the Jews (the authorities in Jerusalem)

In the English Good News Bible (2nd edition of 1992), this occurrence of the Greek hoi Ioudaioi, traditionally “the Jews” in English, is translated with “the authorities (in Jerusalem)” in contexts that imply that the referred groups are hostile to Jesus For an explanation of the differentiated translation in English as well as translation choices in a number of languages, see the Jews.

complete verse (John 7:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 7:15:

  • Uma: “The Yahudi rulers were surprised to hear his teaching, they said: ‘How does he know the contents of the Holy Book, since he is not even educated?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The leaders of the Yahudi marveled very much at the teaching of Isa. They said, ‘This person, surprise, has not studied. Where did he get this his knowledge from?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The Jewish leaders were very surprised at him, and they said, ‘Where do you suppose this person’s wisdom comes from, because he hasn’t studied a lot.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “And that’s when/how the leaders of the Jews were surprised saying, ‘Where did this-one get his intelligence/wisdom, because he is definitely not an educated person?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The Judio were amazed. They were saying, ‘Where does the knowledge of this fellow come from since he hasn’t had schooling?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The Jews were amazed at the word Jesus taught. They said, ‘Where did he get all that which he speaks? We haven’t seen him going to school.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 7:15

Once again John begins a verse with the Greek oun (see 2.18). Most translations omit it from the explicit rendering.

Greatly surprised is translated “marvelled” in Revised Standard Version and “astonished” in New English Bible. Elsewhere in John’s Gospel this verb is used in 3.7; 4.27; 5.20,28; and 7.21. It may be important to indicate the reason for the surprise of the Jewish authorities, for example, “The Jewish officials were very much surprised at the way in which he taught” or even “… at what he said.”

How does this man know so much when he has never been to school? is translated in New English Bible “How is it … that this untrained man has such learning?” “Learning” is specifically knowledge about the Jewish Law, and school or “training” is a reference to studying under one of the noted Jewish teachers of the times. In another context the words would more naturally mean “How did he learn to read? He has not been taught” (Jerusalem Bible) or “How can this uneducated fellow manage to read?” (Moffatt). However, in the present context the reference is to Jesus’ lack of formal rabbinical training, not to an inability to read, since every Jewish boy was taught to read. Before a Jew became a rabbi, he normally studied with another rabbi, who taught him what the former rabbis had said. Much of the rabbinical training consisted in memorizing what former Jewish teachers had taught concerning the Law. Phillips comes close to expressing the meaning, “How does this man know all this—he has never been taught?” This passage may also be translated, “How does this man know so much, since he has never been taught to be an expert in our Law?” The Revised Standard Version rendering may give the impression that, while Jesus might have been an intelligent student, he was a lazy one: “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” A useful equivalent of the Greek text is “This man has never had a teacher. How, then, can he know so much?” In some languages one may say “How can he know so much when he has never been trained?”

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 7:15

7:15a

The Berean Standard Bible leaves implicit a Greek word in this clause that is usually translated as “therefore.” Most other English translations also leave the word implicit, although a few translations use “then” or “therefore” to translate it. Translate this Greek word in a way that is natural in your language.

The Jews: This phrase refers to the Jewish leaders here. See how you translated this term in 7:1, 7:11 and 7:13. Make sure it is clear that you are referring to the same people in those verses. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

The Jewish authorities (Good News Translation)
-or-
the Jewish leaders (NET Bible Bible)
-or-
The leaders (Contemporary English Version)

were amazed: This expression is more literally “were astonished” in the Greek text. The expression indicates that the Jewish leaders were amazed at Jesus’ teaching. They did not expect that he would know so much and be able to teach so well. Here are other ways to translate this expression:

were amazed (New International Version)
-or-
were greatly surprised (Good News Translation)

asked: The verb asked here introduces a rhetorical question. In some languages it may be more natural to translate it in one of these ways:

and asked each other

7:15b

How did this man attain such learning without having studied?: This is a rhetorical question. The Jewish leaders used it as an expression of surprise. The Jewish leaders were surprised at Jesus’ excellent understanding of their religion.

There are at least three ways to translate this rhetorical question:

• Use a rhetorical question. For example:

How is it that this untrained man has such learning? (Revised English Bible)

• Use a statement. For example:

This man certainly knows a lot about ⌊the Law/Torah⌋ for someone who has never studied it!

• Use both a question and a statement. For example:

How does this man know so much? He has never been taught! (Contemporary English Version)

Translate this expression of surprise in a way that is natural in your language.

In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of the clauses in this sentence. For example:

The rabbis have never taught this man ⌊the Law/Scriptures⌋ ! Yet he knows so much about it!

How did this man attain such learning: The phrase such learning here means “such great learning.” It refers to the fact that Jesus’ teaching showed that he understood well the Jewish Law and the Hebrew Scriptures. The people speaking wondered how he got this understanding. In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit what Jesus had learned (the Jewish Law). For example:

How did this man learn so much ⌊about our (incl.) Law⌋ ?

In some languages it may be natural to translate the noun learning as a verb. For example:

How does this man know so much…? (Good News Translation)

without having studied: This clause indicates why the Jewish leaders were surprised. They were surprised at Jesus’ learning because he had not been taught the Law by the rabbis. He had not studied to be a professional teacher of the Torah. The clause does not mean that Jesus had not learned anything, like how to read.

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