Connectives
John 3:1 "Now"
John 2 ends on this note: "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man"(ESV).
When John 3 starts, it is common to read a "now": "Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews." The word is translating de, a word that can mean both "and" and "but." So which is it here, and what is the significance?
The significance is whether Nicodemus is one of the "people" of chapter 2, or whether he is in contrast to them. Was he antagonistic or sympathetic toward Jesus? Specifically, how do you read v 4. "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?" Is that a serious or mocking response?
Words, and Words of God (γαρ)
I want to continue the conversation from last week when I was talking about verbal, plenary inspiration but this time from the formal side. The question is whether functional translations betray a lower view of Scripture since they don’t translate every Greek word.
Let’s take a passage from the NIV that has long been an issue of debate, and that is the “absence” of translating all the occurrences of γαρ. Here are the relevant parts of Rom 1:9-19 (NIV’s paragraphing). Paul begins by expressing his thankfulness for them and then says: