John 19:38–40

Jesus’ Burial

19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders107),108 asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate109 gave him permission, so he went and took the body away.110 19:39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus111 at night,112 accompanied Joseph,113 carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes114 weighing about seventy-five pounds.115 19:40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices,116 in strips of linen cloth117 according to Jewish burial customs.118

107	tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees (see John 12:42). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.
108	sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
109	tn Grk “And Pilate.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
110	tn Grk “took away his body.”
111	tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
112	* Jn 3:1–21
113	tn Grk “came”; the words “accompanied Joseph” are not in the Greek text but are supplied for clarity.
114	sn Aloes refers to an aromatic resin from a plant similar to a lily, used for embalming a corpse.
115	sn The Roman pound (λίτρα, litra) weighed twelve ounces or 325 grams. Thus 100 Roman pounds would be about 32.5 kilograms or 75 pounds.
116	tn On this term see BDAG 140–41 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.
117	tn The Fourth Gospel uses ὀθονίοις (othoniois) to describe the wrappings, and this has caused a good deal of debate, since it appears to contradict the synoptic accounts which mention a σινδών (sindōn), a large single piece of linen cloth. If one understands ὀθονίοις to refer to smaller strips of cloth, like bandages, there would be a difference, but diminutive forms have often lost their diminutive force in Koine Greek (BDF §111.3), so there may not be any difference.
118	tn Grk “cloth as is the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial.”