So they took Jesus’ body, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
Parallel Translations
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So they took Jesus’ body, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
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Then toke they the body of Iesu and wounde it in lynnen clothes with the odoures as the maner of the Iewes is to bury.
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Then tooke they the body of Iesus, and wrapped it in linnen clothes with the odours, as the maner of the Iewes is to burie.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to John 19:40 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- John 11:44 He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.”
- John 20:5-7 Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying, yet he didn’t enter in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying, and the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself.
- Acts 5:6 The young men arose and wrapped him up, and they carried him out and buried him.
- Matthew 26:12 For in pouring this ointment on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.
- Luke 24:12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping and looking in, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he departed to his home, wondering what had happened.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 40. As the custom of the Jews is to…
40. As the custom of the Jews is to bury. When Christ had endured extreme ignominy on the cross, God determined that his burial should be honourable, that it might serve as a preparation for the glory of his resurrection. The money expended on it by Nicodemus and Joseph is very great, and may be thought by some to be superfluous; but we ought to consider the design of God, who even led them, by his Spirit, to render this honor to his own Son, that, by the sweet savor of his grave he might take away our dread of the cross. But those things which are cut of the ordinary course ought not to be regarded as an example.
Besides, the Evangelist expressly states that he was buried according to the custom of the Jews. By these words he informs us that this was one of the ceremonies of the Law; for the ancient people, who did not receive so clear a statement of the resurrection, and who had not such a demonstration and pledge of it as we have in Christ, needed such aids to support them, that they might firmly believe and expect the coming of the Mediator We ought, therefore, to attend to the distinction between us, who have been enlightened by the brightness of the Gospel, and the rather, to whom the figures supplied the absence of Christ. This is the reason why allowance could then be made for a greater pomp of ceremonies, which, at the present day, would not be free from blame; for those who now bury the dead at so great an expense do not, strictly speaking, bury dead men, but rather, as far as lies in their power, draw down from heaven Christ himself, the King of life, and lay him in the tomb, for his glorious resurrection abolished those ancient ceremonies.
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Among the heathen, too, there was great anxiety and ceremony in burying the dead, which unquestionably derived its origin from the ancient Fathers of the Jews, in the same manner as sacrifices; but, as no hope of the resurrection existed along them, they were not imitators of the Fathers, but apes of them; for the promise and word of God is, as it were, the soul, which gives life to ceremonies. Take away the word, and all the ceremonies which men observe, though outwardly they may resemble the worship of godly persons, is nothing else than foolish or mad superstition. For our part, as we have said, we ought now to maintain sobriety and moderation in this matter, for immoderate expense quenches the sweet savour of Christ’s resurrection.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and…
40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
Ver. 40. With the spices, as the manner of the Jews] To testify their hope of a resurrection. In an apish imitation of whom, the Gentiles also, though they had no such hope, kept a great stir, and made much ado about the decent burial of their dead. Habent et vespae favos, et simiae imitantur homines, saith Cyprian.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That is, persons of fashion.
That is, persons of fashion.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then took they the body of Jesus,.... It being…
Then took they the body of Jesus,.... It being taken down from the cross, and carried to the designed place of interment; they, Joseph and Nicodemus, either themselves, or by their servants, took the body;
and wound it in linen clothes; or "swathed", or "wrapped it in linen"; rolled it about the body many times, as was the custom of the eastern nations to do; this was what Joseph prepared:
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with the spices; which they either wrapped up with the linen, or strowed over the body when it was wound up; these Nicodemus brought;
as the manner of the Jews is to bury; both was usual with them; both to wind up the dead in linen; hence R. Jonathan, alluding to this custom, when R. Isai was taken, and others would have delivered him, said, , "let the dead be wrapped in his own linen (d)"; and also to bury them with spices; hence we read of "the spices of the dead" in a Jewish canon (e):
"they do not say a blessing over a lamp, nor over the spices of idolaters; nor over a lamp, nor over , "the spices of the dead":''
the use of which, Bartenora on the place says, was to drive away an ungrateful smell. The wrapping up the body of Christ in a fine linen cloth, was a token of his purity and innocence; and significative of that pure and spotless righteousness he had now brought in: the strewing it with spices may denote the fragrancy of Christ's death to Jehovah the Father, in whose sight it was precious, and whose sacrifice to him is of a sweet smelling savour; and also to all sensible sinners, to whom a crucified Christ is precious; since by his death sin is expiated, the law fulfilled, justice satisfied, reconciliation made, security from condemnation obtained, and death is abolished.
(d) T. Hieros. Ternmot, fol. 46. 2. (e) Misn. Beracot. c. 8. sect. 6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 40. Wound it in linen] See Clarke on…
Verse 40. Wound it in linen] See Clarke on Joh 11:34.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Joh 19:40. Then — To prepare for his interment;…
Joh 19:40. Then — To prepare for his interment; they took the body of Jesus — Without regarding the reproach to which it might expose them; and wound it in linen clothes — Wrapped it in a great many folds of linen; with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury — Or rather, to embalm, for the proper meaning of the verb ενταφιαζειν, here used, is not to bury, but to embalm, as Dr. Campbell proves in a note on the words; showing that the verb ενταφιαζειν, and the noun ενταφιασμος, are used in the New Testament only in relation to the embalming of the body of our Lord; the word used for to bury, being invariably θαπτειν, which accords perfectly with the use made of the same words by the LXX. See Gen 50:2; Gen 50:5, where the import of both words, and the distinction between them, is exemplified. It seems Joseph and Nicodemus intended to embalm our Lord’s body in a more exact manner as soon as the sabbath was over; hoping that, in the mean time, the spices lying near the body might preserve it from all taint of corruption. “Those who have written upon the manners and customs of the Jews tell us, that they sometimes embalmed their dead with an aromatic mixture of myrrh, aloes, and other gums or spices, which they rubbed on the body, more or less profusely, according to their circumstances and their regard for the dead. After anointing the body, they covered it with a shroud, or winding-sheet, then wrapped a napkin round its head and face, others say, round the forehead only; because the Egyptian mummies are observed to have it so; last of all, they swathed the shroud round the body as tightly as possible, with proper bandages made of linen. At other times, they covered the whole body in a heap of spices, as is said of Asa, 2Ch 16:14. From the quantity of myrrh and aloes made use of by Joseph and Nicodemus, it would appear that the office performed by them to their Master was of this latter kind; for they had not time to embalm him properly.” They seem, however, to have done all that was usual in such circumstances to persons of wealth and distinction, which, as well as the sepulchre itself, agreed to Isaiah’s prophecy, Isa 53:9.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound…
Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury--the mixed and pulverized myrrh and aloes shaken into the folds, and the entire body, thus swathed, wrapt in an outer covering of "clean linen cloth" (Mat 27:59). Had the Lord's own friends had the least reason to think that the spark of life was still in Him, would they have done this? But even if one could conceive them mistaken, could anyone have lain thus enveloped for the period during which He was in the grave, and life still remained? Impossible. When, therefore, He walked forth from the tomb, we can say with the most absolute certainty, "Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept" (Co1 15:20). No wonder that the learned and the barbarians alike were prepared to die for the name of the Lord Jesus; for such evidence was to the unsophisticated resistless. (No mention is made of anointing in this operation. No doubt it was a hurried proceeding, for fear of interruption, and because it was close on the sabbath, the women seem to have set this as their proper task "as soon as the sabbath should be past" [Mar 16:1]. But as the Lord graciously held it as undesignedly anticipated by Mary at Bethany [Mar 14:8], so this was probably all the anointing, in the strict sense of it, which He received.)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 40. Then took they—In the last two verses John…
40. Then took they—In the last two verses John has mentioned Joseph and Nicodemus each in the singular, and then adds the part which each performed: the former secured the body, the latter furnished the embalmment for it. Now in the plural they both cooperate in the same work. Heretofore they may have been strangers; ever after doubtless they were brethren.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 40. Then took they] They took therefore.
40. Then took they] They took therefore.
wound it, &c.] Or, bound it in linen cloths. The ‘cloths’ seem to refer to the bandages which kept the whole together rather than the large ‘linen sheet’ mentioned by the other Evangelists, which Joseph had bought on purpose (Mar_15:46). The word here used for ‘linen cloths’ occurs also in Luk_24:12 : see note there.
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the manner of the Jews] As distinct from the manner of the Egyptians, whose three methods of embalming are elaborately described by Herodotus (ii. 86 ff.). The Egyptians in all cases removed part of the intestines and steeped the body in nitre.
to bury] The Greek verb is rare in Scripture; in N.T. only Mat_26:12. The cognate substantive occurs Joh_12:7; Mar_14:8. In Gen_50:2 it is used by the LXX. for the embalming of Jacob.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (40) And wound it in linen clothes with the…
(40) And wound it in linen clothes with the spices.—Comp. Notes on Luk_24:12. The same word does not occur, but the manner of the Jews to bury has been also illustrated in the Note on Joh_11:44.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain They took thereforei.e. Nicodemus and Josephthe body of Jesus,…
They took thereforei.e. Nicodemus and Josephthe body of Jesus, and bound it in linen clothes with the spices, as is the manner of the Jews to bury. The synoptists specially mention a linen cloth ( sindwn), which they wound around it. It would seem probable, from what is afterwards said, that John wished to discriminate and affirm both processes. (see Joh_20:7) The Jews" method differed from the Egyptians" embalming process. The latter removed all the viscera; and, by long baking and other processes, rendered the remaining shell of the corpse incorruptible and almost imperishable. The Jews" process of sepulture differed from the Roman cremation, and is emphasized. Importance was attached to a splendid funeral; (Luk_16:22) and this costly interment was not without its deep significance.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Now in the place where he was crucified there…
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden ... had yet been buried
Here John marks a break in the story line in order to provide background information about the location of the tomb where they would bury Jesus. (See: Background Information)
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Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden
You can translate this in an active form. AT: "Now in the place where they crucified Jesus there was a garden" (See: Active or Passive)
in which no person had yet been buried
You can translate this in an active form. AT: "in which people had buried no one" (See: Active or Passive)
Because it was the day of preparation for the Jews
According to Jewish law, no one could work after sundown on Friday. It was the beginning of the Sabbath and Passover. AT: "The Passover was about to begin that evening" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
Jesus
crucify
grave
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.