Jesus' Burial
John 19:38-42
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John.19.38 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Μετα: PREP,acc
- δε: CONJ
- ταυτα: PRON,acc,pl,n
- ηρωτησεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- Πιλατον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- Ιωσηφ: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- απο: PREP
- Αριμαθαιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- ων: PRON,gen,pl,m
- μαθητης: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- Ιησου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- κεκρυμμενος: Ptc,perf,pass,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- δια: PREP
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- φοβον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- Ιουδαιων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- ινα: CONJ
- αρη: PART
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- σωμα: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- Ιησου·και: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- επετρεψεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- Πιλατος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ηλθεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- ουν: CONJ
- και: CONJ
- ηρεν: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,sg
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- σωμα: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Matthew 27:57-60 (verbal): Matthew records Joseph of Arimathea asking Pilate for Jesus' body, taking it, wrapping it in a clean linen cloth, and laying it in his own new tomb — close narrative parallel to John 19:38.
- Mark 15:42-46 (verbal): Mark describes Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, boldly asking Pilate for the body and receiving permission to take it away and bury it — similar details and sequence to John's account.
- Luke 23:50-53 (verbal): Luke portrays Joseph as a good and righteous man who, though he had not consented to their counsel and deed, asked Pilate for Jesus' body and wrapped it in linen and laid it in a tomb — aligns thematically and narratively with John 19:38.
- John 19:39-40 (structural): The immediate Johannine continuation: Nicodemus brings a mixture of myrrh and aloes to assist Joseph in preparing and wrapping Jesus' body, completing the burial scene begun in 19:38.
- Isaiah 53:9 (allusion): The prophecy that the suffering servant would be assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich alludes to Jesus being buried in the tomb of the rich Joseph of Arimathea, a theological fulfillment cited in the gospel burial accounts.
Alternative generated candidates
- After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus—but secretly, for fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. Pilate granted him permission, and he came and took the body away.
- After these things, Joseph of Arimathea—he who had been a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. Pilate granted permission.
John.19.39 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ηλθεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- δε: CONJ
- και: CONJ
- Νικοδημος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- ελθων: PART,aor,act,nom,sg,m
- προς: PREP
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- νυκτος: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- πρωτον: ADV
- φερων: PART,pres,act,nom,sg,m
- μιγμα: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- σμυρνης: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- αλοης: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- ως: ADV
- λιτρας: NOUN,gen,pl,f
- εκατον: NUM,acc,sg,n
Parallels
- John 19:38 (structural): Immediate narrative context: Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for Jesus' body and prepares for burial, introducing those who will care for the corpse (Nicodemus joins in v.39).
- John 19:40 (verbal): Direct continuation: the body is taken and bound in linen with the spices — echoes the action and purpose of Nicodemus’ myrrh-and-aloes mixture.
- Mark 15:42-46 (verbal): Parallel burial account: Joseph of Arimathea buys fine linen, takes Jesus down from the cross and wraps him in the linen — similar language and burial action to John’s account (Mark lacks Nicodemus’ detail about the spice quantity).
- Luke 23:50-56 (thematic): Parallel emphasis on burial preparations: Joseph of Arimathea and the women who had followed Jesus prepared spices and ointments for the burial, echoing John’s note that Nicodemus brought a large quantity of spices.
- Matthew 27:57-61 (structural): Parallel narrative of Joseph of Arimathea’s burial: Matthew records the taking of the body, wrapping in clean linen and laying in a new tomb — a structurally parallel burial tradition to John’s description with added details about spices in John.
Alternative generated candidates
- Nicodemus also—he who had first come to him by night—came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about a hundred pounds.
- Nicodemus, the one who earlier had come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about a hundred pounds.
John.19.40 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ελαβον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- ουν: CONJ
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- σωμα: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- Ιησου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- εδησαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτο: PRON,acc,sg,neut
- οθονιοις: NOUN,dat,pl,n
- μετα: PREP
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- αρωματων: NOUN,gen,pl,n
- καθως: CONJ
- εθος: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,n
- Ιουδαιοις: NOUN,dat,pl,m
- ενταφιαζειν: VERB,pres,act,inf
Parallels
- Mark 15:46 (verbal): Mark records Joseph taking Jesus' body and binding it in a linen cloth before burial—language and sequence closely parallel John 19:40's binding in linen.
- Luke 23:53 (verbal): Luke describes Joseph wrapping the body in linen and laying it in a tomb, echoing John's mention of linen bindings and Jewish burial practice.
- Matthew 27:59-60 (verbal): Matthew reports Joseph wrapping Jesus in a clean linen cloth and placing him in a tomb—verbal and thematic overlap with John's reference to linen and burial custom.
- Luke 23:56 (thematic): Luke notes the women prepared spices and ointments for Jesus' body, directly connecting to John's mention of spices used in burial.
- Mark 16:1 (thematic): Mark describes the women bringing spices to anoint Jesus after the Sabbath, paralleling John's reference to burial spices and the Jewish anointing/burial tradition.
Alternative generated candidates
- So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the burial custom of the Jews.
- So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths together with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
John.19.41 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ην: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,sg
- δε: CONJ
- εν: PREP
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- τοπω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- οπου: ADV,rel
- εσταυρωθη: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,sg
- κηπος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- εν: PREP
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- κηπω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- μνημειον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- καινον: ADJ,acc,sg,n
- εν: PREP
- ω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- ουδεπω: PART
- ουδεις: PRON,nom,sg,m
- ην: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,sg
- τεθειμενος·: PART,perf,pass,nom,sg,m
Parallels
- Matthew 27:57-60 (verbal): Joseph of Arimathea lays Jesus in his own new tomb; Matthew explicitly records a 'new' tomb and burial by Joseph, paralleling John’s 'new tomb' language.
- Mark 15:42-46 (verbal): Mark recounts Joseph of Arimathea laying Jesus in a tomb hewn out of rock and notes it was a new tomb, closely matching John’s burial detail.
- Luke 23:50-53 (verbal): Luke describes Joseph laying Jesus in a tomb cut in the rock 'where no one had ever yet been laid,' echoing John’s phrase about the tomb’s prior emptiness.
- Isaiah 53:9 (allusion): The servant’s burial 'with the rich' is often linked to Jesus’ burial by the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea and the providential provision of a tomb, a prophetic backdrop to John’s tomb detail.
- John 20:15 (thematic): Mary’s encounter with the risen Jesus she mistakes for the 'gardener'—the garden setting ties the burial place (garden tomb) to resurrection imagery and the garden motif in John.
Alternative generated candidates
- Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
- Now there was a garden at the place where he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
John.19.42 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- εκει: ADV
- ουν: CONJ
- δια: PREP
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- παρασκευην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- Ιουδαιων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- οτι: CONJ
- εγγυς: ADV
- ην: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,sg
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- μνημειον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- εθηκαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- Ιησουν: NOUN,acc,sg,m
Parallels
- John 19:41 (structural): Immediate context: identifies the nearby rock-hewn tomb and garden where Jesus was buried, explaining why they laid him there.
- Matthew 27:57-60 (verbal): Matthew records Joseph of Arimathea taking Jesus' body and laying it in his own new tomb nearby—parallels the burial action and the tomb's proximity on Preparation Day.
- Mark 15:42-46 (verbal): Mark describes the burial at the close of the day of preparation, Joseph asking Pilate and placing Jesus in a tomb—aligns with John's timing (Preparation) and burial detail.
- Luke 23:50-56 (verbal): Luke narrates Joseph of Arimathea removing Jesus and laying him in a tomb and notes the approaching Sabbath, paralleling John's emphasis on the Preparation/Sabbath context for the burial.
- Isaiah 53:9 (thematic): Prophetic motif that the righteous would be assigned a grave with the rich—connected to Jesus being buried in Joseph of Arimathea's (a rich man's) tomb, seen as fulfillment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was near, they laid Jesus there.
- So, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there.
After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (though secretly, for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate that he might take away Jesus' body. Pilate granted him permission, so Joseph came and took the body.
Nicodemus also came—the one who earlier had come to Jesus by night—bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about a hundred pounds.
They took the body of Jesus and bound it with linen cloths together with the spices, in keeping with the Jewish burial custom. Now there was a garden at the place where he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid.
Because it was the day of Preparation for the Jews, and the tomb was near, they laid Jesus there.