John 19:40

Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Then	οὖν oun	G3767	(adverbially) certainly · conjunction
they	ἔλαβον elabon	G2983	while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
body	σῶμα sōma	G4983	the body (as a sound whole) · noun — accusative singular neuter
Jesus	Ἰησοῦ Iēsou	G2424	Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — genitive singular masculine, a proper name
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
wound	ἔδησαν edēsan	G1210	to bind (in various applications · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
it	αὐτὸ auto	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular neuter
clothes	ὀθονίοις othoniois	G3608	a linen bandage · noun — dative plural neuter
with	μετὰ meta	G3326	properly · preposition
spices	ἀρωμάτων, arōmatōn	G759	an aromatic · noun — genitive plural neuter
as	καθὼς kathōs	G2531	just (or inasmuch) as · conjunction
manner	ἔθος ethos	G1485	a usage (prescribed by habit or law) · noun — nominative singular neuter
Jews	Ἰουδαίοις Ioudaiois	G2453	Judæan · noun — dative plural masculine, a people name
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
bury	ἐνταφιάζειν.¶ entaphiazein	G1779	to inswathe with cerements for interment · verb — present active infinitive

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

John 11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, L…
John 20:5-7 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
Acts 5:6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
Matthew 26:12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
Luke 24:12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 19:38–end

We have here an account of the burial of the blessed body of our Lord Jesus. The solemn funerals of great men are usually looked at with curiosity; the mournful funerals of dear friends are attended with concern. Come and see an extraordinary funeral; never was the like! Come and see a burial that conquered the grave, and buried it, a burial that beautified the grave and softened it for all believers. Let us turn aside now, and see this great sight. Here is, I. The body begged, Joh 19:38. This was done by the interest of Joseph of Ramah, or Arimathea, of whom no mention is made in all the New Testament story, but only in the narrative which each of the evangelists gives us of Christ's burial…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 19:40

Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury--the mixed and pulverized myrrh and aloes shaken into the folds, and the entire body, thus swathed, wrapt in an outer covering of "clean linen cloth" (Mat 27:59). Had the Lord's own friends had the least reason to think that the spark of life was still in Him, would they have done this? But even if one could conceive them mistaken, could anyone have lain thus enveloped for the period during which He was in the grave, and life still remained? Impossible. When, therefore, He walked forth from the tomb, we can say with the most absolute certainty, "Now is Christ risen from the d…

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Adam Clarke on John 19:40

Wound it in linen - See on Joh 11:44 (note).

John Gill on John 19:40

Then took they the body of Jesus,.... It being taken down from the cross, and carried to the designed place of interment; they, Joseph and Nicodemus, either themselves, or by their servants, took the body; and wound it in linen clothes; or "swathed", or "wrapped it in linen"; rolled it about the body many times, as was the custom of the eastern nations to do; this was what Joseph prepared: with the spices; which they either wrapped up with the linen, or strowed over the body when it was wound up; these Nicodemus brought; as the manner of the Jews is to bury; both was usual with them; both to wind up the dead in linen; hence R. Jonathan, alluding to this custom, when R. Isai was taken, and…

The Church Fathers

It has come down as the custom of the church of consecrating the Lord's body not on silk or gold cloth but in a clean linen cloth.
— Bede, On the Gospel of Mark 4.15

Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Hence hath come down the custom of the Church, of consecrating the Lord's body not on silk or gold cloth, but in a clean linen cloth.
— Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

"Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury." The evangelist, I think, was not without a purpose in so framing his words, "as the manner of the Jews is to bury:" for in this way, unless I am mistaken, he has admonished us that, in duties of this kind, which are observed to the dead, the customs of every nation ought to be preserved.
— Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 120

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

Embalming — The process of preserving a body by means of aromatics (Gen. 50:2, 3, 26). This art was practised by the Egyptians from the earliest times, and there brought to great perfection. This custom probably…
Humiliation of Christ — (Phil. 2:8), seen in (1) his birth (Gal. 4:4; Luke 2:7; John 1:46; Heb. 2:9), (2) his circumstances, (3) his reputation (Isa. 53; Matt. 26:59, 67; Ps. 22:6; Matt. 26:68), (4) his soul (Ps. 22:1;…
Myrrh — Heb. mor. (1.) First mentioned as a principal ingredient in the holy anointing oil (Ex. 30:23). It formed part of the gifts brought by the wise men from the east, who came to worship the infant Jesus…
Spices — Aromatic substances, of which several are named in Ex. 30. They were used in the sacred anointing oil (Ex. 25:6; 35:8; 1 Chr. 9:29), and in embalming the dead (2 Chr. 16:14; Luke 23:56; 24:1; John…
Burial · General references — General references
Dead, The · Were wrapped in lined with spices — Were wrapped in lined with spices
Embalming · How performed by the Jews — How performed by the Jews
Spices · Prepared for embalming the corpse of Jesus — Prepared for embalming the corpse of Jesus

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 19:40

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 19:38–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 19:40

Adam Clarke on John 19:40

John Gill on John 19:40

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John 19:40

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 19:38–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 19:40

Adam Clarke on John 19:40

John Gill on John 19:40

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on John 19:38–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on John 19:39