John 9:1-5
THE PRELUDE TO THE SIGN... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PRELUDE TO THE SIGN... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΠΑΡΆΓΩΝ. Possibly on His way from the Temple (John 8:59), or (if ἐγένετο τότε be the right reading in John 10:22) more probably on a later occasion near the F. of the Dedication. Comp. καὶ παράγων εἶδε Λευΐν (Mark 2:14). We know that this man was a beggar (John 9:8), and that beggars frequented... [ Continue Reading ]
RABBI. see on John 1:39; John 4:31. ἽΝΑ Τ. ΓΕΝΝΗΘΗ͂Ι. _That he_ SHOULD BE _born blind_, in accordance with the Divine decree; comp. John 4:34; John 6:29; John 6:40, and see on John 8:56. They probably knew the fact from the man himself, who would often state it to the passers-by. This question has g... [ Continue Reading ]
3. Christ shews that there is a third alternative, which their question assumes that there is not. Moreover He by implication warns them against assuming, like Job’s friends, a connexion between suffering and sin in individuals (see on John 9:14). _Neither_ DID _this man_ SIN (not ‘hath sinned’), _n... [ Continue Reading ]
ἩΜΑ͂Σ for ἐμέ (a correction to harmonize with με) with א1BL against א3AC. 4. ἩΜΑ͂Σ ΔΕΙ͂ … ΜΕ. The readings are doubtful as to whether ἡμᾶς or ἐμέ, με or ἡμᾶς is right in each place. The more difficult reading is the best supported: WE _must work the works of Him that sent_ ME. Some copyists changed... [ Continue Reading ]
ὍΤΑΝ ἘΝ Τ. Κ. Ὦ. WHENSOEVER _I am in the world_: distinguish between ἔως ἐστί and ὅταν ὦ. Ὅταν is important; it shews the comprehensiveness of the statement. The Light shines at various times and in various degrees, whether the world chooses to be illuminated or not. Comp. John 1:5; John 8:12. Here... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΠΈΧΡΙΣΕΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂ for ἐπέχρισε. Omit τοῦ τυφλοῦ (explanatory gloss) after ὈΦΘΑΛΜΟΎΣ with אBL against AC. 6. ἘΠΈΧΡΙΣΕΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂ Τ. Π. Either SPREAD THE CLAY THEREOF (made with the spittle), or SPREAD HIS CLAY (made by Him) UPON HIS EYES. Jewish tradition expressly forbade putting spittle to the eyes o... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SIGN... [ Continue Reading ]
ΝΊΨΑΙ ΕἸΣ Τ. Κ. Either, _Wash_ the clay off _into the pool_, or, _Go to the pool and wash_. Νίπτω, Attic νίζω, besides John 9:11; John 9:15 and John 13:5-14 occurs only Matthew 6:17; Matthew 15:2; Mark 7:3; 1 Timothy 5:10, and is always used of washing _part_ of the body. For bathing the whole eithe... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΡΟΣΑΊΤΗΣ (all the best MSS. and versions) for τυφλός. 8. ΟἹ ΘΕΩΡΟΥ͂ΝΤΕΣ. _They_ WHO USED TO BEHOLD HIM AFORETIME, _that_ (John 4:19; John 12:19) _he was a_ BEGGAR, or BECAUSE _he was a beggar_, and was therefore often to be seen in public places.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἌΛΛΟΙ ἘΛ. ΟΥ̓ΧΊ. A third group said, _No, but he is like him_. The opening of his eyes would greatly change him: this added to the improbability of a cure made them doubt his identity.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἨΝΕΏΙΧΘΗΣΑΝ (אBCD) for ἀνεωχθησαν (AKUS). For this triple augment comp. Matthew 9:30; Acts 16:26; Revelation 19:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
11. After ἘΚΕΙ͂ΝΟΣ omit καὶ εἶπεν with אBCDL against A. Ὁ ἌΝΘΡΩΠΟΣ Ὁ ΛΕΓΌΜΕΝΟΣ (אBL) for ἄνθρ. λεγ. (AD). ΤῸΝ (אBDLX) for τὴν κολυμβήθραν τοῦ (A). 11. ἘΚΕΙ͂ΝΟΣ. S. John’s fondness for this pronoun has been remarked. Here and in John 9:25; John 9:36 it marks the man’s prominence in the scene. Comp. J... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΚΕΙ͂ΝΟΣ. That strange Rabbi who perplexes us so much: comp. John 9:28; John 7:12; John 19:21. ΟΥ̓Κ ΟἾΔΑ rather implies that He did not return to Jesus (John 9:7).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἌΓΟΥΣΙΝ. These friends and neighbours are perhaps well-meaning people, not intending to make mischief. But they are uncomfortable because work has been done on the Sabbath, and they think it best to refer the matter to the Pharisees, the great authorities in matters of legal observance and orthodoxy... [ Continue Reading ]
OPPOSITE RESULTS OF THE SIGN... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ ἮΙ ἩΜΈΡΑΙ for ὅτε (simplification) with אBLX against AD. 14. ἮΝ ΔῈ Σ. ἘΝ ἯΙ ἩΜ. _Now it was a Sabbath on the day on which_: τ. πηλὸν ἐποίησεν is specially stated as being an aggravation of the offence of healing on the Sabbath: see on John 5:9. There were seven miracles of mercy wrought on the Sa... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΗΛῸΝ ἘΠ. The man is becoming impatient of this cross-questioning and answers more briefly than at first. He omits the aggravating circumstance of making the clay as well as the sending to Siloam.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓͂ΤΟΣ. Contemptuous: comp. John 3:26; John 6:42; John 6:52; John 7:15; John 7:35; John 7:49; John 12:34. The fact of the miracle is as yet not denied; but it cannot have been done with God’s help. Comp. ‘He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils’ (Matthew 9:34); like this, an argument... [ Continue Reading ]
17. There being a division among them they appeal to the man himself, each side wishing to gain him. ‘They’ includes both sides, the whole body of Pharisees present. Their question is not twofold, but single; not ‘What sayest thou of Him? that He hath opened thine eyes?’ but _What sayest thou of Him... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓Κ ἘΠ. ΟΥ̓͂Ν ΟἹ Ἰ. _The Jews_ THEREFORE _did not believe_. The man having pronounced for the moderates, the bigoted and hostile party begin to question the _fact_ of the miracle. Note that here and in John 9:22 S. John no longer speaks of the Pharisees, some of whom were not unfriendly to Christ,... [ Continue Reading ]
19. Three questions in legal form. Is this your son? Was he born blind? How does he now see? ΔΝ ὙΜΕΙ͂Σ Λ. OF WHOM _ye say_ THAT HE _was born blind_ (see on John 6:71). The emphatic ὑμεῖς implies ‘we do not believe it.’... [ Continue Reading ]
20. In their timidity they keep close to the questions asked.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῚΣ ἬΝΟΙΞΕΝ. This is the dangerous point, and they become more eager and passionate. Hitherto there has been nothing emphatic in their reply; but now there is a marked stress on all the pronouns, the parents contrasting their ignorance with their son’s responsibility. ‘Who opened his eyes, _we_ know... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΥΝΕΤΈΘΕΙΝΤΟ. It does not appear when; but the tense and ἤδη indicate some previous arrangement, and probably an informal agreement among themselves. A formal decree of the Sanhedrin would be easily obtained afterwards. Συντίθεσθαι occurs in Luke 22:5 of the compact with Judas, and in Acts 23:20 of... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙᾺ ΤΟΥ͂ΤΟ. FOR THIS CAUSE: John 1:31; John 5:16; John 5:18; John 6:65; John 8:47, &c. ἩΛΙΚ. ἜΧ. ΑΥ̓. Ἐ. This is the right order here: in T.R. the clauses have been transposed in John 9:21 to match this verse.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΦΏΝ. ΟΥ̓͂Ν. _They called_, THEREFORE, A SECOND TIME. Having questioned the parents apart from the son, they now try to browbeat the son, before he learns that his parents have not discredited his story. ΔῸΣ Δ. Τ. Θ. GIVE GLORY TO GOD. ‘Glory,’ not ‘praise’ (John 12:43), which would be αἶνος or ἔπαι... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΚΕΙ͂ΝΟΣ. See on John 9:11. He will not argue or commit himself, but keeps to the incontrovertible facts of the case. ΤΥΦΛῸΣ ὬΝ. As in John 3:13 and John 19:38, we are in doubt whether the participle is present or imperfect; either ‘being by nature a blind man,’ or ‘being formerly blind:’ so also i... [ Continue Reading ]
26. Being baffled, they return to the details, either to try once more to shake the evidence, or for want of something better to say.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΟΥ̓Κ ἨΚΟΎΣΑΤΕ. Possibly interrogative, DID YE NOT HEAR? This avoids taking ἀκούειν in two senses; (1) ‘hearken,’ (2) ‘hear.’ The man loses all patience, and will not go through it again. ΜῊ ΚΑῚ ὙΜΕΙ͂Σ. SURELY YE ALSO DO NOT WISH TO BECOME: comp. John 4:29; John 6:67; John 7:35; John 7:52. For θέ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΛΟΙΔΌΡΗΣΑΝ. The word occurs here only in the Gospels: comp. 1 Peter 2:23. Argument fails, so they resort to abuse. ἘΚΕΊΝΟΥ. THAT MAN’S _disciple_: the pronoun expresses that they have nothing to do with Him: comp. John 9:12; John 7:12; John 19:21. The pronouns are emphatic in both John 9:28 and Jo... [ Continue Reading ]
ΛΕΛΆΛΗΚΕΝ. HATH SPOKEN, i.e. that Moses received a revelation _which still remains_. This is a frequent meaning of the perfect tense—to express the permanent result of a past action. Thus the frequent formula γέγραπται is strictly ‘it has been written,’ or ‘it _stands_ written:’ i.e. it once was wri... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸ ΘΑΥΜΑΣΤΌΝ. THE _marvellous thing_, or _the marvel_. ‘_You_, the very people who ought to know such things (John 3:10), know not whether He is from God or not, and yet He opened my eyes.’ ‘You’ is emphatic, and perhaps is a taunting rejoinder to their ‘_we_ know that this man is a sinner’ (John 9:... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓Κ�. _Heareth not_ wilful, impenitent sinners. Of course it cannot mean ‘God heareth no one who hath sinned,’ which would imply that God never answers the prayers of men. But the man’s dictum, reasonably understood, is the plain teaching of the O.T., whence he no doubt derived it. ‘The Lord is far... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΚ Τ. ΑἸΩ͂ΝΟΣ. Here only: Colossians 1:26 we have ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων. There is no healing of the blind in O.T.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟὟΤΟΣ. He uses their pronoun without their contemptuous meaning (John 9:24; John 9:29). On ΠΑΡᾺ ΘΕΟΥ͂ see on John 1:6. ΟΥ̓ΔΈΝ. Nothing like this, no miracle. For the construction see Winer, p. 382.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ ἉΜΑΡΤ. ΣΎ. Emphatic: ‘In sins wast thou born altogether; thou art a born reprobate; and thou, dost thou teach us?’ ὍΛΟΣ. ‘Every part of thy nature (comp. John 13:10) has been steeped in sins from thy birth.’ They hold the same belief as the disciples, that sin before birth is possible, and malic... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣῪ ΠΙΣΤ. Comp. John 11:26. ‘Dost _thou_, though others blaspheme and deny, believe?’ see on John 1:12; John 8:30-31. ΕὙΡΏΝ, as in John 1:44; John 5:14; John 11:17; John 12:14, probably implies previous seeking. Τ. ΥἹῸΝ Τ. Θ. Again there is much doubt about the reading. The balance of MSS. authority... [ Continue Reading ]
36. Insert ΚΑῚ before τίς. Confusion with κύριε may have caused the omission. ΚΑΙ and Κ̅Ε̅ (= ΚΥΡΙΕ) are easily confounded, and κε τις εστιν κε would seem to have a superfluous κύριε. CHRIST THE SOURCE OF TRUTH AND LIGHT ILLUSTRATED BY A SIGN Light is given to the eyes of the man born blind and th... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ἙΏΡΑΚΑΣ. Winer, p. 342. We are uncertain whether the first καὶ anticipates the second, ‘Thou hast _both_ seen Him,’ or emphasizes the verb, ‘Thou hast _even_ seen Him:’ the latter seems better. ἘΚΕΙ͂ΝΟΣ. S. John’s characteristic use of ἐκεῖνος to reproduce a previous subject with emphasis (see... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΙΣΤ. ΚΎΡΙΕ. I BELIEVE, LORD: the order is worth keeping. Comp. the centurion’s confession (Matthew 27:54). There is no need to suppose that in either case the man making the confession knew anything like the full meaning of belief in the Son of God: even Apostles were slow at learning that. The bli... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΕἾΠ. Ὁ Ἰ. There is no need to make a break in the narrative and refer these words to a subsequent occasion. This is not natural. Rather it is the sight of the man prostrate at His feet, endowed now with sight both in body and soul, that moves Christ to say what follows. His words convey His own... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΚ Τ. Φ … ὌΝΤΕΣ. THOSE _of the P. who were with Him_, who still considered themselves in some degree His disciples. ΜῊ ΚΑῚ ἩΜ. SURELY WE ALSO ARE NOT BLIND: comp. John 9:27; John 6:67. Of course they understand Him to be speaking figuratively. It is strange that any should have understood their que... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸ Τ. ἯΤΕ. ‘_If ye were blind_, i.e. if ye were conscious of your spiritual darkness and yearned for the light, _ye would not have sin_ (John 15:22); for either ye would find the light, or, if ye failed, the failure would not lie at your door.’ Others interpret, ‘If ye were really blind, and had nev... [ Continue Reading ]