John as a first-person evangelist (John 1:40)

In the Yatzachi Zapotec translation of the Gospel of John, any reference to the evangelist and presumed narrator is done in the first person.

The translator Inez Butler explains (in: Notes on Translation, September 1967, pp. 10ff.):

“In revising the Gospel of John in Yatzachi Zapotec we realized from the start that the third person references of Jesus to himself as Son of Man had to be converted into first person references, but only more recently have we decided that similar change is necessary in John’s references to himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.’ As I worked on those changes and questioned the informant about his understanding of other passages in the Gospel, I discovered that the reader misses the whole focus of the book as an eyewitness account unless every reference to the disciples indicates the writer’s membership in the group. In view of that we went back through the entire book looking for ways to cue in the reader to the fact that John was an eyewitness and a participant in a many of the events, as well as the historian.

“When the disciples were participants in events along with Jesus, it was necessary to make explicit the fact that they accompanied him, although in the source language that is left implicit, since otherwise our rendering would imply that they were not present.”

In this verse, the Yatzachi Zapotec says: “I and Andrew the brother of Simon Peter heard the words which John spoke and followed Jesus.”

younger brother (Lama)

The Greek that is translated as “brother” in English in the referenced verses is translated in Lama as rɨtafal or “younger brother.” (Source: Neal Brinneman)

Agnus Dei (The Lamb of God)

The following is a contemporary stained glass window by Cláudio Pastro from the Mosteiro Beneditino do Encontro in Parana, Brazil:

Source: Art in the Christian Tradition , a project of the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Original source: Wikimedia

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

Translation commentary on John 1:40

The way in which Simon Peter is introduced suggests that he was well known to John’s readers.

The Greek text contains an expression in verse 40 which identifies Andrew as “one of the two who had heard about Jesus from John and who had accompanied Jesus.” Since the reference is clear, it is enough to say “one of them was Andrew” or perhaps “one of John’s two disciples was Andrew.”

Some languages doe not use a term for “brother” without indicating whether the person named is a younger or an older brother. Although Greek and Hebrew do not make such a distinction, Hebrew and Semitic Greek tend to name the older brother first. However, the fact that Simon Peter’s name precedes that of his brother in the synoptic accounts of their vocation (Mark 1.16 and parallels) and in the lists of the Twelve (Matt 10.2 and parallels) probably indicates his prominence rather than his greater age. In John 1.44 Andrew’s name appears before that of Peter.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 1:40

Paragraph 1:40–42

This paragraph tells how Andrew and Simon Peter became disciples of Jesus. Peter is one of the more important characters in the Gospel of John. Introduce him as you introduce an important character in a story.

1:40a–b

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother: Andrew may have been younger than or older than Simon Peter. We do not know. But Simon Peter was the better known among the Christians for whom John was writing. At the time of this story, Jesus had not yet given Simon the name Peter. The mention of Simon Peter here is therefore parenthetical and it may be natural to place it in parentheses:

Andrew (Simon Peter’s brother)

In some languages you may need to include a verb. At the time when John wrote this Gospel, it is probable that both Andrew and Peter were dead. So it is best to use the past tense:

Andrew, ⌊who was⌋ Simon Peter’s brother

Simon Peter’s: Simon Peter was one of Jesus’ closest disciples. He later became a major leader in the early church. He is also known for denying Jesus when he was arrested. His original name was Simon. In 1:42, Jesus said that he would be called Cephas, which is Peter in Greek. If people will think that Peter is Simon’s last name, you may want to make it clear that both names are used as his first name. For example:

the brother of Simon, who was also called Peter

one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus: Two disciples of John the Baptist had begun following Jesus (1:35–39). In some languages it is more natural to include what John the Baptist had said. For example:

one of the two men who heard John speak ⌊about Jesus⌋ and followed Jesus
-or-
one of the two who began following Jesus when they heard John ⌊call Jesus the Lamb of God⌋

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