John 20:5
Encyclopedia
John 20:5 is the fifth verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John
in the Bible
. The Beloved Disciple and Peter
have traveled to the tomb of Jesus
to investigate Mary Magdalene
's report that the body of Jesus had disappeared. In this verse the Beloved Disciple arrives at the tomb and while he looks in he does not enter it.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
Barrett reports that the term that is translated as stooping/bending over is one that is most often used to refer to looking down from a height. This would imply that Jesus' tomb is a vertical shaft like grave. The rest of the passage verse indicates a tomb that is more like a cave. However the word can also refer to any looking that requires the head to be bent. Tombs of this period generally had an entrance that was less than a meter high, which would thus require some contortion to peer in. The word that describes John looking at the grave clothes implies more a short glance than a detailed examination.
The main unanswered question about this passage is why the Beloved Disciple pauses outside the tomb. One theory is that he is deferring to Peter, as the junior disciple the Beloved Disciple pauses to allow Peter to be the first into the tomb. Another notion is that the Beloved Disciple paused because entering a tomb at this point would be a violation of ritual. Perhaps his concern was with respecting the burial place of his lord. Most scholars believe the first explanation is the most likely as the Beloved Disciple does enter the tomb soon after in John 20:8
.
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. The Beloved Disciple and Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
have traveled to the tomb of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
to investigate Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
's report that the body of Jesus had disappeared. In this verse the Beloved Disciple arrives at the tomb and while he looks in he does not enter it.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- And he stooping down, and looking
- in, saw the linen clothes
- lying; yet went he not in.
The World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- Stooping and looking in, he
- saw the linen cloths lying,
- yet he didn’t enter in.
Barrett reports that the term that is translated as stooping/bending over is one that is most often used to refer to looking down from a height. This would imply that Jesus' tomb is a vertical shaft like grave. The rest of the passage verse indicates a tomb that is more like a cave. However the word can also refer to any looking that requires the head to be bent. Tombs of this period generally had an entrance that was less than a meter high, which would thus require some contortion to peer in. The word that describes John looking at the grave clothes implies more a short glance than a detailed examination.
The main unanswered question about this passage is why the Beloved Disciple pauses outside the tomb. One theory is that he is deferring to Peter, as the junior disciple the Beloved Disciple pauses to allow Peter to be the first into the tomb. Another notion is that the Beloved Disciple paused because entering a tomb at this point would be a violation of ritual. Perhaps his concern was with respecting the burial place of his lord. Most scholars believe the first explanation is the most likely as the Beloved Disciple does enter the tomb soon after in John 20:8
John 20:8
John 20:8 is the eighth verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John in the Bible. Peter and the Beloved Disciple are examining Jesus's empty tomb. Peter has been inside the tomb since John 20:6, while the Beloved Disciple had been examining it from outside...
.