The verb translated rejoiced is a strong verb; it appears only here and in 5.35 in John’s Gospel. In 5.35 the phrase is literally “to rejoice in his light,” and Good News Translation translates it to enjoy his light.

That he was to see the time of my coming gives the reason for Abraham’s rejoicing. The time of my coming (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “my coming”) is literally “my day,” which is the rendering used by most translations. This expression, however, is either meaningless or misleading in many languages, and translators are therefore advised to follow Good News Translation.

He saw it may be rendered “he saw that event” or “he foresaw my coming.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .