John 20:9
Encyclopedia
John 20:9 is the ninth verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John
in the Bible
. Peter
and the Beloved Disciple have been examining Jesus
' empty tomb
and the arrangement of the grave clothes. John 20:8
states that the Beloved Disciple looked in the tomb and believed, though there is conflict on what exactly he believed. John 20:9 seems to modify this statement but its exact meaning is also unclear.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
Who they refers to is uncertain. John only makes clear that Peter and the Beloved Disciple were present, but it is possible that Mary Magdalene
was also there at this point. Thus some scholars, such as Hartmann, believe they refers to Peter and Mary who were in ignorance while the Beloved Disciple did understand that Jesus had risen from the dead. The alternative is that they refers to Peter and the Beloved Disciple and shows that they were both still ignorant about the resurrection and that this verse thus clarifies the preceding one and confirms that the Beloved Disciple did not realize that Jesus had risen. Schnackenberg believes that John 20:8
, and everything else referring to the Beloved Disciple, is a later addition to the chapter. In this model 20:9 would follow directly after 20:7 and would clearly be talking about Peter and Mary Magdalene.
Brown
reports that the word scripture is singular
and most of the time this form is used to refer to a single piece of scripture. No piece is cited but it is possible the author of John assumed his readers would know what piece was referred to. Several passages from the Old Testament
have been proposed as likely candidates for this source such as Psalm 16, Hosea 6:2, and Jonah 1:17. Some scholars have also speculated that since the Gospel of John was likely written after most of the New Testament
had been penned the author could be referring to one of these works. Alternatively the singular form of the word scripture was sometimes used to refer to the entire body of scripture and this may be the usage the author intends.
Bultmann has called John 20:9 "a gloss of the ecclesiastical redaction" and argues that the verse is a later addition to the text. One piece of evidence for this is the phrase "risen from the dead." The author of John, unlike the other Gospel writers, does not favour the usage of to rise preferring to ascend. Other scholars believe that the statement is original but misplaced, feeling it should follow John 20:11
. Bruce disagrees arguing that the word for makes the link between 20:8 and 20:9 clear.
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...
. 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...
and the Beloved Disciple have been examining Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
' empty tomb
Empty tomb
Empty tomb most often refers to the tomb of Jesus which was found to be empty by the women who were present at Jesus’ crucifixion. They had come to his tomb to anoint his body with spices...
and the arrangement of the grave clothes. 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...
states that the Beloved Disciple looked in the tomb and believed, though there is conflict on what exactly he believed. John 20:9 seems to modify this statement but its exact meaning is also unclear.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- For as yet they knew not
- the scripture, that he must
- rise again from the dead.
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:
- For as yet they didn't know
- the Scripture, that he must
- rise from the dead.
Who they refers to is uncertain. John only makes clear that Peter and the Beloved Disciple were present, but it is possible that 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...
was also there at this point. Thus some scholars, such as Hartmann, believe they refers to Peter and Mary who were in ignorance while the Beloved Disciple did understand that Jesus had risen from the dead. The alternative is that they refers to Peter and the Beloved Disciple and shows that they were both still ignorant about the resurrection and that this verse thus clarifies the preceding one and confirms that the Beloved Disciple did not realize that Jesus had risen. Schnackenberg believes that 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...
, and everything else referring to the Beloved Disciple, is a later addition to the chapter. In this model 20:9 would follow directly after 20:7 and would clearly be talking about Peter and Mary Magdalene.
Brown
Raymond E. Brown
The Reverend Raymond Edward Brown, S.S. , was an American Roman Catholic priest, a member of the Sulpician Fathers and a major Biblical scholar of his era...
reports that the word scripture is singular
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
and most of the time this form is used to refer to a single piece of scripture. No piece is cited but it is possible the author of John assumed his readers would know what piece was referred to. Several passages from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
have been proposed as likely candidates for this source such as Psalm 16, Hosea 6:2, and Jonah 1:17. Some scholars have also speculated that since the Gospel of John was likely written after most of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
had been penned the author could be referring to one of these works. Alternatively the singular form of the word scripture was sometimes used to refer to the entire body of scripture and this may be the usage the author intends.
Bultmann has called John 20:9 "a gloss of the ecclesiastical redaction" and argues that the verse is a later addition to the text. One piece of evidence for this is the phrase "risen from the dead." The author of John, unlike the other Gospel writers, does not favour the usage of to rise preferring to ascend. Other scholars believe that the statement is original but misplaced, feeling it should follow John 20:11
John 20:11
John 20:11 is the eleventh verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John. Peter and the Beloved Disciple have just departed, leaving Mary Magdalene at Jesus' tomb....
. Bruce disagrees arguing that the word for makes the link between 20:8 and 20:9 clear.