Footnotes

1. John 12:42 sn The term rulers here denotes members of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in 3:1.
2. John 12:42 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
3. John 12:42 tn The words “Jesus to be the Christ” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (see 9:22). As is often the case in Greek, the direct object is omitted for the verb ὡμολόγουν (hōmologoun). Some translators supply an ambiguous “it,” or derive the implied direct object from the previous clause “believed in him” so that the rulers would not confess “their faith” or “their belief.” However, when one compares John 9:22, which has many verbal parallels to this verse, it seems clear that the content of the confession would have been “Jesus is the Christ (i.e., Messiah).”sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.
4. John 12:42 tn Or “be expelled from.”
5. John 12:42 sn Cf. John 9:22. See the note on synagogue in 6:59.