candlestick. "Its candlestick has been for centuries removed out of his place; the squalid Mohammedan village which is nearest to its site does not
count one Christian in its insignificant population; its temple is a mass of shapeless ruins; its harbor is a reedy pool; the bittern booms amid its pestilent and stagnant
marshes; and malaria and oblivion reign supreme over the place where the wealth of ancient civilization gathered around the scenes of its grossest superstitions and its
most degraded sins" (Farrar, "Life and Work of Paul," ii., 43, 44).

John employs the verb kine>w remove (Rev., move) only in Revelation, and only once besides the present instance, in chapter 6:14, where, as here, it signifies moving
in judgment.

The Nicolaitans. From nika~n to conquer, and lao>v the people. There are two principal explanations of the term. The first and better one historical. A sect springing,
according to credible tradition, from Nicholas a proselyte of Antioch, one of the seven deacons of Jerusalem (Acts 6:5), who apostatized from the truth, and became
the founder of an Antinomian Gnostic sect. They appear to have been characterized by sensuality, seducing Christians to participate in the idolatrous feasts of pagans,
and to unchastity. Hence they are denoted by the names of Balaam and Jezebel, two leading agents of moral contamination under the Old Testament dispensation.
Balaam   enticed
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set up idolatry in Israel. The Nicolaitans taught that, in order to master sensuality, one must know the whole range of it by experience; and that he should therefore
abandon himself without reserve to the lusts of the body, since they concerned only the body and did not touch the spirit. These heretics were hated and expelled by the
Church of Ephesus (Revelation 2:6), but were tolerated by the Church of Pergamum (Revelation 2:15). The other view regards the name as symbolic, and Nicholas as
The Nicolaitans. From nika~n to conquer, and lao>v the people. There are two principal explanations of the term. The first and better one historical. A sect springing,
according to credible tradition, from Nicholas a proselyte of Antioch, one of the seven deacons of Jerusalem (Acts 6:5), who apostatized from the truth, and became
the founder of an Antinomian Gnostic sect. They appear to have been characterized by sensuality, seducing Christians to participate in the idolatrous feasts of pagans,
and to unchastity. Hence they are denoted by the names of Balaam and Jezebel, two leading agents of moral contamination under the Old Testament dispensation.
Balaam enticed the Israelites, through the daughters of Moab and Midian, to idolatry and fornication (Numbers 25; 31:16). Jezebel murdered the Lord's prophets, and
set up idolatry in Israel. The Nicolaitans taught that, in order to master sensuality, one must know the whole range of it by experience; and that he should therefore
abandon himself without reserve to the lusts of the body, since they concerned only the body and did not touch the spirit. These heretics were hated and expelled by the
Church of Ephesus (Revelation 2:6), but were tolerated by the Church of Pergamum (Revelation 2:15). The other view regards the name as symbolic, and Nicholas as
the Greek rendering of Balaam, whose name signifies destroyer or corrupter of the people. This view is adopted by Trench ("Seven Churches"), who says: "The
Nicolaitans are the Balaamites; no sect bearing the one name or the other; but those who, in the new dispensation, repeated the sin of Balaam in the old, and sought to
overcome or destroy the people of God by the same temptations whereby Balaam had sought to overcome them before." The names, however, are by no means
parallel: Conqueror of the people not being the same as corrupter of the people. Besides, in verse 14, the Balaamites are evidently distinguished from the Nicolaitans.

Alford remarks: "There is no sort of reason for interpreting the name otherwise than historically. It occurs in a passage indicating simple matters of historical fact, just as
the name Antipas does in verse 13."

7. He that hath an ear, etc. Compare Matthew 11:15; Mark 4:9. The phrase is not found in John's Gospel. It is used always of radical truths, great principles and
promises.

To him that overcometh (tw~| nikw~nti) A formula common to all these Epistles. The verb is used absolutely without any object expressed. It is characteristic of John,
occurring once in the Gospel, six times in the First Epistle, sixteen times in Revelation, and elsewhere only Luke 11:22; Romans 3:4; 12:21.

Will I give. This phrase has a place in every one of these Epistles. The verb is John's habitual word for the privileges and functions of the Son, whether as bestowed
upon Him by the Father, or dispensed by Him. to His followers. See John 3:35; 5:22, 27, 36; 6:65; 13:3; 17:6. Compare Revelation 2:23; 3:8; 6:4; 11:3.

Of the tree (ejk xu>lou). The preposition ejk out of occurs one hundred and twenty-seven times in Revelation, and its proper signification is almost universally out of;
but this rendering in many of the passages would be so strange and unidiomatic, that the New Testament Revisers have felt themselves able to adopt it only forty-one
times out of all that number, and employ of, from, by, with, on, at, because of, by reason of, from among. See, for instance, Revelation 2:7, 21, 22; 6:4, 10; 8:11; 9:18;
14:13; 15:2; 16:21. Compare John 3:31; 4:13, 6:13, 39, 51; 8:23, 44; 9:6; 11:1; 12:3, 27, 32; 17:5.

Tree, lit., wood. See on Luke 23:31; 1 Peter 3:24. Dean Plumptre notes the fact that, prominent as this symbol had been in the primeval history, it had remained
unnoticed in the teaching where we should most have looked for its presence - in that of the Psalmist and Prophets of the Old Testament. Only in the Proverbs of
Solomon had it been used, in a sense half allegorical and half mystical (Proverbs. 3:18; 13:12; 11:30; 15:4). The revival of the symbol in Revelation is in accordance
with the theme of the restitution of all things. "The tree which disappeared with the disappearance of the earthly Paradise, reappears with the reappearance of the
heavenly." To eat of the tree of life expresses participation in the life eternal. The figure of the tree of life appears in all mythologies from India to Scandinavia. The
Rabbins and Mohammedans called the vine the probation tree. The Zend Avesta has its tree of life called the Death-Destroyer. It grows by the waters of life, and the
drinking of its sap confers immortality. The Hindu tree of life is pictured as growing out of a great seed in the midst of an expanse of water. It has three branches, each
crowned with a sun, denoting the three powers of creation, preservation, and renovation after destruction. In another representation Budha sits in meditation under a
tree with three branches, each branch having three stems. One of the Babylonian cylinders discovered by Layard, represents three priestesses gathering the fruit of what
seems to be a palm-tree with three branches on each side. Athor, the Venus of the Egyptians, appears half-concealed in the branches of the sacred peach-tree, giving
to the departed soul the fruit, and the drink of heaven from a vial from which the streams of life descend upon the spirit, a figure at the foot of the tree, like a hawk, with
a human head and with hands outstretched.

In the Norse mythology a prominent figure is Igdrasil, the Ash-tree of Existence; its roots in the kingdom of Eels or Death, its trunk reaching to heaven, and its boughs
spread over the whole universe. At its foot, in the kingdom of Death, sit three Nornas or Fates, the Past, the Present, and the Future, watering its roots from the sacred
well. Compare Revelation 22:2, 14,19. Virgil, addressing Dante at the completion of the ascent of the Purgatorial Mount, says:

"That apple sweet, which through so many branches

The care of mortals goeth in pursuit of,

Today shall put in peace thy hungerings."

"Purgatorio," xxvii., 115-117.

Paradise. See on Luke 23:43. Omit in the midst of. Para>deisov Paradise "passes through a series of meanings, each one higher than the last. From any garden of
delight, which is its first meaning, it comes to be predominantly applied to the garden of Eden, then to the resting-place of separate souls in joy and felicity, and lastly to
the very heaven itself; and we see eminently in it, what we see indeed in so many words, how revealed religion assumes them into her service, and makes them vehicles
of far higher truth than any which they knew at first, transforming and transfiguring them, as in this case, from glory to glory" (Trench).

8. Smyrna. Lying a little north of Ephesus, on a gulf of the same name. The original city was destroyed about b.c. 627, and was deserted and in ruins for four hundred
years. Alexander the Great contemplated its restoration, and his design was carried out after his death. The new city was built a short distance south of the ancient one,
and became the finest in Asia Minor, being known as the glory of Asia. It was one of the cities which claimed the honor of being Homer's birthplace. A splendid temple
was erected by the Smyrnaeans to his memory, and a cave in the neighborhood of the city was shown where he was said to have composed his poems. Smyrna's fine
harbor made it a commercial center; but it was also distinguished for its schools of rhetoric and philosophy. Polycarp was the first bishop of its church, which suffered
much from persecution, and he was said to have suffered martyrdom in the stadium of the city, a.d. 166. It is argued with some plausibility that Polycarp was bishop of
Smyrna at the time of the composition of Revelation, and was the person addressed here. This question, however, is bound up with that of the date of composition (see
Trench, "Epistles to the Seven Churches"). The city was a seat of the worship of Cybele the Mother of the gods, and of Dionysus or Bacchus.

Was dead (ejge>neto nekro). Lit., became dead.

Is alive (e]zhsen). Lit., lived. Rev., properly, lived again; the word being used of restoration to life. See, for a similar usage, Matthew 9:18; John 5:25.

9. Thy works and. Omit.

Tribulation (qli~yin). See on Matthew 13:21. Referring to the persecutions of Jewish and heathen oppressors. See on Smyrna, verse 8.

Poverty  (ptwcei>an).
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their robbery by persecutors. See on poor, Matthew 5:3.

Rich. In faith and grace. Compare James 2:6, 7; 1 Timothy 6:17, 18; Luke 12:21; Matthew 19:21.
9. Thy works and. Omit.

Tribulation (qli~yin). See on Matthew 13:21. Referring to the persecutions of Jewish and heathen oppressors. See on Smyrna, verse 8.

Poverty (ptwcei>an). Because, like all the other early Christian churches, the majority of its members were of the poorer classes, and also, perhaps, with reference to
their robbery by persecutors. See on poor, Matthew 5:3.

Rich. In faith and grace. Compare James 2:6, 7; 1 Timothy 6:17, 18; Luke 12:21; Matthew 19:21.

Blasphemy (blasfhmi>an). See on Mark 7:22. Not primarily direct blasphemy against God, but reviling at believers.

Jews. Literally. Not Christians, as in Philippians 3:3; Romans 2:28, 29. Actually Jews by birth, but not spiritually. The title is not given them by the Spirit, nor by the
seer, but by themselves; and none would use that title except such as were Jews by birth and by religion. The enmity of the Jews against Christians is a familiar fact to
all readers of the book of Acts; and it is a matter of history that their malignity was especially displayed toward the Church of Smyrna. In the circular letter addressed
by the Church of Smyrna to the churches in the Christian world, it is related that Jews joined with heathen in clamoring that Polycarp should be cast to the lions or
burned alive, and were foremost wJv e]qov aujtoi~v (as was their wont) in bringing logs for the pile, and in the endeavor to prevent the remains of the martyr from
being delivered to his Christian associates for burial.

Synagogue of Satan. For synagogue, see on assembly, James 2:2 the only passage in which the word is used for a Christian assembly. This fact goes to support the
literal explanation of the term Jews. For Satan, see on Luke 10:18. For John's use of the expression the Jews, see on John 1:19. The use of the word here in an
honorable sense, so different from John's custom, has been urged against his authorship of Revelation. But John here only quotes the word, and, further, employs it
without the article.

10. Fear not (uhde). Lit., fear nothing. For the verb, see on Luke 1:50.

Behold (ijdou). The particle dh for certain, which is not rendered, gives a quality of assurance to the prediction.

The Devil (dia>bolov). See on Matthew 4:1. The persecution of the Christians is thus traced to the direct agency of Satan, and not to the offended passions or
prejudices of men. Trench observes: "There is nothing more remarkable in the records which have come down to us of the early persecutions, than the sense which the
confessors and martyrs and those who afterwards narrate their sufferings and their triumphs entertain and utter, that these great fights of affliction through which they
were called to pass, were the immediate work of the Devil."

Shall cast (me>llei balei~n). Rev., rightly, is about to cast.

Prison (fulakh). See on Acts 5:21.

May be tried (peirasqh>te). Tempted. See on 1 Peter 1:7.

Tribulation ten days (qli~yin hJmerw~n de>ka). Lit., a tribulation of ten days.

Be thou (gi>non). The exact force of the word cannot be given by a corresponding word in English. Lit., "become thou." There is to be a succession of trials demanding
an increase in the power and a variety in the direction of faith. With reference to these trials, faithfulness is to be not only existent but becoming, developing with new
strength and into new applications.

Unto death (a]cri qana>tou). Not faithful until the time of death, but faithful up to a measure which will endure death for Christ's sake. "It is an intensive, not an
extensive term."

A crown (tofanon). Rev., rightly, "the crown." See on 1 Peter 5:4; James 1:12. Crown is used with a variety of words: crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8); glory (1
Peter 5:4); beauty Isaiah 62:3 Sept., A.V., glory); pride (Isaiah 28:1); rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2:19).

Of life (th~v zwh~v). The full phrase is the crown of the life: i.e., the crown which consists in life eternal. The image is not taken from the Greek games, although
Smyrna contained a temple of Olympian Jupiter, and Olympian games were celebrated there. It is the diadem of royalty rather than the garland of victory, though more
commonly used in the latter sense. It is not likely that John would use an image from the games, since there was the most violent prejudice against them on the part of
Jewish Christians; a prejudice which, on occasions of their celebration, provoked the special ferocity of the pagans against what they regarded as the unpatriotic and
unsocial character of Christ's disciples. It was at the demand of the people assembled in the stadium that Polycarp was given up to death. Moreover, it is doubtful
whether any symbol in Revelation is taken from heathenism. The imagery is Jewish.

11. Be hurt (ajdikhqh|~). Strictly, wronged.

Second death. An expression peculiar to the Revelation. See Revelation 20:6, 14; 21:8. In those two passages it is defined as the lake of fire. The death awaiting the
wicked after judgment.

12. Pergamos. The proper form of the name is Pergamum. It was situated in Teuthrania in Mysia, in a district watered by three rivers, by one of which it communicated
with the sea. The original city was built on a lofty hill, which afterward became the citadel as houses sprang up around its base. The local legends attached a sacred
character to the place, which, together with its natural strength, made it a place of deposit for royal treasure. The city was mainly indebted to Eumenes II. (b.c.197-
159) for its embellishment and extension. In addition to walks and public buildings, he founded the library, which contained two-hundred-thousand volumes, and was
second only to that of Alexandria. The kingdom of Pergamum became a Roman province b.c. 130; but the city continued to flourish, so that Pliny styled it by far the
most illustrious of Asia. All the main roads of Western Asia converged there. Pergamum was celebrated for the manufacture of ointments, pottery, tapestries, and
parchment, which derives its name (charta Pergamena) from the city. It contained a celebrated and much-frequented temple of Aesculapius, who was worshipped in
the form of a living serpent fed in the temple. Hence Aesculapius was called the God of Pergamum, and on the coins struck by the town he often appears with a rod
encircled by a serpent. The great glory of the city was the Nicephorium, a grove of great beauty containing an assemblage of temples. The city has been described as a
sort of union of a pagan cathedral-city, a university-town, and a royal residence, embellished during a succession of years by kings who all had a passion for
expenditure and ample means of gratifying it. The streams which embraced the town irrigated the groves of Nicephorium and of Aesculapius, in which flourished the
licentious rites of pagan antiquity. The sacred character of the city appears in coins and inscriptions which described the Pergamenes by the title claimed by the
worshippers of Diana at Ephesus, newko>roi temple-sweepers or sacristans.

The sharp sword with two edges. See on Revelation 1:16.
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13. Dwellest (katoikei~v). See on Luke 11:26; Acts 2:5.

Seat (qro>nov). Rev., rightly, throne, which is a transcript of the Greek word. Better than seat, because it is intended to represent Satan as exercising dominion there.
worshippers of Diana at Ephesus, newko>roi temple-sweepers or sacristans.

The sharp sword with two edges. See on Revelation 1:16.

13. Dwellest (katoikei~v). See on Luke 11:26; Acts 2:5.

Seat (qro>nov). Rev., rightly, throne, which is a transcript of the Greek word. Better than seat, because it is intended to represent Satan as exercising dominion there.
The word is used in the New Testament of a kingly throne (Luke 1:32, 52; Acts 2:30): of the judicial tribunal or bench (Matthew 29:28; Luke 22:30): of the seats of
the elders (Revelation 4:4; 11:16). Also, by metonymy, of one who exercises authority, so, in the plural, of angels (Colossians 1:16), thrones belonging to the highest
grade of angelic beings whose place is in the immediate presence of God.

Holdest fast (kratei~v). See on Matthew 7:3; Acts 3:11.

My name. See on 1 John 1:7.

My faith. See on Acts 6:7.

Antipas. There is no other record of this martyr.

14. Doctrine (didach). Rev., better, teaching.

Balaam. See Numbers 25:1-9; 31:15, 16. Compare 2 Peter 2:15; Jude 1:11.

A stumbling-block (ska>ndalon). See on offend, Matthew 5:29 and offense, Matthew 16:23.

Before (ejnw>pion). Lit., in the sight of. See on Luke 24:11.

Things sacrificed to idols (eijdwlo>quta). In the A.V. the word is rendered in four different ways: meats offered to idols (Acts 15:29): things offered to idols (Acts
21:25): things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols (1 Corinthians 8:4); and as here Rev., uniformly, things sacrificed to idols.

The eating of idol meats, which was no temptation to the Jewish Christian, was quite otherwise to the Gentile. The act of sacrifice, among all ancient nations, was a
social no less than a religious act. Commonly only a part of the victim was consumed as an offering, and the rest became the portion of the priests, was given to the
poor, or was sold again in the markets. Hence sacrifice and feast were identified. The word originally used for killing in sacrifice (qu>ein) obtained the general sense of
killing (Acts 10:13). Among the Greeks this identification was carried to the highest pitch. Thucydides enumerates sacrifices among popular entertainments. "We have
not forgotten," he says, "to provide for our weary spirits many relaxations from toil. We have regular games and sacrifices throughout the year" (2:38). So Aristotle:
"And some fellowships seem to be for the sake of pleasure; those of the followers of Love, and those of club-diners; for these are for the sake of sacrifice and social
intercourse "("Ethics," viii., 9, 5). Suetonius relates of Claudius, the Roman Emperor, that, on one occasion, while in the Forum of Augustus, smelling the odor of the
banquet which was being prepared for the priests in the neighboring temple of Mars, he left the tribunal and placed himself at the table with the priests ("Claudius," 33).
Also how Vitellius would snatch from the altar-fire the entrails of victims and the corn, and consume them ("Vitellius," 13). Thus, for the Gentile, "refusal to partake of
the idol-meats involved absence from public and private festivity, a withdrawal, in great part, from the social life of his time." The subject is discussed by Paul in
Romans 14:2-21 and 1 Corinthians 8:l-11. 1. The council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) forbade the eating of meat offered to idols, not as esteeming it forbidden by the
Mosaic law, but as becoming a possible occasion of sin to weak Christians. In his letter to the Corinthians, among whom the Jewish and more scrupulous party was the
weaker, Paul, in arguing with the stronger and more independent party, never alludes to the decree of the Jerusalem council, but discusses the matter from the stand-
point of the rights of conscience. While he admits the possibility of a blameless participation in a banquet, even in the idol-temple, he dissuades from it on the ground of
its dangerous consequences to weak consciences, and as involving a formal recognition of the false worship which they had renounced at their baptism. "In the Epistle
to the Romans we see the excess to which the scruples of the weaker brethren were carried, even to the pitch of abstaining altogether from animal food; as, ill the
Nicolaitans of the Apocalyptic churches, we see the excess of the indifferentist party, who plunged without restraint into all the pollutions, moral as well as ceremonial,
with which the heathen rites were accompanied" (Stanley, "On Corinthians"). "It may be noted as accounting for the stronger and more vehement language of the
Apocalypse, considered even as a simply Human book, that the conditions of the case had altered. Christians and heathen were no longer dwelling together, as at
Corinth, with comparatively slight interruption to their social intercourse, but were divided by a sharp line of demarcation. The eating of things sacrificed to idols was
more and more a crucial test, involving a cowardly shrinking from the open confession of a Christian's faith. Disciples who sat at meat in the idol's temple were making
merry with those whose hands were red with the blood of their fellow-worshippers, and whose lips had uttered blaspheming scoffs against the Holy Name "(Plumptre).

In times of persecution, tasting the wine of the libations or eating meat offered to idols, was understood to signify recantation of Christianity.

15. So. Even as Balak had Balaam for a false teacher, so hast thou the Nicolaitan teachers.

Nicolaitans. See on verse 6.

Which thing I hate. Omit.

16. I will make war (polemh>sw). The words war and make war occur oftener in Revelation than in any other book of the New Testament. "An eternal roll of thunder
from the throne" (Renan).

17. To eat. Omit.

Of the hidden manna (tou~ ma>nna tou~ kekrumme>nou). The allusion may be partly to the pot of manna which was laid up in the ark in the sanctuary. See Exodus
16:32-34; compare Hebrews 9:4. That the imagery of the ark was familiar to John appears from chapter Revelation 11:19. This allusion however is indirect, for the
manna laid up in the ark was not for food, but was a memorial of food once enjoyed. Two ideas seem to be combined in the figure:

1. Christ as the bread from heaven, the nourishment of the life of believers, the true manna, of which those who eat shall never die (John 6:31-43, 48-51; hidden, in that
He is withdrawn from sight, and the Christian's life is hid with Him in God (Colossians 3:3). 2. The satisfaction of the believer's desire when Christ shall be revealed.
The hidden manna shall not remain for ever hidden. We shall see Christ as He is, and be like Him (1 John 3:2). Christ gives the manna in giving Himself "The seeing of
Christ as He is, and, through this beatific vision, being made like to Him, is identical with the eating of the hidden manna, which shall, as it were, be then brought forth
from the sanctuary, the holy of holies of God's immediate presence where it was withdrawn from sight so long, that all may partake of it; the glory of Christ, now
shrouded and concealed, being then revealed to His people" (Trench).
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                                                         of Revelation upon Old Testament history and prophecy. "To such an extent is this the case," says 134    / 189
                                                                                                                                                            Professor
Milligan, "that it may be doubted whether it contains a single figure not drawn from the Old Testament, or a single complete sentence not more or less built up of
materials brought from the same source." See, for instance, Balaam (Revelation 2:14); Jezebel (Revelation 2:20); Michael (Revelation 12:7, compare Daniel 10:13;
Christ as He is, and, through this beatific vision, being made like to Him, is identical with the eating of the hidden manna, which shall, as it were, be then brought forth
from the sanctuary, the holy of holies of God's immediate presence where it was withdrawn from sight so long, that all may partake of it; the glory of Christ, now
shrouded and concealed, being then revealed to His people" (Trench).

This is one of numerous illustrations of the dependence of Revelation upon Old Testament history and prophecy. "To such an extent is this the case," says Professor
Milligan, "that it may be doubted whether it contains a single figure not drawn from the Old Testament, or a single complete sentence not more or less built up of
materials brought from the same source." See, for instance, Balaam (Revelation 2:14); Jezebel (Revelation 2:20); Michael (Revelation 12:7, compare Daniel 10:13;
12:1); Abaddon (Revelation 9:11); Jerusalem, Mt. Zion, Babylon, the Euphrates, Sodom, Egypt (Revelation 21:2; 14.:1; 16:19; 9:14; 11:8); Gog and Magog
(Revelation 20:8, compare Ezekiel 38; 39.). Similarly, the tree of life, the sceptre of iron, the potter's vessels, the morning-star (Revelation 2:7,17, 27, 28). Heaven is
described under the figure of the tabernacle in the wilderness (Revelation 11:1, 19; 6:9; 8:3; 11:19; 4:6). The song of the redeemed is the song of Moses (Revelation
15:3). The plagues of Egypt appear in the blood, fire, thunder, darkness and locusts (chapter 8). "The great earthquake of chapter 6. is taken from Haggai; the sun
becoming black as sackcloth of hair and the moon becoming blood (chapter 8) from Joel: the stars of heaven falling, the fig-tree casting her untimely figs, the heavens
departing as a scroll (chapter 8.) from Isaiah: the scorpions of chapter 9. from Ezekiel: the gathering of the vine of the earth (chapter 14.) from Joel, and the treading of
the wine-press in the same chapter from Isaiah." So too the details of a single vision are gathered out of different prophets or different parts of the same prophet. For
instance, the vision of the glorified Redeemer (Revelation 1:12-20). The golden candlesticks are from Exodus and Zechariah; the garment down to the foot from
Exodus and Daniel; the golden girdle and the hairs like wool from Isaiah and Daniel; the feet like burnished brass, and the voice like the sound of many waters, from
Ezekiel; the two-edged sword from Isaiah and Psalms; the countenance like the sun from Exodus; the falling of the seer as dead from Exodus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and
Daniel; the laying of Jesus' right hand on the seer from Daniel.

"Not indeed that the writer binds himself to the Old Testament in a slavish spirit. He rather uses it with great freedom and independence, extending, intensifying, or
transfiguring its descriptions at his pleasure. Yet the main source of his emblems cannot be mistaken. The sacred books of his people had been more than familiar to
him. They had penetrated his whole being. They had lived within him as a germinating seed, capable of shooting up not only in the old forms, but in new forms of life
and beauty. In the whole extent of sacred and religious literature there is to be found nowhere else such a perfect fusion of the revelation given to Israel with the mind of
one who would either express Israel's ideas, or give utterance, by means of the symbols supplied by Israel's history, to the present and most elevated thoughts of the
Christian faith "(this note is condensed from Professor Milligan's "Baird Lectures on the Revelation of St. John").

A white stone (yh~fon leukh). See on counteth, Luke 14:28; and white, Luke 9:29. The foundation of the figure is not to be sought in Gentile but in Jewish customs.
"White is everywhere the color and livery of heaven "(Trench). See Revelation 1:14; 3:5; 7:9; 14:14; 19:8, 11, 14; 20:11. It is the bright, glistering white. Compare
Matthew 28:3; Luke 24:4; John 20:12; Revelation 20:11; Daniel. 7:9.

It is impossible to fix the meaning of the symbol with any certainty. The following are some of the principal views: The Urim and Thummim concealed within the High-
Priest's breastplate of judgment. This is advocated by Trench, who supposes that the Urim was a peculiarly rare stone, possibly the diamond, and engraven with the
ineffable name of God. The new name he regards as the new name of God or of Christ (chapter 3:12); some revelation of the glory of God which can be
communicated to His people only in the higher state of being, and which they only can understand who have actually received.

Professor Milligan supposes an allusion to the plate of gold worn on the High-Priest's forehead, and inscribed with the words "Holiness to the Lord," but, somewhat
strangely, runs the figure into the stone or pebble used in voting, and regards the white stone as carrying the idea of the believer's acquittal at the hands of God.

Dean Plumptre sees in the stone the signet by which, in virtue of its form or of the characters inscribed on it, he who possessed it could claim from the friend who gave
it, at any distance of time, a frank and hearty welcome; and adds to this an allusion to the custom of presenting such a token, with the guest's name upon it, of admission
to the feast given to those who were invited to partake within the temple precincts - a feast which consisted wholly or in part of sacrificial meats.

Others, regarding the connection of the stone with the manna, refer to the use of the lot cast among the priests in order to determine which one should offer the
sacrifice.

Others, to the writing of a candidate's name at an election by ballot upon a stone or bean.

In short, the commentators are utterly divided, and the true interpretation remains a matter of conjecture.

A new name. Some explain the new name of God or of Christ (compare Revelation 3:12); others, of the recipient's own name. "A new name however, a revelation of
his everlasting title as a son of God to glory in Christ, but consisting of and revealed in those personal marks and signs of God's peculiar adoption of himself, which he
and none other is acquainted with" (Alford). Bengel says: "Wouldst thou know what kind of a new name thou wilt obtain? Overcome. Before that thou wilt ask in vain,
and after that thou wilt soon read it inscribed on the white stone."

18. Thyatira. Situated on the confines of Mysia and Ionia. According to Pliny it was known in earlier times as Pelopia and Euhippia. Its prosperity received a new
impulse under the Roman Emperor Vespasian. The city contained a number of corporate guilds, as potters, tanners, weavers, robe-makers, and dyers. It was from
Thyatira that Lydia the purple-seller of Philippi came, Paul's first European convert. The numerous streams of the adjacent country were full of leeches. The principal
deity of the city was Apollo, worshipped as the Sun-God under the surname Tyrimnas. A shrine outside the walls was dedicated to Sambatha, a sibyl. The place was
never of paramount political importance.

Son of God. Compare Son of man, Revelation 1:13; Psalms 2:7; Revelation 19:13.

Who hath His eyes, etc. See on Revelation 1:14,15.

Thy works, and the last, etc. Omit and, and read, as Rev., and that thy last works are more than the first.

20. A few things. Omit.

Thou sufferest (eja~v). Used absolutely. Toleratest.

That woman. Rev., the woman. Some translate thy wife.

Jezebel. Used symbolically, but with reference to the notorious historic Jezebel. She was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon (1 Kings 16:31), formerly a priest of
Astarte, and who had made his way to the throne by the murder of his predecessor Pheles. Ahab's marriage with her was the first instance of a marriage with a heathen
princess of a king of the northern kingdom of Israel. This alliance was a turning-point in the moral history of the kingdom. From the times of David and Solomon many
treaties had been concluded between Phoenicia and Israel; but it was at the same time the special business of the kingdom of the ten tribes to restore the ancient
rigidness of the nationality of Israel. Jezebel looked down with perverse pride upon a people whose religion she neither understood nor respected. Though the ten tribes
had  yielded(c)
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apostasy of Israel became more decided and deadly. She was "a woman in whom, with the reckless and licentious habits of an Oriental queen, were united the fiercest
and sternest qualities inherent in the old Semitic race. Her husband, in whom generous and gentle feelings were not wanting, was yet of a weak and yielding character
which soon made him a tool in her hands.... The wild license of her life and the magical fascination of her arts or her character became a proverb in the nation. Round
Astarte, and who had made his way to the throne by the murder of his predecessor Pheles. Ahab's marriage with her was the first instance of a marriage with a heathen
princess of a king of the northern kingdom of Israel. This alliance was a turning-point in the moral history of the kingdom. From the times of David and Solomon many
treaties had been concluded between Phoenicia and Israel; but it was at the same time the special business of the kingdom of the ten tribes to restore the ancient
rigidness of the nationality of Israel. Jezebel looked down with perverse pride upon a people whose religion she neither understood nor respected. Though the ten tribes
had yielded to idolatry in the worship of the calves, the true God was still worshipped and the law of Moses acknowledged. From the time of Ahab's marriage the
apostasy of Israel became more decided and deadly. She was "a woman in whom, with the reckless and licentious habits of an Oriental queen, were united the fiercest
and sternest qualities inherent in the old Semitic race. Her husband, in whom generous and gentle feelings were not wanting, was yet of a weak and yielding character
which soon made him a tool in her hands.... The wild license of her life and the magical fascination of her arts or her character became a proverb in the nation. Round
her and from her, in different degrees of nearness, is evolved the awful drama of the most eventful crisis of this portion of the Israelite history" (Stanley, "Jewish
Church"). She sought to exterminate the prophets of Jehovah (1 Kings 18:13), and inaugurated the worship of Baal the Sun-God on a magnificent scale. Two
sanctuaries were established, one for each of the great Phoenician deities, at each of the two new capitals of the kingdom, Samaria and Jezreel. The sanctuary of
Astarte or Ashtaroth (the Phoenician Venus) at Jezreel was under Jezebel's special sanction, and there is reason to suppose that she ministered as a priestess in that
licentious worship. Four hundred priests or prophets were attached to this sanctuary and were supported at her table. The sanctuary to Baal at Samaria was large
enough to contain all the worshippers of the northern kingdom. Its staff consisted of four hundred and fifty priests, and the interior contained representations of the Sun-
God on small pillars, while a large statue of the same deity was set up in front. At these sanctuaries Ahab in person offered sacrifices.

Expositors are divided as to the symbolic import of the name in this passage, some referring it to a single person - "some single wicked woman in the Church of
Thyatira inheriting this name of infamy in the Church of God," giving herself out as a prophetess, and seducing the servants of Christ to commit fornication and to eat
things offered to idols. Others interpret the name as designating an influential heretical party in the Church: but, as Alford remarks, "the real solution must lie hidden until
all that is hidden shall be known." It is clear, at any rate, that Thyatira, like the Church of old, had sinned by her alliance with a corrupt faith and practice.

To teach and to seduce (dida>skein kai). The best texts read kaiskei and she teacheth and seduceth. So Rev. For seduceth see on err, Mark 12:24 and deceiver and
error, Matthew 27:63, 64. The word plana~n to seduce is found oftener in Revelation than elsewhere in the New Testament. It never means mere error as such, but
fundamental departure from the truth.

To commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols. Both sins of the historical Jezebel. See 2 Kings 9:22, 30; Jeremiah 4:30; Nahum 3:4.

21. Space (cro>non). Lit., time, as Rev.

Repent (metanoh>sh|). See on Matthew 3:2; 21:29.

Of her fornication (ejk). Lit., out of; i.e., so as to come out of and escape from her sin. See on verse 7.

22. Into a bed. Of anguish. The scene of the sin is also the scene of the punishment.

Commit adultery (moiceu>ontav). A wider term than porneu~sai to commit fornication. Compare the metaphorical meaning expressing the rebellion and idolatry of
Israel (Jeremiah 3:8; 5:7; Ezekiel 16:32).

With her (met' aujth~v). Not with her as the conjux adulteri, but who share with her in her adulteries.

Of their deeds (ejk tw~n e]rgwn aujtw~n). Read aujth~v her (deeds). Repent out of (ejk) as in verse 21.

23. Children (te>kna). Emphatic. Distinguished from the participators of verse 22, as her proper adherents, "who are begotten of her and go to constitute her." Others,
however, deny any distinction (Milligan), and others (as Trench) explain as the less forward and prominent members of the wicked company, deceived where the
others were the deceivers.

With death (enj qana>tw|). To kill with death is a very strong expression. Compare Leviticus 20:10 Sept., qana>tw| qanatou>sqwsan shall be put to death (A. 5:and
Rev.). Lit., let them be put to death with death. The reference can hardly be to the slaughter of Ahab's seventy sons (2 Kings 10:6, 7) who were not Jezebel's children.

All the churches. Not merely the seven churches, but the churches throughout the world.

Shall know (gnw>sontai). See on John 2:24.

Searcheth (ejreunw~n). See John 5:39; 7:52; Romans 8:27. Compare Jeremiah 11:20; 17:10; 20:12; 1 Peter 1:11. Denoting a careful search, a following up or
tracking. See Genesis 31:35; 1 Kings 20:6; Proverbs 20:27; 1 Corinthians 2:10.

Reins (nefrou). Only here in the New Testament. Strictly, kidneys. Used of the thoughts, feelings, and purposes of the soul. A similar use of the physical for the spiritual
organ is spla>gcna bowels for heart. See pitiful, 1 Peter 3:8.

24. And unto the rest. Omit and, and render, as Rev., to you I say, to the rest, etc.

And which (kai). Omit kai and. The compound relative, which, classifies; which are of those who know not, etc.

The depths of Satan (taqh tou~ Satana~). The reference is, most probably, to the Gnostic sect of the Ophites (o]fiv a serpent), or, in Hebrew, Naasenes (naash a
serpent), serpent-worshippers, a sect the origin of which is unknown, but which existed as late as the sixth century; since, in 530, Justinian passed laws against it. "The
veneration of the serpent was but the logical development of a theory, the germ of which is common to many of the Gnostic sects. Proceeding on the assumption that
the creator of the world is to be regarded as an evil power, a thing in hostility to the supreme God, it follows as a natural consequence that the fall of man through
disobedience to the command of his maker must be regarded, not as a transgression against the will of the supreme God, but as an emancipation from the authority of
an evil being. The serpent, therefore, who tempted mankind to sin, is no longer their destroyer but their benefactor. He is the symbol of intellect, by whose means the
first human pair were raised to the knowledge of the existence of higher beings than their creator. This conception, consistently carried out, would have resulted in a
direct inversion of the whole teaching of scripture; in calling evil good and good evil; in converting Satan into God and God into Satan. The majority of the Ophite sects,
however, seem to have shrunk from this portentous blasphemy. While acknowledging the fall of man as, in some manner, a deliverance from evil and an exaltation of
human nature, they hesitated to carry out their principle by investing the evil spirit with the attributes of deity. A kind of compromise was made between scripture and
philosophy. The serpent was, notwithstanding his service to mankind, represented as a being of evil nature and au enemy to man, though his work was overruled to
man's good, and he himself was, beyond his intention, the instrument of a higher wisdom. Rut in one sect at least of the Ophites, the more logical and thoroughly
blasphemous consequences of the first principles were exhibited openly and unblushingly" (Mansel, "Gnostic Heresies"). The characteristic boast of the Gnostics was
their knowledge of the depths of divine things. In this they were probably perverting and caricaturing the words of Paul (Romans 11:33; 1 Corinthians 2:10).
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As they speak. Rev., as they say. The questions are, 1st. What is the phrase alluded to? Is it the familiar formula of these heretics, "the depths," or "the depths of God,"
the depths of Satan being added by the Lord himself in ironical contrast with the depths of divine knowledge, - or is it the depths of Satan? 2nd. Does as they say refer
to Christians, describing the depths of the Gnostics as depths of Satan, or does it refer to the heretics themselves, calling their own mysteries depths of Satan?
philosophy. The serpent was, notwithstanding his service to mankind, represented as a being of evil nature and au enemy to man, though his work was overruled to
man's good, and he himself was, beyond his intention, the instrument of a higher wisdom. Rut in one sect at least of the Ophites, the more logical and thoroughly
blasphemous consequences of the first principles were exhibited openly and unblushingly" (Mansel, "Gnostic Heresies"). The characteristic boast of the Gnostics was
their knowledge of the depths of divine things. In this they were probably perverting and caricaturing the words of Paul (Romans 11:33; 1 Corinthians 2:10).

As they speak. Rev., as they say. The questions are, 1st. What is the phrase alluded to? Is it the familiar formula of these heretics, "the depths," or "the depths of God,"
the depths of Satan being added by the Lord himself in ironical contrast with the depths of divine knowledge, - or is it the depths of Satan? 2nd. Does as they say refer
to Christians, describing the depths of the Gnostics as depths of Satan, or does it refer to the heretics themselves, calling their own mysteries depths of Satan?

The majority of commentators regard as they say as referring to the heretics, and as applying only to the word depths; of Satan being added by the Lord in indignation.
Alford says that no such formula as depths of Satan, or any resembling it, is found as used by the ancient Gnostic heretics.

Other burden (a]llo ba>tov). The words for burden in the New Testament are o]gkov (only in Hebrews 12:1), ba>rov (Matthew 20:12; Galatians 6:2), and forti>on
(Matthew 11:30; 23:4; Galatians 6:5). ]Ogkov refers to bulk, ba>rov to weight, forti>on to a burden so far as it is born (fe>rw). Thus in Hebrews 12:1"lay aside every
weight (o]gkov)," the figure being that of runners in the race-course, and the word appropriate as denoting the bulky robes and the accoutrements of the ordinary dress
which might impede the freedom of the limbs. In Matthew 20:12"the burden (ba>rov) and heat of the day," the idea is that of heavy toil pressing like a weight. So
Galatians 6:2"Bear ye one another's burdens." But in Galatians 6:5 the emphasis is on the act of bearing; and therefore forti>on is used: "Every man shall bear his own
burden;" i.e., every man shall carry that which it is appointed him to bear. The reference in that passage is probably to the prohibition enjoined by the apostolic council
of Jerusalem, which concerned the very things which are rebuked here - fornication and abstinence from idol-meats. In the narrative of that council the phrase occurs
"to lay upon you no greater burden" (Acts 15:28). The meaning accordingly will be, "I put upon you no other burden than abstinence from and protest against these
abominations."

25. Hold fast (krath>sate). See on Mark 7:3; Acts 3:11.

Till I come (a]criv ou= a}n h[xw). The conditional particle a}n marks the time of His coming as uncertain.

26. Keepeth my works (thrw~n ta). The phrase occurs only here in the New Testament. The works are those which Christ commands, which He does, and which are
the fruits of His Spsrit. See on John 4:47.

Power (ejxousi>an). See on John 1:12. Rev., better, authority.

Nations (ejqnw~n). See on Matthew 25:32 and Gentiles, Luke 2:32. Properly, here, the Gentiles, as opposed to the true Israel of God.

27. Shall rule (poimanei~). Lit., shall shepherd. A comparison with Revelation 7:17 brings out the terrible irony in this word. Compare Psalms 2:9 Sept., where the
same word is used. A.V., break. See on rule, Matthew 2:6; feed, Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2; Jude 1:12.

Rod (rJa>bdw|). Commonly rendered staff, once sceptre, Hebrews 1:8. This is its meaning here.

Vessels (skeu>h). See on goods, Matthew 12. 29; vessel, 1 Peter 3. 7.

Of the potter (keramika). From ke>ramov potter's clay.

Shall they be broken to shivers. The A.V. follows the reading suntribh>setai, the future tense of the verb. The correct reading is suntri>betai, the present tense. Render
therefore, as Rev., "as the vessels of the potter are broken." See on Mark 5:4 and bruising, Luke 9:39. The ou>n together gives the picture of the fragments collapsing
into a heap.

28. The morning-star (tora ton). The star, that of the morning. One of John's characteristic constructions. See on I John 4:9. The reference is, most probably, to Christ
himself. See Revelation 22:16. He will give Himself. This interpretation falls in with the promise of power over the nations in verse 26. The star was the ancient emblem
of sovereignty. See Numbers. 24:17; Matthew 2:2. "It was the symbol of sovereignty on its brighter and benignant side, and was therefore the fitting and necessary
complement of the dread attributes that had gone before. The king came not only to judge and punish, but also to illumine and cheer" (Plumptre). Compare 2 Peter
1:19.

CHAPTER 3

1. Sardis. The capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia. It was situated in a plain watered by the river Pactolus. The city was of very ancient origin. Herodotus (i., 84)
gives the account of its siege and capture by Cyrus, and of its previous fortification by an old king, Meles. It was ruled by a series of able princes, the last of whom was
Croesus, celebrated for his wealth and his misfortunes. In the earlier part of his reign he extended his dominion over the whole of Asia Minor, with the exception of
Lycia and Cilicia. The Lydian rule was terminated by the conquest of Cyrus. From the Persians it passed into the hands of Alexander the Great, after which, for the
next three hundred years, its fortunes are obscure. In b.c. 214 it was taken and sacked by Antiochus the Great after a siege of two years. The kings of Pergamus next
succeeded to the dominion, and from them it passed into the hands of the Romans.

In the time of Tiberius it was desolated by an earthquake, together with eleven or twelve other important cities of Asia, and the calamity was increased by a pestilence.

Sardis was in very early times an important commercial city Pliny says that the art of dyeing wool was invented there, and it was the entrep of the dyed woolen
manufactures, carpets, etc., the raw material for which was furnished by the flocks of Phrygia. It was also the place where the metal electrum was procured. Gold was
found in the bed of the Pactolus. Silver and gold coins are said to have been first minted there, and it was at one time known as a slave-mart. The impure worship of the
goddess Cybele was celebrated there, and the massive ruins of her temple are still to be seen. The city is now a heap of ruins. In 1850 no human being found a dwelling
there.

The seven Spirits of God. See on Revelation 1:4.

1. Be watchful (gi>nou grhgorw~n). Lit., become awake and on the watch. See on Mark 13:35; 1 Peter 5:8. Become what thou art not.

Strengthen (sth>rixon). See on 1 Peter 5:10 and compare Luke 22:32; Romans 1:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:3.

That are ready to die (a{ me>llei ajpoqanei~n). Read e]mellon were ready or about (to die).

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 have not found thy works (ouj
           (c) 2005-2009,      eu[rhka>
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                                    Media   ta). Some texts omit the article before works, in which case we should render, I have found no works of thine.
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Perfect (peplhrwme>na). Lit., fulfilled. So Rev.
Strengthen (sth>rixon). See on 1 Peter 5:10 and compare Luke 22:32; Romans 1:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:3.

That are ready to die (a{ me>llei ajpoqanei~n). Read e]mellon were ready or about (to die).

I have not found thy works (ouj eu[rhka> sou ta). Some texts omit the article before works, in which case we should render, I have found no works of thine. So Rev.

Perfect (peplhrwme>na). Lit., fulfilled. So Rev.

God. The best texts insert mou, "my God."

3. Thou hast received and heard (ei]lhfav kai). The former of these verbs is in the perfect tense: thou hast received the truth as a permanent deposit. It remains with thee
whether thou regardest it or not. The latter verb is ill the aorist tense, didst hear (so Rev.), denoting merely the act of hearing when it took place.

Watch. See on verse 2.

On thee. Omit.

As a thief (wJv kle>pthv). Thief, as distinguished from hp lh|sth>v robber, a plunderer on a larger scale, who secures his booty not by stealth, but by violence. Hence
the word is appropriate here to mark the unexpected and stealthy coming of the Lord. Compare 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 4; 2 Peter 3:10.

Thou shalt not know what hour l will come upon thee. The Greek proverb says that the feet of the avenging deities are shod with wool. The sentiment is voiced in the
two following fragments from Aeschylus:

"Whether one sleep or walk or sit at ease,

Unseen and voiceless Justice dogs his steps,

Striking athwart his path from right or left;

Nor what is foully done will night conceal:

Whate'er thou doest some God beholdeth thee."

"And dost thou deem that thou shalt e'er o'ercome

Wisdom divine? That retribution lies

Somewhere remote from mortals? Close at hand,

Unseen itself, it sees and knows full well

Whom it befits to smite. But thou know'st not

The hour when, swift and sudden, it shall come

And sweep away the wicked from the earth."

4. Thou hast a few names. The best texts insert ajlla but between these words and the close of the preceding verse. So Rev. But, notwithstanding the general apathy of
the Church, thou hast a few, etc. Compare verse 1, thou hast a name, and see on Revelation 11:13. Names is equivalent to persons, a few who may be rightly named
as exceptions to the general conception.

Even in Sardis. Omit kai even.

Defiled (ejmo>lunan). See on 1 Peter 1:4.

Garments. See the same figure, Jude 1:23. The meaning is, have not sullied the purity of their Christian life.

In white (ejn leukoi~v). With iJmati>oiv garments understood. See on Revelation 2:17 and compare Zechariah. 3:3, 5. "White colors are suitable to the gods" (Plato,
"Laws," xii., 956). So Virgil, of the tenants of Elysium:

"Lo, priests of holy life and chaste while they in life had part;

Lo, God-loved poets, men who spake things worthy Phoebus' heart:

And they who bettered life on earth by new-found mastery;

And they whose good deeds left a tale for men to name them by:

And all they had their brows about with snowy fillets bound."

"Aeneid," vi., 661-665

The same shall be clothed (ou=tov peribalei~tai). For ou=tov this, or the same, read ou[twv thus: "shall thus be arrayed." so Rev. The verb denotes a solemn
investiture, and means literally to throw or put around.

5. Book of life. Lit., the book of the life. For the figure, see Exodus 32:32; Psalms 69:28; Daniel 12:1; Philippians 4:3. Compare Luke 10:20; Hebrews 12:23.

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7. Philadelphia. Seventy-five miles southeast of Sardis. The second city in Lydia. The adjacent region was celebrated as a wine-growing district, and its coins bore the
head of Bacchus and the figure of a Bacchante. The population included Jews, Jewish Christians, and converts from heathenism. It suffered from frequent earthquakes.
investiture, and means literally to throw or put around.

5. Book of life. Lit., the book of the life. For the figure, see Exodus 32:32; Psalms 69:28; Daniel 12:1; Philippians 4:3. Compare Luke 10:20; Hebrews 12:23.

I will confess (ejxomlogh>somai). Openly confess (ejx). See on Matthew 11:25; Acts 19:18; James 5:16.

7. Philadelphia. Seventy-five miles southeast of Sardis. The second city in Lydia. The adjacent region was celebrated as a wine-growing district, and its coins bore the
head of Bacchus and the figure of a Bacchante. The population included Jews, Jewish Christians, and converts from heathenism. It suffered from frequent earthquakes.
Of all the seven churches it had the longest duration of prosperity as a Christian city. It still exists as a Turkish town under the name of Allah Shehr, City of God. The
situation is picturesque, the town being built on four or five hills, and well supplied with trees, and the climate is healthful. One of the mosques is believed by the native
Christians to have been the gathering-place of the church addressed in Revelation. "One solitary pillar of high antiquity has been often noticed as reminding beholders of
the words in chapter 3:12: 'Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God.'"

He that is holy (oJ a[giov). See on Acts 26:10. Christ is called holy, Acts 2:27; 13:35; Hebrews 7:26; in all which passages the word, however, is o[siov, which is holy
by sanction, applied to one who diligently observes all the sanctities of religion. It is appropriate to Christ, therefore, as being the one in whom these eternal sanctities
are grounded and reside. Agiov, the word used here, refers rather to separation from evil.

He that is true (oJ ajlhqino). See on John 1:9. Alhqino is not merely, genuine as contrasted with the absolutely false, but as contrasted with that which is only
subordinately or typically true. It expresses the perfect realization of an idea as contrasted with its partial realization. Thus, Moses gave bread, but the Father giveth the
true bread (ton). Israel was a vine of God's planting (Psalms 80:8), Christ is the true (hJ ajlhqinh) vine (John 15:1). The word is so characteristic of John that, while
found only once in the Synoptic Gospels, once in a Pauline Epistle, and four times in the Epistle to the Hebrews, it occurs nine times in the fourth Gospel, four times in
John's First Epistle, and ten times in Revelation, and in every instance in these three latter books in its own distinctive signification.

The key of David. See on Revelation 1:18, and compare Isaiah 22:22. David is the type of Christ, the supreme ruler of the kingdom of heaven. See Jeremiah 30:9;
Ezekiel 34:23; 37:24. The house of David is the typical designation of the kingdom of Jesus Christ (Psalms 122:5). The holding of the keys, the symbols of power, thus
belongs to Christ as Lord of the kingdom and Church of God. See on Matthew 16:19: He admits and excludes at His pleasure.

No man shutteth (oujdeiei). Read klei>sei shall shut So Rev.

8. I have set (de>dwka). Lit., I have given. For a similar phrase see Luke 12:51.

An open door (qu>ran ajnew|gme>nhn). Rev., more literally, a door opened. This is variously explained. Some refer it to the entrance into the joy of the Lord; others
to the initiation into the meaning of scripture; others again to the opportunity for the mission-work of the Church. In this last sense the phrase is often used by Paul. See
1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12; Colossians 4:3. Compare Acts 14:27. 77 I have given is appropriate, since all opportunities of service are gifts of God. See on
Revelation 2:7.

For thou hast (o[ti e]ceiv). Some texts make behold-shut parenthetical, and render o[ti that, defining thy works, etc. So Rev.

A little strength (mikranamin). This would mean, thou hast some power, though small. Many, however, omit the indefinite article in translating, and render thou hast little
strength; i.e., thou art poor in numbers and worldly resources. So Alford, Trench, and Dw.

And (kai). John's single copula instead of a particle of logical connection. See on John 1:10; 6:46; 1 John 1:5; John 8:20.

Hast kept my word (ejth>rhsa>v mou togon). Rev., rendering the aorist more strictly, didst keep. For the phrase, see John 17:6,8.

9. I will make (di>dwmi). Rev., rightly, I give. See on verse 8. The sense is broken off there and resumed here.

Of the synagogue (ejk th~v sunagwgh~v). Certain ones of the synagogue. Most interpreters refer to the Jews. Others explain more generally, of the bowing down of
the Church's enemies at her feet. Trench refers to a passage in the Epistle of Ignatius to this Philadelphian church, implying the actual presence in the midst of it of
converts from Judaism, who preached the faith which they once persecuted.

Of Satan. See on Revelation 2:9.

I will make them to come (poih>sw aujtou) Lit., I will make them that they shall come.

Worship before thy feet. Compare Isaiah 60:14; 49:23.

10. The word of my patience (togon th~v uJpomonh~v mou) Not the words which Christ has spoken concerning patience, but the word of Christ which requires
patience to keep it; the gospel which teaches the need o a patient waiting for Christ. On patience, see on 2 Peter 1:6; James 5:7.

From the hour (ejk). The preposition implies, not a keeping from temptation, but a keeping in temptation, as the result of which they shall be delivered out of its power.
Compare John 17:15.

Of temptation (tou~ peirasmou~). Lit., "of the trial" See on Matthew 6:13; 1 Peter 1:7. Rev., trial.

World (oijkoume>nhv). See on Luke 2:1

11. Behold. Omit.

That no one take thy crown (i[na mhdeibh| tofanon). Take it away. The idea is not that of one believer stepping into the place which was designed for another, but of an
enemy taking away from another the reward which he himself has forfeited. The expression is explained by Colossians 2:18. It is related by Mahomet that, after having
attempted, in vain, to convert one Abdallah to the faith, and having been told by him to go about his business and to preach only to those who should come to him - he
went, downcast, to a friend's house. His friend, perceiving that he was sad, asked him the reason; and on being told of Abdallah's insult, said, "Treat him gently; for I
swear that when God sent thee to us, we had already strung pearls to crown him, and he seeth that thou hast snatched the kingdom out of his grasp." For crown, see on
chapter 2:10. Thy crown is not the crown which thou hast, but the crown which thou shalt have if thou shalt prove faithful.

12. Pillar (stu>lon). The word occurs, Galatians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:15; Revelation 10:1. The reference here is not to any prominence in the earthly church, as Galatians
2:9 but to blessedness
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Matthew 19:28. Others emphasize the idea of stability, and find a possible local reference to the frequent earthquakes from which Philadelphia had suffered, and which
had shaken its temples. Strabo says: "And Philadelphia has not even its walls unimpaired, but daily they are shaken in some way, and gaps are made in them. But the
inhabitants continue to occupy the land notwithstanding their sufferings, and to build new houses." Others again emphasize the idea of beauty. Compare 1 Peter 2:5
chapter 2:10. Thy crown is not the crown which thou hast, but the crown which thou shalt have if thou shalt prove faithful.

12. Pillar (stu>lon). The word occurs, Galatians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:15; Revelation 10:1. The reference here is not to any prominence in the earthly church, as Galatians
2:9 but to blessedness in the future state. The exact meaning is doubtful. Some explain, he shall have a fixed and important place in the glorified church. Compare
Matthew 19:28. Others emphasize the idea of stability, and find a possible local reference to the frequent earthquakes from which Philadelphia had suffered, and which
had shaken its temples. Strabo says: "And Philadelphia has not even its walls unimpaired, but daily they are shaken in some way, and gaps are made in them. But the
inhabitants continue to occupy the land notwithstanding their sufferings, and to build new houses." Others again emphasize the idea of beauty. Compare 1 Peter 2:5
where the saints are described living stones.

Temple (naw|~~). See on Matthew 4:5.

Upon him. The conqueror, not the pillar. Compare Revelation 7:3; 9:4; 14:1; 22:4. Probably with reference to the golden plate inscribed with the name of Jehovah, and
worn by the High-Priest upon his forehead (Exodus 28:36, 38). See on Revelation 2:17.

New Jerusalem. See Ezekiel 48:35. The believer whose brow is adorned with this name has the freedom of the heavenly city. Even on earth his commonwealth is in
heaven (Philippians 3:20). "Still, his citizenship was latent: he was one of God's hidden ones; but now he is openly avouched, and has a right to enter in by the gates to
the city" (Trench). The city is called by John, the great and holy (Revelation 21:10); by Matthew, the holy city (4:5); by Paul, Jerusalem which is above (Galatians 4:6);
by the writer to the Hebrews, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). Plato calls his ideal city Callipolis, the fair city ("Republic," vii., 527),
and the name Ouranopolis, heavenly city, was applied to Rome and Byzantium. For new (kainh~v), see on Matthew 26:29. The new Jerusalem is not a city freshly built
(ne>a), but is new (kainh) in contrast with the old, outworn, sinful city. In the Gospel John habitually uses the Greek and civil form of the name, JIeroso>luma; in
Revelation, the Hebrew and more holy appellation, Jierousa>lhm. 78

14. Of the Laodiceans (Aaodike>wn). Read ejn Aaodikei>a| in Laodicea. Laodicea means justice of the people. As Laodice was a common name among the ladies of
the royal house of the Seleucidae, the name was given to several cities in Syria and Asia Minor. The one here addressed was on the confines of Phrygia and Lydia,
about forty miles east of Ephesus, and was known as Laodicea on the Lycus. It had born successively the names of Diospolis and Rhoas, and was named Laodicea
when refounded by Antiochus Theos, b.c. 261-246. It was situated on a group of hills between two tributaries of the Lycus - the Asopus and the Caprus. Towards the
end of the Roman Republic, and under the first emperors, it became one of the most important and flourishing cities of Asia Minor. One of its citizens, Hiero,
bequeathed all his enormous property to the people, and adorned the city with costly gifts. It was the seat of large money transactions and of an extensive trade in
wood. The citizens developed a taste for Greek art, and were distinguished in science and literature. Laodicea was the seat of a great medical school. During the
Roman period it was the chief city of a Roman conventus or political district, in which courts were held by the proconsul of the province, and where the taxes from the
subordinate towns were collected. Cicero held his court there, and many of his letters were written thence. The conventus represented by Laodicea comprised not less
than twenty-five towns, and inscriptions refer to the city as "the metropolis." The Greek word dioi>khdiv, corresponding to the Latin conventus was subsequently
applied to an ecclesiastical district, and appears in diocese. The tutelary deity of the city was Zeus (Jupiter). Hence its earlier name, Diospolis, or City of Zeus. Many of
its inhabitants were Jews. It was subject to frequent earthquakes, which eventually resulted in its abandonment. It is now a deserted place, but its ruins indicate by their
magnitude its former importance. Among these are a racecourse, and three theatres, one of which is four hundred and fifty feet in diameter. An important church council
was held there in the fourth century.

The Amen. Used only here as a proper name. See Isaiah 65:16 where the correct rendering is the God of the Amen, instead of A.V. God of truth. The term applied to
the Lord signifies that He Himself is the fulfilment of all that God has spoken to the churches.

Faithful (pisto>v). The word occurs in the New Testament in two senses: trusty, faithful Matthew 24:45; 25:21, 23; Luke 12:42); and believing, confiding (John 20:27;
Galatians 3:9; Acts 16:1). Of God, necessarily only in the former sense.

True (ajlhqino). See on verse 7. The veracity of Christ is thus asserted in the word faithful, true being not true as distinguished from false, but true to the normal idea of
a witness.

The beginning (hJ ajrch>). The beginner, or author; not as Colossians 1:15the first and most excellent creature of God's hands.

"The stress laid in the Epistle to the Colossians on the inferiority of those to whom the self-same name of ajrcai, beginnings principalities was given... to the One who
was the true beginning, or, if we might venture on an unfamiliar use of a familiar word, the true Principality of God's creation, may account for the prominence which the
name had gained, and therefore for its use here in a message addressed to a church exposed, like that of Colossae, to the risks of angelolatry, of the substitution of
lower principalities and created mediators for Him who was the Head over all things to His Church" (Plumptre). Compare Hebrews 12:2ajrchgoleader.

15. Cold (yucro>v). Attached to the world and actively opposed to the Church. "This," as Alford remarks, "as well as the opposite state of spiritual fervor, would be
an intelligible and plainly-marked condition; at all events free from the danger of mixed motive and disregarded principle which belongs to the lukewarm state: inasmuch
as a man in earnest, be he right or wrong, is ever a better man than one professing what he does not feel."

Hot (zesto>v). From ze>w to boil or seethe. See on fervent, Acts 18:25.

16. Lukewarm (cliaro>v). Only here in the New Testament.

Foremost and most numerous among the lost, Dante places those who had been content to remain neutral in the great contest between good and evil.

"Master, what is this which now I hear?

What folk is this, which seems by pain so vanquished?

And he to me: "This miserable mode

Maintain the melancholy souls of those

Who lived withouten infamy or praise.

Commingled are they with that caitiff choir.

Of angels, who have not rebellious been,
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The heavens expelled them, not to be less fair;
Commingled are they with that caitiff choir.

Of angels, who have not rebellious been,

Nor faithful were to God, but were for self.

The heavens expelled them, not to be less fair;

Nor them the nethermore abyss receives,

For glory none the damned would have from them."

"Inferno," iii., 33-42.

I will (me>llw). I am about or have in mind. Not a declaration of immediate and inexorable doom, but implying a possibility of the determination being changed.

Spue (ejme>sai). Only here in the New Testament. Compare Leviticus 18:28; 20:22.

17. Because thou sayest. Connect, as A.V. and Rev., with what follows, not with what precedes. Some interpret I will spue thee out of my mouth because thou sayest,
etc.

Increased with goods (peplou>thka). Rev., have gotten riches. The reference is to imagined spiritual riches, not to worldly possessions.

Thou. Emphatic.

Wretched (oJ talai>pwrov). Rev., better, giving the force of the article, the wretched one. From tla>w to endure, and peira> a trial.

Miserable (ejleeino>v). Only here and 1 Corinthians 5:19. An object of pity (e]leov).

Poor (ptwco>v). See on Matthew 5:3.

18. I counsel (sumbouleu>w). With a certain irony. Though He might command, yet He advises those who are, in their own estimation, supplied with everything.

To buy. Compare Isaiah 4:1; Matthew 13:44, 46. Those who think themselves rich, and yet have just been called beggars by the Lord, are advised by Him to buy. The
irony, however, covers a sincere and gracious invitation. The goods of Christ are freely given, yet they have their price - renunciation of self and of the world.

Gold (crusi>on). Often of gold money or ornaments. So 1 Peter 1:18; Acts 3:6; 1 Peter 3:3. Also of native gold and gold which has been smelted and wrought
(Hebrews 9:4). There may very properly be a reference to the extensive money transactions of Laodicea.

Tried in the fire (pepurwme>non ejk poro). The verb means to burn, to be on fire: in the perfect passive, as here, kindled, made to glow; thence melted by fire, and so
refined. Rev., refined by, fire. By fire is, literally, out of the fire (ejk; see on Revelation 2:7).

White raiment. Rev., garments. See on verse 4.

Mayest be clothed (periba>lh|). Rev., more literally, mayest clothe thyself. See on verse 5.

Do not appear (mh). Rev., more literally, be not made manifest. See on John 21:1. Stripping and exposure is a frequent method of putting to open shame. See 2
Samuel 10:4; Isaiah 20:4; 47:23; Ezekiel 16:37. Compare also Matthew 22:11-13; Colossians 3:10-14.

Anoint thine eyes with eye-salve (kollou>rion e]gcrison touv sou). The correct reading is e]gcrisai, the infinitive, to anoint, instead of the imperative. So Rev., eye-salve
to anoint thine eyes. Kollou>rion, of which the Latin collyrium is a transcript, is a diminutive of kollu>ra a roll of coarse bread. See 1 Kings 14:3 Sept.; A.V., cracknels.
Here applied to a roll or stick of ointment for the eyes. Horace, describing his Brundisian journey, relates how, at one point, he was troubled with inflamed eyes, and
anointed them with black eye-salve (nigra collyria. Sat., i., v., 30). Juvenal, describing a superstitious woman, says: "If the corner of her eye itches when rubbed, she
consults her horoscope before calling for salve" (collyria; 6., 577). The figure sets forth the spiritual anointing by which the spiritual vision is purged. Compare
Augustine, "Confessions, vii., 7, 8. "Through my own swelling was I separated from Thee; yea, my pride-swollen face closed up mine eyes.... It was pleasing in Thy
sight to reform my deformities; and by inward goads didst Thou rouse me, that I should be ill at ease until Thou wert manifested to my inward sight. Thus, by the secret
hand of Thy medicining, was my swelling abated, and the troubled and bedimmed eyesight of my mind, by the smarting anointings of healthful sorrows, was from day to
day healed." Compare 1 John 2:20, 27.

19. As many as I love. In the Greek order I stands first as emphatic.

Rebuke (ejle>gcw). See on John 3:20. Rev., reprove.

Chasten (paideu>w). See on Luke 23:16.

Be zealous (zh>leue). The verb is akin to zesto>v hot in verse 16, on which see note.

Repent. See on Matthew 3:2; 20:29.

20. I stand at the door and knock. Compare Cant. v., 2, Krou>w I knock was regarded as a less classical word than ko>ptw. Krou>w is to knock with the knuckles,
to rap; ko>ptw, with a heavy blow; yofei~n of the knocking of some one within the door, warning one without to withdraw when the door is opened. Compare James
5:9. "He at whose door we ought to stand (for He is the Door, who, as such, has bidden us to knock), is content that the whole relation between Him and us should be
reversed, and, instead of our standing at His door, condescends Himself to stand at ours "(Trench). The Greeks had a word quraulei~n for a lover waiting at the door
of his beloved. Trench cites a passage from Nicolaus Cabasilas, a Greek divine of the fourteenth century: "Love for men emptied God (Philippians 2:7). For He doth
not abide in His place and summon to Himself the servant whom He loved; but goes Himself and seeks him; and He who is rich comes to the dwelling of the poor, and
discloses His love, and seeks an equal return; nor does He withdraw from him who repels Him, nor is He disgusted at his insolence; but, pursuing him, remains sitting at
his doors, and that He may show him the one who loves him, He does all things, and sorrowing, bears and dies."
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My voice. Christ not only knocks but speaks. "The voice very often will interpret and make intelligible the purpose of the knock" (Trench).
of his beloved. Trench cites a passage from Nicolaus Cabasilas, a Greek divine of the fourteenth century: "Love for men emptied God (Philippians 2:7). For He doth
not abide in His place and summon to Himself the servant whom He loved; but goes Himself and seeks him; and He who is rich comes to the dwelling of the poor, and
discloses His love, and seeks an equal return; nor does He withdraw from him who repels Him, nor is He disgusted at his insolence; but, pursuing him, remains sitting at
his doors, and that He may show him the one who loves him, He does all things, and sorrowing, bears and dies."

My voice. Christ not only knocks but speaks. "The voice very often will interpret and make intelligible the purpose of the knock" (Trench).

Hear - open the door. No irresistible grace.

Will sup (deipnh>sw). See on Luke 14:12. For the image, compare Cant. 5:2-6; iv. 16; ii. 3. Christ is the Bread of Life, and invites to the great feast. See Matthew
8:11; 25:1 sqq. The consummation will be at the marriage-supper of the Lamb (Mark 14:25; Revelation 19:7-9.

He with me. It is characteristic of John to note the sayings of Christ which express the reciprocal relations of Himself and His followers. See John 6:56; 10:38; 14:20;
15:4, 5; 17:21, 26. Compare John 14:23.

21. He that overcometh. See on Revelation 2:7.

CHAPTER 4

The Revelation proper now begins.

1. After this (meta). Rev., literally, after these things. Not indicating a break in the ecstatic state of the seer, but only a succession of separate visions.

I looked (ei+don). Rev., better, I saw. Not of the directing of attention, but of the simple reception of the vision.

A door was opened (qu>ra ajnew|gme>nh). Rev., rightly, omits was. A door set open. The A.V. implies that the seer witnessed the opening of the door.

In Heaven. Compare Ezekiel 1:1; Matthew 3:16; Acts 7:56; 10:11. In all these heaven itself is opened.

Was. Omit. Render, as Rev., "a voice as of a trumpet."

A trumpet (sa>lpiggov). See on Matthew 24:31. Properly a war-trumpet, though the word was also used of a sacred trumpet, with the epithet iJera> sacred.

Speaking - saying (lalou>shv le>gousa). See on Matthew 28:18. The former verb indicates the breaking of the silence, the latter the matter of the address.

Hereafter (meta). Some editors connect these words with the succeeding verse, substituting them for kai and at the beginning of that verse, and rendering, "I will show
thee the things which must come to pass. After these things straightway I was," etc.

2. I was in the Spirit (ejgeno>mhn ejn pneu>mati). Strictly, I became: I found myself in. Appropriate to the sudden and unconscious transportation of the seer into the
ecstatic state. Thus Dante describes his unconscious rapture into Paradise:

"And suddenly it seemed that day to day

Was added, as if He who had the power

Had with another sun the heaven adorned."

Beatrice, noticing his amazement, says:

"Thou makest thyself so dull

With false imagining, that thou seest not

What thou wouldst see if thou hadst shaken it off.

Thou art not upon earth as thou believest;

But lightning, fleeing its appropriate site,

Ne'er ran as thou, who thitherward returnest."

"Paradiso," i., 60-93.

A throne. See Ezekiel 1:26-28.

Was set (e]keito). Denoting merely position, not that the seer saw the placing of the throne. Compare John 2:6.

One sitting. He is called henceforward throughout the book He that sitteth on the throne, and is distinguished from the Son in Revelation 6:16; 7:10, and from the Holy
Spirit in verse 5.

He is commonly understood to be God the Father; but some understand the triune God. 79

3. Jasper stone. The last of the twelve stones in the High Priest's breastplate (Exodus 28:20; 39:13), and the first of the twelve enumerated in the foundation of the New
Jerusalem (Revelation 21:19). Also the stone employed in the superstructure of the wall of the Heavenly City (Revelation 21:18). The stone itself was of different
colors, the best being purple. According to Revelation 21:11, it represents a crystalline brightness.

Sardine. Rev., Sardius. The sixth foundation-stone of the Heavenly Jerusalem in Revelation 21:20. A red stone, supposed to answer to our cornelian. Pliny derives its
name  from Sardis
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ignorance of the precise meaning of "jasper," a name which seems to have covered a variety of stones now known under other classifications. Some interpreters,
assuming the jasper to be sparkling white, find in it a representation of the holiness of God, and in the fiery sardius a representation of His wrath.
colors, the best being purple. According to Revelation 21:11, it represents a crystalline brightness.

Sardine. Rev., Sardius. The sixth foundation-stone of the Heavenly Jerusalem in Revelation 21:20. A red stone, supposed to answer to our cornelian. Pliny derives its
name from Sardis where it was discovered. Others from the Persian sered, yellowish red. The exact meaning of the symbolism must remain uncertain, owing to our
ignorance of the precise meaning of "jasper," a name which seems to have covered a variety of stones now known under other classifications. Some interpreters,
assuming the jasper to be sparkling white, find in it a representation of the holiness of God, and in the fiery sardius a representation of His wrath.

Rainbow (i+riv). Only here and Revelation 10:1. The word is identical, and seems to have had some original connection with Iris, the deity known as the messenger-
goddess of Olympus. In Homer the word is used in both senses.

"And if thou wishest now to ask of me,

No dream I am, but lovely and divine:

Whereof let this be unto thee a sign,

That when thou wak'st, the many-colored bow

Across the world the morning sun shall throw.

But me indeed thine eyes shall not behold.

Then he, awaking in the morning cold,

A sprinkle of fine rain felt on his face,

And leaping to his feet, in that wild place,

Looked round, and saw the morning sunlight throw

Across the world the many-colored bow;

And trembling knew that the high gods indeed

Had sent the messenger unto their need."

William Morris, "Jason," xi., 190-200.

In classical Greek the word is used of any bright halo surrounding another body; of the circle round the eyes of a peacock's tail, and of the iris of the eye.

"And I beheld the flamelets onward go,

Leaving behind themselves the air depicted,

And they of trailing pennons had the semblance,

So that it overhead remained distinct

With sevenfold lists, all of them of the colors

Whence the sun's bow is made, and Delia's girdle." 80

Dante, "Purgatorio," xxix, 73-78.

"Within the deep and luminous subsistence

Of the High Light appeared to me three circles,

Of threefold color and of one dimension,

And by the second seemed the first reflected

As Iris is by Iris, and the third

Seemed fire that equally from both is breathed."

"Paradiso," xxxiii., 115-120.

On this passage, which belongs to the description of Dante's vision of the Eternal Trinity, Dean Plumptre remarks: "One notes, not without satisfaction, that Dante
shrinks from the anthropomorphism of Byzantine and early Western art, in which the Ancient of Days was represented in the form of venerable age. For him, as for the
more primitive artists, the rainbow reflecting rainbow is the only adequate symbol of the "God of God, Light of Light" of the Nicene Creed, while the fire of love that
breathes from both is that of the Holy Spirit, "proceeding from the Father and the Son."

Round about the throne. Compare Ezekiel 1:26, 28.

Emerald (smaragdi>nw|). The stone is first mentioned by Herodotus, who describes a temple of Hercules which he visited at Tyre. He says: "I found it richly adorned
with a number of offerings, among which were two pillars, one of pure gold, the other of emerald (smara>gdou li>qou), shining with great brilliancy at night" (ii., 44).
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     in his story            Infobase
                  of Polycrates       Media
                                of Samos,      Corp.
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                                                          which Polycrates cast into the sea, was an emerald set in gold (iii., 41). It is claimed, however, that143   / 189
                                                                                                                                                                  the real
emerald was unknown to the ancients. Rawlinson thinks that the pillar in the Tyrian temple was of glass. The bow was not wanting in the other colors, but the emerald
was predominant.
Round about the throne. Compare Ezekiel 1:26, 28.

Emerald (smaragdi>nw|). The stone is first mentioned by Herodotus, who describes a temple of Hercules which he visited at Tyre. He says: "I found it richly adorned
with a number of offerings, among which were two pillars, one of pure gold, the other of emerald (smara>gdou li>qou), shining with great brilliancy at night" (ii., 44).
Also in his story of Polycrates of Samos, the signet-ring which Polycrates cast into the sea, was an emerald set in gold (iii., 41). It is claimed, however, that the real
emerald was unknown to the ancients. Rawlinson thinks that the pillar in the Tyrian temple was of glass. The bow was not wanting in the other colors, but the emerald
was predominant.

4. Throne (qro>nou). A seat or chair. In Homer, an armchair with high back and footstool. Cushions were laid upon the seat, and over both seat and back carpets
were spread. A royal throne. Used of the oracular seat of the priestess of Apollo. Apollo, in the "Eumenides" of Aeschylus, says: "Never, when I sat in the diviner's seat
(mantikoi~sin ejn qro>noiv) did I speak aught else than Zeus the father of the Olympians bade me" (616-618). Plato uses it of a teacher's seat. "I saw Hippias the
Elean sitting in the opposite portico in a chair (ejn qro>nw|). Others were seated round him on benches (ejpiqrwn)," questioning him, "and he ex cathedre (ejn qro>nw|
kaqh>menov, lit., sitting in the chair) was determining their several questions to them, and discoursing of them" ("Protagoras," 315). Also used of a judge's bench, and a
bishop's seat.

Seats (qro>noi). Rev.., rightly, thrones. The word is the same as the last.

I saw. Omit.

Elders (presbute>rouv). See on Acts 14:23. The twenty-four elders are usually taken to represent the one Church of Christ, as at once the Church of the old and of the
new Covenant, figured by the twelve patriarchs and the twelve apostles.

"Then saw I people, as behind their leaders,

Coming behind them, garmented in white,

And such a whiteness never was on earth

Under so fair a heaven as I describe

The four and twenty-elders, two by two,

Came on incoronate with flower-de-luce."

Dante, "Purgatorio," xxix., 64-84.

Clothed (peribeblhme>nouv). Rev., arrayed. Better, as indicating a more solemn investiture. See on Revelation 3:5.

They had. Omit.

Crowns (stefa>nouv). See on 1 Peter 5:4; James 1:12. Ste>fanov with the epithet golden is found only in Revelation. Compare Revelation 9:7; 14:14. The natural
inference from this epithet and from the fact that the symbolism of Revelation is Hebrew, and that the Jews had the greatest detestation of the Greek games, would be
that ste>fanov is here used of the royal crown, especially since the Church is here represented as triumphant- a kingdom and priests. On the other hand, in the three
passages of Revelation where John evidently refers to the kingly crown, he uses dia>dhma (Revelation 12:3; 13:1; compare Revelation 17:9, 10; 19:12). Trench
("Synonyms of the New Testament") claims that the crown in this passage is the crown, not of kinghood, but of glory and immortality. The golden crown (ste>fanov) of
the Son of Man (chapter 14:14) is the conqueror's crown.

It must be frankly admitted, however, that the somewhat doubtful meaning here, and such passages of the Septuagint as 2 Samuel 12:30; 1 Chronicles 20:2; Psalms
20:3; Ezekiel 21:26; Zechariah 6:11,14 give some warrant for the remark of Professor Thayer ("New Testament Lexicon") that it is doubtful whether the distinction
between ste>fanov and dia>dhma (the victor's wreath and the kingly crown) was strictly observed in Hellenistic Greek. The crown of thorns (ste>fanov) placed on our
Lord's head, was indeed woven, but it was the caricature of a royal crown.

5. Proceeded (ejkporeu>ontai). Rev., proceed. The tense is graphically changed to the present.

Lightnings and thunderings and voices. Compare Exodus 19:16. Variously interpreted of God's might, His judgment, His power over nature, and His indignation against
the wicked.

Lamps (lampa>dev). The origin of our lamp, but, properly, a torch; the word for lamp being lu>cnov, a hand-lamp filled with oil (Matthew 5:15; Luke 8:16; John
5:35). See on Matthew 25:1. Trench says: "The true Hindoo way of lighting up, is by torches, held by men who feed the flame with oil from a sort of bottle constructed
for the purpose."

Seven Spirits of God. See on Revelation 1:4.

6. Of glass (uJali>nh). Rev., glassy, which describes the appearance not the material. The adjective, and the kindred noun u[alov glass occur only in Revelation. The
etymology is uncertain; some maintaining an Egyptian origin, and others referring it to the Greek u[w to rain, with the original signification of rain-drop. Originally, some
kind of clear, transparent stone. Herodotus says that the Ethiopians place their dead bodies "in a crystal pillar which has been hollowed out to receive them, crystal
being dug up in great abundance in their country, and of a kind very easy to work. You may see the corpse through the pillar within which it lies; and it neither gives out
any unpleasant odor, nor is it in any respect unseemly: yet there is no part that is not as plainly visible as if the body were bare" (Revelation 3:24). Glass is known to
have been made in Egypt at least 3,800 years ago. The monuments show that the same glass bottles were used then as in later times; and glass blowing is represented
in the paintings in the tombs. The Egyptians possessed the art of coloring it, and of introducing gold between two layers of glass. The ruins of glass-furnaces are still to
be seen at the Natron Lakes. The glass of Egypt was long famous. It was much used at Rome for ornamental purposes, and a glass window has been discovered at
Pompeii: Pliny speaks of glass being malleable.

Crystal. Compare Ezekiel 1:22; Job 37:18; Exodus 24:10. The word is used in classical Greek for ice. Thucydides, describing the attempt of the Plataeans to break out
from their city when besieged by the Peloponnesians and Boeotians, relates their climbing over the wall and crossing the ditch, but only after a hard struggle; "for the ice
(kru>stallov) in it was not frozen hard enough to bear" (iii., 23). Crystal, regarded as a mineral, was originally held to be only pure water congealed, by great length of
time, into ice harder than common. Hence it was believed that it could be produced only in regions of perpetual ice.
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In the midst of - round about. Commonly explained as one in the midst of each of the four sides of the throne. "At the extremities of two diameters passing through the
center of the round throne" (Milligan).
Crystal. Compare Ezekiel 1:22; Job 37:18; Exodus 24:10. The word is used in classical Greek for ice. Thucydides, describing the attempt of the Plataeans to break out
from their city when besieged by the Peloponnesians and Boeotians, relates their climbing over the wall and crossing the ditch, but only after a hard struggle; "for the ice
(kru>stallov) in it was not frozen hard enough to bear" (iii., 23). Crystal, regarded as a mineral, was originally held to be only pure water congealed, by great length of
time, into ice harder than common. Hence it was believed that it could be produced only in regions of perpetual ice.

In the midst of - round about. Commonly explained as one in the midst of each of the four sides of the throne. "At the extremities of two diameters passing through the
center of the round throne" (Milligan).

Beasts (zw~a). Rev., living creatures. Alford aptly remarks that beasts is the most unfortunate word that could be imagined. Beast is qhri>on. Zw~on emphasizes the
vital element, qhri>on the bestial.

Full of eyes before and behind. The four living beings are mainly identical with the cherubim of Ezekiel 1:5-10; 10:5-20; Isaiah 6:2, 3; though with some differences of
detail. For instance, Ezekiel's cherubim have four wings, while the six described here belong to the seraphim of Isaiah. So also the Trisagion (thrice holy) is from Isaiah.
In Ezekiel's vision each living being has all four faces, whereas here, each of the four has one.

"There came close after them four animals,

Incoronate each one with verdant leaf,

Plumed with six wings was every one of them,

The plumage full of eyes; the eyes of Argus

If they were living would be such as these.

Reader I to trace their forms no more I waste

My rhymes; for other spendings press me so,

That I in this cannot be prodigal.

But read Ezekiel who depicteth them

As he beheld them from the region cold

Coming with cloud, with whirlwind, and with fire;

And such as thou shalt find them in his pages,

Such were they here; saving that in their plumage

John is with me, and differeth from him."

Dante, "Purgatorio," xxix., 92-105.

7. Lion, calf, man, eagle. From this passage is derived the familiar symbolism of the four Evangelists; Mark seated on a lion, Luke on a steer, Matthew on a man, and
John on an eagle. These are varied however. Irenaeus attributes the lion to John, and the eagle to Mark. Augustine the lion to Matthew, the man to Mark.

Lion. See on 1 Peter 5:8.

Calf (mo>scw|). Compare Luke 15:23. In the Septuagint for an ox or steer. Exodus 22:1; Ezekiel 1:10.

Eagle (ajetw~|). See on Matthew 24:28.

8. Had (ei+con). The best texts read e]cwn having, the participle in the singular number agreeing with each one.

Each of them (e[n kaq' eJauto). Lit., one by himself. The best texts read e[n kaq' e[n one by one or every one. Compare Mark 14:19.

Six wings. Compare Isaiah 6:2. Dante pictures his Lucifer, who is the incarnation of demoniac animalism, with three heads and six wings.

"Underneath each came forth two mighty wrings,

Such as befitting were so great a bird;

Sails of the sea I never saw so large.

No feathers had they, but as of a bat

Their fashion was; and he was waving them,

so that three winds proceeded forth therefrom.

Thereby Cocytus wholly was congealed."

"Inferno," xxxiv., 46-52.

Dean Plumptre remarks that the six wings seem the only survival of the higher than angelic state from which Lucifer had fallen.
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About him (kuklo>qen). The best texts place the comma after e[x six instead of after kuklo>qen around, and connect kuklo>qen with the succeeding clause, rendering,
are full of eyes round about and within. So Rev.
"Inferno," xxxiv., 46-52.

Dean Plumptre remarks that the six wings seem the only survival of the higher than angelic state from which Lucifer had fallen.

About him (kuklo>qen). The best texts place the comma after e[x six instead of after kuklo>qen around, and connect kuklo>qen with the succeeding clause, rendering,
are full of eyes round about and within. So Rev.

They were full (ge>monta). Read ge>mousin are full.

Round about and within. Around and inside each wing, and on the part of the body beneath it.

They rest not (ajna>pausin oujk e]cousin). Lit., they have no rest. So Rev. See on give rest, Matthew 11:28; and resteth, 1 Peter 4:14.

Holy, etc. Compare Isaiah 6:3 which is the original of the formula known as the Trisagion (thrice holy), used in the ancient liturgies. In the Apostolic Constitutions it
runs: "Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory, who art blessed forever, Amen." Afterwards it was sung in the form "Holy God, holy
Mighty, holy Immortal, have mercy upon us." So in the Alexandrian liturgy, or liturgy of St. Mark. Priest. "To Thee we send up glory and giving of thanks, and the hymn
of the Trisagion, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, now and ever and to ages of ages. People. Amen! Holy God, holy Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us." In
the liturgy of Chrysostom the choir sing the Trisagion five times, and in the meantime the priest says secretly the prayer of the Trisagion. "God which art holy and restest
in the holies, who art hymned with the voice of the Trisagion by the Seraphim, and glorified by the Cherubim, and adored by all the heavenly powers! Thou who didst
from nothing call all things into being; who didst make man after Thine image and likeness, and didst adorn him with all Thy graces; who givest to him that seeketh
wisdom and understanding, and passest not by the sinner, but dost give repentance unto salvation; who has vouchsafed that we, Thy humble and unworthy servants,
should stand, even at this time, before the glory of Thy holy altar, and should pay to Thee the worship and praise that is meet; - receive, Lord, out of the mouth of
sinners, the hymn of the Trisagion, and visit us in Thy goodness. Forgive us every offense, voluntary and involuntary. Sanctify our souls and bodies, and grant that we
may serve Thee in holiness all the days of our life; through the intercession of the holy Mother of God, and all the saints who have pleased Thee since the beginning of
the world. (Aloud.) For holy art Thou, one God and to Thee."

According to an unreliable tradition this formula was received during an earthquake at Constantinople, in the reign of Theodosius II., through a boy who was caught up
into the sky and heard it from the angels. The earliest testimonies to the existence of, the Trisagion date from the fifth century or the latter part of the fourth. Later, the
words were added, "that was crucified for us," in order to oppose the heresy of the Theopaschites (Qeo>v God, pa>scw to suffer) who held that God had suffered
and been crucified. To this was added later the words "Christ our king:" the whole reading, "Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Immortal, Christ our king that was crucified
for us, have mercy on us." The formula thus entered into the controversy with the Monophysites, who claimed that Christ had but one composite nature. Dante
introduces it into his "Paradiso."

"The One and Two and Three who ever liveth

And reigneth ever in Three and Two and One,

Not circumscribed and all things circumscribing,

Three several times was chanted by each one

Among those spirits, with such melody

That for all merit it were just reward."

"Paradiso," xiv., 28-33.

"When I was silent, sweetest song did flow

Through all the heaven, and my lady too

With them cried holy, holy, holy! "

"Paradiso," xxvi., 67-69.

The interpretations of the symbols of the four living creatures are, of course, numerous and varied. Some of them are: the four Evangelists or Gospels; the four elements;
the four cardinal virtues; the four faculties or powers of the human soul; the Lord in the fourfold great events of redemption; the four patriarchal churches; the four great
apostles, the doctors of the Church; the four principal angels, etc. The best modern interpreters explain the four forms as representing animated nature - "man with his
train of dependent beings brought near to God, and made partakers of redemption, thus fulfilling the language of St. Paul, that 'the creation itself also shall be delivered
from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God'" (Romans 8:21; Milligan). D wsays: "The essential idea which is symbolized in the
figures of the four living creatures may be expressed in such words as those of Psalms 103:22." Full of eyes, they are ever on the alert to perceive the manifestations of
divine glory. Covering their faces and feet with their wings (Isaiah 6:2), they manifest their reverence and humility. Flying, they are prompt for ministry. "We thus have
the throne of God surrounded by His Church and His animated world; the former represented by the twenty-four elders, the latter by the four living beings" (Alford).

Which is to come (oJ ejrco>menov). Lit., which cometh or is coming.

9. When (o[tan). Whensoever, implying, with the future tense, the eternal repetition of the act of praise.

Give (dw>sousin). Lit., as Rev., shall give.

10. Cast (ba>llousin). Read balou~sin shall cast. The casting of the crowns is an act of submission and homage. Cicero relates that when Tigranes the king of the
Armenians was brought to Pompey's camp as a captive, prostrating himself abjectly, Pompey "raised him up, and replaced on his head the diadem which he had
thrown down" (Oration "Pro Sestio," xxvii.). Tacitus gives an account of the public homage paid by the Parthian Tiridates to the statue of Nero. "A tribunal placed in
the center, supported a chair of state on which the statue of Nero rested. Tiridates approached, and having immolated the victims in due form, he lifted the diadem from
his head and laid it at the feet of the statue, while every heart throbbed with intense emotion" ("Annals," xv., 29).

11. O Lord (ku>rie). Read oJ ku>riov kai our Lord and our God. So Rev. See on Matthew 21:3.
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To receive (labei~n). Or perhaps, better, to take, since the glory, honor, and power are the absolute possession of the Almighty. See on John 3:32.
his head and laid it at the feet of the statue, while every heart throbbed with intense emotion" ("Annals," xv., 29).

11. O Lord (ku>rie). Read oJ ku>riov kai our Lord and our God. So Rev. See on Matthew 21:3.

To receive (labei~n). Or perhaps, better, to take, since the glory, honor, and power are the absolute possession of the Almighty. See on John 3:32.

Power. Instead of the thanks in the ascription of the living creatures. In the excess of gratitude, self is forgotten. Their thanksgiving is a tribute to the creative power
which called them into being. Note the articles, "the glory," etc. (so Rev.), expressing the absoluteness and universality of these attributes. See on Revelation 1:6.

All things (tanta). With the article signifying the universe.

For thy pleasure (dialhma sou). Lit., because of thy will. So Rev. Alford justly remarks: "For thy pleasure of the A.V. introduces An element entirely strange to the
context, and, however true in fact, most inappropriate here, where the o[ti for renders a reason for the worthiness to take honor and glory and power."

They are (eijsi). Read h+san they were. One of the great MSS., B, reads oujk h+san they were not; i.e., they were created out of nothing. The were is not came into
being, but simply they existed. See on John 1:3; 7:34; 8:58. Some explain, they existed in contrast with their previous non-existence; in which case it would seem that
the order of the two clauses should have been reversed; besides which it is not John's habit to apply this verb to temporary and passing objects. Professor Milligan
refers it to the eternal type existing in the divine mind before anything was created, and in conformity with which it was made when the moment of creation arrived.
Compare Hebrews 8:5. "Was the heaven then or the world, whether called by this or any other more acceptable name - assuming the name, I am asking a question
which has to be asked at the beginning of every inquiry - was the world, I say, always in existence and without beginning, or created and having a beginning? Created, I
reply, being visible and tangible and having a body, and therefore sensible; and all sensible things which are apprehended by opinion and sense are in a process of
creation and created. Now that which is created must of necessity be created by a cause. But how can we find out the father and maker of all this universe? And when
we have found him, to speak of his nature to all men is impossible. Yet one more question has to be asked about him, which of the patterns had the artificer in view
when he made the world? - the pattern which is unchangeable, or that which is created? If the world be indeed fair and the artificer good, then, as is plain, he must have
looked to that which is eternal. But if what cannot be said without blasphemy is true, then he looked to the created pattern. Every one will see that he must have looked
to the eternal, for the world is the fairest of creations and he is the best of causes "(Plato, "Timaeus," 28, 29).

CHAPTER 5

1. In (ejpi>). Lit., on. The book or roll lay upon the open hand.

A Book (bibli>on). See on Matthew 19:7; Mark 10:4; Luke 4:17. Compare Ezekiel 2:9; Jeremiah 36:2; Zechariah 5:1, 2.

Within and on the back side (e]swqen kai). Compare Ezekiel 2:10. Indicating the completeness of the divine counsels contained in the book. Rolls written on both sides
were called opistographi. Pliny the younger says that his uncle, the elder Pliny, left him an hundred and sixty commentaries, most minutely written, and written on the
back, by which this number is multiplied. Juvenal, inveighing against the poetasters who are declaiming their rubbish on all sides, says: "Shall that one then have recited
to me his comedies, and this his elegies with impunity? Shall huge 'Telephus' with impunity have consumed a whole day; or - with the margin to the end of the book
already filled 'Orestes,' written on the very back, and yet not concluded? "(i., 3~6).

Sealed (katesfragisme>non). Only here in the New Testament. The preposition kata> denotes sealed down. So Rev., close sealed. The roll is wound round a staff and
fastened down to it with the seven seals. The unrolling of the parchment is nowhere indicated in the vision. Commentators have puzzled themselves to explain the
arrangement of the seals, so as to admit of the unrolling of a portion with the opening of each seal. D wremarks that, With an incomparably more beautiful and powerful
representation, the contents of the roll are successively symbolized by the vision which follows upon the opening of each seal. "The contents of the book leap forth in
plastic symbols from the loosened seal." Milligan explains the seven seals as one seal, comparing the seven churches and the seven spirits as signifying one church and
one spirit, and doubts if the number seven has here any mystical meaning. Others, as Alford, claim that the completeness of the divine purposes is indicated by the
perfect number seven.

2. Strong. Either as being of higher rank, or with reference to the great voice.

Worthy (a]xiov). As in John 1:27. Morally entitled.

3. Under the earth. In Hades.

To look (ble>pein). See on John 1:29. To take a single look at the contents.

4. I wept (e]klaion). Audible weeping. See on Luke 6:21.

5. Of the elders (ejk tw~n presbute>rwn). Strictly, from among the elders.

The Lion. See Genesis 49:9.

The Root of David. See on Nazarene, Matthew 2:23.

Hath prevailed (ejni>khsen). Or overcame.

To loose. Omit.

6. And lo! Omit.

In the midst of. Not on the throne, but perhaps in the space in the center of which is the throne, and which is surrounded by the twenty-four elders.

A Lamb (ajrni>on). The diminutive, very frequent in Revelation, and once in the Gospel of John 21:15. Nowhere else in the New Testament. Compare Isaiah 53:7;
John 1:29, 36. Christ had just been spoken of as a lion. He now appears as a lamb. Some interpreters emphasize the idea of gentleness, others that of sacrifice.

Slain (ejsfagme>non). The verb indicates violence, butchery. See on 1 John 3:12. It is also the sacrificial word. Exodus 12:6.

Stood (eJsthko).
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                                       standing. Though slaughtered the lamb stands. Christ, though slain, is risen and living.
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Seven horns and seven eyes. See remarks on the Apocalyptic imagery, Revelation 1:16. The horn is the emblem of might. See 1 Samuel 2:10; 1 Kings 22:11; Psalms
112:9; Daniel 7:7, 20 sqq.; Luke 1:69. Compare Matthew 28:18. The eyes represent the discerning Spirit of God in its operation upon all created things.
John 1:29, 36. Christ had just been spoken of as a lion. He now appears as a lamb. Some interpreters emphasize the idea of gentleness, others that of sacrifice.

Slain (ejsfagme>non). The verb indicates violence, butchery. See on 1 John 3:12. It is also the sacrificial word. Exodus 12:6.

Stood (eJsthko). Rev., more correctly, standing. Though slaughtered the lamb stands. Christ, though slain, is risen and living.

Seven horns and seven eyes. See remarks on the Apocalyptic imagery, Revelation 1:16. The horn is the emblem of might. See 1 Samuel 2:10; 1 Kings 22:11; Psalms
112:9; Daniel 7:7, 20 sqq.; Luke 1:69. Compare Matthew 28:18. The eyes represent the discerning Spirit of God in its operation upon all created things.

Sent forth (ajpestalme>na). See on Mark 3:14.

7. Took (ei]lhfen). Lit., hath taken. The perfect, alternating with the aorist, is graphic.

8. Had taken (e]laben). Lit., took. The aorist is resumed.

Every one of them harps (e[kastov kiqa>rav). Rev., less clumsily, having each one a harp. Each one, that is, of the elders. Kiqa>ra harp signifies an instrument unlike
our harp as ordinarily constructed. Rather a lute or guitar, to which latter word kithara is etymologically related. Anciently of a triangular shape, with seven strings,
afterwards increased to eleven. Josephus says it had ten, and was played with a plectrum or small piece of ivory.

Vials (fia>lav). Only in Revelation. The word vial, used commonly of a small bottle, gives a wrong picture here. The fia>lh was a broad, flat vessel, used for boiling
liquids, sometimes as a cinerary urn, and for drinking, or pouring libations. Also of the shallow cup, usually without a foot, in which libations were drawn out of the
mixer. Herodotus says that at Plataea the Spartan Helots were bidden by Pausanias to bring together the booty of the Persian camp, and that they found "many golden
mixers and bowls (fia>lav), and other ejkpw>mata (drinking-vessels)" (ix., 30). From its broad, flat shape ]Areov fia>lh bowl of Mars was a comic metaphor for a
shield. It was also used for sunken work in a ceiling. In the Septuagint the word is frequently used for bowls or basons. See Numbers 7:13, 19, 25, 31, 37, 43 etc.; 1
Kings 7:50; Zechariah 9:15. Here, censers, though several different words of the Septuagint and New Testament are rendered censer; as qui`>skh, 1 Kings 7:50;
qumiath>rion, 2 Chronicles 26:19; Ezekiel 8:11; Hebrews 9:4; libanwto Revelation 8:3. Qui>`skh however is the golden incense-cup or spoon to receive the
frankincense which was lighted with coals from the brazen altar, and offered on the golden altar before the veil. The imagery is from the tabernacle and temple service.

Incense (qumiama>twn). The directions for the composition of the incense for the tabernacle-worship, are given Exodus 30:37, 38.

Prayers. For incense as the symbol of prayer, see Leviticus 16:12,13; Psalms 141:2. See on Luke 1:9. Edersheim, describing the offering of incense in the temple, says:
"As the President gave the word of command which marked that 'the time of incense had come,' the whole multitude of the people without withdrew from the inner
court and fell down before the Lord, spreading their hands in silent prayer. It is this most solemn period, when, throughout the vast temple-buildings, deep silence rested
on the worshipping multitude, while within the sanctuary itself the priest laid the incense on the golden altar, and the cloud of odors rose up before the Lord, which
serves as the image of heavenly things in Revelation (8:1, 3, 4). The prayers offered by priests and people at this part of the service are recorded by tradition as follows:
'True it is that Thou art Jehovah, our God and the God of our fathers; our King and the King of our fathers; our Savior and the Rock of our salvation; our Help and our
Deliverer. Thy name is from everlasting, and there is no God beside Thee. A new song did they that were delivered sing to Thy name by the seashore. Together did all
praise and own Thee as King, and say, 'Jehovah shall reign who saveth Israel.'" Compare "the Song of Moses," Revelation 15:3, and "a new song," verse 9.

9. They sing. Present tense, denoting the continuous, unceasing worship of heaven, or possibly, as describing their "office generally rather than the mere one particular
case of its exercise" (Alford).

Redeem (hjgo>rasav). Lit., purchase, as Rev. See John 4:8; 6:5.

Us. Omit us and supply men, as Rev.

With Thy blood (ejn tw~| ai[mati> sou). Lit., "in Thy blood." The preposition in is used Hebraistically of the price; the value of the thing purchased being contained in
the price.

Kindred (fulh~v). Rev., tribe. Often in the New Testament of the twelve tribes of Israel.

People, nation (laou~, e]qnouv). See on 1 Peter 2:9.

10. Us (hJma~v). Read aujtou them.

Kings (basilei~v). Read, basilei>an a kingdom. See on Revelation 1:6.

We shall reign (basileu>somen). Read basileu>ousin they reign. Their reigning is not future, but present.

11. Ten thousand times ten thousand (muri>adev muri>adwn). Lit., ten thousands of ten thousands. Compare Psalms 68:17; Daniel 8:10. Muria>v, whence the English
myriad, means the number ten thousand. So, literally, Acts 19:19ajrguri>ou muria>dav pe>nte fifty-thousand pieces of silver; lit., five ten-thousands. In the plural used
for an unlimited number. See Luke 12:1; Acts 21:20; Hebrews 12:22; Jude 1:14.

Thousands (cilia>dev). Cilia>v, a collective term like, muria>v, meaning the number one thousand, is almost invariably used with men in Revelation. See Revelation 7:4;
11:13. Only once with a material object (Revelation 21:16). With inferior objects ci>lioi a thousand is used. See Revelation 11:3; 12:6. These words are the theme of
Alford's noble hymn

"Ten thousand times ten thousand

In sparkling raiment bright,

The armies of the ransomed saints

Throng up the steeps of light:

'Tis finished, all is finished,

Their fight with
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Fling open wide the golden gates,
Throng up the steeps of light:

'Tis finished, all is finished,

Their fight with death and sin;

Fling open wide the golden gates,

And let the victors in."

12. Power, etc. Rev., "the power." Compare the ascription in Revelation 4:11, on which see note, and notice that each separate particular there has the article, while
here it is attached only to the first, the power, the one article including all the particulars, as if they formed but one word. On the doxologies, see on Revelation 1:6.

Riches (plou~ton). Not limited to spiritual riches, but denoting the fulness of every gift of God. James 1:17; Acts 17:25. Only here in a doxology.

Blessing (eujlogi>an). See on the kindred word eujloghto blessed, I Peter 1:3.

13. Creature (kti>sma). See 1 Timothy 4:4; James 1:18. From kti>zw to found. A thing founded or created Rev., created thing. See on John 1:3.

In the sea (ejpisshv). More accurately, "on the sea," as Rev. Not ships, but creatures of the sea which have come up from its depths to the surface.

Blessing (hJ eujlogi>a). Rev. rightly "the blessing." All the particulars of the following ascription have the article.

Honor (timh>). Originally a valuing by which the price is fixed, hence the price itself, the thing priced, and so, generally, honor. See on Acts 28:10.

Power (totov). Rev., the dominion. For the different words for power, see on 2 Peter 2:11.

14. Four and twenty. Omit.

Worshipped. In silent adoration.

Him that liveth forever and ever. Omit.

CHAPTER 6

1. Of the seals. Add seven.

And see. Omit.

2. White horse. For white, see on Luke 19:29. Horse, see Zechariah 1:7-11; 6:1-8. All the figures of this verse are those of victory. The horse in the Old Testament is
the emblem of war. See Job 39:25; Psalms 76:6; Proverbs 21:31; Ezekiel 26:10. So Virgil:

"But I beheld upon the grass four horses, snowy white,

Grazing the meadows far and wide, first omen of my sight.

Father Anchises seeth, and saith: 'New land and bear'st thou war?

For war are horses dight; so these war-threatening herd-beasts are.'"

"Aeneid," iii., 537.

So Turnus, going forth to battle:

"He spake, and to the roofed place now swiftly wending home,

Called for his steeds, and merrily stood there before their foam

E'en those that Orithyia gave Pilumnus, gift most fair,

Whose whiteness overpassed the snow, whose speed the winged air."

"Aeneid," xii., 81-83.

Homer pictures the horses of Rhesus as whiter than snow, and swift as the winds ("Iliad," x., 436, 437); and Herodotus, describing the battle of Plataea says: "The fight
went most against the Greeks where Mardonius, mounted on a white horse, and surrounded by the bravest of all the Persians, the thousand picked men, fought in
person" (ix., 63). The horses of the Roman generals in their triumphs were white.

Bow (to>xon). See Psalms 45:4, 5; Hebrews 3:8, 9; Isaiah 41:2; Zechariah 9:13,14 in which last passage the figure is that of a great bow which is drawn only by a
great exertion of strength, and by placing the foot upon it. Compare Homer's picture of Telemachus' attempt to draw Ulysses' bow:

"And then he took his place

Upon the threshold, and essayed the bow;

And thrice he made the attempt and thrice gave o'er."

"Odyssey," xxi.,2005-2009,
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The suitors propose to anoint the bow with fat in order to soften it.
Upon the threshold, and essayed the bow;

And thrice he made the attempt and thrice gave o'er."

"Odyssey," xxi., 124~25.

The suitors propose to anoint the bow with fat in order to soften it.

"Bring us from within

An ample roll of fat, that we young men

By warming and anointing may make soft

The bow, and draw the cord and end the strife."

"Odyssey," xxi., 178-80.

A crown (ste>fanov). See on chapter 4:4.

3. And see. Omit.

Had opened (h]noixen). Rev., rendering the aorist mow literally, opened.

4. Red (purjrJo>v). From pu~r fire. Flame-colored. Compare 2 Kings 3:22; Zechariah 1:8. Only here and Revelation 12:3.

To take peace from the earth. Compare Matthew 10:34; 24:7.

Kill (sfa>xwsin). See on Revelation 5:6.

Sword (ma>caira). Compare Matthew 10:34. In Homer, a large knife or dirk, worn next the sword-sheath, and used to slaughter animals for sacrifice. Thus, "The son
of Atreus, having drawn with his hands the knife (ma>cairan) which hung ever by the great sheath of his sword, cut the hair from the heads of the lambs.... He spake,
and cut the lambs' throats with the pitiless brass" ("Iliad," iii., 271-292). It is used by the surgeon Machaon to cut out an arrow ("Iliad," xi., 844). Herodotus,
Aristophanes, and Euripides use the word in the sense of a knife for cutting up meat. Plato, of a knife for pruning trees. As a weapon it appears first in Herodotus:
"Here they (the Greeks) defended themselves to the last, such as still had swords, using them (vii., 225) Later of the sabre or bent sword, contrasted with the xi>fov or
straight sword. Aristophanes uses it with the adjective mia~| single, for a razor, contrasted with ma>caira diplh~, the double knife or scissors. This and rJomfai>a (see
on Luke 2:35) are the only words used in the New Testament for sword. Qi>fov (see above) does not occur. In Septuagint ma>caira of the knife of sacrifice used by
Abraham (Genesis 22:6,10).

5. Come and see. Omit and see.

Black. The color of mourning and famine. See Jeremiah 4:28; 8:21; Malachi 3:14 where mournfully is, literally, in black.

Pair of balances (zugo). Rev., a balance. Properly, anything which joins two bodies; hence a yoke (Matthew 11:29; Acts 15:10). The cross-beam of the loom, to
which the warp was fixed; the thwarts joining the opposite sides of a ship; the beam of the balance, and hence the balance itself. The judgment of this seal is scarcity, of
which the balance is a symbol, representing the time when food is doled out by weight. See Leviticus 26:26; Ezekiel 4:16.

6. Measure (coi~nix). Choenix. Only here in the New Testament. A dry measure, according to some, a quart; to others a pint and a half. Herodotus, speaking of the
provisions for Xerxes' army, assigns a choenix of corn for a man's daily supply, evidently meaning a minimum allowance (vii., 187); and Thucydides, speaking of the
terms of truce between the Lacedaemonians and the Athenians, mentions the following as one of the provisions: "The Athenians shall permit the Lacedaemonians on the
mainland to send to those on the island a fixed quantity of kneaded flour, viz., two Attic quarts (coi>nikav) of barley-meal for each man" (iv., 16). Jowett
("Thucydides") says that the choenix was about two pints dry measure. So Arnold ("Thucydides"), who adds that the allowance of two choenixes of barley-meal daily
to a man was the ordinary allowance of a Spartan at the public table. See Herodotus, vi., 57.

For a penny (dhnari>ou). See on Matthew 20:2.

8. Pale (clwro). Only in Revelation, except Mark 6:39. Properly, greenish-yellow, like young grass or unripe wheat. Homer applies it to honey, and Sophocles to the
sand. Generally, pale, pallid. Used of a mist, of sea-water, of a pale or bilious complexion. Thucydides uses it of the appearance of persons stricken with the plague (ii.,
49). In Homer it is used of the paleness of the face from fear, and so as directly descriptive of fear ("Iliad," x., 376; xv., 4). Of olive wood ("Odyssey," ix., 320, 379) of
which the bark is gray. Gladstone says that in Homer it indicates rather the absence than the presence of definite color. In the New Testament, always rendered green,
except here. See Mark 6:39; Revelation 8:7; 9:14.

Hell. Properly, Hades. The realm of the dead personified, See on Matthew 16:18.

Power (ejxousi>a). See on Mark 2:10; 2 Peter 2:11. Rev., better, authority.

With the sword (ejn rJomfai>a|). Another word for sword. Compare verse 4, and see on Luke 2:35.

With death (eji qana>tw|). Or pestilence. The Hebrew deber, pestilence, is rendered by the Greek word for death in the Septuagint. See Jeremiah 14:12; 21:7.
Compare the term black-death applied to an Oriental plague which raged in the fourteenth century.

With the beasts (uJpown). Rev., by. The preposition uJpo> by is used here instead of ejn in or with, indicating more definitely the actual agent of destruction; while ejn
denotes the element in which the destruction takes place, and gives a general indication of the manner in which it was wrought. With these four judgments compare
Ezekiel 14:21.

9. Altar (qusiasthri>ou). See on Acts 17:23. The altar of sacrifice, as is indicated by slain; not the altar of incense. The imagery is from the tabernacle. Exodus 39:39;
40:29.
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Souls (yuca). Or lives. See on 3 John 1:2. He saw only blood, but blood and life were equivalent terms to the Hebrew.

Slain (ejsfagme>nwn). See on Revelation 5:6. The law commanded that the blood of sacrificed animals should be poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering
Ezekiel 14:21.

9. Altar (qusiasthri>ou). See on Acts 17:23. The altar of sacrifice, as is indicated by slain; not the altar of incense. The imagery is from the tabernacle. Exodus 39:39;
40:29.

Souls (yuca). Or lives. See on 3 John 1:2. He saw only blood, but blood and life were equivalent terms to the Hebrew.

Slain (ejsfagme>nwn). See on Revelation 5:6. The law commanded that the blood of sacrificed animals should be poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering
(Leviticus 4:7).

They held (ei+con). Not held fast, but bore the testimony which was committed to them.

10. They cried (e]krazon). See on Mark 5:5.

How long (e[wv po>te). Lit., until when. Compare Zechariah 1:12.

O Lord (oJ despo>thv). See on 2 Peter 2:1. Only here in Revelation. Addressed to God rather than to Christ, and breathing, as Professor Milligan remarks, "the
feeling of Old Testament rather than of New Testament relation." Compare Acts 4:24; Jude 1:4.

True (ajlhqino). See on John 1:9; Revelation 3:7.

Judge (kri>neiv). Originally the verb means to separate; thence the idea of selection: to pick out, and so to discriminate or judge.

Avenge (ejkdikei~v). Compare Luke 18:3; Romans 12:19.

On the earth (ejpi). Earth, in Revelation, is generally to be understood of the ungodly earth.

11. White robes were given unto every one of them (ejdo>qhsan eJka>stoiv stolai). The best texts read ejdo>qh aujtoi~v eJka>stw| stolh there was given them to each
one a white robe. So Rev. Stolh is properly a long, flowing robe; a festive garment. Compare Mark 16:5; Luke 15:22; 20:46.

Should rest (ajnapau>swntai). See on Matthew 11:28; 1 Peter 5:14; compare Revelation 14:13; Daniel 12:13. Not merely rest from their crying for vengeance, but rest
in peace.

Fellow-servants. See Master in verse 10.

Should be fulfilled (plhrw>sontai). Completed in number. See Colossians 2:10. Some texts read plhrw>swsin shall have fulfilled their course.

12. The sixth seal. "The Apocalypse is molded by the great discourse of our Lord upon 'the last things' which has been preserved for us in the first three Gospels
(Matthew 24:4; 25.; Mark 13:5-37; Luke 21:8-36; compare 17:20-37). The parallelism between the two is, to a certain extent, acknowledged by all inquirers, and is
indeed, in many respects, so obvious, that it can hardly escape the notice of even the ordinary reader. Let any one compare, for example, the account of the opening of
the sixth seal with the description of the end (Matthew 24:29, 30), and he will see that the one is almost a transcript of the other. It is remarkable that we find no
account of this discourse in the Gospel of St. John; nor does it seem as sufficient explanation of the omission that the later Evangelist was satisfied with the records of
the discourse already given by his predecessors" (Milligan).

Earthquake (seismo). Lit., shaking. Used also of a tempest. See on Matthew 8:24 and compare Matthew 24:7. The word here is not necessarily confined to shaking
the earth. In Matthew 24:29 it is predicted that the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (saleuqh>sontai, see on Luke 21:26). Here also the heaven is removed
(verse 14). Compare Hebrews 12:26 where the verb sei>w to shake (kindred with seismo) is used.

Black as sackcloth of hair (me>lav wJv sa>kkov). Compare Matthew 24:29; Isaiah 50:3; 13:10; Jeremiah 4:23; Ezekiel 32:7, 8; Joel 2:31; 3:15; Amos 8:9, 10; Micah
3:6. For sackcloth, see on Luke 10:13.

The moon (hJ selh>nh). Add o[lh whole. Rev., the whole moon.

13. Untimely figs (ojlu>nqouv). Better, as Rev., unripe. Compare Matthew 24:32; Isaiah 34:4. Only here in the New Testament.

14. Departed (ajpecwrisqh). The verb means to separate, sever. Rev., was removed.

Scroll (bibli>on). See on Luke 4:17. Compare Isaiah 34:4.

Mountain and island. Compare Matthew 24:35; Nahum 1:5.

15. Of the earth. See on verse 10.

Great men (megista~nev). Rev., princes. See on high captains, Mark 6:21

Chief captains (cili>arcoi). See on Mark 6:21 and on centurion, Luke 7:2.

The mighty (oiJ dunatoi). The best texts read oiJ ijscuroi Rev., the strong. For the difference in meaning, see on the kindred words du>namiv and ijscu>v might and
power, 2 Peter 2:11.

Every free man. Omit every, and read as Rev., every bondman and free man.

In the dens (eijv talaia). Rev., caves. The preposition eijv into implies running for shelter into.

Rocks (pe>trav). See on Matthew 16:18.

16. Said (le>gousin). Lit., say. So Rev.
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Fall on us. Compare Hosea 10:8; Luke 23:30.

Wrath (ojrgh~v). Denoting a deep-seated wrath. See on John 3:36.
Rocks (pe>trav). See on Matthew 16:18.

16. Said (le>gousin). Lit., say. So Rev.

Fall on us. Compare Hosea 10:8; Luke 23:30.

Wrath (ojrgh~v). Denoting a deep-seated wrath. See on John 3:36.

17. The great day (hJ hJme>ra hJ mega>lh). Lit., the day, the great (day). For the construction, see on 1 John 4:9.

Is come (h+lqen). Lit., came.

Shall be able to stand (du>natai staqh~nai). Rev., rightly, is able. Compare Nahum 1:6; Malachi 3:2.

CHAPTER 7

1. These things (tau~ta). Read tou~to this.

Holding (kratou~ntav). Holding fast or firmly. See on Mark 7:3; Acts 3:11.

2. East (ajnatolh~v hJli>ou). Rev., more literally, the sunrising. See on Matthew 2:2; Luke 1:78. Compare Ezekiel 43:2.

The four angels. Compare Matthew 24:31.

3. In their foreheads. Compare Exodus 28:3; 6-38; Ezekiel 9:4.

4. An hundred and forty and four thousand. Not literally, but the number symbolical of fixedness and full completion (12 x 12). The interpretations, as usual, vary
greatly, dividing generally into two great classes: one holding that only Jews are meant, the other including the whole number of the elect both Jew and Gentile. Of the
former class some regard the sealed as representing Jewish believers chosen out of the literal Israel. Others add to this the idea of these as forming the nucleus of
glorified humanity to which the Gentiles are joined. Others again regard them as Jews reserved by God until Antichrist comes, to maintain in the bosom of their nation a
true belief in Jehovah and His law, like the seven thousand in the days of Elijah.

The interpretation of the latter class seems entitled to the greater weight. According to the Apocalyptic usage, Jewish terms are "christianized and heightened in their
meaning, and the word "Israel" is to be understood of all Christians, the blessed company of all faithful people, the true Israel of God." See Romans 2:28, 29; 9:6, 7;
Galatians 6:16; Philippians 3:3. The city of God, which includes all believers, is designated by the Jewish name, New Jerusalem. In verse 3, the sealed are designated
generally as the servants of God. In Revelation 14 the one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed are mentioned after the description of the enemies of Christ, who
have reference to the whole Church of Christ; and the mention of the sealed is followed by the world-wide harvest and vintage of the earth. The one hundred and forty-
four thousand in Revelation 14., have the Father's name written in their foreheads; and in Revelation 22:4, all the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem are so marked. In
Revelation 21:12, the twelve tribes include all believers. The mark of Satan

which is in the forehead, is set upon all his servants without distinction of race. See Revelation 13:16, 17; 14:9; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4. The plagues threaten both Jews and
Gentiles, as the sealing protects all.

9. I saw. This vision belongs to heaven, while the sealing took place on earth.

Arrayed (peribeblhme>noi). See on Revelation 3:5.

Robes. See on Revelation 6:11.

"The ancient scriptures and the new

The mark establish, and this shows it me,

Of all the souls whom God hath made His friends.

Isaiah saith that each one garmented

In His own land shall be with twofold garments, 81

And his own land is this delightful life.

Thy brother, too, 82 far more explicitly,

There where he treateth of the robes of white,

This revelation manifests to us."

Dante, "Paradiso," xxv., 88-96.

Palms (foi>nikev). Properly, palm-trees, but used here of palm-branches. Not a heathen but a Jewish image drawn probably from the Feast of Tabernacles. See on
John 7:2.

10. Cried. The correct reading is kra>zousin they cry. So Rev.

Salvation. The praise of salvation, ascribing salvation to God.

11. Stood (eJsth>kesan). Rev., more correctly, were standing. The tense is the pluperfect, used in this verb as an imperfect.
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12. Blessing, etc. On the doxologies, see on Revelation 1:6.
Salvation. The praise of salvation, ascribing salvation to God.

11. Stood (eJsth>kesan). Rev., more correctly, were standing. The tense is the pluperfect, used in this verb as an imperfect.

12. Blessing, etc. On the doxologies, see on Revelation 1:6.

13. Answered. In the sense of taking up speech in connection with some given occasion, as Matthew 11:25. See also on John 2:18.

What are these, etc. The Rev., properly, follows the Greek order, which places first "These which are arrayed in the white robes, who are they?" emphatic and
indicating the natural order of the thought as it presents itself to the inquirer. For what, render who, as Rev.

14. I said (ei]rhka). Lit., I have said. Rev., renders by the present, I say. See on cried. John 1:15.

Sir (ku>rie). Add mou my, and render, as Rev., my Lord. An address of reverence as to a heavenly being. See on Matthew 21:3.

Which came (oiJ ejrco>menoi). The present participle. Hence, as Rev., which come.

Out of great tribulation (ejk th~v qli>yewv th~v mega>lhv). Lit., out of the tribulation, the great (tribulation). Rev., properly, gives the force of the article, "the great."
See on Matthew 13:21.

Have washed (e]plunan). The aorist tense. Rev., correctly, they washed. Only here and Luke 5:2 on which see note. For the New Testament words for washing, see
on Acts 16:33.

Made them white. Compare Isaiah 1:18; Psalms 51:7; Mark 9:3. Milligan remarks that robes are the expression of character, and compares the word habit used of
dress.

15. Therefore. Because of this washing.

Before the throne. Compare Ephesians 5:27.

Serve (latreu>ousin). See on Luke 1:74. In scripture the verb never expresses any other service but that of the true God, or of the gods of heathenism.

Temple (naw~|). Or sanctuary. See on Matthew 4:5.

Dwell (skhnw>sei). From skhnh> a tent or tabernacle. Hence better, as Rev., shall spread His tabernacle. See on John 1:14 and compare Leviticus 26:11; Isaiah 4:5,
6; Ezekiel 37:27.

16. They shall hunger no more, etc. Compare Isaiah 49:10.

Heat (kau~ma). In Isaiah 49:10 the word kau>swn the scorching wind or sirocco is used. See on Matthew 20:12; James 1:11.

17. In the midst (ajna> meson). See on Revelation 5:6.

Shall feed (poimanei~). See on shall be shepherd of, Matthew 2:6; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2. Compare Psalms 23:1.

Shall lead (oJdhgh>sei). See on Luke 6:39.

Living fountains of waters (zw>sav phgatwn). For the participle living, read zwh~v of life, and render as Rev., fountains of waters of life. Compare Psalms 23:2. In the
Greek order, of life stands first as emphatic.

All tears (pa~n da>kruon). Rev., correctly, every tear. (Compare Isaiah 25:8.

CHAPTER 8

1. When (o[te). Read o[tan, the indefinite particle with the indicative mood. For a similar construction, see Mark 11:19 (correct reading). Alford observes that it occurs
in the opening of this seal only, giving it an indefiniteness which does not belong to any of the rest.

There was (ejge>neto). More literally, come to pass. Rev., there followed.

About (wJv). A usual form of expression with John. See John 1:39; 6:19; 11:18.

2. Stood (eJsth>kasin). Rev., correctly, stand.

Trumpets (sa>lpiggev). See on Revelation 1:10.

3. At the altar (ejpirion). The best texts read qusiasthri>ou, which justifies the Rev., "over the altar." For altar, see on Revelation 6:9. Interpreters differ as to whether
the altar meant is the brazen altar, as in Revelation 6:9 or the altar of incense, as in Revelation 9:13. There seems to be no reason for changing the reference from the
brazen altar (see on Revelation 6:9), especially as both altars are mentioned in this verse. The officiating priest in the tabernacle or temple took the fire for his censer
from the brazen altar, and then offered the incense upon the golden altar.

Censer. See on Revelation 5:8.

Incense. See on Revelation 5:8.

Offer it with the prayers (dw>sh| tai~v proseucai~v). Lit., should give it unto the prayers. Rev., add it unto the prayers. So that the prayers and the incense might
ascend together. Proseuch> is always used of prayer to God.
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Golden altar. The altar of incense. Exodus 30:1-6; 39:38.

4. Which came with the prayers. An awkward rendering, followed by Rev., though with the omission of the italicized which came. The construction is ajne>bh went up,
Incense. See on Revelation 5:8.

Offer it with the prayers (dw>sh| tai~v proseucai~v). Lit., should give it unto the prayers. Rev., add it unto the prayers. So that the prayers and the incense might
ascend together. Proseuch> is always used of prayer to God.

Golden altar. The altar of incense. Exodus 30:1-6; 39:38.

4. Which came with the prayers. An awkward rendering, followed by Rev., though with the omission of the italicized which came. The construction is ajne>bh went up,
with the dative case, to the prayers. "The ascending smoke had reference to the prayers, was designed to accompany them and render them more acceptable" (Winer).

Of the saints (tw~n aJgi>wn). See on Acts 26:10.

5. Took (ei]lhfen). Lit., hath taken. So Rev., in margin.

With the fire (ejk tou~ puro). Lit., "from or out off the fire," i.e., the coals or hot ashes. For ejk out off see on chapter 2:7.

Cast it into the earth. See Ezekiel 10:2; Luke 12:49.

6. To sound (i[na salpi>swsin). Lit., that they should blow the trumpets. Raised their trumpets to their mouths in act to blow.

7. The first angel. Omit angel.

Hail and fire mingled with blood (ca>laza kaina ai[mati). Insert ejn in before ai[mati blood. Instead of "with blood" as A.V., and Rev., we should render "in blood." The
hailstones and fire-balls fell in a shower of blood. Compare the account of the plague of fire and hail in Egypt (Exodus 9:24) to which the reference is here, where the
Septuagint reads and there was hail and the fire flaming in the hail. Compare Joel 2:30.

And the third part of the earth was burnt up. This is added by the best texts.

Green (clwro). See on pale, Revelation 6:8.

8. As it were (wJv). Not a mountain, but a fiery mass so large as to resemble one.

Blood. Reminding of the first plague in Egypt (Exodus 7:20, 21).

9. Life (yuca). See on 3 John 1:2.

Ships (ploi>wn). See on Luke 5:2.

10. Lamp (lampa). Rev., torch. See on chapter 4:5.

11. Wormwood (a]yinqov). Used metaphorically in the Old Testament of the idolatry of Israel (Deuteronomy 29:18); of calamity and sorrow (Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15;
Lamentations 3:15, 19); of false judgment (Amos 5:7).

13. An angel (eJnolou). For angel read ajetou~ eagle. Lit., one eagle. The eagle is a symbol of vengeance in Deuteronomy 28:49; Hosea 8:1; Habakkuk 1:8.

Mid heaven (mesouranh>mati). Only in Revelation, here, Revelation 14:6; 19:17. It means, properly, the meridian, the highest point in the heavens which the sun
occupies at noon; not the space between heaven and earth.

CHAPTER 9

1. Fall (peptwko>ta). Lit., fallen. The star had fallen before and is seen as fallen. Rev., properly construes star with from heaven instead of with fallen. Compare Isaiah
14:12; Luke 10:18.

Of the bottomless pit (tou~ fre>atov th~v ajbu>ssou). Rev., of the pit of the abyss. See on John 4:6 and compare Luke 14:5. It is not however a pit that is locked, but
the long shaft leading to the abyss, like a well-shaft, which, in the East, is oftener covered and locked.

2. Smoke of a great furnace. Compare Genesis 19:28; Exodus 19:18; Matthew 13:42, 50.

3. Locusts (ajkri>dev). The idea of this plague is from the eighth plague in Egypt (Exodus 10:14, 15). Compare the description of a visitation of locusts in Joel 2. There
are three Hebrew words in the Old Testament which appear to mean locust, probably signifying different species. Only this word is employed in the New Testament.
Compare Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6.

Scorpions. See Ezekiel 2:6; Luke 10:19; 11:12. Shaped like a lobster, living in damp places, under stones, in clefts of walls, cellars, etc. The sting is in the extremity of
the tail. The sting of the Syrian scorpion is not fatal, though very painful. The same is true of the West Indian scorpion. Thomson says that those of North Africa are said
to be larger, and that their poison frequently causes death. The wilderness of Sinai is especially alluded to as being inhabited by scorpions at the time of the Exodus
(Deuteronomy 8:15); and to this very day they are common in the same district. A part of the mountains bordering on Palestine in the south was named from these
Akrabbim, Akrab being the Hebrew for scorpion.

4. Green. See on Revelation 6:8.

Men which (ajnqrw>pouv oi[tinev). The double relative denotes the class. Rev., such men as have, etc.

5. They should be tormented (basanisqw~sin). See on torments, Matthew 4:24.

Striketh (pai>sh|). Dr. Thomson says that the scorpion cannot strike sideways. All accounts agree as to the fearful pain from its sting.

6. Men. Rather, the men: those tormented.
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Shall desire (ejpiqumh>sousin). has the force of vehemently, earnestly.

Shall flee (feu>xetai). Read feu>gei fleeth. Aeschylus says: "Not justly do mortals hate death, since it is the greatest deliverance from their many woes" ("Fragment").
Striketh (pai>sh|). Dr. Thomson says that the scorpion cannot strike sideways. All accounts agree as to the fearful pain from its sting.

6. Men. Rather, the men: those tormented.

Shall desire (ejpiqumh>sousin). has the force of vehemently, earnestly.

Shall flee (feu>xetai). Read feu>gei fleeth. Aeschylus says: "Not justly do mortals hate death, since it is the greatest deliverance from their many woes" ("Fragment").
Herodotus relates the address of Artabanus to Xerxes, when the latter wept on beholding his vast armament. "There is no man, whether it be here among this multitude
or elsewhere, who is so happy as not to have felt the wish - I will not say once, but full many a time - that he were dead rather than alive. Calamities fall upon us,
sicknesses vex and harass us, and make life, short though it be, to appear long. So death, through the wretchedness of our life, is a most sweet refuge to our race" (7,
46).

7. Shapes (oJmoiw>mata). Lit., likenesses.

Horses. Compare Joel 2:4. The likeness of a locust to a horse, especially to a horse equipped with armor, is so striking that the insect is named in German Heupferd
hay-horse, and in Italian calvaletta little horse.

Crowns. Not actual crowns, but as crowns. Milligan remarks that any yellow brilliancy about the head of the insect is a sufficient foundation for the figure.

As the faces of men. There is a distant resemblance to the human countenance in the face of the locust. Men (ajnqrw>pwn) is to be taken not as distinguishing sex, but
in the generic sense: human faces.

8. Hair of women. The antennae of the locust. There is said to be an Arabic proverb in which the antennae of locusts are compared to girls' hair.

Teeth of lions. Compare Joel. 1:6.

9. Breastplates. The breast of the locust resembles the plates of a horse's armor.

Sound of their wings. Olivier, a French writer, says: "It in difficult to express the effect produced on us by the sight of the whole atmosphere filled on all sides and to a
great height by an innumerable quantity of these insects, whose flight was slow and uniform, and whose noise resembled that of rain." For a graphic description of their
numbers and ravages, see Thomson, "Land and Book, Central Palestine and Phoenicia," 295-302.

Of chariots of many horses. That is, of many-horsed chariots. The Rev., by the insertion of a comma, apparently takes the two clauses as parallel: the sound of chariots,
(the sound) of many horses.

Tails like unto scorpions. The comparison with the insect as it exists in nature fails here, though Smith's "Bible Dictionary" gives a picture of a species of locust, the
Acridium Lineola, a species commonly sold for food in the markets of Bagdad, which has a sting in the tail.

Stings (ke>ntra). Originally any sharp point. A goad. See on pricks, Acts 26:14. Plato uses it of the peg of a top ("Republic," 436). Herodotus of an instrument of
torture. Democedes, the Crotoniat physician, having denied his knowledge of medicine to Darius, Darius bade his attendants "bring the scourges and pricking-irons
ke>ntra) (3, 30) Sophocles of the buckle-tongues with which Oedipus put out his eyes.

"Woe, woe, and woe again!

How through me darts the throb these clasps (ke>ntrwn). have caused."

"Oedipus Tyrannas," 1318.

Of the spur of a cock, the quill of a porcupine, and the stings of insects.

For the A.V., there were stings in their tails, read as Rev., and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt.

11. They had a king over them (e]cousin ejf' aujtw~n basile>a). Render, as Rev., they have over them as king. Compare Proverbs 30:27. Hence distinguished from the
natural locusts.

In Hebrew (*`sti Used only by John. Compare John 5:2; 19:13, 17, 20; Revelation 16:16.

Abaddon. Meaning destruction. Compare Job 26:6; 28:22; Proverbs 15:11. Here the Destroyer, as is evident from the Greek equivalent >wn Apollyon destroyer.
Perdition is personified. It is after John's manner to give the Hebrew with the Greek equivalent. Compare John 1:38, 42; 4:25; 9:7; 11:16 etc.

12. The first woe (hJ oujaia). Lit., the one woe.

13. A voice (fwnhan). Lit., one voice.

Altar. See on John 8:3.

14. In the great river (ejpi>). Rev., more correctly, at.

Euphrates. The Euphrates was known as the great River, the River, the Flood. It rises in the mountains of Armenia, breaks through the Taurus range and runs south and
southeast until it joins the Tigris in lower Babylonia Its total length is from 1,600 to 1,800 miles, and it is navigable for small craft twelve hundred miles from its mouth. It
was the boundary-line of Israel on the northeast (Genesis 15:18; Deuteronomy 1:7; Joshua 1:4. Compare 2 Samuel 8:3-8; 1 Kings 4:21). It thus formed the natural
defense of the chosen people against the armies of Assyria. The melting of the mountain snows causes an annual flood, beginning in March and increasing until May.
These floods became an emblem of the judgments inflicted by God upon Israel by means of Babylon and Assyria. The brook of Shiloah which flowed past Zion and
Moriah was a type of the temple and of its mighty and gracious Lord; and the refusal of allegiance to God by the chosen people is represented as their rejection of the
waters of Shiloah which flows softly, and their punishment therefor by the bringing in of the waters of the mighty and great river (Isaiah 8:5-8; compare Jeremiah 17:13).
To the prophets the Euphrates was the symbol of all that was disastrous in the divine judgments.
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representing the length of the preparation or of the continuance of the plague. But it is to be noted that neither the article nor the preposition are repeated before day
and month and year. The meaning is that the angels are prepared unto the hour appointed by God, and that this hour shall fall in its appointed day and month and year.
Moriah was a type of the temple and of its mighty and gracious Lord; and the refusal of allegiance to God by the chosen people is represented as their rejection of the
waters of Shiloah which flows softly, and their punishment therefor by the bringing in of the waters of the mighty and great river (Isaiah 8:5-8; compare Jeremiah 17:13).
To the prophets the Euphrates was the symbol of all that was disastrous in the divine judgments.

15. For an hour and a day and a month and a year. This rendering is wrong, since it conveys the idea that the four periods mentioned are to be combined as
representing the length of the preparation or of the continuance of the plague. But it is to be noted that neither the article nor the preposition are repeated before day
and month and year. The meaning is that the angels are prepared unto the hour appointed by God, and that this hour shall fall in its appointed day and month and year.

16. Of the horsemen (tou~ iJppikou~). Singular number, like the English the horse or the cavalry.

Two hundred thousand thousand (du>o muria>dev muria>dwn). Lit., two ten-thousands of ten-thousands. See on Revelation 5:11. Rev., twice ten-thousand times ten-
thousand. Compare Psalms 68:17; Daniel 7:10; Hebrews 12:22; Jude 1:14.

17. Thus (ou[twv). After this manner.

In the vision (ejn th|~ oJpa>sei). Or "in my vision." See on Acts 2:17. The reference to sight may be inserted because of I heard in ver. 16.

Of fire (puri>nouv). Rev., "as of fire." Fiery red.

Of jacinth (uJakinqi>nouv). >kinqov hyacinth is the name of a flower and also of a precious stone. The noun occurs only Revelation 21:20 and the adjective only here.
According to classical mythology, the flower sprang up from the blood of Hyacinthus, a beautiful Spartan youth, who was accidentally killed during a game of quoits. It
was thought by some that the letters AI, AI, the exclamation of woe, could be traced on the petals, while others discovered the letter U, the initial letter of >kinqov. The
story of the slaying of Hyacinthus is told by Ovid.

"Lo, the blood

Which, on the ground outpoured, had stained the sod,

Is blood no more. Brighter than Tyrian dye,

Like to the lily's shape a flower appears,

Purple in hue as that is silvery white.

Nor yet does such memorial content

Phoebus Apollo at whose word it rose.

Upon its leaves he writes his own laments,

And on the flower forever stands inscribed

AI, AI"

"Metamorphoses," 10., 175 sqq.

As a stone, it is identified by some with the sapphire. As to color, the hyacinth of the Greeks seems to have comprehended the iris, gladiolus, and larkspur. Hence the
different accounts of its color in classical writings, varying from red to black. A dull, dark blue seems to be meant here.

Of brimstone (qeiw>deiv). Perhaps light yellow, such a color as would be produced by the settling fumes of brimstone.

Of the horses. In the Bible the horse is always referred to in connection with war, except Isaiah 28:28 where it is mentioned as employed in threshing, the horses being
turned loose in the grain as in the Italian triglia. The magnificent description in John 39:19-25 applies to the war-horse. He is distinguished not so much for his speed and
utility as for his strength (see Psalms 33:17; 147:10), and the word abbir strong is used as an equivalent for a horse (Jeremiah 8:16; 47:3). The Hebrews as a pastoral
race, did not need the horse; and, for a long time after their settlement in Canaan, dispensed with it, partly because of the hilly nature of the country, which allowed the
use of chariots only in certain places (Judges 1:19), and partly because of the prohibition in Deuteronomy 17:16. Accordingly they hamstrung the horses of the
Canaanites (Josh. 11:6, 9). The great supply of horses was effected by Solomon through his connection with Egypt. See 1 Kings 4:26.

Proceedeth fire and smoke. Compare Virgil.

"Then, if the sound of arms he hear from far,

Quiet he cannot stand, but pricks his ears,

Trembles in every limb, and snorting, rolls

The gathered fire beneath his nostrils wide"

"Georgics," iii, 83-85.

Also Job 39:20: "the glory of his nostrils is terrible."

18. These three. Add plhgw~n plagues, on which see on Mark 3:10; Luke 10:30.

19. Their power (ejxousi>ai aujtw~n). Read ejxousi>a tw~n i[ppwn the power of the horses.

Like unto serpents. "Long, smooth, subtle, clasping their victim in an embrace from which he cannot escape" (Milligan). As one of the innumerable fantasies of
Apocalyptic
Copyright (c)exposition mayInfobase
               2005-2009,   be cited that of Elliott
                                      Media   Corp.("Horsae Apocalypticae") who finds a reference to the horse tails, the symbols of authority of the Turkish
                                                                                                                                                    Page   156pashas.
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20. Repented not of the works (ou]te meteno>hsan ejk tw~n e]rgwn). Lit., "Out of the works." The preposition ejk out of with repent, denotes a moral change
involving an abandonment of evil works. See on Matthew 3:2; 21:29.
19. Their power (ejxousi>ai aujtw~n). Read ejxousi>a tw~n i[ppwn the power of the horses.

Like unto serpents. "Long, smooth, subtle, clasping their victim in an embrace from which he cannot escape" (Milligan). As one of the innumerable fantasies of
Apocalyptic exposition may be cited that of Elliott ("Horsae Apocalypticae") who finds a reference to the horse tails, the symbols of authority of the Turkish pashas.

20. Repented not of the works (ou]te meteno>hsan ejk tw~n e]rgwn). Lit., "Out of the works." The preposition ejk out of with repent, denotes a moral change
involving an abandonment of evil works. See on Matthew 3:2; 21:29.

Works of their hands. Not their course of life, but the idols which their hands had made. Compare Deuteronomy 4:28; Psalms 134:15; Acts 7:4.

Devils (daimo>nia). More properly, demons. See on Mark 1:34. Compare 1 Corinthians 10:20; 1 Timothy 4:1.

See, hear, walk. Compare Daniel 5:23.

21. Sorceries (farmakeiw~n). Only here, Revelation 18:23; and Galatians 5:20 where farmakei>a sorceries, A.V., witchcraft is enumerated among the "works of the
flesh." Used in the Septuagint of the Egyptian sorceries (Exodus 7:22. Of Babylon, Isaiah 47:9, 12). From fa>rmakon a drug, and thence a poison, an enchantment.
Plato says: "There are two kinds of poisons used among men which cannot clearly be distinguished. There is one kind of poison which injures bodies by the use of other
bodies according to a natural law... but there is another kind which injures by sorceries and incantations and magic bonds, as they are termed, and induces one class of
men to injure another as far as they can, and persuades others that they, above all persons, are liable to be injured by the powers of the magicians. Now it is not easy to
know the nature of all these things; nor if a man do know can he readily persuade others of his belief. And when men are disturbed at the sight of waxen images, fixed
either at the doors, or in a place where three ways meet, or in the sepulchers of parents, there is no use of trying to persuade them that they should despise all such
things, because they have no certain knowledge about them. But we must have a law in two parts concerning poisoning, in whichever of the two ways the attempt is
made; and we must entreat and exhort and advise men not to have recourse to such practices, by which they scare the multitude out of their wits, as if they were
children, compelling the legislator and the judge to heal the fears which the sorcerer arouses, and to tell them, in the first place, that he who attempts to poison or
enchant others knows not what he is doing, either as regards the body (unless he have a knowledge of medicine) or as regards his enchantments, unless he happens to
be a prophet or diviner" ("Laws," xi., 933).

CHAPTER 10

1. A cloud. The expression occurs seven times in Revelation, and in all of them is connected with the Son of Man.

Rainbow. See on Revelation 4:3.

Pillars of fire. Compare Revelation 1:15.

2. In his hand (ejn). The roll of Revelation 5 was on the hand (ejpi>, see Revelation 5:1), being too large to be grasped within it. The roll was on the right hand; the little
book is in the left. See on ver. 5.

3. Cried (e]kraxen). See on Mark 5:5.

As when. The when of A.V. is unnecessary.

Roareth (muka~tai). Only here in the New Testament. Peter uses wjru>omai for the voice of the lion. See on 1 Peter 5:8. The verb here is originally applied to the
lowing of cattle, expressing the sound, moo-ka-omai. Both Aristophanes and Theocritus use it of the roar of the lion, and the former of thunder. Homer, of the ring of
the shield and the hissing of meat on the spit.

Seven thunders. The Jews were accustomed to speak of thunder as "the seven voices." Compare the sevenfold "voice of the Lord," Psalms 29.

As usual, interpretation has run wild as to the seven thunders. As a few illustrations may be cited: Vitringa, the seven crusades; Daubuz, the seven kingdoms which
received the Reformation; Elliott, the bull fulminated against Luther from the seven-hilled city, etc.

4. To write. According to the injunction in Revelation 1:11.

5. His hand. Add th the right, and see on ver. 2. On lifting the hand in swearing, see Genesis 14:22; Exodus 6:8 (margin); Deuteronomy 32:40.

6. Swear by (w]mosen ejn). Lit., "swear in," a Hebrew idiom.

Should be time no longer (cro>nov oujk e]stai e]pi). Rev., correctly, shall be, etc. The meaning is not, as popularly understood, that time shall cease to exist, but that
there shall be no more delay (so Rev., in margin) before the fulfillment of the divine purposes respecting the Church on earth. Possibly with allusion to the cry how long
(John 6:10).

7. Shall begin to sound (me>llh| salpi>zen). Wrong. Rev., correctly, when he is about to sound.

The mystery (torion). See on Matthew 13:11.

Declared (eujhgge>lisen). The word used of declaring the good news of salvation. Here of declaring the mystery of the kingdom.

8. Spake unto me. Render, as Rev., "I heard it again speaking."

9. I went (ajph~lqon). The preposition ajpo> has the force of away. I went away from the place where I was standing.

Eat it up. Compare Ezekiel 3:1-3; Jeremiah 15:16.

CHAPTER 11

1. A rod. See on Revelation 2:27.
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                                                    words furnishes a subject for the agreement of the participle le>gwn, which is irregular an construction. 157 / 189
                                                                                                                                                                    the
correct text reads, "there was given me a reed, saying.". Accordingly Wordsworth refers the speech to the reed as an inspired medium of speech. Rev., better, and one
said.
CHAPTER 11

1. A rod. See on Revelation 2:27.

And the angel stood. Omit. The insertion of these words furnishes a subject for the agreement of the participle le>gwn, which is irregular an construction. Literally the
correct text reads, "there was given me a reed, saying.". Accordingly Wordsworth refers the speech to the reed as an inspired medium of speech. Rev., better, and one
said.

The temple (to See on Matthew 4:5.

The altar. Of incense, as that alone stood in the sacred place.

Them that worship. Note the peculiar expressed, measuring the worshippers with a reed.

2. The court which is without the temple. Not merely the outer court, or Court of the Gentiles, but including all that is not within the nao>v, the Holy and Most Holy
places.

Leave out (e]kbale e]xw). Lit., throw out, i.e., of the measurement.

Unto the Gentiles (toi~v e]qnesin). See on Luke 2:32. Rev., nations.

Forty and two months. A period which appears in three forms in Revelation: forty-two months (Revelation 13:5); twelve hundred and sixty days (ver. 3, Revelation
12:6); a time, times and half a time, or three years and a half (12, 14, compare Daniel 7:25; 12:7)

3. Power. Omit.

Two witnesses. The reader may profitably consult on this point the lectures of Professor Milligan on the Revelation of St. John. He maintains that the conception of the
Apocalypse is powerfully molded by John's recollections of the life of Jesus; that there is a close parallelism between the Apocalypse and the delineation of the life of
Christ contained in the fourth Gospel; and that the Apocalypse is, in the deeper conceptions which pervade it, a repetition of the Gospel. See pp. 59-69.

They shall prophesy (profhteu>sousin). See on prophet, Luke 7:26. Commonly explained of preaching repentance, though some take it in the later sense of foretelling
future events.

Clothed in sackcloth. The garb of preachers of repentance. Compare Isaiah 22:12; Jeremiah 4:8; Jonah 3:5; Matthew 3:4. For sackcloth see on Luke 10:13.

4. Two olive trees. See Zechariah 4.

Candlesticks. See Zechariah 4, and note on Matthew 10:15.

The God. Read kuri>ou the Lord. Compare Zechariah 4:14.

5. Fire proceedeth. Compare 2 Kings 1:10; Jeremiah 5:14.

6. To shut up the heaven. As Elijah, 1 Kings 17:1; Luke 4:25; James 5:17.

That it rain not (i[na mhch| uJeto Lit., that the rain may not wet.

To turn them into blood. Compare Exodus 7:19.

To smite (pata>xai). Used by John only in Revelation, here and Revelation 19:15. Compare Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27; Luke 22:49, 50; Acts 12:7, 23.

With all plagues (pa>sh| plhgh|~). Singular number. Rev., correctly, with every plague. See on Mark 3:10. Not merely with the plagues with which Moses smote Egypt.

7. The beast (qhri>on). Wild beast See on Revelation 4:6. A different word from that wrongly translated beast, Revelation 4:6, 7; 5:6 etc. Compare Revelation 13:1;
17:8 and see Daniel 7.

Bottomless pit (ajbu>ssou). See on Revelation 9:1.

8. Dead bodies (ptw>mata). Read ptw~ma carcass. See on Matthew 24:28; Mark 15:45.

In the street (ejpiav). Lit., "Upon the street." See on Luke 14:21.

The great city. Jerusalem is never called by this name. Different expositors refer it to Rome or Babylon. Milligan to Jerusalem.

Spiritually (pneumatikw~v). Typically or allegorically. (compare 1 Corinthians 10:3, 4.

Our Lord. Read aujtw~n their for hJmw~n our.

9. Shall see (ble>yousin). Read, ble>pousin do men look (Rev.), and see on John 1:29.

Shall not suffer (oujk ajfh>sousin). Read ajfi>ousin do not suffer.

To be put in graves (teqh~nai eijv mnh>mata). Read mnh~ma a tomb, as Rev. Compare Genesis 23:4; Isaiah 14:19, 20.

10. Shall rejoice (carou~sin). Read cai>rousin, present tense, rejoice.

Shall make merry (eujfranqh>sontai). Read eujfrai>nontai, present tense, make merry; and for the word see note on fared sumptuously, Luke 16:19.
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Shall send gifts. As on a day of festival. See Nehemiah 8:10, 12.

Tormented (ejbasa>nisan). See on vexed, 2 Peter 2:8 and on Matthew 4:23, 24.
10. Shall rejoice (carou~sin). Read cai>rousin, present tense, rejoice.

Shall make merry (eujfranqh>sontai). Read eujfrai>nontai, present tense, make merry; and for the word see note on fared sumptuously, Luke 16:19.

Shall send gifts. As on a day of festival. See Nehemiah 8:10, 12.

Tormented (ejbasa>nisan). See on vexed, 2 Peter 2:8 and on Matthew 4:23, 24.

11. Spirit of life (pneu~ma zw~hv). Rev., breath. See on John 3:8.

Entered into them. Compare Ezekiel 37:1-10.

Saw (qewrou~ntav). See on John 1:18.

13. Earthquake. See on Revelation 6:12.

Of men (ojno>mata ajnqrw>pwn). Lit., names of men See on Revelation 3:4.

Gave glory to the God of heaven. The phrase signifies not conversion, nor repentance, nor thanksgiving, but recognition, which is its usual sense in scripture. Compare
Joshua 7:19 (Sept.). John 9:24; Acts 12:23; Romans 4:20.

15. The kingdoms - are become (ejge>nonto aiJ basilei~ai). Read ejge>neto hJ basilei>a, the kingdom is become.

Of our Lord, etc. Compare Psalms 2:2-9.

17. O Lord God, etc. See on Revelation 4:8.

And art to come. Omit.

Hast taken to Thee. Omit to thee.

18. Were angry (ojrgi>sqhsan). See on wrath, John 3:36 Compare Psalms 2:1.

The time (oJ kairo See on Matthew 12:1.

Reward (misqo). See on 2 Peter 2:13.

Destroy (diafqei~rai).Also to corrupt.

Which destroy (tourontav). Or, the destroyers.

19. The temple (oJ naoThe sanctuary. Compare ver. 1 and see on Matthew 4:5.

In heaven. Join with temple of God, as Rev., instead of with opened, as A.V.

The ark of His covenant (hJ kibwtokhv aujtou~). Kibwto ark, meaning generally any wooden box or chest used of the ark in the tabernacle only here and Hebrews 9:4
Elsewhere of Noah's ark. See Matthew 24:38; Luke 17:27; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20. For covenant, see note on testament, Matthew 26:28. This is the last mention
in scripture of the ark of the covenant. It was lost when the temple was destroyed by the Chaldeans (2 Kings 25:10), and was wanting in the second temple. Tacitus
says that Pompey "by right of conquest entered the temple. Thenceforward it became generally known that the habitation was empty and the sanctuary unoccupied do
representation of the deity being found within it" ("History," v., 9). According to Jewish tradition Jeremiah had taken the ark and all that the Most Holy Place contained,
and concealed them, before the destruction of the temple, in a cave at Mount Sinai, whence they are to be restored to the temple in the days of Messiah.

Lightnings and voices, etc. "The solemn salvos. so to speak, of the artillery of heaven, with which each series of visions is concluded."

Chapter 12

1. Wonder (shmei~on). Better, as Rev., sign. See on Matthew 24:24.

Clothed (peribeblhme>nh). Rev., better, arrayed. See on Revelation 3:5.

The moon under her feet. See Cant. vi., 10. The symbol is usually taken to represent the Church.

2. Travailing in birth (wjdi>nousa). See on sorrows, Mark 13:9 and pains, Acts 2:24.

In pain (basanizome>nh). Lit., being tormented. See on Revelation 11:10 and references. For the imagery compare Isaiah 66:7, 8; John 16:21.

3. Red (purjrJo See on John 6:4.

Dragon (dra>kwn). Satan. See ver. 9. The word is found only in Revelation. In the Septuagint, of the serpent into which Moses' rod was changed. In Isaiah 27:1;
Ezekiel 29:3 of the crocodile or leviathan of Job 41:1. In Jeremiah 51:34 of a dragon.

Crowns (diadh>mata). The Kingly crown, not the chaplet (ste>fanov). See on Revelation 2:10

4. Of the stars of heaven. Some expositors find an allusion to the fallen angels (Jude 1:6).

Did cast them to the earth. Compare Daniel 8:10.
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                                                                                                                                                              her child.
Professor Milligan says: "In these words we have the dragon doing what Pharaoh did to Israel (Exodus 1:15-22, and again and again, in the Psalms and the Prophets,
Pharaoh is spoken of as the dragon (Psalms 74:13; Isaiah 27:1; 51:9; Ezekiel 29:3). Nor is it without interest to remember that Pharaoh's crown was wreathed with a
4. Of the stars of heaven. Some expositors find an allusion to the fallen angels (Jude 1:6).

Did cast them to the earth. Compare Daniel 8:10.

To devour her child as soon as it was born (i[na o[tan te>kh| toknon aujth~v katafa>gh|). Rev., more literally, that when she was delivered he might devour her child.
Professor Milligan says: "In these words we have the dragon doing what Pharaoh did to Israel (Exodus 1:15-22, and again and again, in the Psalms and the Prophets,
Pharaoh is spoken of as the dragon (Psalms 74:13; Isaiah 27:1; 51:9; Ezekiel 29:3). Nor is it without interest to remember that Pharaoh's crown was wreathed with a
dragon (the asp or serpent of Egypt), and that just as the eagle was the ensign of Rome, so the dragon was that of Egypt. Hence the significance of Moses' rod being
turned into a serpent."

5. A man-child (uiJo Lit., a son, a male. The correct reading is a]rsen, the neuter, not agreeing with the masculine individual (uiJo son) but with the neuter of the genus.
The object is to emphasize, not the sex, but the quality of Masculinity - power and vigor. Rev., a son, a man-child. Compare John 16:21; Jeremiah 20:15.

To rule (poimai>nein). Lit., to shepherd or tend. See on Matthew 2:6.

A rod of iron. Compare Psalms 2:9 and see on Revelation 2:27.

Was caught up (hJrpa>sqh). See on Matthew 12:12. Compare Acts 23:10; Jude 1:23.

6. Of God (ajpo Lit., from God, the preposition marking the source from which the preparation came. For a similar use, see James 1:13"tempted of God."

7. There was (ejge>neto). Lit., there arose.

War in heaven. Compare 1 Kings 22; Job 1, 2; Zechariah 3; Luke 10:18.

Michael. See Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; and on Jude 1:9.

Fought (ejpole>mhsan). The correct reading is tou~ polemh~sai to fight. So Rev., "going forth to war against the dragon (katakontov). The correct reading is meta>
with.

8. Prevailed (i]scusan). See on Luke 14:30; 16:3; James 5:16.

9. The great dragon (oJ dra>kwn oJ me>gav). Lit., the dragon, the great (dragon).

That old serpent (oJ o]fiv oJ ajrcai~ov). Lit., the serpent, the old (serpent). For this habitual construction in John, see on 1 John 4:9. For ajrcai~ov old, see on 1 John
2:7 and compare "he was a murderer ajp' ajrch~v from the beginning," John 8:44; ajrch> beginning being etymologically akin to ajrcai~ov old.

The Devil. See on Matthew 4:1.

Satan. See on Luke 10:18.

The deceiver (oJ planw~n). Lit., he that deceiveth. See on 1 John 1:8.

World (oijkoume>nhn). See on Luke 2:1 The world with all its inhabitants.

Down to (eijv). Lit., into.

10. Saying in heaven (le>gousan ejn tw|~ oujranw|~). The correct reading joins in heaven with great voice. So Rev. I heard a great voice in heaven.

Now (a]rti). See on John 13:33.

Is come (ejge>neto). Lit., came to pass. Alford says: "It is impossible in English to join to a particle of present time, such as a]rti now, a verb in aoristic time. We are
driven to the perfect in such cases."

Salvation, power, the kingdom. All have the article: the salvation, etc. So Rev. The phrase, now is come the salvation, etc., means that these are realized and
established. Some, less correctly, render, now is the salvation, etc., become our God's Compare Luke 3:6.

Power (ejxousi>a). See on Mark 2:10. Rev., authority.

The accuser of our brethren (oJ kath>gorov tw~n ajdelfw~n hJmw~n). The correct form of the Greek for accuser is a transcript of the Rabbinical Hebrew, kath>gwr.
The Rabbins had a corresponding term sunh>gwr for Michael, as the advocate of God's people. The phrase is applied to Satan nowhere else in the New Testament.

Is cast down (kateblh>qh). The aorist tense. Once and for all. Compare John 12:31; 16:8, 11.

Which accuseth (oJ kathgorw~n). Lit., the one. The article with the present participle expresses what is habitual.

11. Overcame (ejni>khsan). See on 1 John 2:13.

By the blood of the Lamb (diaou). The preposition dia> with the accusative signifies on account of. Hence Rev., correctly, because of: in virtue of the shedding of that
blood. Similarly in the succeeding clause, "because of the word of their testimony." For lamb, see on John 5:6.

Testimony (marturi>av). See on John 1:7.

They loved not their life even unto death. Alford, correctly, "they carried their not-love of their life even unto death."

12. Dwell (skhnou~ntev). See on John 1:14. Compare Revelation 7:15; 13:6; 21:3.

To the inhabiters
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Wrath (qumo). See on John 3:36.
They loved not their life even unto death. Alford, correctly, "they carried their not-love of their life even unto death."

12. Dwell (skhnou~ntev). See on John 1:14. Compare Revelation 7:15; 13:6; 21:3.

To the inhabiters (toi~v katoikou~sin). Omit. Read, as Rev., woe for the earth and for the sea.

Wrath (qumo). See on John 3:36.

Time (kairo See on Matthew 12:1; Mark 1:15; Acts 1:7.

14. Two wings. The definite article aiJ the should be added: "the two wings." Compare Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11; Psalms 36:7.

The great eagle. The article does not point to the eagle of Revelation 8:13, but is generic.

A time and times and half a time. Three years and a half. See on Revelation 11:2.

15. Cause her to be carried away of the flood (pau>thn potamofo>rhton poih>sh|). Lit., might make her one carried away by the stream: a river-born one. The word
occurs only here in the New Testament.

17. Jesus Christ. Omit Christ.

The best texts add to this chapter the opening words of John 13 (A.V.), "And I stood upon the sand of the sea." Some, however, change ejsta>qhn I stood, to
ejsta>qh he stood, referring to the dragon. So Rev.

CHAPTER 13

1. Beast (qhri>on). Properly rendered. See remarks on bona living creatures, Revelation 4:6.

Rise up (ajnabai~non). Rev., better, coming up, thus giving the force of the participle.

Ten horns. Compare Daniel 7:7.

Crowns (diadh>mata). Compare Revelation 12:3. See on Revelation 2:10.

The name (o]noma). Read ojno>mata names. On each head a name.

2. A leopard (parda>lei). The ancients do not seem to have distinguished between the leopard, the panther, and the ounce. The word stands for either. Leopard is leo-
pard, the lion-pard, which was supposed to be a mongrel between a panther and a lioness. Compare Daniel 7:6.

Bear. Compare Daniel 7:5.

Lion. Compare Daniel 7:4.

3. I saw (ei+don). Omitted in the best texts.

Wounded (ejfagme>nhn). Lit., slain. See on Revelation 5:6. The Rev. smitten is questionable. The word occurs eight times in Revelation, and in seven of these it must
be rendered slain or slaughtered. Professor Milligan rightly observes that the statement is the counterpart of that in ver. 6, where we read of the lamb as though it had
been slaughtered. In both cases there had been actual death, and in both revival. The one is a mocking counterpart of the other.

Deadly wound (plhghtou). Lit., stroke of death. Rev., death-stroke.

After the beast (ojpi>sw tou~ qhri>ou). A pregnant construction for wondered at and followed after.

4. Which gave (oJv e]dwken). The correct reading is o[ti "because he gave."

Who is like unto the beast? A parody on a similar ascription to God. See Isaiah 40:18, 25; 46:5; Psalms 113:5; Micah 7:18; Jeremiah 49:19. Compare Revelation
18:18.

5. To continue forty and two months (poih~sai mh~nav tessera>konta du>o). Lit., to make forty and two months. Similarly, Acts 15:33poih>santev cro>non having
tarried a space; lit., having made a time. See on continued there a year, James 4:13. The best expositors, however, render poih~sai absolutely, to work, and the
following accusative as the accusative of duration, "during forty and two months." Rev., margin to do his works during, etc. See Daniel 11:28.

6. In blasphemy (eijv blasfhmi>an). Read blasfhmi>av blasphemies. Rev., giving the force of eijv more correctly, "for blasphemies."

And them that dwell in heaven (kai The best texts omit kai and, making the following words in apposition with o]noma and skhnh name and tabernacle. Thus the literal
sense would be to blaspheme the name and tabernacle which dwell in heaven. "The meaning is to enhance the enormity of the blasphemy by bringing out the lofty nature
of God's holy name and dwelling-place" (Alford). The word dwell is, literally, tabernacle. See on Revelation 12:12.

7. The saints (tw~n aJgi>wn). See on Acts 26:10.

All kindreds (pa~san fulh Rev., more literally and correctly, every tribe. See on Revelation 1:7;5:9. After tribe insert kai and people. See on 1 Peter 2:9.

Nation (e]qnov). See on 1 Peter 2:9.

8. From the foundation of the world. These words may be construed with slain or with written. In favor of the latter is Revelation 18:8; of the former, 1 Peter 1:19, 20.
Alford, pertinently as I think, urges the position of the words in favor of the connection with slain, and says that had it not been for the apparent difficulty of the sense
thus conveyed, no one would have thought of going so far back as to hath been written for a connection. Render, as Rev., the lamb that hath been slain from the
foundation
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10. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity (ei] tiv aijcmalwsi>an suna>gei, eijv aijcmalwsi>an uJpa>gei). Lit., if any one assemble captivity (i.e., bring
together captives) into captivity he goeth away. The best texts insert eijv into before the first captivity, and omit assemble, thus reading if any man is for captivity into
8. From the foundation of the world. These words may be construed with slain or with written. In favor of the latter is Revelation 18:8; of the former, 1 Peter 1:19, 20.
Alford, pertinently as I think, urges the position of the words in favor of the connection with slain, and says that had it not been for the apparent difficulty of the sense
thus conveyed, no one would have thought of going so far back as to hath been written for a connection. Render, as Rev., the lamb that hath been slain from the
foundation of the world. Katabolh> foundation is literally a throwing or laying down, from kataba>llw to throw down; hence a laying down of a foundation.

10. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity (ei] tiv aijcmalwsi>an suna>gei, eijv aijcmalwsi>an uJpa>gei). Lit., if any one assemble captivity (i.e., bring
together captives) into captivity he goeth away. The best texts insert eijv into before the first captivity, and omit assemble, thus reading if any man is for captivity into
captivity he goeth. So Rev. See on dispersion, John 7:35. Compare Jeremiah 15:2; 43:11. The persecutors of the Church shall suffer that which they inflict on the
saints.

Sword (macai). See on Revelation 6:4.

Here. In the thought that God judgeth in the earth.

14. An image to the beast (eijko>na tw|~ qhri>w|). Eijkw>n is a figure or likeness. thus Matthew 22:20 of the likeness of Caesar on the coin. Romans 1:24 an image of
men, birds, beasts, etc. Colossians 3:10"the image of Him that created him;" i.e., the moral likeness of renewed men to God. Christ is called the image of God (1
Corinthians 1:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4). Besides the idea of likeness, the word involves the idea of representation, though not of perfect representation. Thus, man is said
to be the image of God (1 Corinthians 11:7). In this it resembles carakth>r image in Hebrews 1:3. Caesar's image on the coin, the reflection of the sun in the water
(Plato, "Phaedo," 99); and the statue or image of the beast in this passage, are eijkw>n.

The word also involves the idea of manifestation. Thus, Col. 1:15 where, in the image there is an implied contrast with the invisible God. Hence Philo applied the term
to the Logos. See on John 1:1.

The word played an important part in the Arian controversy, in which the distinction was sharply emphasized between eijkw>n image as assuming a prototype, and
therefore as properly representing the relation of the Son to the Father, and oJmoi>wma likeness, as implying mere similitude, and not embodying the essential verity of
the prototype. The image involves the likeness, but the likeness does not involve the image. The latter may imply only an accidental resemblance, while the former is a
veritable representation. Christ is therefore the eijkw>n of God.

The image of the beast occurs ten times in Revelation; four times in this chapter, and in Revelation 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4.

15. Speak. This is supposed by some to refer to the tricks of pagan priests in making pictures and statues appear to speak

16. A mark (ca>ragma). The word occurs frequently in Revelation, and only once elsewhere (Acts 17:29) on which see note. commentators find illustrations in the
brand set upon slaves by their masters, or upon soldiers by their monarchs, and in the branding of slaves attached to certain temples. Herodotus describes a temple to
Hercules at the Canopic mouth of the Nile, and says: "If a slave runs away from his master, and taking sanctuary at this shrine gives himself up to the God, and receives
certain sacred marks upon his person, whosoever his master may be, he cannot lay hand on him" (ii., 113). In the treatise "concerning the Syrian goddess" falsely
attributed to Lucian, it is said of the slaves of the temple, "all are branded, some upon the wrist and some upon the neck." Paul, in Gal. 6:17 applies the word for these
brands, sti>gmata, to the marks of Christ's service which he bears in his body. In 3 Macc. ii. 29, we read that Ptolemy Philopator required all the Jews of Alexandria to
be registered among the common people; and that those who were thus registered were to be marked (cara>sesqai) on their persons by the ivy-leaf symbol of
Dionysus (Bacchus). In Leviticus 19:28 the Israelites are forbidden to make cuttings in their flesh for the dead and to print marks (gra>mmata stikta) upon themselves.

17. The number. The method of mystic numbering obtained alike among pagan Greeks, Gnostics, Christian Fathers, and Jewish Cabbalists. Jupiter was invoked under
the number 717 contained in the letters H APXH the beginning. The Gnostics affixed to their gems and amulets the mystic word ajbrasax or ajbraxav, under the idea of
some virtue attaching to its number, 365, as being that of the days of the solar cycle. Barnabas and Clement of Alexandria speak of the virtue of the number 318 as
being that of IHT, the common abbreviation for Jesus crucified. In the pseudo-Sybilline verses, written by Christians, about the end probably of the second century, are
found versified enigmas giving the number and requiring the name. The translation of one of these on the word Jesus is as follows: "He will come upon earth clothed with
flesh like mortal men. His name contains four vowels and two consonants: two of the former being sounded together. And I will declare the entire number. For the
name will exhibit to incredulous men eight units, eight tens, and eight hundreds."

18. Here is wisdom. Directing attention to the challenge which follows.

Count (yhfisa>tw). See on Luke 14:28.

The number of a man. It is counted as men usually count. Compare Revelation 21:17, and a man's pen, Isaiah 8:1. Some explain, a symbolical number denoting a
person.

Six hundred threescore and six (c. x. v>). Each letter represents a component of the whole number: c = 600; x = 60; v> = 6. In the earlier MSS: it is written in full,
eJxako>sioi eJxh>konta ejx. The method of reading generally adopted is that known as the Ghematria of the Rabbins, or in Greek, ijsoyhfi>a numerical equality, which
assigns each letter of a name its usual numerical value, and gives the sum of such numbers as the equivalent of the name. Thus, in the Epistle of Barnabas, we are told
that the name x~v Jesus is expressed by the number 888. I = 10; h = 8; s = 200; o = 70; u = 400; s = 200. The majority of the commentators use the Greek alphabet
in computation; others, however, employ the Hebrew; while a third class employ the Roman numerals.

The interpretations of this number form a jungle from which escape is apparently hopeless. Reuss says: "This famous number has been made to yield almost all the
historical names of the past eighteen centuries: Titus, Vespasian, and Simon Gioras; Julian the Apostate and Genseric; Mahomet and Luther; Benedict IX. and Louis
XV.; Napoleon I. and the Duke of Reichstadt; and it would not be difficult, on the same principles, to read in it one another's names." Some of the favorite names are
Latei~nov, Latinus, describing the common character of the rulers of the former pagan Roman Empire: Nero Caesar; Diocletian; cv> the name of Christ abridged, and
x the emblem of the serpent, so that the sublimated sense is the Messiah of Satan.

CHAPTER 14

1. A lamb. Read "the lamb." See Revelation 5:6.

Stood (eJsthko). The participle, standing, as Rev.

His Father's name. Add aujtou~ kai His and the name, and render as Rev., His name and the name of His Father.

The Adoration
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The background is formed by a Flemish city, probably intended to represent Jerusalem, and by churches and monasteries in the early Netherland style. The middle
ground is occupied by trees, meadows, and green slopes. In the very center of the picture a square altar is hung With red damask and covered with a white cloth. Here
stands a lamb, from whose breast a stream of blood issues into a crystal glass. Angels kneel round the altar with parti-colored wings and variegated dresses, many of
Stood (eJsthko). The participle, standing, as Rev.

His Father's name. Add aujtou~ kai His and the name, and render as Rev., His name and the name of His Father.

The Adoration of the Lamb is the subject of the great altar piece in the church of St. Bavon at Ghent, by John and Hubert Van Eyck. The scene is laid in a landscape.
The background is formed by a Flemish city, probably intended to represent Jerusalem, and by churches and monasteries in the early Netherland style. The middle
ground is occupied by trees, meadows, and green slopes. In the very center of the picture a square altar is hung With red damask and covered with a white cloth. Here
stands a lamb, from whose breast a stream of blood issues into a crystal glass. Angels kneel round the altar with parti-colored wings and variegated dresses, many of
them praying with joined hands, others holding aloft the emblems of the passion, two in front waving censers. From the right, behind the altar, issues a numerous band
of female saints, all in rich and varied costumes, fair hair floating over their shoulders, and palms in their hands. Foremost may be noticed Sta. Barbara and Sta. Agnes.
From the left advance popes, cardinals, bishops, monks, and minor clergy, with crosiers, crosses, and palms. In the center, near the base, a. small octagonal fountain of
stone projects a stream into a clear rill. Two groups are in adoration on each side of the fountain, - on the right, the twelve apostles kneeling barefoot, and an array of
popes, cardinals, and bishops, with a miscellaneous crowd of church-people; on the left, kings and princes in various costumes. They are surrounded by a wilderness of
flowering shrubs, lilies, and other plants. on the wings of the picture numerous worshippers move toward the place of worship, - crusaders, knights, kings, and princes,
including the figures of the two artists on horseback. "Here, approaching from all sides, are seen that 'great multitude of all nations and hundreds and people and
tongues' - the holy warriors and the holy pilgrims, coming in solemn processions from afar - with other throngs already arrived in the celestial plain, clothed in white
robes, and holding palms in their hands. Their forms are like unto ours; the landscape around them is a mere transcript of the sweet face of our outer nature; the graceful
wrought-iron fountain in the midst is such an one as still sends forth its streams in an ancient Flemish city; yet we feel these creatures to be beings from whose eyes God
has wiped away all tears - who will hunger and thirst no more; our imagination invests these flowery meads with the peace and radiance of celestial precincts, while the
streams of the fountain are converted into living waters, to which the Lamb Himself will 'lead His redeemed. Here, in short, where all is human and natural in form, the
spiritual depths of our nature are stirred" (Mrs. Jameson, "History of Our Lord," ii., 339).

2. And I heard the voice of harpers (kai). The correct reading is, kai and the voice which I heard (was) as (the voice) of harpers. Kiqarw|do>v is from kiqa>ra a harp
(see on John 5:8) and wj|do>v a singer. Properly, one who sings, accompanying himself on the harp.

3. Beasts (zw>wn). Rev., living creatures. See on Revelation 4:6.

Redeemed (hjgorasme>noi). Rev., correctly, purchased.

4. Were not defiled (oujk ejmolu>nqhsan). The verb means properly to besmear or besmirch, and is never used in a good sense, as miai>nein (John 18:28; Jude 1:8),
which in classical Greek is sometimes applied to staining with color. See on 1 Peter 1:4.

Virgins (parqe>noi). Either celibate or living in chastity whether in married or single life. See 1 Corinthians 7:1-7, 29; 2 Corinthians 11:2.

First-fruits (ajparch). See on James 1:18.

5. Guile (do>lov). Read yeu~dov lie.

Without fault (a]mwmoi). Rev., blemish. See on 1 Peter 1:19.

Before the throne of God. Omit.

6. In the midst of heaven (ejn mesouranh>mati). Rev., in mid-heaven. See on Revelation 8:13.

The everlasting Gospel (eujagge>lion aijw>nion). No article. Hence Rev., an eternal Gospel. Milligan thinks this is to be understood in the same sense as prophesying
(Revelation 10:11). Aijw>nion includes more than mere duration in time. It is applied to that of which time is not a measure. As applied to the Gospel it marks its
likeness to Him whose being is not bounded by time.

To preach unto (eujaggeli>sai ejpi). Rev., proclaim, which is better, because more general and wider in meaning. > which is omitted from the Rec. Tex. is over,
throughout the extent of. Compare Matthew 24:14.

That dwell (katoikou~ntav). Read kaqhme>nouv that sit. So Rev., in margin. Compare Matthew 4:16; Luke 1:79.

8. Another. Add deu>terov a second.

Is fallen (e]pesen). Lit., fell. The prophetic aorist expressing the certainty of the fall. Compare Isaiah 21:9; Jeremiah 51:7, 8.

9. The third angel (tri>tov a]ggelov). Add a]llov another. Rev., another angel, a third.

10. Poured out without mixture (kekerasme>nou ajkra>tou). Lit., which is mingled unmixed. From the universal custom of mixing wine with water for drinking, the
word mingle came to be used in the general sense of prepare by putting into the cup. Hence, to pour out.

Cup of His anger. Compare Psalms 75:8.

Brimstone (qei>w|). Commonly taken as the neuter of qei~ov divine; that is, divine incense, since burning brimstone was regarded as having power to purify and to
avert contagion. By others it is referred to qu>w to burn, and hence to sacrifice.

11. Torment (basanismou~). See on Matthew 4:23, 24; see vexed, 2 Peter 2:8.

Goeth up. See Isaiah 34:9, 10; Genesis 19:28.

Rest (ajna>pausin). See on give rest. Matthew 11:28and resteth, 1 Peter 4:14.

12. Here are they. Omit here are, and read, are, Rev., the patience of the saints, they that keep.

The faith of Jesus. Which has Jesus for its object.

18. Blessed(c)
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From henceforth (ajp' a]rti). See on John 13:33. To be joined as in A.V. and Rev., with die in the preceding clause, and not with blessed, nor with the following clause.
Not from henceforth saith the Spirit. The meaning is variously explained. Some, from the beginning of the Christian age and onward to the end; others, from the moment
12. Here are they. Omit here are, and read, are, Rev., the patience of the saints, they that keep.

The faith of Jesus. Which has Jesus for its object.

18. Blessed (maka>rioi). See on Matthew 5:3.

From henceforth (ajp' a]rti). See on John 13:33. To be joined as in A.V. and Rev., with die in the preceding clause, and not with blessed, nor with the following clause.
Not from henceforth saith the Spirit. The meaning is variously explained. Some, from the beginning of the Christian age and onward to the end; others, from the moment
of death, connecting henceforth with blessed; others from the time when the harvest of the earth is about to be reaped. Sophocles says: "Show all religious reverence to
the gods, for all other things Father Zeus counts secondary; for the reward of piety follows men in death. Whether they live or die it passeth not away" ("Philoctetes,"
1441-1444).

That they may rest (i[na ajnapau>swntai). See on Matthew 11:28. The i[na that gives the ground of the blessed.

Labors (ko>pwn). From ko>ptw to strike. Hence to beat the breast in grief. Ko>pov is, therefore, primarily, a smiting as a sign of sorrow, and then sorrow itself. As
labor, it is labor which involves weariness and sorrow.

Follow them (ajkolouqei~ met' aujtw~n). Rather, accompany. Rev., follow with them. Compare Matthew 4:25; Mark 3:7 etc. See on John 1:43.

15. Thrust in (pe>myon). Lit., send. Rev., send forth.

Harvest (qerismo). See on Luke 10:2.

Is ripe (ejxhra>nqh). Lit., was dried. Compare Mark 11:20; John 15:6. Rev., is over-ripe.

16. Thrust in (e]balen). Lit., cast.

17. Temple (naou~). Properly, sanctuary. See on Matthew 4:5.

18. Altar (qusiasthri>ou). See on Acts 17:23.

Which has power (e]xwn ejxousi>an). Lit., having power. Some texts add the article oJ. So Rev., "he that hath power."

Fire. In the Greek with the article, the fire.

Cry (kraugh|~). See on Luke 1:42.

Thy sharp sickle. Lit., thy sickle, the sharp.

Gather (tru>ghson). From tru>gh dryness, included in the notion of ripeness, and hence the vintage, harvest. The verb means therefore to gather ripe fruit. It occurs only
in this chapter and in Luke 6:44.

Grapes (stafulai). The noun in the singular means also a bunch of grapes.

Are fully ripe (h]kmasan). Only here in the New Testament. From ajkmh>, transcribed in acme, the highest point. Hence the verb means to reach the height of growth,
to be ripe.

19. The great wine-press (thgan). The Greek student will note the masculine adjective with the feminine noun, possibly because the gender of the noun is doubtful. The
Rev., in rendering more literally, is more forcible: the wine-press, the great wine-press. See on Matthew 21:33.

20. Furlong (stadi>wn). The furlong or stadium was 6063/4 English feet.

CHAPTER 15

1. The seven last plagues (plhgatav). Lit., seven plagues the last. Rev., "which are the last." See on Mark 3:10; Luke 10:30.

Is filled up (ejtele>sqh). More correctly, brought to an end (te>lov). Rev., finished. Lit., was finished, the prophetic aorist, which speaks of a thing foreseen and
decided as if already done.

2. A sea of glass (qa>lassan uJali>nhn). Rev., better, a glassy sea. See on Revelation 4:6.

Had gotten the victory over the beast (nikw~ntav ejk tou~ qhri>ou). The expression is peculiar. Lit., conquered out of The construction is unique in the New
Testament. The phrase signifies, not as A.V., victory over, but coming triumphant out of (ejk). So Rev., that come victorious from the beast.

Over his mark. Omit.

Standing on (ejpi>). Better, as Rev., by: on the shore of, as did the Israelites when they sang the song alluded to in ver 3.

The harps of God. Omit the. Instruments devoted wholly to His praise. Compare Revelation 5:8; 14:2.

3. The song of Moses. See Exodus 15. Compare Deuteronomy 32; to which some refer this allusion.

The servant of God. See Exodus 14:31; Numbers 12:7; Psalms 105:26; Hebrews 3:5.

The song of the Lamb. There are not two distinct songs. The song of Moses is the song of the Lamb. The Old and the New Testament churches are one.

Great and marvelous are Thy works. Psalms 111:2; 139:14; 1 Chronicles 16:9.
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Just and true are Thy ways. Rev., righteous for just. See Deuteronomy 32:4.

King of saints (basileuwn). The readings differ. Some read for saints, ejqnw~n of the nations; others aijw>nwn of the ages. So Rev. Compare Jeremiah 10:7.
The song of the Lamb. There are not two distinct songs. The song of Moses is the song of the Lamb. The Old and the New Testament churches are one.

Great and marvelous are Thy works. Psalms 111:2; 139:14; 1 Chronicles 16:9.

Just and true are Thy ways. Rev., righteous for just. See Deuteronomy 32:4.

King of saints (basileuwn). The readings differ. Some read for saints, ejqnw~n of the nations; others aijw>nwn of the ages. So Rev. Compare Jeremiah 10:7.

4. Who shall not fear Thee? See Jeremiah 10:7. Omit thee.

Holy (o[siov). See on Luke 1:75. The term is applied to Christ in Acts 2:27, 35; Hebrews 7:26. To God only here and John 16:5 where the correct reading is oJ o[siov
thou holy one, instead of oJ ejso>menov which shalt be.

All nations shall come. Compare Psalms 86:9; Isaiah 2:2-4; 66:23; Micah 4:2.

Judgments (dikaiw>mata). Not merely divine decisions, but righteous acts generally. So Rev. Primarily, the word signifies that which has been deemed right so as to
have the force of law. Hence an ordinance (Luke 1:6; Hebrews 9:1; Romans 1:32). A judicial decision for or against (Romans 5:16). A righteous deed. See Revelation
19:8.

5. Behold. Omit.

The temple of the tabernacle (oJ nao). The sanctuary of the tabernacle. See on Matthew 4:5.

Of the testimony. See Acts 7:44. The tabernacle was called "the Tabernacle of the Testimony" because it contained the ark with the law of God which testifies against
sin. See Exodus 25:16, 21; 30:36; 34:29; 38:21. Compare Revelation 11:19.

6. Linen (li>non). The Rev. follows the reading li>qon stone, after the analogy of Ezekiel 28:13"Every precious stone was thy covering." The idea is that of raiment
studded with precious stones. See on John 2:17.

White (laupro). Mostly applied in the New Testament to clothing, as Luke 23:11; Acts 10:30; James 2:2. Also to the water of life (Revelation 22:1), and the morning-
star (Revelation 22:16). Rev., bright.

Girt round their breasts. As the Lord in the vision of Revelation 1:13; where, however, mastoi~v paps is used instead of sth>qh breasts.

7. Vials (fia>lav). Rev., bowls. See on Revelation 5:8.

8. Smoke. Compare Exodus 40:34; 1 Kings 8:10; Psalms 18:8; Isaiah 6:4; Ezekiel 10:2-4.

None was able to enter. "God cannot be approached at the moment when He is revealing Himself in all the terrors of His indignation" (Milligan). See Exodus 19:21.

CHAPTER 16

1. The vials. Add seven.

2. And the first went. Each angel, as his turn comes, with draws (uJpa>gete, see on John 6:21; 8:21) from the heavenly scene.

There fell (ejge>neto). Lit., there came to pass. Rev., it became. Elliott, very aptly, there broke out.

Noisome and grievous (kako). Similarly the two cognate nouns kaki>a and ponri>a malice and wickedness occur together in 1 Corinthians 5:8. Ponhro>v emphasizes
the activity of evil. See on Luke 3:19.

Sore (e[lkov). See on Luke 16:20. Compare the sixth Egyptian plague, Exodus 9:8-12 where the Septuagint uses this word e[lkov boil. Also of the boil or scab of
leprosy, Leviticus 13:18; king Hezekiah's boil, 2 Kings 20:7; the botch of Egypt, Deuteronomy 28:27, 35. In Job 2:7 (Sept.) the boils are described as here by
ponhro>v sore.

3. It became (ejge>neto). Or there came.

Blood. Compare Exodus 7:19.

As of a dead man. Thick, corrupt, and noisome.

Living soul (yuch). The best texts read yuch soul of life.

4. The third angel. Omit angel.

They became (ejge>neto). There is no necessity for rendering the singular verb in the plural. We may say either it became or there came.

5. The angel of the waters. Set over the waters as other angels over the winds (Revelation 7:1) and over the fire (Revelation 14:18).

O Lord. Omit.

And shalt be. Following the reading oJ ejso>menov. Read oJ o[siov Thou Holy One.

Thou didst thus judge (pau~ta e]krinav). Lit., Thou didst judge these things.

6. For they are worthy. Omit for.

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                   the altar. Omit      Media
                                   another     Corp.
                                           out of,                                                                                                   Page
                                                   and read, as Rev., I heard the altar. The altar personified. Compare Revelation 6:9, where the souls of the165  / 189
                                                                                                                                                               martyrs are
seen under the altar and cry how long.
Thou didst thus judge (pau~ta e]krinav). Lit., Thou didst judge these things.

6. For they are worthy. Omit for.

7. Another out of the altar. Omit another out of, and read, as Rev., I heard the altar. The altar personified. Compare Revelation 6:9, where the souls of the martyrs are
seen under the altar and cry how long.

Almighty. Add the article: the Almighty.

8. The fourth angel. Omit angel.

Power was given (ejdo>qh). Rev., it was given.

With fire (ejn puri>). Lit., "in fire." The element in which the scorching takes place.

9. Repent to give Him glory. Glorify Him by repentance.

His kingdom was darkened. Compare Exodus 10:21, 22.

They gnawed (ejmassw~nto). Only here in the New Testament.

For pain (ejk tou~ po>nou). Strictly, from their pain. Their, the force of the article tou~.

12. Euphrates. See on Revelation 9:14.

Of the east (ajpoou). Lit., as Rev., from the sunrising. See on Matthew 2:2; and dayspring, Luke 1:78.

13. Frogs. Possibly With reference to Exodus 8:1-14.

14. Of the earth and of the whole world. Omit of the earth and.

World (oijkoume>hv). See on Luke 2:1.

The battle (po>lemon). Rev., more literally, war. Battle is ma>ch.

That great day (ejkei>nhv). Omit. Read, as Rev., "the great day."

15. Behold shame. These words are parenthetical.

As a thief. Compare Matthew 24:43; Luke 12:39; 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 4; 2 Peter 3:10.

Watcheth (grhrorw~n). See on Mark 13:35; 1 Peter 5:8

Keepeth his garments. "During the night the captain of the Temple made his rounds. On his approach the guards had to rise and salute him in a particular manner. Any
guard found asleep when on duty was beaten, or his garments were set on fire. The confession of one of the Rabbins is on record that, on a certain occasion, his own
maternal uncle had actually undergone the punishment of having his clothes set on fire by the captain of the Temple" (Edersheim, "The Temple," etc.).

Shame (ajschmosu>nhn). Only here and Romans 1:27. From aj not and sch~ma fashion. Deformity, unseemliness; nearly answering to the phrase not in good form.

16. Armageddon. The proper Greek form #Ar Magedw>n. The word is compounded of the Hebrew Har mountain, and Megiddon or Megiddo: the mountain of
Megiddo. On Megiddo standing alone see Judges 1:27; 1 Kings 4:12; 9:15; 2 Kings 9:27. See also Judges 5:19; Zechariah 12:11; 2 Chronicles 35:22; 2 Kings 23:30.
"Bounded as it is by the hills of Palestine on both north and south, it would naturally become the arena of war between the lowlanders who trusted in their chariots, and
the Israelite highlanders of the neighboring heights. To this cause mainly it owes its celebrity, as the battle-field of the world, which has, through its adoption into the
language of Revelation, passed into an universal proverb. If that mysterious book proceeded from the hand of a Galilean fisherman, it is the more easy to understand
why, with the scene of those many battles constantly before him, he should have drawn the figurative name of the final conflict between the hosts of good and evil, from
the 'place which is called in the Hebrew tongue Harmagedon'" (Stanley, "Sinai and Palestine").

Megiddo was in the plain of Esdraelon, "which has been a chosen place for encampment in every contest carried on in Palestine from the days of Nabuchodonozor
king of Assyria, unto the disastrous march of Napoleon Buonaparte from Egypt into Syria. Jews, Gentiles, Saracens, Christian crusaders, and anti Christian Frenchmen;
Egyptians, Persians, Druses, Turks, and Arabs, warriors of every nation that is under heaven, have pitched their tents on the plain of Esdraelon, and have beheld the
banners of their nation wet with the dews of Tabor and Hermon" ("Clarke's Travels," cit. by Lee). See Thomson's "Land and Book" (Central Palestine and Phoenicia),
p. 208 sqq.; and Stanley, "Sinai and Palestine," ch. ix.

Two great slaughters at Megiddo are mentioned in the Old Testament; the first celebrated in the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:19), and the second, that in which king
Josiah fell (2 Kings 23:29). Both these may have been present to the seer's mind; but the allusion is not to any particular place or event. "The word, like Euphrates, is
the expression of an idea; the idea that swift and overwhelming destruction shall overtake all who gather themselves together against the Lord" (Milligan).

17. Temple of heaven. Omit of heaven.

21. Hail. See Exodus 9:18.

Every stone about the weight of a talent (wJv talanti>aia). The adjective, meaning of a talent's weight, agrees with hail; hail of a talent's weight; i.e., having each stone of
that weight. Every stone is therefore explanatory, and not in the text. Hailstones are a symbol of divine wrath. See Isaiah 30:30; Ezekiel 13:11. Compare Joshua 10:11.

CHAPTER 17

1. Sitteth upon many waters. Said of Babylon, Jeremiah 51:13; the wealth of Babylon being caused both by the Euphrates and by a vast system of canals. The symbol
isCopyright
   interpreted(c)by2005-2009,
                    some commentators
                              Infobase as signifying
                                        Media  Corp.Babylon, by others pagan Rome, Papal Rome, Jerusalem. Dante alludes to this passage in his address
                                                                                                                                                Pageto166
                                                                                                                                                        the shade
                                                                                                                                                             / 189of
Pope Nicholas III., in the Bolgia of the Simonists.

"The Evangelist you pastors had in mind,
CHAPTER 17

1. Sitteth upon many waters. Said of Babylon, Jeremiah 51:13; the wealth of Babylon being caused both by the Euphrates and by a vast system of canals. The symbol
is interpreted by some commentators as signifying Babylon, by others pagan Rome, Papal Rome, Jerusalem. Dante alludes to this passage in his address to the shade of
Pope Nicholas III., in the Bolgia of the Simonists.

"The Evangelist you pastors had in mind,

When she who sitteth upon many waters

To fornicate with kings by him was seen.

The same who with the seven heads was born,

And power and strength from the ten horns received,

So long as virtue to her spouse was pleasing."

"Inferno," xix., 106-110.

2. Have committed fornication. The figure of a harlot committing fornication with kings and peoples occurs frequently in the prophets, representing the defection of
God's Church and its attachment to others. See Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 2:20; 3:1, 6, 8; Ezekiel 16:15, 16, 28, 31, 35, 41; 23:5, 19, 44; Hosea 2:5; 3:3; 4:14. The word
is applied to heathen cities in three places only: to Tyre, Isaiah 23:15, 16, 17; to Nineveh, Nahum 3:4; and here.

3. sitting. To manage and guide the beast.

A scarlet-colored beast. The same as in Revelation 13:1. This beast is ever after mentioned as toon the beast. For scarlet, see on Matthew 27:6.

4. Purple (porfu>roun). See on Luke 16:19.

Decked (kecruswme>nh). Lit., gilded.

Precious stones (li>qw| timi>w|)Lit., precious stone.

Golden cup. Compare Jeremiah 51:7.

Abominations (bdelugma>twn). See on Matthew 24:15.

5. Upon her forehead a name. As was customary with harlots, who had their names inscribed on a ticket. Seneca, addressing a wanton priestess, "Nomen tuum
pependit a fronte," thy name hung from thy forehead. See Juvenal, Satire vi., 123 sqq., of the profligate Messalina, "having falsely assumed the ticket of Lycisca."

Mystery. Some understand this as a part of the name, others as implying that the name is to be interpreted symbolically.

Babylon. See on 1 Peter 5:13. Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Jerome use Babylon as representing the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages Rome is frequently styled the
Western Babylon. The sect of the Fraticelli, an eremitical organization from the Franciscans in the fourteenth century, who carried the vow of poverty to the extreme
and taught that they were possessed of the Holy Spirit and exempt from sin - first familiarized the common mind with the notion that Rome was the Babylon, the great
harlot of the Apocalypse (see Milligan, "Latin Christianity," Book xii., ch. vi.). On the passage cited from Dante (ver. i.), Dean Plumptre remarks: "The words have the
interest of being a medieval interpretation of Revelations 17:1-15, in which, however, the harlot and the beast seem somewhat strangely blended. The harlot is the
corrupted Church of Rome; the seven heads are the seven hills on which the city is built; or perhaps, with an entirely different exegesis, the seven gifts of the Spirit, or
the seven sacraments With which that Church had, in its outset, been endowed: the ten horns are the ten commandments. As long as the Church was faithful to her
spouse, she had the moral strength which came from those gifts, and the divine law which she represented. When that failed, she became as a harlot, and her
whoredom with kings was the symbol of her alliance with secular powers for the oppression of the nations" (On "Inferno," xix., 110).

6. Saints martyrs. The saints include the martyrs or witnesses, but the latter word emphasizes the testimony of the saints which has been the cause of their death. For
martyr; see on 1 Peter 5:1.

8. To go into perdition (uJpa>gein). Some good texts read uJpa>gei, goeth. For the verb, see on John 6:21; 8:21.

In the book (ejpi>). Lit., upon.

From the foundation of the world. In ordinary New Testament Greek these words would belong to are written. construe with the words immediately preceding.
Compare Revelation 13:8, and Matthew 25:34.

And yet is (kai>per ejsti>n). Read kairestai, and shall come. Lit., shall be present.

9. Here is (w=de). Bespeaking attention and spiritual discernment for that which follows. See on Revelation 13:18.

The mind (oJ nou~v).

I.Nou~v is the organ of mental perception and apprehension - of conscious life, the mind, comprising the faculties of perceiving and understanding, of feeling, judging,
determining.

(a)The intellectual faculty or understanding (Luke 24:45). So here, according to some.

(b)The reason, regarded as the faculty of perceiving divine things: of recognizing goodness and hating evil (Romans 1:28; 7:23; Ephesians 4:17).

(c)The power of calm and impartial judgment (2 Thessalonians 2:2).
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II.Nou~v is a particular mode of thinking and judging: moral consciousness as a habit of mind or opinion. Hence thoughts, feelings, purposes (Romans 14:5; 1
Corinthians 1:10). Some render here meaning.
(b)The reason, regarded as the faculty of perceiving divine things: of recognizing goodness and hating evil (Romans 1:28; 7:23; Ephesians 4:17).

(c)The power of calm and impartial judgment (2 Thessalonians 2:2).

II.Nou~v is a particular mode of thinking and judging: moral consciousness as a habit of mind or opinion. Hence thoughts, feelings, purposes (Romans 14:5; 1
Corinthians 1:10). Some render here meaning.

Seven mountains. Many interpreters regard this as conclusively defining the reference of the woman to Rome, which was built upon seven hills. Others deny the local
reference, and understand the principle of worldly greatness and ambition. Others again claim that many cities besides Rome can boast of their seven hills, as
Constantinople, Brussels, and especially Jerusalem.

Upon them. Redundant, the idea being already expressed by where. A Hebraism.

10. Are fallen (e]pesan). Lit., fell. Constantly used in the Septuagint of the violent fall or overthrow of kings or kingdoms. See Ezekiel 29:5; 30:6; Isaiah 21:9; Jeremiah
50:15; 51:8.

12. Kings which (oi[tinev). The compound relative classifying: "of the kind which."

13. Mind (gnw>mhn). Meaning primarily the faculty of knowing, mind, reason; then that which is thought or known; opinion, purpose. See Acts 20:3; 1 Corinthians
7:25; Philemon 1:14.

Shall give (diadidw>sousin). dido>asin, the present tense, give. The force of dia> is over; give over.

Power and authority (du>namin kaian). For the distinction, see on 2 Peter 2:11.

15. The waters. The explanation of the symbol given here is in accordance with Isaiah 8:7; Psalms 18:4, 16; 124:4.

Peoples and multitudes, etc. See on 1 Peter 2:9; Mark 12:37.

16. Upon the beast (ejpi>). Read kai and: "the ten horns - and the beast."

Desolate (hjrhmwme>nhn). Lit., desolated, the verb being in the perfect participle.

Shall eat her flesh. A token of extreme hostility. See Psalms 27:2; Micah 3:3. Xenophon, speaking of the hatred between the pure Spartans and the Helots, says that no
one of the pure Spartans could conceal his readiness to eat the Helot raw. Notice the plural sa>rkav flesh, and see on James 5:3.

Burn (katakau>sousin). Rev., giving the force of kata> down, burn utterly. According to some interpreters the figure is changed from the woman to a city; but this is
unnecessary, as the language is probably taken from the punishment of fornication on the part of a priest's daughter (Leviticus 21:9; compare Leviticus 20:14).

17. Hath put (e]dwken). Rev., with stricter rendering of the aorist, did put. Lit., did give.

To fulfill His will (poih~sai thmhn aujtou~). See on ver. 13. Rev., more literally, to do his mind.

To agree (poih>sai mi>an gnw>mhn). Lit., to make one mind. Rev., come to one mind.

The words (tamata). But read oiJ lo>goi the prophetic words. For the distinction, see on Luke 1:37.

18. Reigneth (e]cousa baoilei>an). Lit., hath a kingdom.

CHAPTER 18

1. Was lightened. Compare Ezekiel 43:2.

2. Mightily with a strong voice (ejn ijscu>i` fwnh|~ mega). Lit., in strength with a great voice. Omit mega>lh| great, and read ijscura|~ fwnh|~ with a mighty voice. So
Rev.

Babylon - is fallen. The Rev. improves on the A.V. by placing fallen in the emphatic position of the Greek: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon." Compare Isaiah 21:9.

Is become (ejge>neto). Lit., became.

Devils (daimo>nwn). Properly, demons, which Rev., strangely commits to the margin. See on Mark 1:34. See Isaiah 13:20-22; 34:13-15. Also on Luke 11:24.

Hold (fulakh). See on 1 Peter 3:19 and Acts 5:21. Rev., in margin, prison.

Cage (fulakh). The word rendered above hold. Rev., hold. Some, however, explain it, not as a cage where they are kept, but as a place of safety to which they resort.

Bird (ojrne>ou). Only in Revelation, here, Revelation 19:17, 21. Compare Jeremiah 12:9.

3. Have drunk (pe>pwken or pe>pwkan). Some, however, read pe>ptwkan have fallen. So Rev.

Of the wine (ejk tou~ oi]nou). Thus if we read have drunk. If we adopt have fallen, ejk is instrumental, by. So Rev.

Of the wrath. The wine of fornication has turned to wrath against herself.

Merchants (e]mporoi). The word originally means one on a journey by sea or land, especially for traffic. Hence a merchant as distinguished from ka>phlov a retailer or
huckster.
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The abundance of her delicacies (th~v duna>mewv tou~ strh>nouv aujth~v). Lit., as Rev., the power of her luxury. Strh~nov is akin to stereo>v firm, hard, stubborn
(see on steadfast, 1 Peter 5:9). Hence over-strength, luxury, wantonness. Only here in the New Testament. The kindred verb strhnia>w to live deliciously occurs
Revelation 18:7, 9.
Of the wrath. The wine of fornication has turned to wrath against herself.

Merchants (e]mporoi). The word originally means one on a journey by sea or land, especially for traffic. Hence a merchant as distinguished from ka>phlov a retailer or
huckster.

The abundance of her delicacies (th~v duna>mewv tou~ strh>nouv aujth~v). Lit., as Rev., the power of her luxury. Strh~nov is akin to stereo>v firm, hard, stubborn
(see on steadfast, 1 Peter 5:9). Hence over-strength, luxury, wantonness. Only here in the New Testament. The kindred verb strhnia>w to live deliciously occurs
Revelation 18:7, 9.

4. Come out of her. Compare Jeremiah 51:6, 45; Isaiah 48:20; 52:11; Num. 16:26.

Have fellowship with (sugkoinwnh>shte). This compound verb is not of frequent occurrence in the New Testament. It is found only in Ephesians 5:11Philippians 4:14
and here. On the kindred noun sugkoinwno companion, see on John 1:9.

5. Have reached (hjkolou>qhsan). Lit., followed. But the best texts read ejkollh>qhsan clave. Compare Jeremiah 51:9. For different applications of the verb see on
Matthew 19:5; Luke 15:15; Acts 5:13. Compare the classical phrase for following up closely a fleeing foe, hoerere in terga hostium, to cleave to the backs of the
enemy. See also Zechariah 14:5 (Sept.), "The valley of the mountains shall reach (ejgkollhqh>setai) unto Azal." The radical idea of the metaphor is that of following or
reaching after so as to be joined to.

6. Double (diplw>sate). Only here in the New Testament. Compare Isaiah 40:2; Jeremiah 16:18; Zechariah 9:12. The Levitical law insisted on the double recompense.
See Exodus 22:4, 7, 9.

7. Lived deliciously (ejstrhni>asen). See on ver. 3.

Torment (basanismo). Only in Revelation. On the kindred word, ba>sanov torment, see on Matthew 4:23, 24.

I sit a queen and am no widow. See Isaiah 47:8; Zephaniah 2:15.

8. Therefore shall her plagues come, etc. See Isaiah 47:8, 9.

Who judgeth (oJ kri>nwn). Read kri>nav judged.

11. Merchandise (go>mon). Only here, ver. 12, and Acts 21:3. From ge>mw to be full. Hence, literally, lading or cargo. So Rev., in margin.

The main features of the following description are taken from that of the destruction of Tyre, Ezekiel 26; 27.

12. Fine Linen (bu>ssou). See on Luke 16:19.

Purple (porfu>rav). See on Luke 16:19.

Silk (shrikou~). Properly an adjective, meaning pertaining to the Seres. From Sh~rev Seres, a people of India, perhaps of modern China.

Before the time of Justinian, when silkworms were first brought to Constantinople, it was thought that the Seres gathered or combed the downy substance woven by
the worms from the leaves of certain trees. Hence Virgil speaks of the Seres, how they comb (depectant) the fine fleeces from the leaves ("Georgics," ii., 121).

Silk was a costly article of luxury among the Romans, so that Tacitus relates that in the reign of Tiberius a law was passed against "men disgracing themselves with
silken garments" ("Annals," ii., 33). "Two hundred years after the age of Pliny," says Gibbon, "the use of pure or even of mixed silks was confined to the female sex, till
the opulent citizens of Rome and the provinces were insensibly familiarized with the example of Elagabalos, the first who, by this effeminate habit, had sullied the dignity
of an emperor and a man. Aorelian complained that a pound of silk was sold at Rome for twelve ounces of gold" ("Decline and Fall," ch. xl.). At the time of Justinian
the Persians held a monopoly of this trade. Two missionary monks residing in China imparted to Justinian the project of introducing the eggs of the silkworm into
Europe, and returning to China concealed the eggs in a hollow cane and so transported them.

Scarlet. See on Matthew 27:6.

Thyine wood (xu>lon qu>i`non). On]y here in the New Testament. From qui>a or qu>a the citrus, a North-African tree, a native of Barbary, used as incense and for
inlaying. Pliny speaks of a mania among the Romans for tables made of this wood. The most expensive of these were called orbes, circles, because they were massive
plates of wood cut from the stem in its whole diameter. Pliny mentions plates four feet in diameter, and nearly six inches Thick;. The most costly were those taken from
near the root, both because the tree was broadest there, and because the wood was dappled and speckled. Hence they were described by different epithets according
as the markings resembled those of the tiger, the panther, or the peacock.

Vessel (skeu~ov). See on 1 Peter 3:7 and Acts 9:15. Also on goods, Matthew 12:29; Mark 3:27; and strake sail, Acts 27:17.

Of ivory (ejlefa>ntinon). Only here in the New Testament. References to ivory are frequent in the Old Testament. The navy of Tarshish brought ivory to Solomon with
apes and peacocks (1 Kings 10:22). His great throne was made of it (1 Kings 10:18). Ahab's ivory palace (1 Kings 22:39) was probably a house with ivory panels.
"Ivory palaces" are mentioned in Psalms 45:8 and "houses of ivory" in Amos 3:15. The Assyrians carried on a great trade in this article. On the obelisk in the British
Museum the captives or tribute-bearers are represented as carrying tusks. The Egyptians early made use of it in decoration, bringing it mostly from Ethiopia, where,
according to Pliny, ivory was so plentiful that the natives made of it door-posts and fences, and stalls for their cattle. In the early ages of Greece ivory was frequently
employed for ornamental purposes, for the trappings of horses, the handles of kegs, and the bosses of shields. Homer represents an Asiatic woman staining ivory with
purple to form trappings for horses, and describes the reins of chariot-horses as adorned with ivory. The statue of Jupiter by Phidias was of ivory and gold. In the
"Odyssey" of Homer, Telemachus thus addresses his companion, the son of Nestor as they contemplate the splendor of Menelaus' palace:

"See, son of Nestor, my beloved friend,

In all these echoing rooms the sheen of brass,

Of gold, of amber and of ivory;

Such is the palace
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"Odyssey," iv., 71-74.
In all these echoing rooms the sheen of brass,

Of gold, of amber and of ivory;

Such is the palace of Olympian Jove."

"Odyssey," iv., 71-74.

Marble (marma>rou). From marmai>rw to sparkle or glisten.

13. Cinnamon (kina>mwmon). Mentioned as one of the ingredients of the holy oil for anointing (Exodus 30:23), and as a perfume for the bed (Proverbs 7:17).

And spice (kai). These words are added by the best texts. A fragrant Indian plant, with seed in grape-like clusters, from which ointment was made. Preparations for the
hair were made from it. Virgil, describing the coming golden age, says: "The Assyrian amomum shall spring up as a common plant" ("Eclogue" iv., 25; Compare
"Eclogue" iii., 89). Forbiger (Virgil) says that the best was raised in Armenia, a poorer quality in Media and Pontus.

Fine flour (semi>dalin). Only here in the New Testament.

Cattle (kth>nh). See on Luke 10:34.

Merchandise of horses. Merchandise is not in the text. It resumes the construction of go>mon merchandise with the genitive in ver. 12.

Chariots (rJedw~n). A Latin word though of Gallic origin, rheda. It had four wheels.

14. The fruits (hJ ojpw>ra). Originally, the late summer or early autumn; then, generally, used of the ripe fruits of trees. Only here in the New Testament. Compare the
compound fqinopwrina autumn (trees). See on whose fruit withereth, Jude 1:12 and compare Summer-fruits, Jeremiah 40:10.

That thy soul lusted after (th~v ejpiqumi>av th~v yuch~v sou~). Lit., of the desire of thy soul.

Dainty (lipara). From li>pov grease. Hence, literally, fat. Only here in the New Testament. Homer uses it once in the sense of oily or shiny with oil, as the skin anointed
after a bath. "Their heads and their fair faces shining" ("Odyssey," xv., 332). So Aristophanes ("Plutus," 616), and of oily, unctuous dishes (" Frogs," 163). Of the oily
smoothness of a calm sea, as by Theocritus. The phrase liparoidev shining feet, i.e., smooth, without wrinkle, is frequent in Homer. Thus, of Agamemnon rising from his
bed. "Beneath his shining feet he bound the fair sandals" (" Iliad," ii., 44). Also of the condition of life; rich, comfortable: so Homer, of a prosperous old age, "Odyssey,"
xi., 136. Of things, bright, fresh. Of soil, fruitful. The city of Athens was called liparai, a favorite epithet. Aristophanes plays upon the two senses bright and greasy,
saying that if any one flatteringly calls Athens bright, he attaches to it the honor of sardines - oiliness ("Acharnians," 638, 9).

Goodly (lampra). A too indefinite rendering. Better, Rev., sumptuous. See on Luke 23:11; James 2:2. Mostly in the New Testament of clothing. See on Revelation
15:6.

16. Decked (kecruswme>nh). See on Revelation 17:4.

17. Shipmaster (kubernh>thv). From kuberna>w to govern. Strictly, steersman. Only here and Acts 27:11.

All the company in ships (pa~v ejpiwn oJ o[milov). The best texts substitute oJ ejpipon ple>wn, that saileth anywhere, lit., saileth to a place. So Rev.

Trade by sea (thlassan ejrga>zontai). Lit., work the sea, like the Latin mare exercent, live by seafaring. Rev., gain their living by sea.

19. Cast dust on their heads. Compare Ezekiel 27:30. See on Luke 10:13.

20. Hath avenged you on her (e]krinen toma uJJmw~n ejx aujth~v). Rev., more literally, hath judged your judgment on her or from her. The idea is that of exacting
judgment from (ejx). Compare the compound verb ejkdikei~v avenge, or exact vengeance from (Revelation 6:10). The meaning is either, that judgment which is your
due, or what she hath judged concerning you.

21. A mighty angel (ei=v a]ggelov ijscuro). Lit., "one strong angel."

A great millstone. See on Matthew 18:6.

With violence (oJrmh>mati). Lit. with an impulse or rush. Only here in the New Testament.

22. Harpers. See on Revelation 14:2.

Musicians (mousikw~n) Only here in the New Testament. There seems to be no special reason for changing the rendering to minstrels, as Rev. The term music had a
much wider signification among the Greeks than that which we attach to it. "The primitive education at Athens consisted of two branches: gymnastics for the body,
music for the mind. Music comprehended from the beginning everything appertaining to the province of the nine Muses; not merely learning the use of the lyre or how to
bear part in a chorus, but also the hearing, learning, and repeating of poetical compositions, as we]l as the practice of exact and elegant pronunciation - which latter
accomplishment, in a language like the Greek, with long words, measured syllables, and great diversity of accentuation between one word and another, must have been
far more difficult to acquire than it is in any modern European language. As the range of ideas enlarged, so the words music and musical teachers acquired an expanded
meanings so as to comprehend matter of instruction at once ampler and more diversified. During the middle of the fifth century b.c. at Athens, there came thus to be
found among the musical teachers men of the most distinguished abilities and eminence, masters of all the learning and accomplishments of the age, teaching what was
known of Astronomy, Geography, and Physics, and capable of holding dialectical discussions with their pupils upon all the various problems then afloat among
intellectual men" (Grote, "History of Greece," vi., ch. lxvii.).

Pipers (aujlhtw~n). Rev., flute-players. Only here and Matthew 9:23. The female flute-players, usually dissolute characters, were indispensable attendants at the Greek
banquets. Plato makes Eryximachus in "the Symposium," say: "I move that the flute-girl who has just made her appearance, be told to go away and play to herself, or, if
she likes, to the women who are within. Today let us have conversation instead" (" Symposium," 176). Again, Socrates says: "The talk about the poets seems to me like
a commonplace entertainment to which a vulgar company have recourse; who, because they are not able to converse and amuse one another, while they are drinking,
with the sound of their own voices and conversation, by reason of their stupidity, raise the price of flute-girls in the market, hiring for a great sum the voice of a flute
instead of their
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                             Infobase          of intercourse among them" (Protagoras," 347). Compare Isaiah 24:8; Ezekiel 26:13.
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Millstone. Compare Jeremiah 25:10; Matthew 24:41.
banquets. Plato makes Eryximachus in "the Symposium," say: "I move that the flute-girl who has just made her appearance, be told to go away and play to herself, or, if
she likes, to the women who are within. Today let us have conversation instead" (" Symposium," 176). Again, Socrates says: "The talk about the poets seems to me like
a commonplace entertainment to which a vulgar company have recourse; who, because they are not able to converse and amuse one another, while they are drinking,
with the sound of their own voices and conversation, by reason of their stupidity, raise the price of flute-girls in the market, hiring for a great sum the voice of a flute
instead of their own breath, to be the medium of intercourse among them" (Protagoras," 347). Compare Isaiah 24:8; Ezekiel 26:13.

Millstone. Compare Jeremiah 25:10; Matthew 24:41.

23. Bridegroom bride. Compare Jeremiah 25:10.

Great men (megista~nev). Rev., princes. See on Revelation 6:15.

By thy sorceries (ejn th|~ farmakei>a| sou). See on Revelation 9:21. Rev., more literally, with thy sorcery.

Were deceived (ejplanh>qhsan). Or led astray. See on Mark 12:24.

CHAPTER 19

1. Hallelujah (ajllhlou>i`a). Hebrew. Praise ye the Lord. Only in Revelation and in this chapter. Fifteen of the Psalms either begin or end with this word. The Jewish
anthem of praise (Psalms 104-109), sung chiefly at the feasts of the Passover and of Tabernacles, derived its title of the Great Hallel from the frequent use of that
phrase.

Honor. Omit. On the doxologies in Revelation, see on Revelation 1:6.

2. True (ajlhqinai). See on John 1:9.

Did corrupt (e]fqeiren). The imperfect tense denoting habit.

Avenged (ejxedi>khsen). Exacted vengeance from (ejx).

At her hand (ejk). Lit., "from her hand." See on Revelation 2:7; 18:20.

3. Her smoke, etc. Compare Isaiah 34:10.

5. All ye His servants - small and great. Compare Psalms 114:13; 134:1.

7. The marriage of the Lamb. For the figure, compare Isaiah 54:1-8; Ezekiel 16:7-14; Hosea 2:19; Matthew 9:15; John 3:29; Ephesians 5:25.

8. Fine linen (bu>ssinon). See on Luke 16:19. The four vestments of the ordinary Jewish priest were made of linen or byssus. Their symbolic meaning depended in part
on the whiteness and luster of their substance (kaqaron pure and bright).

Righteousness (dikaiw>mata). More strictly, as Rev. righteous acts.

10. See thou do it not (o[ra mh>). See not (to do it).

The testimony of Jesus (hJ marturi>a tou~ x~). Some explain as the testimony which proceeds from Jesus. Jesus, by imparting this testimony to believers imparts to
them the spirit of prophecy. Others, the witness which is born to Jesus. The way of bearing this witness, the substance and essence of this testimony is the Spirit of
prophecy.

11. A white horse. Compare Revelation 6:2.

12. Crowns (diadh>mata). See on 1 Peter 5:4; James 1:12.

13. Dipped (bebamme>non). The readings differ; some giving rJerantisme>non sprinkled, others perireramme>non sprinkled round. Rev., sprinkled. Compare Isaiah
63:2, 3.

The Word of God (oJ Lo>gov tou~ Qeou~). This name for our Lord is found in the New Testament only in the writings of John. It is one of the links which connects
Revelation with John's other writings. Compare John 1:1-14; 1 John 1:1. Some object to this on the ground that, in the Gospel of John, the term is used absolutely, the
Word, whereas here it is qualified, the Word of God, which the Evangelist nowhere employs, and in 1 John 1:1the Word of life. But, as Alford observes: "It may be left
to any fair-judging reader to decide whether it be not a far greater argument for identity that the remarkable designation oJ Lo>gov the Word is used, than for diversity,
that, on the solemn occasion described in the Apocalypse, the hitherto unheard adjunct of God is added." The idea of God which is represented here, underlies the
absolute term the Word in John 1:1. It is further urged that in the Gospel oJ Lo>gov is applied to the prehistoric Christ, while in this passage it is applied to the historic
Christ. But the Dame of the historic Christ is that referred to in ver. 12, not in ver. 13. It is the name "which no one knoweth but He Himself," expressing the character
of His whole redeeming work. The name in ver. 13 is that which belongs originally and essentially to Him.

14. Followed (hjkolou>qei). Note the imperfect tense denoting progression, and thus describing the advancing movement of the host.

15. Sword. See on Revelation 1:16.

Smite (pata>ssh|). See on Revelation 11:6.

Shall rule (poimanei~). See on Revelation 2:27.

Wine-press. See on Revelation 14:19.

Of the fierceness and wrath (tou~ qumou~ kai). Omit and, and render, as Rev., the fierceness of the wrath. See on John 3:36.

Of Almighty(c)God
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               2005-2009,      tou~ pantokra>torov).
                           Infobase  Media Corp. Lit., of God the all-ruler. See on Revelation 1:8.                                                    Page 171 / 189
16. On His thigh. Some explain, on the garment where it covers the thigh to which the sword is bound. Compare Psalms 45:3. Others, partly on the vesture, partly on
the thigh itself, where, in an equestrian figure, the robe drops from the thigh. According to the former explanation kai and is to be taken as explanatory or definitive of
Wine-press. See on Revelation 14:19.

Of the fierceness and wrath (tou~ qumou~ kai). Omit and, and render, as Rev., the fierceness of the wrath. See on John 3:36.

Of Almighty God (tou~ qeou~ tou~ pantokra>torov). Lit., of God the all-ruler. See on Revelation 1:8.

16. On His thigh. Some explain, on the garment where it covers the thigh to which the sword is bound. Compare Psalms 45:3. Others, partly on the vesture, partly on
the thigh itself, where, in an equestrian figure, the robe drops from the thigh. According to the former explanation kai and is to be taken as explanatory or definitive of
the words on His vesture. Others again suppose a sword on the hilt of which the name is inscribed. Expositors refer to the custom of engraving the artist's name on the
thigh of a statue. Thus Cicero says: "A most beautiful statue of Apollo, on the thigh of which the name of Myron had been graven in tiny letters of silver" ("Against
Verres," iv., 43). Herodotus describes a figure of Sesostris, bearing across the breast from shoulder to shoulder the inscription written in the sacred character of Egypt:
"With my own shoulders I conquered this land" (ii., 106). Rawlinson says that Assyrian figures are found with arrow-headed inscriptions engraved across them, and
over the drapery as well as the body.

17. An angel (e[na a]ggelon). Lit., "one angel."

Fowls (ojrne>oiv). See on Revelation 18:2. Rev., birds.

Midst of heaven. See on Revelation 8:13.

Gather yourselves together (suna>gesqe). The best texts read suna>cqhte be gathered together, as Rev. Compare Ezekiel 39:17 sqq.

The supper of the great God (tolou Qeou~). Read toga tou~ for tou~ mega>lou, and render the great supper of God.

18. Captains (cilia>rcwn). See on Mark 6:21; Luke 7:2.

20. Was taken (ejpia>sqh). See on Acts 3:7.

Mark. See on Revelation 13:16.

Lake (li>mnhn). See on Luke 5:1.

Brimstone. See on Revelation 14:10.

21. Were filled (ejcorta>sqhsan). See on Matthew 5:6.

CHAPTER 20

1. Of the bottomless pit. See on Revelation 9:1. This is to be distinguished from the lake of fire. Compare ver. 10.

Chain (a[lusin). See on Mark 5:4. Only here in John's writings.

In his hand (ejpi>). Lit., upon: resting on or hanging upon.

2. He laid hold (ejkra>thsen). See on Mark 8:3; Acts 3:11..

The dragon (tokonta). See on Revelation 12:3. The word is commonly derived from e]drakon, the second aorist tense of de>rkomai to see clearly, in allusion to the
sharp sight of the fabled dragon.

Old (ajrcai~on). See on 1 John 2:7.

The Devil. Note the three epithets: the Old Serpent, the Devil, Satan. See on Matthew 4:1; Luke 10:18.

3. Sealed. See on John 3:33.

Must (dei~). According to God's purpose. See on Matthew 16:21; Luke 2:49; 24:26.

4. Thrones. See on Revelation 2:13.

They sat. All the faithful members of Christ's Church. Compare they reigned with Christ.

Beheaded (pepelekisme>nwn). From pe>lekuv an ax. Only here in the New Testament.

They lived. Equivalent to lived again. Compare ver. 5.

5. Lived - again (ajne>zhsan). Read e]zhsan lived, as in ver. 4

6. Hath part (e]cwn me>rov). A phrase peculiar to John as referring to a person. Compare John 13:8.

Second death. See on Revelation 2:11.

8. Gog and Magog. See Ezekiel 38; 39. Compare Genesis 10:2. where Magog appears as a son of Japhet. Magog is a general name for the northern nations, and,
according to Ezekiel, Gog is their prince. Josephus says that the descendants of Magog were the Scythians.

9. On the breadth (ejpitov). Lit., over (ejpi>). As distinguished from the "four corners" of ver. 8. They overspread the earth.

The camp (th). See on castle, Acts 21:34. Encompassing and defending the city. Compare Psalms 78:7.
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The beloved city. Compare Psalms 78:68.

From God. Omit.
9. On the breadth (ejpitov). Lit., over (ejpi>). As distinguished from the "four corners" of ver. 8. They overspread the earth.

The camp (th). See on castle, Acts 21:34. Encompassing and defending the city. Compare Psalms 78:7.

The beloved city. Compare Psalms 78:68.

From God. Omit.

12. Before God. Read qro>nou throne for Qeou~ God. So Rev., before the throne.

The books (bibli>a). No article. Read books. Compare Daniel 7:10.

Book of life. See on Revelation 3:5.

13. The sea. As commonly understood, the sea means the literal sea, and the passage signifies that the dead contained in it shall rise. So Alford. Other interpreters,
however, say that it cannot mean the literal sea. Thus Milligan argues that the symbols of the Apocalypse must always be interpreted in the same way. "Symbols," he
says, "are a form of speech, and therefore subject to the rules that regulate the interpretation of all speech... The power of that convention which links a certain sense to
a certain sound in ordinary terms, is not less binding in the presence than in the absence of metaphor of any kind whatever. Thus when we read in the Apocalypse of
'the sea' as an emblem of the troubled and sinful nations of the earth, we are bound, unless forbidden by the context, to carry that interpretation through, and to
understand the sea of the troubled and sinful world."

Hell (oJ a[|dhv). Rev., Hades. See on Matthew 16:18.

14. This is the second death. Add even the lake of fire.

15. And whosoever (ei] tiv). Lit., if any. So Rev.

CHAPTER 21

1. New (kaino). See on Matthew 26:29. Compare Isaiah 65:17.

There was no more sea (hJ qa>lassa oujk e]stin e]pi). Lit., as Rev., the sea is no more. Here as in 20:13. Some explain the sea as the ungodly world. I cannot help
thinking this interpretation forced. According to this explanation, the passage is in the highest degree tautological. The first earth was passed away, and the ungodly
world was no more.

2. I John. Omit John.

New Jerusalem. Others join new with coming down, and render corning down new out of heaven.

A bride. Compare Isaiah 61:10; 62:5.

3. With men. Men at large. No longer with an isolated people like Israel.

He shall dwell (skhnw>sei). Lit., tabernacle. Only in Revelation and John 1:14. The word "denotes much more than the mere general notion of dwelling. There lies in it
one of the particulars of that identification of Christ and His people which is fundamental to the seer." See on John 1:14. Compare Ezekiel. 37:27, 28.

People (laoi). Notice the plural, peoples (so Rev.), because many nations shall partake of the fulfillment of the promise. Compare ver. 24.

And God Himself shall be with them and be their God. And be is inserted. The Greek is shall be with them their God.

4. And God shall wipe away. Omit God. Read, as Rev., and He shall wipe away.

All tears (pa~n da>kruon). Lit., every tear. Compare Isaiah 25:8.

There shall be no more death (oJ qa>natov oujk e]stai e]ti). Render, as Rev., death shall be no more.

Sorrow (pe>nqov). Better, as Rev., mourning, since the word signifies manifested grief. See on Matthew 5:4; James 4:9. Compare Isaiah 65:19. "That soul I say,"
observes Socrates, "herself invisible, departs to the invisible world - to the divine and immortal and rational: thither arriving, she is secure of bliss, and is released from
the error and folly of men, their fears and wild passions, and all other human ills, and forever dwells, as they say of the initiated, in company with the gods" (Plato,
"Phaedo," 81). So Sophocles:

"Sorrow touches not the dead."

"Oedipus Coloneus," 966

"How thrice happy those of mortals, who, having had these ends in view, depart to Hades; for to them alone is it given there to live; but to others, all things there are
evil" ("Fragment"). And Euripides:

"The dead, tearless, forgets his pains."

"Troades," 606

5. True and faithful (ajlhqinoi). The proper order of the Greek is the reverse, as Rev., faithful and true.

6. It is done (ge>gonen). The correct reading is ge>gonan they are come to pass; i.e., these words.

Alpha and Omega. Both have the article, "the alpha," etc. See on Revelation 1:8.
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Unto him that is athirst. Compare Isaiah 55:1.
6. It is done (ge>gonen). The correct reading is ge>gonan they are come to pass; i.e., these words.

Alpha and Omega. Both have the article, "the alpha," etc. See on Revelation 1:8.

Unto him that is athirst. Compare Isaiah 55:1.

Fountain (phgh~v). See on John 4:6.

Of the water of life. See John 4:10, 14. Compare Isaiah 12:3.

7. All things (pa>nta). The correct reading is tau~ta these things. So Rev.

His God (aujtw|~ Qeo). Lit., God unto him.

My Son (moi oJ uiJo>v). Lit., the Son to me. See on John 1:12. This is the only place in John's writings where uiJo>v son is used of the relation of man to God.

8. The fearful (deiloi~v). The dative case. Hence, as Rev., for the fearful. Only here, Matthew 8:26 and Mark 4:40.

Abominable (ejbdelugme>noiv). See on abomination, Matthew 24:15. Properly, defiled with abominations.

Whoremongers (po>rnoiv). Much better, as Rev., fornicators.

Sorcerers. See on sorceries, Revelation 9:21.

Shall have their part (torov aujtw~n). Lit., the whole passage reads: to the fearful, etc., their part. shall be is supplied.

9. Unto me. Omit.

Vials. Properly bowls. See on Revelation 5:8.

10. In the Spirit. See on Revelation 1:10.

Mountain. Compare Ezekiel 40:2.

That great city, the holy Jerusalem. Omit great. Render the article as usual, and not as a demonstrative pronoun, and construe holy With city. So Rev., the holy city
Jerusalem.

11. Glory of God. Not merely divine brightness, but the presence of the God of glory Himself. Compare Exodus 40:34.

Light (fwsth). Strictly, luminary; that with which the city is illumined, tlle heavenly Lamb. See ver. 23. The word occurs only here and Philip. 2:15.

Jasper. See on Revelation 4:3.

Clear as crystal (krustalli>zonti). Lit., shining like crystal.

12. And had (e]cousa>n te). Rev., more simply and literally, having.

Gates (pulw~nav). Properly large gates. See on Luke 16:20; Acts 12:13. Compare Ezekiel 48:30 sqq.

13. East (ajnatolh~v). See on Matthew 2:2 and on day-spring, Luke 1:78. See the tribes arranged by gates in Ezekiel 48:31-34.

West (dusmw~n). Lit., the goings down or settings.

14. Foundations (qemeli>ouv). See on the kindred verb qemeliw>sei shalt settle, 1 Peter 5:10.

In them the names (ejn aujtoi~v ojno>mata). The correct reading is ejp' aujtw~n dw>deka ojno>mata, on them twelve names.

15. A golden reed. Add me>tron as a measure. See Revelation 11:1. Compare Ezekiel 40:5.

16. Four square (tetra>gwnov). From te>tra four and gwni>a an angle. Only here in the New Testament. Compare Ezekiel 48:16, 20.

Twelve-thousand furlongs (ejpiwn dw>deka cilia>dwn). Strictly, to the length of (ejpi>) twelve, etc. For the collective term cilia>dev thousands, see on Revelation
5:11. For furlongs see on Revelation 15:20. The twelve-thousand furlongs would be 1378.97 English miles. Interpretations vary hopelessly. The description seems to
be that of a vast cube, which may have been suggested by the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle, which was of that shape. 83 But opinions differ as to whether the
twelve thousand furlongs are the measure of the four sides of the city taken together, in which ease each side will measure three thousand furlongs; or whether the
twelve-thousand furlongs are intended to represent the length of each side. The former explanation is prompted by the desire to reduce the vast dimensions of the city.
Another difficulty is raised about the height. Dusterdieck, for example, maintains that the houses were three-thousand stadia in height. The question arises whether the
vertical surface of the cube includes the hill or rock on which the city was placed, a view to which Alford inclines. These are enough to show how utterly futile are
attempts to reduce these symbolic visions to mathematical statement. Professor Milligan aptly remarks: "Nor is it of the smallest moment to reduce the enormous
dimensions spoken of. No reduction brings them within the bounds of verisimilitude; and no effort in that direction is required. The idea is alone to be thought of."

17. Cubits (phcw~n). The word originally means that part of the arm between the hand and the elbow-joint, the forearm. Hence a cubit or ell, a measure of the distance
from the joint of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, i.e., about a foot and a half. The precise length, however, is disputed. Cubit is from the Latin cubitus the
elbow, on which one reclines (cubat). Some take the one hundred and forty-four cubits as representing the height of the wall; others the thickness. If the height, then
they must be interpreted as equal to the twelve thousand furlongs, since the length and the breadth and the height of the city are equal (ver. 16). It is to be noted,
however, that there is a distinction between the measure of the city and the measure of the wall. "The most inconsiderable wall" remarks Dusterdieck, "is sufficient to
exclude all that
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The measure of a man, that is, of the angel. "It is to be the dwelling-place of men; and even, therefore, when an angel measures it, he measures it according to the
measure of a man" (Milligan).
from the joint of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, i.e., about a foot and a half. The precise length, however, is disputed. Cubit is from the Latin cubitus the
elbow, on which one reclines (cubat). Some take the one hundred and forty-four cubits as representing the height of the wall; others the thickness. If the height, then
they must be interpreted as equal to the twelve thousand furlongs, since the length and the breadth and the height of the city are equal (ver. 16). It is to be noted,
however, that there is a distinction between the measure of the city and the measure of the wall. "The most inconsiderable wall" remarks Dusterdieck, "is sufficient to
exclude all that is impure."

The measure of a man, that is, of the angel. "It is to be the dwelling-place of men; and even, therefore, when an angel measures it, he measures it according to the
measure of a man" (Milligan).

18. The building (ejndo>mhsiv). Only here in the New Testament. From ejn in and dwma>w to build. Lit., that which is built in. Hence the building of the wall is the
material built into the wall; of which the wall was composed.

Glass (uJa>lw|). Only here and ver. 21. For the kindred adjective uJa>linov of glass, see on Revelation 4:6.

19. All manner of precious stones. Compare Isaiah 54;11, 12; 1 Chronicles 29:2.

Sapphire (sa>pfeirov). Compare Isaiah 54:11; Ezekiel 1:26. Probably lapis lazuli. Our sapphire is supposed to be represented by the jacinth in ver. 20. Pliny describes
the sa>pfeirov as opaque and sprinkled with specks of gold, and states that it came from Media (i.e. Persia and Bokhara) whence the supply is brought to this day.
King ("Precious Stones and Gems," cited by Lee), says: "Before the true precious stones were introduced from India, the lapis lazuli held the highest place in the
estimation of the primitive nations of Asia and Greece; in fact it was almost the only stone known to them having beauty of color to recommend it."

Chalcedony (calkhdw>n). From Chalcedon, where the stone was found in the neighboring copper mines. It was probably an inferior species of emerald, as crystal of
carbonate of copper, which is still popularly called "the copper emerald." Pliny describes it as small and brittle, changing its color when moved about, like the green
feathers in the necks of peacocks and pigeons.

Emerald. See on Revelation 4:3.

20. Sardonyx (sardo>nux). The most beautiful and rarest variety of onyx. Pliny defines it as originally signifying a white mark in a sard, like the human nail (o]nux)
placed upon flesh, and both of them transparent. Onyx is called from the resemblance of its white and yellow veins to the shades in the human finger-nail. The early
Greeks make no distinction between the onyx and the sardonyx.

Sardius. See on Revelation 4:3.

Chrysolite (cruso>liqov). From cruso>v gold and li>qov stone. Lit., gold-stone. Identified by some with our topaz, by others with amber. Pliny describes it as
"translucent with golden luster."

Beryl (bh>rullov). Pliny says that it resembled the greenness of the pure sea. It has been supposed to be of the same or similar nature with the emerald.

Topaz (topa>zion). Compare Job 28:19. The name was derived from an island in the Red Sea where the gem was first discovered. The stone is our peridot. The
Roman lapidaries distinguished the two varieties, the chrysopteron, our chrysolite, and the prasoides, our peridot. The former is much harder, and the yellow color
predominates over the green. The modern topaz was entirely unknown to the ancients.

Chrysoprasus. Rev., chrysoprase. From cruso>v gold and pra>son a leek; the color being a translucent, golden green, like that of a leek. According to Pliny it was a
variety of the beryl.

Jacinth (uJa>kinqov). See on Revelation 9:17.

Amethyst (ajme>qustov). From aj not and mequ>w to be drunken in wine, the stone being supposed to avert intoxication. Pliny distinguishes it from the jacinth, in that,
in the latter, the violet hue of the amethyst is diluted. The stone is the amethystine quartz, or rock-crystal, colored purple by manganese of iron.

21. Pearls (margari>tai). The pearl seems to have been known from the earliest times to the Asiatic Greeks, in consequence of their intercourse with the Persians.
Among the motives which impelled Caesar to attempt the conquest of Britain, was the fame of its pearl-fisheries. Pearls held the highest rank among precious stones.
The Latin term unio (unity) was applied to the pearl because no two were found exactly alike; but the word became in time restricted to the fine, spherical pearls, while
the generic name was margarita. Shakespeare uses union for pearl in Hamlet, Act v., Sc. 2.

"The king shall drink to Hamlet's better health:

And in the cup an union shall he throw

Richer than that which four successive kings

In Denmark's crown have worn."

And again:

"Drink of this potion: is thy union here?"

Every several gate (ajnanwn). Rev., each one of the several gates, thus bringing out the force of the genitive pulw>nwn of gates. The idea several is conveyed by ajna>,
as Luke 9:3ajnao citw~nav "two coats apiece:" John 2:6ajnao h{ trei~v "two or three firkins apiece."

Street (platei~a). See on Luke adv. 21. From platu>v broad. Hence the broadway.

22. No temple. The entire city is now one holy temple of God. See on Revelation 1:6.

23. The glory of God did lighten it. Compare Isaiah 60:19, 20.

The light (oJ lu>cnov). Rev., better, lamp. See on John 5:35.
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24. Of them which are saved. Omit.

In the light (ejn tw|~ fwti). Read dia"amidst the light" or "by the light."
23. The glory of God did lighten it. Compare Isaiah 60:19, 20.

The light (oJ lu>cnov). Rev., better, lamp. See on John 5:35.

24. Of them which are saved. Omit.

In the light (ejn tw|~ fwti). Read dia"amidst the light" or "by the light."

Do bring (fe>rousin). The present tense, denoting habit.

Glory and honor. Omit and honor. Compare Isaiah 60:3.

27. That defileth (koinou~n). The participle. But the correct reading is the adjective koino common, hence unhallowed. Rev., unclean.

Worketh (poiou~n). Lit,, maketh or doeth.

"In this present life, I reckon that we make the nearest approach to knowledge when we have the least possible communion or fellowship with the body, and are not
infected with the bodily nature, but remain pure until the hour when God himself is pleased to release us. And then the foolishness of the body will be cleared away, and
we shall be pure and hold converse with other pure souls, and know of ourselves the clear light everywhere, which is no other than the light of truth. For no impure thing
is allowed to approach the pure" (Plato, "Phaedo," 67).

CHAPTER 22

1. Pure. Omit.

Clear (lampro). See on Luke 23:11. Rev., bright.

2. In the midst of the street thereof. Some connect these words with the preceding. So Rev.

On either side (ejnteu~qen kai). For the latter ejnteu~qen read ejkei~qen, as render, as Rev., on this side and on that.

Tree (xu>lon). See on Luke 23:31 and Revelation 2:7.

Twelve manner of fruits (karpoudeka). Lit., twelve fruits. Some render crops or harvests of fruit. On these two verses compare Ezekiel 47:1-12; Joel 3:18; Zechariah
14:8.

3. Shall serve (latreu>sousin). See on Luke 1:74. Rev., do Him service. The word originally means to serve for hire. In the New Testament, of the worship or service
of God in the use of the rites intended for His worship. It came to be used by the Jews in a very special sense, to denote the service rendered to Jehovah by the
Israelites as His peculiar people. See Romans 9:4; Acts 26:7; Hebrews 9:1, 6. Hence the significant application of the term to Christian service by Paul in Philippians
3:3.

4. See His face. Compare 1 John 3:2; Matthew 5:8; Exodus 33:20; Psalms 17:15.

5. No night there (ejkei~). Substitute e]ti any more. Rev., there shall be night no more.

6. The Lord God (Ku>riov oJ Qeo). Rather, as Rev., the Lord, the God.

Of the holy prophets (tw~n aJgi>wn profhtw~n). For aJgi>wn holy substitute pneuma>twn spirits, and render, as Rev., the God of the spirits of the prophets.

Be done (gege>sqai). Better, as Rev., come to pass.

7. Keepeth (thrw~n). A favorite word with John, occurring in his writings more frequently than in all the rest of the New Testament together. See on reserved 1 Peter
1:4.

Book (bibli>ou). Diminutive, properly a little book or scroll. See on writing, Matthew 19:7; bill, Mark 10:2; book, Luke 4:17.

8. I John saw (ejgwnnhv oJ ble>pwn). The A.V. overlooks the article with the participle - the one seeing. Hence Rev., correctly, I John am he that heard and saw.

Had heard and seen (h]kousa kai). Aorist tense. There is no need of rendering it as a pluperfect. Rev., rightly, I heard and saw. The appeal to hearing and seeing is
common to all John's writings. See John 1:14; 19:35; 21:14; I John 1:1, 2; 4:14.

9. See thou do it not (o[ra mh>). Lit., see not.

Thy brethren the prophets. The spiritual brotherhood of John with the prophets is exhibited in Revelation.

10. Seal (sfragi>sh|v). Rev., seal up. This word occurs eighteen times in Revelation and twice in the Gospel, and only five times elsewhere in the New Testament. It
means to confirm or attest (John 3:33); to close up for security (Matthew 27:66; Revelation 20:3); to hide or keep secret (Revelation 10:4; 22:10); to mark a person or
thing (Revelation 7:3; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30)

Time (kairo). See on Matthew 12:1.

11. Unjust (ajdikw~n). Rev., better, unrighteous.

Let him be unjust (ajdikhsa>tw). The verb means to do wickedly. Hence Rev., correctly, let him do unrighteousness.

He which is filthy (oJ rJupw~n). Only here in the New Testament. On the kindred noun rJu>pov filth, see on 1 Peter 3:21. a>a filthiness occurs only in James 1:21; and
the adjective rJuparo>v filthy only in James 2:2.
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Let him be filthy (rJupwsa>tw). The best texts read rJupanqh>tw let him be made filthy. So Rev.
Let him be unjust (ajdikhsa>tw). The verb means to do wickedly. Hence Rev., correctly, let him do unrighteousness.

He which is filthy (oJ rJupw~n). Only here in the New Testament. On the kindred noun rJu>pov filth, see on 1 Peter 3:21. a>a filthiness occurs only in James 1:21; and
the adjective rJuparo>v filthy only in James 2:2.

Let him be filthy (rJupwsa>tw). The best texts read rJupanqh>tw let him be made filthy. So Rev.

Let him be righteous (dikaiwqh>tw). Read dikaiosu>nhn poihsa>tw let him do righteousness. So Rev.

Let him be holy (aJgiasqh>tw). Rev., giving literally the force of the passive voice, let him be made holy.

12. My reward is with me (oJ misqo>v mou met' ejmou~). Misqo>v reward is strictly wages. Compare Isaiah 40:10; 62:11. See on 2 Peter 2:13.

To give (ajpodou~nai). Lit., to give back or in return for, thus appropriate to misqo>v reward. Hence Rev., better, render. See on give an account, Luke 16:2; and
gave, Acts 4:33.

Shall be (e]stai). Read ejstin is.

14. That do His commandments (oiJ poiou~ntev ta). Read oiJ plu>nontev ta they that wash their robes. Compare Revelation 7:14.

That they may have right to the tree of life (i[na e]stai hJ ejxousi>a aujtw~n ejpilon th~v zwh~v). Lit., in order that theirs shall be authority over the tree of life. For
ejxousi>a right, authority, see on John 1:12. > may be the preposition of direction: "may have right to come to" (so Rev.) or may be rendered over.

15. Dogs (oiJ ku>nev). The A.V. omits the article "the dogs." Compare Philippians 3:2. This was the term of reproach with which the Judaizers stigmatized the Gentiles
as impure. In the Mosaic law the word is used to denounce the moral profligacies of heathen worship (Deuteronomy 23:18). Compare Matthew 15:26. Here the word
is used of those whose moral impurity excludes them from the New Jerusalem. "As a term of reproach, the word on the lips of a Jew, signified chiefly impurity; of a
Greek, impudence. The herds of dogs which prowl about Eastern cities, without a home and without an owner, feeding on the refuse and filth of the streets, quarreling
among themselves, and attacking the passer-by, explain both applications of the image" (Lightfoot, on Philippians 3:2).

Sorcerers. See on Revelation 9:21, and compare Revelation 21:8.

Whoremongers (po>rnoi). Rev., better, fornicators.

Maketh (poiw~n). Or doeth. Compare doeth the truth, John 3:21; 1 John 1:6. See on John 3:21.

16. The root. Compare Isaiah 11:1,10. See on Nazarene, Matthew 2:23.

The morning-star. See on Revelation 2:28.

17. The Spirit. In the Church.

The Bride. The Church.

Heareth. The voice of the Spirit and the Bride.

19. The Book of Life. Read tou~ xu>lou the tree. So Rev.

20. Even so (nai). Omit.

21. Our Lord (hJmw~n). Omit.

With you all (metantwn uJmw~n). The readings differ. Some read metantwn with all, omitting you. Others, metawn with the saints.

LIST OF GREEK WORDS AND PHRASES USED BY JOHN ONLY

%Alfa,AlphaApoc.Revelation 1:8, 11;

toAlpha and Omega,Apoc.Revelation 21:6; 22:13

'Abaddw>n,AbaddonApoc.Revelation 9:11;

ajggeli>a,message 1 Ep.1 John 3:11;

ajgge>llw,to announceG.John 20:18

aijcmalwsi>acaptivity,Apoc.Revelation 13:10;

ajkma>zwto be fully ripeApoc.Revelation 14:18

aJlieu>wto go fishing,G.John 21:3

ajllaco>qensome other way,G.John 10:1;

ajllhlou>i`a,hallelujah,Apoc.Revelation 19:1, 3, 4, 6;

ajlo>h,aloe,G.John 19:39;

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aJmarti>an     2005-2009,
           e]cein,to        Infobase
                     have sin,G.,     Media9:41;
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ajmequstov,amethyst,Apoc.Revelation 21:20;
ajllhlou>i`a,hallelujah,Apoc.Revelation 19:1, 3, 4, 6;

ajlo>h,aloe,G.John 19:39;

aJmarti>an e]cein,to have sin,G., 1 Ep.John 9:41; 15:22, 24; 19:11. 1 John 1:8;

ajmequstov,amethyst,Apoc.Revelation 21:20;

oJ 'Amhthe Amen,Apoc.Revelation. 3:14;

ajmhverily, verilyG.John 1:51; 3:3, 5; 5:19 etc.

a]n (contracted

from ejaifG.John 13:20; 16:23; 20:23;

ajna

e[kastov,every several one,Apoc.Revelation 21:21

ajnama>rthtov,without sin,G.John 8:7 (passage rejected).

ajna>stasiv zwh~v,ressurection of life,G.John 5:29

ajna>stasiv

kri>sewv,ressurection of

judgmentG.John 5:29,

ajnqrakia>,heap of burning coalsG.John 18;18; 21:9

ajnqrwpokto>nov,manslayer, murdererG., 1 Ep.John 8:44. 1 John 3:15

ajnticri>stov,antichrist 1 Ep. 2 Ep.1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3. 2 John 1:7

ajntle>w,to draw

(water or wine),G.John 2:8, 9; 4:7, 15

a]ntlhma,a thing to draw with,G.John 4:11

ajpekri>qh

kaihe answered and said,G.John 2:19; 3:3; 4:10 etc.

ajpe>rcomai eijv

tasw,to go or follow after,G.John 12:19

'Apollu>wn,Apollyon,Apoc.Revelation 9:11

ajposuna>gwgov,out of the synagougeG.John 9:22; 12:42; 16:2

a]rafov,without seamG.John 19:23;

a]rkova bear

Apoc.Revelation 13:2;

'Armagedw>n,Armagedon,Apoc.Revelation 16:16;

ajrxitri>klinov,ruler of the feast,G.John 2:8, 9;

oJ a]rcwn tou~

ko>smou

(tou>tou),prince of this world,G.John 12;31; 14:30; 16:11

a]yinqov,wormwood,Apoc.Revelation 8:11

ba>llein

ska>ndalonto cast a stumbling

ejnw>pion,block beforeApoc.Revelation 2:14
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bai`>on,branchG.John 12:13

basanismo>v,torment,Apoc.Revelation 9:5; 14:11; 18:7, 10, 15;
ska>ndalonto cast a stumbling

ejnw>pion,block beforeApoc.Revelation 2:14

bai`>on,branchG.John 12:13

basanismo>v,torment,Apoc.Revelation 9:5; 14:11; 18:7, 10, 15;

ba>tracov,frog,Apoc.Revelation 16:13

bh>rullov,beryl,Apoc.Revelation 21:20

biblari>dion,little book,Apoc.Revelation 10:2, 8, 9, 10;

bibrw>skw,eat,G.John 6:13

bo>truv,cluster (of grapes),Apoc.Revelation 14:18

bronth>,thunder,G., Apoc.John 12:29. Revelation 4:5; 6:1

etc. In Mark 3:17 as

a translation

bu>ssinov,fine linen,Apoc.Revelation 18:16; 19:8, 14

Gabbaqa~,Gabbatha,G.John 19:13

gegeth>,birth,G.John 9:1

gennhqh~nai

a]nwqen,to be born again,

or from above,G.John 3:3

gennhqh~nai ejkto be born of God,G., 1 Ep.John 1:13. 1 John 3:9;

(tou~) Qeou~,1 John 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18

gennhqh~nai ejk

(tou~) to be born of the

pneu>matov,SpiritG.John 3:5, 6, 8

ge>rwn,old man,G.John 3:4

glwsso>komon,bag,G.John 12:6; 13:29

dakru>w,to weep,G.John 11:35;

deilia>w,to be afraid,G.John 14;27

de>katov,tenth,G., Apoc.John 1:39. Revelation 21:20

tokaton,the tenth partApoc.Revelation 11:13

dia>dhma,crownApoc.Revelation 12:3; 13:1; 19:12

diazwnnu>w,to gird,G.John 13:4, 5; 21:7

diaugh>v,transparent,Apoc.Revelation 21:21

Di>dumov,Didymus (twin),G.John 11:16; 20:24; 21:2

diplo>w,to double,Apoc.Revelation 18:6

dra>kwn,dragon,Apoc.Revelation 12:3, 4, 7; 13:2

dwde>katov,twelfth,Apoc.Revelation 21;20

ejgkai>nia,feast of the

dedication,G.John 10:22

ejgcri>w,anointApoc.Revelation 3:18
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ei+nai ejk
dedication,G.John 10:22

ejgcri>w,anointApoc.Revelation 3:18

ei+nai ejk

tou~ ko>smou,to be of the world, 1 Ep., G.John 8:23; 15:19; 17:14, 14:16; 18:36. 1 John 2:16; 4:5

ei+nai ejk

tw~n a]nw,to be from aboveG.John 8:23

ei+nai ejk tw~n

ka>tw,to be from beneath,G.John 8:23

ejkkente>w,to pierce,G., Apoc.John 19:37 Revelation 1:7

ejkneu>w,to withdraw,G.John 5:13

ejk tou~ aijw~nov,since the world beganG.John 9:32

ejlefa>ntinov,of ivory,Apoc.Revelation 18:12

Ellhniko>v,Greek,Apoc.Revelation 9:11

ejme>w,to spue,Apoc.Revelation 3:16

ejmpo>rion,merchandise,G.John 2:16

ejmfusa>w,to breathe upon,G.John 20:22

ejndw>mhsiv,building,Apoc.Revelation 21:18

ejxako>sion,six hundred,Apoc.Revelation 18:18, 19:20

ejxe>rcesqai ajpoto come forth

parafrom God,G.John 8:42; 13:3; 16:27, 30

ejxupni>zw,to awake one out

of sleep,G.John 11:11

ejpa>ratov,accursed,G.John 7:49

ejpendu>thv,upper garment,G.John 21:7

ejpide>comai,to receive, 3 Ep.3 John 9, 10

ejpicri>w,to annoit,G.John 9:6, 11

tamena,things that are comingG.John 16:13

(hJ) ejsca>th

hJme>ra,the last day,G.John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; 7:37;

John 11:24; 12:48

zhleu>w,to be zealous,Apoc.Revelation 3:19

zesto>v,hot,Apoc.Revelation 3:15, 16

hJmi>wron,half an hour,G.John 20:25

oJ h+n,which was (epithet

of God),Apoc.Revelation 1:4, 8; 4:8

h]per,than at all,G.John 12:43

oJ qa>natov oJ

deu>terov,the second death,Apoc.Apoc. 2:11; 20:14; 21:8

qau~ma  (me>ga)to
 Copyright        wonder with
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qauma>zein,with great wonderApoc.17:6
oJ qa>natov oJ

deu>terov,the second death,Apoc.Apoc. 2:11; 20:14; 21:8

qau~ma (me>ga)to wonder with

qauma>zein,with great wonderApoc.17:6

qeiw>dhv,brimstone,Apoc.Revelation 9:17

qeosebh>v,worshipper of God,G.John 9:31

qewrei~n

qa>naton,to see death,G.John 8:51

qh>kh,sheath,G.John 18:11

qre>mma,cattle,G.John 4:12

qu>i`nov,thyine (wwod),Apoc.Revelation 18:12

i]aspiv,jasper,Apoc.Revelation 4:3; 21:1118, 19

iJlasmo>v,propitiation 1 Ep.1 John 2:2; 4:10

ton,cavalry,Apoc.Revelation 9:16

i+riv,rainbow,Apoc.Revelation 4:3; 10:1

kaqai>rw,to purge,G.John 15:2

kata>qema,curse,Apoc.Revelation 22:3

katasfragi>zw,to seal,Apoc.Revelation 5:1

kath>gwr,accuser,Apoc.Revelation 12:10

kau~ma,heat,Apoc.Revelation 7:16; 16:9

ke>drov,cedar,G.John 18:1

keiri>a,swathing for a corpse,G.John 11:44

kerannumi,to mix, mingle,Apoc.Revelation 14:10; 18:6

ke>rma,small coin,G.John 2:15

kermatisth>v,money-changer,G.John 2:14

khpouro>v,gardener,G.John 20:15

kiqarw|do>v,harper,Apoc.Revelation 14:2; 18:22

kinna>mwmon, cinnamon, Apoc.Revelation 18:13

kle>mma,theft,Apoc.Revelation 9:21

klh~ma,branchG.John 15:2, 4, 5, 6

koi>mhsiv,taking rest,G.John 11:13

kollou>rion,eye-salve,Apoc.Revelation 3:18

kolumbh>qra,pool,G.John 5:2, 4, 7; 9:7, 11

komyo>teron

e]cein,to ammend,G.John 4:52

kriqh>,barley,Apoc.Revelation 6:6

kri>qinov,made or consisting

of barley,G.John 6:9, 13

krustalli>zw,to be as crystal,Apoc.Revelation 21:11
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kru>stallov,crystal,Apoc.Revelation 4:6; 22:1

kekleu>w,to encircle,Apoc.Revelation 20:9
of barley,G.John 6:9, 13

krustalli>zw,to be as crystal,Apoc.Revelation 21:11

kru>stallov,crystal,Apoc.Revelation 4:6; 22:1

kekleu>w,to encircle,Apoc.Revelation 20:9

kuklo>qen,round about,Apoc.Revelation 4:3, 4, 8; 5:11

hJ kuriakh

hJme>ra,The Lord's dayApoc.Revelation 1:10

le>ntion,towel,G.John 13:4, 5

libanwto>v,censer,Apoc.Revelation 8:3, 5

liqo>strwtov,pavement,G.John 19:13

lipar>ov,dainty,Apoc.Revelation 18:14

li>tra,pound,G.John 12:3; 19:39

lo>gch,spear,G.John 19:34

ma>rmarov,marble,Apoc.Revelation 18:12

massa>omai,to gnaw, Apoc.Revelation 16:10

mesoura>nhma,mid-heavenApoc.Revelation 8:13; 14:6;

19:17

meso>w,to be midway,G.John 7:14

Messi>av,Messiah,G.John 1:41; 4:25

metrhth>v,firkin,G.John 2:6

me>twpon,forehead,Apoc.Revelation 7:3; 9:4; 13:16, etc.

mhro>v,thigh,Apoc.Revelation 19:16

mi>gma,mixture,G.John 19:39

monh>,mansion, abodeG.John 14:2, 23

mousiko>v,musician,Apoc.Revelation 18;22

muka>omai,to roar,Apoc.Revelation 10:3

mu>linov,made of milestones,Apoc.Revelation 18:21

ni>kh,victory, 1 Ep.1 John 5:4

Nikolai`>thv,Nicolaitan,Apoc.Revelation 2:6, 15

nipth>r,basin,G.John 13:5

nu>ssw,to pierce,G.John 19:34

o]zw,to stink,G.John 11:39

ojqo>nion,linen bandage,G.John 19:40; 20:5, 6, 7

o]lunqov,untimely fig,Apoc.Apoc. 6:13

ojna>rion,young ass,G.John 12:14

o[pou ejkei~,where there,Apoc.Revelation 12:6, 14

ojpw>ra,fruits,Apoc.Revelation 18:14

o[rasiv,vision, sight,Apoc.Revelation 4:3; 9:17

o[rmhma,violence,Apoc.Revelation 18:21
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o]rneon,bird,Apoc.Revelation 18:2; 19:17, 21
o[rasiv,vision, sight,Apoc.Revelation 4:3; 9:17

o[rmhma,violence,Apoc.Revelation 18:21

o]rneon,bird,Apoc.Revelation 18:2; 19:17, 21

hJ oujai>,the woe,Apoc.Revelation 9:12; 11:14

oujai(with accus.

ofperson),woeApoc.Revelation 8:13; 12:12

oujkou~n,not then

(interrogative).G.John 18:37

oujra>,tail,Apoc.Revelation 9:10, 19; 12:4

ojya>rion,fish,G.John 6:9, 11; 21:9, 10, 13

o]yiv,appearance,G., Apoc.John 7:24; 11:44. Revelations 1:16

paida>rion,lad,G.John 6:9

para>klhtov,Comforter, Advocate,G., 1 Ep.John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7. 1 John 2:1

pa>rdaliv,leopard, Apoc.Revelation 13:2

peleki>zw,kill with an axe,

behead,Apoc.Revelation 20:4

pe>mptov,fifth,Apoc.Revelation 6:9; 9:1; 16:10; 21:20

penqero>v,father-in-law,G.John 18:13

peride>w,to bind about,G.John 11:44

peripatei~n ejn

ajlhqei>a|,to walk in the truth, 2 Ep. 3Ep.2 John 1:4. 3 John 1:3, 4

peripatei~n ejn

th|~ skoti>a| or

sko>tei,to walk in darkness,G., 1 Ep.John 8:12; 12:35. 1 John 1:6; 2:11

peripatei~n ejn

tw|~ fwti>,to walk in the light, 1 Ep.1 John 1:7

pe>tomai,to fly,Apoc.Revelation 12:14

plh>ssw,to smite,Apoc.Revelation 8:12

pneu~ma th~v

pla>nhv,spirit of error, 1 Ep.1 John 4:6

podh>rhv,reaching to the feet,Apoc.Revelation 1:13

poiei~n th

ajlh>qeian,to do the truth,G., 1 Ep.John 3:21. 1 John 1:6

porfurou~v,purple,G., Apoc.John 19:2, 5. Revelation 18:16

potamofo>rhtov,carried away of the

flood,Apoc.Apoc. 12:15

po>terov,whether,G.John 7:17

probatikh>,pertaining to sheep,G.John 5:2

proba>tion,little sheep,G.John
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prosaite>w,to beg,G.John 9:8
po>terov,whether,G.John 7:17

probatikh>,pertaining to sheep,G.John 5:2

proba>tion,little sheep,G.John 21:17

prosaite>w,to beg,G.John 9:8

proskunhth>v,worshipper,G.John 4:23

prosfa>gion,food,G.John 21:5

prwi`no>v,pertaining to
morning, early,Apoc.Revelation 2:28

oJ prw~tov kai

oJ e]scatov,the first and last,Apoc.Revelation 1:11, 17: 22:13

pte>rna,heelG.John 13:18

ptu>sma,spittle,G.John 9:6

pu>rinov,of fire,Apoc.Revelation 9:17

purjrJo>v,red,Apoc.Revelation 6:4; 12:3

rJe>dh (rJe>da),chariot,Apoc.Revelation 18:13

oJe>w,to flow,G.John 7:38

rJupai>nw,to defile,Apoc.Revelation 22:11

rJupo>w,to be filthy,Apoc.Revelation 22:11

Rwmai`sti>in Latin,G.John 19:20

salpisth>v,trumpeter,Apoc.Revelation 18:22

sa>pfeirov,sapphire,Apoc.Revelation 21:19

sa>rdion,sardius (stone),Apoc.Revelation 21:20

sardo>nux,sardonyx,Apoc.Revelation 21:20

semi>daliv,fine flour,Apoc.Revelation 18:13

shriko>v

(siriko>v),silk,Apoc.Revelation 18:12

si>dhrov,iron,Apoc.Revelation 18:12

ske>lav,leg,G.John 19:31, 32, 33

skhnophgi>a,feast of tabernacles,G.John 7:2

skhno>w,to dwell,G., Apoc.John 1:14; Apoc. 7:15; 6; 21:3

smara>gdinov,of emerald,Apoc.Revelation 4:3

sma>ragdov,emerald,Apoc.Revelation 21:19

strhnia>w,to live deliciously,Apoc.Revelation 18:7, 9

strh~nov,revelry,

voluptuousness,Apoc.Revelation 18:3

summaqhth>v,fellow-disciplineG.John 11:16

suneise>rcomai,to accompany into,G.John 6:22; 18:15

sw>mata,slaves (lit. bodies),Apoc.Revelation 18:13

talantiai~ov,of a talent's weight,Apoc.Revelation 16:21

tekn>on,little
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tetartai~ov,of the fourth day,G.John 11:39
sw>mata,slaves (lit. bodies),Apoc.Revelation 18:13

talantiai~ov,of a talent's weight,Apoc.Revelation 16:21

tekn>on,little child,G., 1 Ep.John 13:33. 1 John 2:12, 28; 3:18; 4:4; 5:21

tetartai~ov,of the fourth day,G.John 11:39

tetra>gwnov,four-square,Apoc.Revelation 21:16

tetra>mhnov,of four months,G.John 4:35

tiqe>nai yuch>n,to lay down the life,G. 1 Ep.John 10:11, 15, 17, 18; 13:37, 38; 15:13. 1 John 3:16

timio>thv,costliness,Apoc.Revelation 18:19

ti>tlov,title,G.John 19:19, 20

to>xon,bow,Apoc.Revelation 6:2

topa>zion,topaz,Apoc.Revelation 21:20

tri>cinov,of hair,Apoc.Revelation 6:12

uJaki>nqinov,of jacinth,Apoc.Revelation 9:17

uJa>kinqov,jacinth,Apoc.Revelation 21:20

uja>linov,of glass,Apoc.Revelation 4:6; 15:2

u[alov,glass,Apoc.Revelation 21;18, 21

uJdri>a,water-pot,G.John 2:6, 7; 4:28

uJfanto>v,woven,G.John 19:23

fano>v,lantern,G.John 18:3

fa>rmakon,drug, enchantment,Apoc.Revelation 9:21

farmako>v,sorcerer,Apoc.Revelation 21:8; 22:15

fia>lh,bowl or saucer,Apoc.Revelation 5:8; 15:7; 16:12, etc.

filoprwteu>w,to love pre-eminence, 3 Ep.3 John 1:9

fluare>w,to prate, 3 Ep.3 John 1:10

foi~nix,palm-tree,G., Apoc.John 12:13Revelation 7:9

frage>llion,scourge,G.John 2:15

ca>laza,hail,Apoc.Revelation 8:7; 11:19; 16:21

ca>lkeov,of brass,Apoc.Revelation 9:20

calkhdw>n,chalcedony,Apoc.Revelation 21:19

calkoli>banon,fine brass,Apoc.Revelation 1:15; 2:18;

camai>,on the ground,G.John 9:6; 18:6

ca>rthv,paper, 2 Ep.2 John 1:12

cei>marjrJov,brook,G.John 18:1

cliaro>v,lukewarm,Apoc.Revelation 3:16

coi~nix,measure, a choenix,Apoc.Revelation 6:6

cola>w,to be angry,G.John 7:23

cri>sma,anointing, unction, 1 Ep.1 John 2:20, 27

cruso>liqov,chrysolite,Apoc.Revelation 21:20

cruso>prasov,chrysoprasus,Apoc.Revelation 21:20
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cruso>w,to make golden,Apoc.Revelation 17:4; 18:16

ywmi>on,sop,G.John 13:26, 27, 30
cruso>liqov,chrysolite,Apoc.Revelation 21:20

cruso>prasov,chrysoprasus,Apoc.Revelation 21:20

cruso>w,to make golden,Apoc.Revelation 17:4; 18:16

ywmi>on,sop,G.John 13:26, 27, 30

NOTES
1.That he names himself in the Apocalypse, and not in the Gospel, is sufficiently explained by the fact that the Gospel is historical, intended to bring Christ into
prominence and to keep the writer out of view. The Apocalypse, on the other hand, is prophetic, and the name of the author is required as a voucher for the revelations
granted him. Compare Daniel 7:15; 8:27.

2.I follow the general arrangement of Westcott.

3.For a list of these coincidences see Westcott's Introduction to his Commentary on the Gospel, in the Speaker's Commentary.

4.Cerinthus taught that the world was not made by the supreme God, but by another and remote power which is over the universe. Jesus was not born of the Virgin by
miraculous conception, but was the Son of Joseph and Mary by natural generation, though specially endowed with justice and wisdom. After the baptism of Jesus the
Christ descended upon Him in the form of a dove, from that sovereign power which is over all things. He then announced the unknown Father and wrought miracles;
but toward the end of His ministry the Christ departed from Jesus, and Jesus suffered and rose from the dead, while the Christ remained impassable as a spiritual being.

5.The Docetes held that the body of our Lord was an immaterial phantom. Their name is derived from doke>w (dokeo) to seem.

6.It is, of course, foreign to the scope of this work to discuss this, with other Johannine questions, critically. Such a discussion must assume the reader's acquaintance
with Greek. The discussion concerning the differences in language will be found in Professor Milligan's excellent Lectures on the Revelation of St. John, Appendix 2:

7.I give the arrangement of the Prologue according to Godet.

8.Of course not anticipating the criticism which has eliminated this passage from text.

9.Austin used the Latin vox, and of course has in mind the secondary meaning as a word or saying.

10.The word hypostasis is equivalent to substance. In theological language it used in the sense of person as distinguished from essence. Hence the adverb hypostatically
signifies personally in the theological sense, which recognized three persons in the Godhead with one essence.

11.So the Rev., but not consistently throughout. A.V. by. See my article on the Revised New Testament. Presbyterian Review, October, 1881.

12.This reading is very earnestly defended by Canon Westcott, and is adopted in Westcott and Hort's text, and supported by Milligan and Moulton. It is rejected by
Tischendorf and by the Revisers; also by Alford, DeWette, Meyer, and Godet. Grammatical considerations seem to be against it (see Alford on the passage), but
Canon Westcott's defense is most ingenious and plausible.

13.i.e., attributing human form and human modes of activity to God, as when we speak of the hand, the face, the eye of God, or of God begetting as here.

14.I follow Meyer and Godet. De Wette, Alford, Milligan and Moulton adopt the other interpretation, referring e]mprosqen, to rank or dignity. So Westcott, who,
however, does not state the issue between the two explanations with his usual sharpness.

15.It is hardly necessary to refer the critical student to the admirable note of Bishop Lightfoot, in his Commentary on Colossians, p. 323 sq.

16.Dr. Scrivener, "Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament." remarks: "Those who will resort to ancient evidence exclusively for the recension of the text,
may well be perplexed in dealing with this passage. The oldest manuscripts, versions, and writers are hopelessly divided." He decides, however, for the reading uiJo.
So Tischendorf's text, and of commentators, Meyer, De Wette, Alford, Godet, Schaff (in Lange). Westcott and Hort's text gives Qeo, with oJ monogenh in margin. So
Westcott (Commentary), Milligan and Moulton, and Tregelles. See Schaff's note on the passage in Lange; Scrivener, p. 525; and "Two Dissertations," by F. J. A.
Hort, Cambridge, 1877.

17.I take this division from Westcott.

18.The student should by all means read Canon Westcott's admirable summary in the Introduction to his Commentary on John's Gospel.

19.It is not easy to adjust all the references to the hour of the day in John's Gospel to either of the two methods. Thus John 19:14 places the crucifixion at the sixth
hour, or noon, reckoning by the Jewish mode, while Mark 15:25. names the third hour, or between 8 and 9 A. M. The two passages in chapter 4, 6, 52, afford little
help, especially the latter. Perhaps, after all, the passage most nearly decisive is John 11:9. There are strong authorities on both sides. For the Roman method, Tholuck,
Ebrard, Ewald, Wescott; for the Jewish, Lucke, De Wette, Meyer, Alford, Lange, Godet.

20.In John 9:35 where Jesus himself formulates a confession, the reading is disputed; three of the leading MSS. reading Son of man. See on that passage.

21.I do not raise the question whether the narratives of John and of the Synoptists refer to the same event.

22.Or, according to some high authorities, "ye all know."

23.This view, however, is opposed by Meyer, Lange, De Wette, Alford, and Godet.

24.Condensed from Dr. Thomson's "Central Palestine and Phoenicia," in "The Land and the Book." An interesting description of the excavations made on the summit
of Gerizim, by Lieutenant Anderson, will be found in the same volume, pp. 126-128.

25.In Matthew 13:57 Tischendorf reads as her, ejn th|~ ijdi>a| patri>di, in his own country. Westcott and Hort, ejn th|~ patri>di aujtou~.
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26.I have given what seems, on the whole, the most simple and natural explanation, though against a host of high authorities. The various interpretations form a
bewildering jungle. All of them are open to objection. One of the most clear and simple discussions of the passage may be found in Schaff's Popular Commentary on
24.Condensed from Dr. Thomson's "Central Palestine and Phoenicia," in "The Land and the Book." An interesting description of the excavations made on the summit
of Gerizim, by Lieutenant Anderson, will be found in the same volume, pp. 126-128.

25.In Matthew 13:57 Tischendorf reads as her, ejn th|~ ijdi>a| patri>di, in his own country. Westcott and Hort, ejn th|~ patri>di aujtou~.

26.I have given what seems, on the whole, the most simple and natural explanation, though against a host of high authorities. The various interpretations form a
bewildering jungle. All of them are open to objection. One of the most clear and simple discussions of the passage may be found in Schaff's Popular Commentary on
the Gospel of John, edited by Professors Milligan and Moulton, where this explanation is adopted, though Professor Schaff in Lange calls it "far-fetched." This is also
the view of Canon Westcott. Other explanations are: Galilee generally; Nazareth; Lower Galilee, in which Nazareth was situated, as distinguished from Upper Galilee,
in which was Capernaum.

27.Bishop Lightfoot (Commentary on Galatians 3:22.urges with much force that this is invariably its meaning. The passage cited in opposition to this view by Professor
Thayer (Lexicon of the New Testament), John 7:38; 10:35; Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:22; 4:30; James 2:8; 1 Peter 2:6; 2 Peter 1:20 do not appear to me to be
conclusive; on the contrary, several of them seem to make rather for Bishop Lightfoot's view.

28.The correct reading in Matthew 11:16 is paidi>oiv.

29.Edersheim ("Life of Jesus") says that the Talmud names certain kinds of fish, specially designated as small fishes, which might be eaten without cooking: that small
fishes were recommended for health, and that the lake of Galilee was particularly rich in these, the salting and pickling of which was a special industry among the
fishermen.

30.For a full description see the article "Feast of Tabernacles," in McClintock and Crooks' Cyclopaedia, vol. 10, and Edersheim, "The Temple," ch. 14.

31.I am inclined, however, to think that the distinction between these two, and also between these and poreu>omai, which Canon Westcott claims is observed by John,
will not bear too strict pressing. See his commentary on John 7, 33.

32.I am aware of the objection to this rendering based on the canon that th has this meaning only in negative sentences, an objection which is certainly not parried by
Godet's attempt to explain this passage as essentially negative. But this rule is not absolutely universal (see Thayer's Lexicon, ajrch, 1, b.), and this explanation seems to
me, on the whole, to fall in better than any other with the general sense of the passage as I understand it. I always differ from Canon Westcott with reluctance; but
without going so far as to say, with Alford, that his interpretation is ungrammatical, I must confess that it seems to me artificial and forced, as also does Meyer's
rendering, which is open besides to serious criticism on grammatical grounds. The student will find the different interpretations well summed up and classified in Schaff's
Lange, and also more briefly in Westcott's additional note to ch. 8. See also Meyer.

33.I adopt this rendering, though with some hesitation, as best representing what seems to me the line of thought in the whole passage, and as avoiding most of the
grammatical difficulties. 1, though grammatically defensible, necessitates the awkwardness of rendering aujtou~ as neuter, by inference or derivation from the masculine
yeu>sthv. It is much more natural to take it as masculine. Both 1 and 2 require oJ path to be taken as the predicate, whereas, having the article, it would naturally be
expected to be the subject. The main objection to 3, is the omission of the subject with lalh|~, which is harsh. Professor Kendrick (American edition of Meyer) cites as
a parallel fhsi> in 2 Corinthians 10:10 and very justly observes that "if any objection may lie against this construction, it does not approach in harshness to that which
makes path a predicate in the sense ordinarily assigned to it. It is adopted by Westcott, and Milligan and Moulton.

34.Huther on 1 John 3:1 claims that this sense would be admissable only in the event of the phrase being used invariably with uJper tinov, on behalf of one.

35.Rev., God, with the judges in margin.

36.Trench (Synonyms) appears to overlook the exception in 2 Corinthians, though he cites the passage. He says that cri>ein is absolutely restricted to the anointing of
the Son by the Father, p. 131.

37.Perhaps the nearest approach to such a sentiment in Homer is the case of Thetis, weeping for and with her son Achilles ("Iliad," 1:360; 51, 66).

38.As by Fra Angelico (Florence), Bonifazio (Louvre), and the superb picture by Sebastian del Piombo in the National Gallery, London.

39.The meaning to take or bear away is claimed by some for Matthew 8:17 and John 20:25 (so Thayer, N. T. Lexicon). The former I think more than doubtful. Meyer
declares it "contrary to the sense;" De Wette and Lange both render bore. Canon Cook says. "The words chosen by St. Matthew preclude the supposition that he
refers the prophet's words, contrary to the sense of the original, to the mere removal of diseases by healing them." The words in Matthew are a citation from Isaiah 53:4
which Cheyne ("Prophecies of Isaiah") renders, "surely our sicknesses he bore, and our pains he carried them." Septuagint: "This man carries our sins and is pained for
us." Symmachus: "Surely he took up our sins and endured our labors." Edersheim remarks that "the words as given by St. Matthew are most truly a New Testament
targum of the original." Delitzsch, who thinks that the meaning took away is included in the sense of the Hebrew nasa, admits that its primary meaning is, He took up,
bore. The meaning in John 20:25 may be explained as in John 12:6 as determined by the context, though it may be rendered if thou hast taken him up. Field ("Otium
Norvicense") cites a passage from Diogenes Laertius, 4:59, where it is said that Lacydes, whenever he took anything out of his store-room, was accustomed, after
sealing it up, to throw the seal or ring through the hole, so that it might never be taken from his finger, and any of the stores be stolen (bastacqei>h).

40.Field ("Otium Norvicense"), who holds by teth>rhken, observes that "the conjecture that the ointment may have been reserved from that used at the burying of
Lazarus, is not fanciful, but an excellent example of undesigned coincidence, since we should never have perceived the propriety of the might have been sold of the first
two Gospels, if John had not helped us out with his teth>rhken, she hath kept."

41.Meyer acutely remarks that this rendering "yields the result of an actual prayer interwoven into a reflective monologue, and is therefore less suitable to a frame of
mind so deeply moved."

42.Godet, with his well-known aversion to departures from the Rec., holds by the reading genome>nou, and explains ginome>nou by when the repast as a repast
began; adding that the correction was made in order to place the foot-washing at the beginning of the repast, the customary time for it. But the performance of the act
during the course of the meal, is indicated by the words in ver. 4, He riseth from (ejk) the supper.

43.I am surprised to find it adopted by Milligan and Moulton.

44.Godet's affection for the "received reading" carries him rather beyond bounds, when it leads him to say that ajnapesw" seems absurd."

45.Directed to an end (te>lov), and therefore marking a purpose.
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46.The explanation given by Milligan and Moulton is, that the Father's house includes earth as well as heaven that it is, in short, the universe, over which the Father
rules, having many apartments, some on this side, others beyond the grave. When, therefore, Jesus goes away, it is only to another chamber of the one house of the
Father. The main thought is that wherever Jesus is wherever we are, we are all in the Father's house, and therefore there can be no real separation between Jesus and
44.Godet's affection for the "received reading" carries him rather beyond bounds, when it leads him to say that ajnapesw" seems absurd."

45.Directed to an end (te>lov), and therefore marking a purpose.

46.The explanation given by Milligan and Moulton is, that the Father's house includes earth as well as heaven that it is, in short, the universe, over which the Father
rules, having many apartments, some on this side, others beyond the grave. When, therefore, Jesus goes away, it is only to another chamber of the one house of the
Father. The main thought is that wherever Jesus is wherever we are, we are all in the Father's house, and therefore there can be no real separation between Jesus and
His disciples. This is very beautiful, and, in itself, true, but, as an explanation of this passage, is not warranted by anything in it, but is rather read into it.

47.W. Aldis Wright ("Bible Word-Book") is wrong in calling this "the primary meaning" of the word. No authorities for the use of mansio in this sense are quoted earlier
than Pliny and Suetonius, and none for this use of monh> earlier than Pausanias (A.D. 180). Canon Westcott's interpretation is effectively demolished (usually no easy
thing to do) by J. Sterling Berry, in The Expositor, 2nd series, vol. iii., p. 397.

48.The student will find the whole question discussed by Bishop Lightfoot ("On a Fresh Revision of the New Testament," p. 58 sqq.); Julius Charles Hare ("Mission of
the Comforter," p. 348); and Canon Westcott (Introduction to the Commentary on John's Gospel, Speaker's Commentary, p. 211). See also his note on 1 John 2:1 in
his Commentary on the Epistles of John.

49.This does not, as Godet says, turn the promise into "a moral precept." It is a hortatory encouragement. But then the reading occurs in God. A.!

50.The technical terms are telikw~v (telicos), of the design and end, and ejkbatikwV (ekbatikos), of the result.

51.Godet says that this expression "is nowhere else found in the mouth of Jesus." But see Matthew 8:3; Mark 14:36; John 21:22.

52.Mr. Field's remark ("Otium Norvicense") that it is improbable that the word would continue to be used in the older sense (rod) after it had acquired the later
meaning (hand), can hardly be called conclusive.

53.Mr. Field ("Otium Norvicense") claims that nu>ssw, is the milder word, and cites a curious illustration from Plutarch ("Life of Cleomenes"). Cleomenes and his party
escape from prison, and endeavor to raise the town and to get possession of the citadel. Failing in this, they resolve upon suicide. It is arranged that one of the number
is not to kill himself until he shall be assured that all the rest are dead. When all are stretched on the ground, the survivor goes round and tries each with his dagger (tw|~
xifidi>w| parapto>menov). When he comes to Cleomenes, he pricks (nu>xav) him on the ankle (paran), and goes him contract his face.

54.See William Stroud, "Physical Theory of the Death of Christ."

55.e]ceiv ti, have you anything, is the usual question addressed by a bystander to those employed in fishing or bird-catching. Equivalent to have you had any sport? See
Aristophanes, "Clouds," 731.

56.About A.D. 550, generally believed to have been a Bishop. The author of a work "De Partibus Divinae Legis," a kind of introduction to the sacred writings.

57.This is the view of Alford and Westcott. Ebrard and Huther maintain the personal sense.

58.So Alford, Huther, Ebrard.

59.The student should consult, on John's use of the term Life, Canon Westcott's "additional note" on 1 John 5:20. "Commentary on the Epistles of John," p. 204.

60.Let the student by all means consult Canon Westcott's "additional note" on p. 27, of his "Commentary on the Epistles of John."

61.But not New Testament epistles. Cai>rein greeting, occurs in no address on Apostolic epistle, except in that of James. See on James. 1:l.

62.The student may profitably consult on Plato's view of sin, Ackermann, "The Christian Element in Plato," p. 57, sq.

63.The story may be found at length in Godet's "Commentary on John," vol. 1, p. 58.

64.i.e., the genitive case, of God, of the Father, represents God as the subject of the emotion.

65.Because the verb separates not from all. In such cases, according to New Testament usage, the negation is universal. The A.V. not all makes it partial. See, for
instance, 1 John 3:15; Matthew 24:22.

66.I am indebted for the substance of this note to Canon Westcott.

67.So Alford and Huther, agt. Westcott. Westcott rightly observes that the preposition ejn in, is constantly used in the context to express the presence of God in the
Christian body; but it is most commonly joined there me>nei abideth, vv. 12, 13, 15, 16, and the objective statement, God sent, etc., defining the manifestation of
God's love, does not adjust itself naturally to the subjective sense implied in in us.

68.An interesting paper on "The sin unto Death," by the Rev. Samuel Cox, D.D., may be found in "The Expositor," 2nd series, vol. 1, p. 416. He holds to Bengel's
view of a sinful state or condition.

69.The student will do well to study Canon Westcott's "Additional Note" on this phrase, "Commentary on the Epistles of John," p. 204 sqq.

70.Lightfoot renders cai>rete farewell in Philippians 3:1; and describes it as a parting benediction in 4:4; but, in both cases, says that it includes an exhortation to
rejoice. The farewell is needless in both instances.

71.For fuller details, see article Papyrus in "Encyclopaedia Britannica," 9th edition, vol. xviii.

72.See Edersheim, "Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah," 2, 270.

73.Canon Westcott says "no parallel is quoted for" the Rev. rendering, but Revelation 21:5 can hardly be esteemed a parallel to his rendering "thou makest sure."

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72.See Edersheim, "Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah," 2, 270.

73.Canon Westcott says "no parallel is quoted for" the Rev. rendering, but Revelation 21:5 can hardly be esteemed a parallel to his rendering "thou makest sure."

74.The ordinary usage of sunergo>v with the genitive of the person co-operated with (Romans 16:21; 1 Corinthians 3:9.seems against the second explanation; but
against the former is the fact that the thing for which, or on behalf of which, one is a fellow-worker, is also used in the genitive (2 Corinthians 1:24.or with eijv unto
(Colossians 4:11; 2 Corinthians 8:23). There is no instance of the davious commodi (so Alford, Huther), dative of reference. On the other hand the kindred verb
sunerge>w occurs with the dative of the thing co-operated with in James 2:22: hJ pi>stiv sunh>rgei toi~v e]rgoiv, faith wrought with his works (see Huther's note). I
agree with Canon Westcott that this construction is sufficient to support the Rev. rendering. Huther, Alford, and Ebrard all adopt the other explanation.

75."Die Heimlich Offenbarung Johanis:" published in 1498

76.See Bishop Lightfoot's Essay on the Christian Ministry, in his "Commentary on Philippians."

77.This is the explanation of Trench, Plumptre, Dw, and Alford, and seems on the whole, to be the preferable one. Professor Milligan argues at length for the second
explanation, which is Bengel's.

78.The literature of hymnology is very rich in hymns depicting the glory of the heavenly city. In Latin there are Jerusalem luminosa which reappears in Jerusalem my
happy home, and O Mother dear Jerusalem: Urbs beata Jerusalem, which reappears in Blessed city, heavenly Salem: Urbs Sion Aurea, in Jerusalem the golden and
Jerusalem the glorious. Of this O bona patria, translated in To thee, O dear, dear Country, is a portion. Also Bernard's Me receptet Sion, Illa. In English may be noted,
besides the translations just referred to, Sweet place, sweet place alone; Hear what God the Lord hath spoken; Jerusalem, my happy home, when shall I come to thee?
In German, Meyfart's Jerusalem du hochgebaute stadt, and Hiller's O Jerusalem du Schone. Of Meyfart's hymn there are two English translations, one by Miss
Winkworth, Jerusalem, thou city fair and high, and the other by Bishop Whittingham of Maryland, Jerusalem, high tower thy glorious walls.

79.So Professor Milligan, who thinks that the whole scene is founded on Isaiah 6., which, he remarks, is always justly regarded as one of the greatest adumbratious of
the Trinity contained in the Old Testament.

80.I.e., the halo round the moon.

81.Dante's reference is to Isaiah 61:7 where, however, there is no reference to garments, but merely to a double compensation.

82.John.

83.This cubical plan, applied not only to the Tabernacle, but to the Ark of the Flood, the Temple of Solomon and the "Kings House," is minutely worked out in "The
Holy Houses" by Dr. Timothy Otis Paine; a book full of curious erudition. in which the Tabernacle, the Ark of Noah, the Temple, and the Capitol or King's House, are
treated as developments from a common type; but which proceeds on the utterly untenable hypothesis that the temple of Ezekiel's vision was Solomon's; and that,
accordingly, from the two books of Kings and the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel all the data are furnished for a complete restoration of the Temple; the prophetic
vision of Ezekiel supplying the details omitted in the historic record of Kings.




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