Xix. — The Expositor's Greek Testament

n Exod. xii. 46. Ps.

αὐτοῦ τὴν πλευρὰν ἔνυξε, καὶ εὐθὺς Ἰ ἐξῆλθεν αἷμα καὶ ὕδωρ. “kal 6 ἑωρακὼς µεμαρτύρηκε, καὶ ™ κἀκεῖνος οἶδεν ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγει, ἵνα ὑμεῖς πιστεύσητε.

35: ἀληθινὴ αὐτοῦ ἐστὶν ἡ paptupia, 36. ἐγένετο

γὰρ ταῦτα, ἵνα ἡ Ὑραφὴ πληρωθῇῃ, '"᾿Οστοῦν οὐ συντριβήσεται 37. Καὶ πάλιν ἑτέρα γραφὴ λέγει, ΄"Ὄψονται εἰς ὃν

38. ΜΕΤΑ δὲ ταῦτα ἠρώτησε τὸν Πιλάτον 6 Ιωσὴφ 6 ἀπὸ ᾿Αριμα- θαίας, Gv μαθητὴς τοῦ ᾿[ησοῦ, ! κεκρυµµένος δὲ διὰ τὸν Φόβον τῶν

ή ϱ lo a A 16 Ιουδαίων, ἵνα Ἱ ἄρῃ τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ: καὶ ἐπέτρεψεν 6 Πιλάτος.

EXXIV, 3ο στ ἂν

ο Zech. xii. GUTOU. 1ο, fi . >

ἐξεκέντησαν.

p Hereonly.

qi Kings xiii. 29.

τχ ο σα.

cance of the blood and water so abundantly insisted on by the Fathers “see Burton, B. L., 167-72, and West- cott’s additional note) is not within John’s horizon.—Ver. 35. When he goes on to testify, 6 ἑωρακὼς . . . it is not the phenomenon of the blood and water he so emphatically certifies, but the veritable death of Christ. To one who was about to relate a resurrection it was a necessary preliminary to establish the bona-fide death. That John here speaks of himself in the third person is quite in his manner. Here, as in chap. xx., he shows that he understood the value of an eye-witness’s testimony. It is that which constitutes his paptvupia as ἀληθινή, it is adequate. Besides being adequate, its contents are true, ἀληθῆ. ‘Testimony may be sufficient (e.g., of a competent eye-witness) but false; or it may be in- sufficient (e.g., of half-witted child) but true. St. John declares that his testimony is both sufficient and true.’’ Plummer. The reason of his utterance, or record of these facts, is ἵνα tpeis πιστεύσητε, ‘that ye might believe,” first, this record, and through it in Jesus and His revela- tion.—Ver. 36. ἐγένετο γὰρ ταῦτα. He records these things, contained in this short paragraph, because they further identify Jesus as the promised Messiah. Ὀστοῦν οὐ συντριβήσεται αὐτοῦ. The law regarding the Paschal lamb ran thus (Exod. xii. 46): ὁστοῦν οὐ ouv- τρίψετε ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, cf. Ps. xxxiv. 20. Evidently John identified Jesus as the Paschal Lamb, cf. 1 Cor. v. 7. καὶ πάλιν ... ἐξεκέτησαν. Another Scrip- ture also here found its fulfilment, Zech. xii. 10. The original is: ‘‘ They shall look upon me whom they pierced”. The Sept. renders: ἐπιβλέψονται πρὸς μὲ avd? ὧν κατωρχήσαντο: “They shall look towards me because they insulted me”.

39. ἦλθε δὲ καὶ Νικόδημος

λθὼν πρὸς τὸν Ιησοῦν νυκτὸς "Td πρῶτον, φέρων " μίγμα σµύρνης

John gives a more accurate translation: Ὄψονται εἷς Ov ἐξεκέντησαν: ‘“‘ They shall look on Him whom (ἐκεῖνον ὃν) they pierced”. The same rendering is adopted in the Greek versions of Aquila, Theodotion and Symmachus, and is also found in Ignatius, Ep. Trall., 10; Justin, I, Apol., i. 77; and cf. Rev. i. 7, and Barnabas, Ep., 7. In the lance thrust John sees a suggestive €onnection with the martyr-hero of Zechariah’s prophecy.

Vv. 38-42. The entombment.—Ver. 38. Mera. δὲ ταῦτα, “ But after these things ’’. In ver. 31 the Jews asked that the bodies might be removed. Had this request been fulfilled by the soldiers, they would have cast the three bodies together into some pit of refuse, cf. Josh. vili. 29; but before this was done Joseph of Arimathaea—a place not yet certainly identified—who was a rich man (¢/. Is. liii. g) and a member of the Sanhedrim (Mt. xxvii. 57; Mk. xv. 43 ; Lk. xxiii. 50), © but also ‘a disciple of Jesus,” though “a hidden: one, kexpuppévos, through fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might remove the body of Jesus”. This required some courage on Joseph’s part, and Mark therefore uses the word τολµήσας. Reynolds says that ἠρώ- τησεν “implies something of claim and confidence on his part. The Synoptists all three use ᾖτήσατο, which rather denotes the position of a supplicant for a favour.” The reason, however, why ἠτήσατο is used in the Synoptists is that it is followed by an accusative of the object asked for; while ἠρώτησε is used in John because it introduces a request that something may be done. With Joseph’s request Pilate complied. ἠλθεν ...?Inood. For Ἶρε τὸ σῶμα, cf. 1 Kings xiii. 29. Another member of Sanhedrim countenanced and aided Joseph.—Ver. 39. ἦλθε δὲ καὶ Νικό-