Yohanes 4:29

4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, ¹  can he?” ² 

Yohanes 7:40-42

Differing Opinions About Jesus

7:40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd ³  began to say, “This really ⁴  is the Prophet!” ⁵  7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ!” ⁶  But still others said, “No, ⁷  for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ⁸  7:42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant ⁹  of David ¹⁰  and comes from Bethlehem, ¹¹  the village where David lived?” ¹² 

[4:29]  ¹ tn Grk “the Christ” (both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). Although the Greek text reads χριστός (cristos) here, it is more consistent based on 4:25 (where Μεσσίας [Messias] is the lead term and is qualified by χριστός) to translate χριστός as “Messiah” here.

[4:29]  ² tn The use of μήτι (mhti) normally presupposes a negative answer. This should not be taken as an indication that the woman did not believe, however. It may well be an example of “reverse psychology,” designed to gain a hearing for her testimony among those whose doubts about her background would obviate her claims.

[7:40]  ³ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).

[7:40]  ⁴ tn Or “truly.”

[7:40]  ⁵ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.

[7:41]  ⁶ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:41]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:41]  ⁷ tn An initial negative reply (“No”) is suggested by the causal or explanatory γάρ (gar) which begins the clause.

[7:41]  ⁸ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does he?”).

[7:42]  ⁹ tn Grk “is from the seed” (an idiom for human descent).

[7:42]  ¹⁰ sn An allusion to Ps 89:4.

[7:42]  ¹¹ sn An allusion to Mic 5:2.

[7:42]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[7:42]  ¹² tn Grk “the village where David was.”