8:56a
Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day: Jesus referred to the fact that God had promised to send a Savior, the Messiah. Abraham believed God and trusted that the Messiah would come. This made him very happy. Jesus implied that he was the Messiah that Abraham expected. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day. (New International Version)
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Your ancestor Abraham was very glad to know/think that he would see me come.
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As for your father, Abraham, his great joy was that he would see my coming. (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
Your father Abraham: The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek words literally as Your father Abraham. All the Jewish people were descended from Abraham. He lived about two thousand years before Christ. If you use footnotes, it would be good to write a footnote that indicates this. For example:
Abraham was the ancestor of all the Jewish people. He lived about two thousand years before Jesus Christ.
rejoiced: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rejoiced is a strong word that means “was very happy, full of joy.” This verb is also used in 5:35b, and in Luke 1:47b, where Mary rejoices that she would become the mother of the Messiah. Use an expression that describes how people rejoice when they think about a future happy event, such as a wedding or a baby’s birth.
he would see My day: The phrase My day here means “the time when I come.” Abraham looked forward to seeing the Messiah when he came to earth. He expected God to send a Savior and he was happy because he thought that he would see that happen. For example:
he looked forward to my coming (New Living Translation (2004))
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he would see me when I came
8:56b
He saw it and was glad: This clause indicates that Abraham did see the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. Probably it means that he saw it by faith, but Jesus did not explain this. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
He saw that day and was glad. (New Century Version)
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he did see it and was happy/joyful
and was glad: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was glad is a different verb than “rejoiced” in 8:56a. However, it has the same meaning in this context. In your translation, you may want to use a word that describes how people are happy after a good event. Abraham was happy because he saw Christ’s “day.”
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