Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

John 21:5

λέγει οὖν … ἔχετε; The οὖν is not merely continuative, but indicates that what Jesus said was in some respect prompted by their ignorance of His identity. This is neglected by Lücke when he says that παιδία is not Johannine, and that τεκνία is the regular term used by Jesus in addressing the disciples. Yes, when He openly addresses them; but here He uses the word any stranger might use, and the rendering “children” retained even in R.V [98] is wrong. It should be “lads”; παιδίον being the common term of address to men at work, see Aristophanes, Clouds, 137, Frogs, 33; Euthymius, ἔθος γὰρ τοὺς ἐργατικὸς οὕτως ὀνομάζειν. Jesus appeared as an intending purchaser and cries, μήτι προσφάγιον ἔχετε; “Have you taken any fish?” (R.V [99] : “have ye anything to eat?” misapprehends both the words and the situation). προσφάγιον, as its composition shows, means anything eaten as seasoning or “kitchen” to bread; being the Hellenistic word used instead of the Attic ὄψον or προσόψημα. Athenaeus and Plutarch both tell us that fish was so commonly used in this way that προσφάγιον came to mean “fish”. ἔχετε has its quasitechnical sense, “have ye caught?” For this sense, see Aristophanes, Clouds, 705 (723, 731), where Socrates asks Strepsiades under the blanket, ἔχεις τι; on which the Scholiast remarks, χαριέντως τὸ ἔχεις τι, τῇ τῶν ἀγρευτῶν λέξει χρώμενος · τοῖς γὰρ ἁλιεῦσιν ἢ ὀρνιθαγρευταῖς οὕτω φασὶν, ἔχεις τι. So that the words of Jesus are: “Lads, have ye caught no fish?” ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ, “ Οὔ ”. “They answered Him, ‘No,' ” without any Κύριε or Διδάσκαλε.

[98] Revised Version.

[99] Revised Version.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

John 21:5

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