23:7a

And learning that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction: Two important facts are implied in 23:7a:

(a) The Jewish leaders answered Pilate’s question and affirmed that Jesus was a Galilean.

(b) The ruler of Galilee, Herod, had authority (jurisdiction) over Jesus because Jesus was from Galilee.

In some languages it may be necessary to make one or both of these facts explicit. If this is true in your language, remember that Pilate learned only fact (a) from the council members. He learned that Jesus was a Galilean. Pilate already knew that Herod was the ruler of Galilee.

One way to make the information explicit is:

Pilate learned ⌊from them⌋ that Jesus was ⌊indeed a Galilean. As a Galilean,⌋ he was under the jurisdiction of ⌊Ruler⌋ Herod. So…

For another way of supplying this information, see the General Comment on 23:7a–b below.

And learning: In this context the word learning implies that people told Pilate the answer to his question. He did not learn about it from studying. Probably the Jewish leaders answered his question and told Pilate that Jesus was a Galilean. Some other ways to translate this are:

When they said that he was (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
When Pilate knew/discovered that Jesus was

Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Herod’s jurisdiction refers here to the area and people that Herod had authority to rule. Some other ways to translate the clause Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction are:

Jesus was from the region ruled by Herod (Good News Translation)
-or-
Jesus was under Herod’s authority (New Century Version)

Herod’s: The name Herod refers here to Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee. He was mentioned in 3:1, where the Berean Standard Bible translates his title literally as “tetrarch.” He was not the same Herod as King Herod in Matthew 2:1. If you need to supply a title for Herod, some suggestions are:

Governor Herod
-or-
Ruler Herod

23:7b

he sent Him to Herod: The clause he sent Him to Herod indicates that Pilate sent Jesus to be judged by Ruler Herod. It implies that Pilate told his soldiers to take Jesus to Herod. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

he commanded Isa to be brought to King Herod
-or-
Pilatus ordered people to take Yesus to…Herodes

General Comment on 23:7a–b

In some languages it may be helpful to change the order of information in this verse. For example:

7aWhen they answered that he was, 7bPilate sent him to Herod Antipas, 7abecause Galilee was under Herod’s jurisdiction (New Living Translation (1996))

23:7c

who himself was in Jerusalem at that time: This clause implies that both Herod and Pilate had come to Jerusalem from other places. Neither Herod nor Pilate normally lived in Jerusalem. They had come there for a short time, maybe because of the Passover Feast. However, each of them had a big palace in Jerusalem. Other ways to translate the clause are:

during that time he was also there in Jerusalem
-or-
it happened that Herod was also in Jerusalem then

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