law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — nominative singular masculine
judge
κρίνειkrinei
G2919
by implication · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
man
ἄνθρωπονanthrōpon
G444
from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — accusative singular masculine
before
πρότερονpróteron
G4386
previously
hear
ἀκούσῃakousē
G191
to hear (in various senses) · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
him
αὐτοῦautou
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
know
γνῷgnō
G1097
to "know" (absolutely) in a great variety of applicatio… · verb — second aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
what
τίti
G5101
an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
doeth
ποιεῖ;¶poiei
G4160
to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
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
Proverbs 18:13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
Deuteronomy 1:17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for t…
Deuteronomy 19:15-19 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or…
Acts 23:3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten…
Deuteronomy 17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shal…
Deuteronomy 17:8-11 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 7:45–end
The chief priests and Pharisees are here in a close cabal, contriving how to suppress Christ; though this was the great day of the feast, they attended not the religious services of the day, but left them to the vulgar, to whom it was common for those great ecclesiastics to consign and turn over the business of devotion, while they thought themselves better employed in the affairs of church-policy. They sat in the council-chamber, expecting Christ to be brought a prisoner to them, as they had issued out warrants for apprehending him, Joh 7:32. Now here we are told,
I. What passed between them and their own officers, who returned without him, re infecta - having done nothing. Observe,
1. The…
Doth our law, &c.--a very proper, but all too tame rejoinder, and evidently more from pressure of conscience than any design to pronounce positively in the case. "The feebleness of his defense of Jesus has a strong contrast in the fierceness of the rejoinders of the Pharisees" [WEBSTER and WILKINSON].
Adam Clarke on John 7:51
Doth our law judge any man - Τον ανθρωπον, the man, i.e. who is accused. Perhaps Nicodemus did not refer so much to any thing in the law of Moses, as to what was commonly practiced among them. Josephus says, Ant. b. xiv. c. 9. s. 3, That the law has forbidden any man to be put to death, though wicked, unless he be first condemned to die by the Sanhedrin. It was probably to this law, which is not expressly mentioned in the five books of Moses, that Nicodemus here alludes. See laws relative to this point, Deu 17:8, etc.; Deu 19:15.
John Gill on John 7:51
Doth our law judge any man,.... Or condemn any man; or can any man be lawfully condemned:
before it hear him: what he has to say for himself; is this the usual process in our courts? or is this a legal one to condemn a man unheard?
and know what he doth? what his crimes are. This he said, having a secret respect for Christ, though he had not courage enough openly to appear for him.
The Church Fathers
He replies, Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? He thought that, if they would only hear Him patiently, they would be overcome, as the officers had been. But they preferred obstinately condemning Him, to knowing the truth. He calls the law of God, our law; because it was given to men.
He showeth that they neither know the Law, nor do the Law; for if that Law commandeth to kill no man without first hearing him, and they before hearing were eager for this deed, they were transgressors of the Law. And because they said, "None of the rulers hath believed on him" (ver. 50), therefore the Evangelist informs us that Nicodemus was "one of them," to show that even rulers believed on Him; for although they showed not yet fitting boldness, still they were becoming attached to Christ. Observe how cautiously he rebukes them; he said not, "Ye desire to kill him, and condemn the man for a deceiver without proof"; but spake in a milder way, hindering their excessive violence, and their inconsiderate and murderous disposition. Wherefore he turns his discourse to the Law, saying, "Except it hear him carefully, and know what he doeth." So that not a bare "hearing," but "careful hearing" is required. For the meaning of, "know what he doeth," is, "what he intendeth," "on what account," "for what purpose," "whether for the subversion of the order of things and as an enemy."
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
Galilee — Circuit. Solomon rewarded Hiram for certain services rendered him by the gift of an upland plain among the mountains of Naphtali. Hiram was dissatisfied with the gift, and called it “the land of…
Courts Of Justice · The judgment of: Not given till accused was heard — The judgment of: Not given till accused was heard
Justice · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Nicodemus · A Jewish rabbi -Becomes a disciple of Jesus — A Jewish rabbi -Becomes a disciple of Jesus
Self-Defense · 23:3; — 23:3;
Trial · The right of — The right of
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 Calvin on John 7:45–end
John 7:45-53
45. So the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, Why have you not brought him? 46. The officers answered, Never man spoke like this man. 47. The Pharisees therefore answered them, And are you also seduced? 48. Hath any of the rulers, or of the Pharisees, believed in him? 49. But this multitude, who know not the law, are accursed. 50. Nicodemus said to them, (he who came to him by night, for he was one of them,) 51. Doth our law judge a man before it hath heard him, and knoweth what he doth? 52. They answered and said to him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search and see, that no Prophet hath arisen out of Galilee. 53. And every man went to his own…
Nicodemus was probably in the process of coming to faith (see 3:1-21; 19:38-42). Contrary to the implication of 7:48, some of the Pharisees—not just the ignorant crowd—believed in Jesus.
