John 16:21 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
John 16:21
A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 113:9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.
Isaiah 13:8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed…
Jeremiah 30:6-7 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail,…
1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not…
Isaiah 26:16-18 LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
Hosea 13:13-14 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth o…
Micah 4:10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou sh…
Revelation 12:2-5 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 16:16-22
Our Lord Jesus, for the comfort of his sorrowful disciples, here promises that he would visit them again.
I. Observe the intimation he gave them of the comfort he designed them, Joh 16:16. Here he tells them,
1. That they should now shortly lose the sight of him: A little while, and you that have seen me so long, and still desire to see me, shall not see me; and therefore, if they had any good question to ask him, they must ask quickly, for he was now taking his leave of them. Note, It is good to consider how near to a period our seasons of grace are, that we may be quickened to improve them while they are continued. Now our eyes see our teachers, see the days of the Son of man; but, perhaps…
A little while, and ye shall not see me; and again a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father--The joy of the world at their not seeing Him seems to show that His removal from them by death was what He meant; and in that case, their joy at again seeing Him points to their transport at His reappearance amongst them on His Resurrection, when they could no longer doubt His identity. At the same time the sorrow of the widowed Church in the absence of her Lord in the heavens, and her transport at His personal return, are certainly here expressed.
Adam Clarke on John 16:21
For joy that a man is born - Ανθρωπος is put here for a human creature, whether male or female; as homo among the Romans denoted either man or woman.
John Gill on John 16:21
A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow,.... As was said she should have, Genesis 3:16; This is God's ordination and appointment for sin:
because her hour is come; is at hand; the fixed time in nature is up, and there is no avoiding it:
but as soon as she is delivered of the child; for though the sorrow is great, yet there is a deliverance, and she is saved in child bearing: when
she remembereth no more the anguish; the sharp pains she has endured in her travail;
for joy that a man is born into the world. Much such a way of speaking is used by the Jews (z), who observe,
"if a woman brings forth a male child, all is forgot, and she repents (i.e. of her impatience, or any unbecoming ex…
The Church Fathers
The woman is the holy Church, who is fruitful in good works, and brings forth spiritual children unto God. This woman, while she brings forth, i. e. while she is making her progress in the world, amidst temptations and afflictions, hath sorrow because her hour is come; for no one ever hated his own flesh. But as soon as she is delivered, i. e. when her laborious struggle is over, and she has got the palm, she remembereth no more her former anguish, for joy at reaping such a reward, for joy that a man is born into the world. For as a woman rejoiceth when a man is born into the world, so the Church is filled with exultation when the faithful are born into life eternal.
And then He goes on to say, "A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." Nor does the metaphor here employed seem difficult to understand; for its key is at hand in the exposition given by Himself of its meaning. For the pangs of parturition are compared to sorrow, and the birth itself to joy; which is usually all the greater when it is not a girl but a boy that is born.
"A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow." And He hath used a comparison which the Prophets also use continually, likening despondencies to the exceeding pains of childbirth. But what He saith is of this kind: "Travail pains shall lay hold on you, but the pang of childbirth is the cause of joy"; both confirming His words relative to the Resurrection, and showing that the departing hence is like passing from the womb into the light of day. As though He had said, "Marvel not that I bring you to your advantage through such sorrow, since even a mother to become a mother, passeth in like manner through pain." Here also He implieth something mystical, that He hath loosened the travail pangs of death, and caused a new man to be born of them.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Birth — As soon as a child was born it was washed, and rubbed with salt (Ezek. 16:4), and then swathed with bandages (Job 38:9; Luke 2:7, 12). A Hebrew mother remained forty days in seclusion after the birth…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John 16:21-24
21. A woman, when she is in labor, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth a child, she remembereth no more her anguish, on account of the joy that a man is born into the world. 22. And you therefore have sorrow now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you. 23. And in that day you will ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I tell you, That whatever you shall ask from the Father in my name, he will give to you. 24. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name: ask, and receive, that your joy may be full.
21. A woman, when she is in labor. He employs a comparison to confirm the statement which he had…
