Kejadian 21:22

21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you ¹  in all that you do.

Yesaya 45:14

The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope

45:14 This is what the Lord says:

“The profit ²  of Egypt and the revenue ³  of Ethiopia,

along with the Sabeans, those tall men,

will be brought to you ⁴  and become yours.

They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. ⁵ 

They will bow down to you

and pray to you: ⁶ 

‘Truly God is with ⁷  you; he has no peer; ⁸ 

there is no other God!’”

Yesaya 45:1

45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen ⁹  one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold ¹⁰ 

in order to subdue nations before him,

and disarm kings, ¹¹ 

to open doors before him,

so gates remain unclosed:

Yohanes 3:1-2

Conversation with Nicodemus

3:1 Now a certain man, a Pharisee ¹²  named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, ¹³  3:2 came to Jesus ¹⁴  at night ¹⁵  and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs ¹⁶  that you do unless God is with him.”

[21:22]  ¹ sn God is with you. Abimelech and Phicol recognized that Abraham enjoyed special divine provision and protection.

[45:14]  ² tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”

[45:14]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”

[45:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”

[45:14]  ⁵ sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.

[45:14]  ⁶ sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.

[45:14]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”

[45:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.

[45:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”

[45:1]  ¹⁰ sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.

[45:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”

[3:1]  ¹² sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[3:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “a ruler of the Jews” (denoting a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[3:2]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “during the night.”

[3:2]  sn Possibly Nicodemus came…at night because he was afraid of public association with Jesus, or he wanted a lengthy discussion without interruptions; no explanation for the timing of the interview is given by the author. But the timing is significant for John in terms of the light-darkness motif – compare John 9:4, 11:10, 13:30 (especially), 19:39, and 21:3. Out of the darkness of his life and religiosity Nicodemus came to the Light of the world. The author probably had multiple meanings or associations in mind here, as is often the case.

[3:2]  ¹⁶ sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.