Translation commentary on John 19:38

After this is literally “but after these things,” a generalizing temporal marker often used by John to introduce new sections in his narrative.

Joseph, who was from the town of Arimathea is literally “Joseph from Arimathea.” Since the name Arimathea is not widely known, it is important to identify it as a town, Joseph from Arimathea is mentioned in all four Gospels in connection with Jesus’ burial, but nowhere else in the New Testament. The location of the town of Arimathea is not definitely known, but none of the suggestions for its location place it in Galilee. Joseph was evidently from Judea.

Rather than saying, take Jesus’ body, it may be necessary to say “take the body of Jesus to bury it” or “… to place it in a tomb.” Otherwise such an expression as “take a body” could suggest some evil intention.

Follower translates the Greek word mathētēs, which elsewhere in John’s Gospel is rendered disciple. Good News Translation uses follower here to avoid confusing the reader with the notion of a “secret disciple.”

According to 12.42, many Jewish authorities believed in Jesus: but because of the Pharisees they did not talk about it openly. In 12.43 John is critical of such persons: They loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. In 19.38, however, no such harsh judgment is expressed. Perhaps John considers Joseph to be no longer a secret follower of Jesus, now that he has openly requested Jesus’ body for burial. But in secret may be rendered “but he had not let other people know about it” or “but he hadn’t told anyone about it.”

Jewish authorities is literally “Jews.” (See Appendix I.)

Pilate told him he could have the body is literally “and Pilate permitted (it).” The clause so Joseph went and took it away is literally “so he came and took away his body.” Since Good News Translation mentions the body in the first part of this sentence, it may be referred to in the second part by the pronoun it. In order to avoid pronominal ambiguities, Good News Translation identifies Joseph explicitly in this verse.

In some languages it is necessary to say specifically what took it away implies. That is, one must indicate that Joseph of Arimathea either personally carried the body of Jesus or had it carried. Furthermore, many languages require terms which indicate how a corpse would be carried. The likelihood is that Jesus’ body was carried on a kind of stretcher or bier, such as were often used in ancient times to transport a body to a tomb or grave.

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 19:38

Section 19:38–42

Jesus’ body was put in a tomb

This section describes how Jesus was buried. Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could remove Jesus’ body from the cross. Pilate agreed, so he did that. Nicodemus went with Joseph and took spices to put inside the cloths with which they would wrap Jesus’ body. Then they buried him in a new tomb in a nearby garden.

Here are other possible titles for this section:

Men placed Jesus’ body in a new tomb
-or-
Jesus was buried
-or-
The burial of Jesus

19:38a

Afterward: This phrase introduces the next event, the burial of Jesus. Introduce this next event in the story in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

After that (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Later (New International Version)
-or-
After it was all over (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

Joseph of Arimathea: Joseph was a very common name at this time. This was not the Joseph who married Jesus’ mother but a man from a village or town named Arimathea. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

Joseph from Arimathea (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Joseph, who was from the town of Arimathea, (Good News Translation)
-or-
Joseph, who lived in the village called Arimathea,

who was a disciple of Jesus: The term disciple here indicates that Joseph was someone who believed in Jesus. He did not follow Jesus and learn from him every day as the twelve (12) disciples did. From the other Gospels we learn that Joseph was a member of the Jewish council called the Sanhedrin. Here is another way to translate this clause:

Joseph was a follower of Jesus (Good News Translation)

19:38b

but secretly: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as secretly indicates that Joseph did not tell anyone that he believed in Jesus. It implies that he did not want to be persecuted or lose his position because he believed in Jesus.

for fear of the Jews: This phrase indicates that Joseph was afraid of the Jewish leaders. He was afraid that they would persecute him or remove him from the council. They might have even removed him from the synagogue and the Jewish community (see the notes on 9:22b).

the Jews: This phrase here refers to the leaders of the Jews, especially the council. For example:

because he was afraid of the Jewish leaders (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
because he feared the Jewish leaders (New International Version)

General Comment on 19:38b

John 19:38b is parenthetical information. Several English translations put this information in parentheses. Indicate that this information is parenthetical in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

(but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders) (NET Bible)
-or-
(Joseph was a follower of Jesus, but in secret, because he was afraid of the Jewish authorities.) (Good News Translation)

19:38c

asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus: Joseph asked Pilate for permission to take away (remove) the body of Jesus so that he could bury it. This is an indirect quotation. In some languages it may be natural to use a direct quotation. For example:

said to Pilate, “Allow me to take the body of Jesus.”
-or-
he asked Pilate, “May I remove Jesus’ body?”

to let him remove the body of Jesus: In some languages it may be natural to include the implied information that Joseph wanted to bury the body. For example:

take the body of Jesus to bury it (TH)
-or-
take the body of Jesus to place it in a tomb (TH)

General Comment on 19:38a–c

In some language it is more natural to rearrange 19:38a–c, telling what Joseph did before telling who Joseph was. For example:

38a–c Later Joseph from the city of Arimathea asked Pilate to let him remove Jesus’ body. (Joseph was a disciple of Jesus but secretly because he was afraid of the Jews.) (God’s Word)
-or-

38a–c Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. (New International Version)
-or-

38a–c After this Joseph, who was from the town of Arimathea, asked Pilate if he could take Jesus’ body. (Joseph was a follower of Jesus, but in secret, because he was afraid of the Jewish authorities.) (Good News Translation)

19:38d

Pilate gave him permission: This clause is more literally “Pilate allowed him.” Pilate said that Joseph could have the body of Jesus in order to bury it. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

He consented (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Pilate gave him permission to remove Jesus’ body. (God’s Word)
-or-
Pilate told him he could have the body. (Good News Translation)
-or-
“Yes, you may do that,” Pilate said.

19:38e

so he came and removed His body: This clause indicates that Joseph came to the cross and took Jesus’ body down in order to bury it. In some languages you may want to make one or both pronouns (he and His) explicit to make them clear. For example:

so Joseph came and took Jesus’ body away (New Century Version)
-or-
Joseph came and took the body away (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Joseph took it down from the cross (Contemporary English Version)

removed: In some languages you may need to tell how Joseph removed or carried Jesus’ body. He probably carried it with someone on a mat or something light that could be used to carry a body.

His body: This phrase refers to Jesus’ dead body.

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