John 11:44

Joh 11:44. And he that was dead — Greek, ο τεθνη κως, he that had been dead; came forth — “The dead man heard the voice of the Son of God, and came forth immediately. For he did not revive slowly, and by degrees, as the dead child did which was raised by the Prophet Elisha; but the effect instantly following the command, plainly showed whose the power was that reanimated the breathless clay.” As the people present were not so much as thinking of a resurrection, they must have been greatly “surprised when they heard our Lord pray for it. The cry, Lazarus, come forth, must have astonished them still more, and raised their curiosity to a prodigious pitch. But when they saw him spring out alive and in perfect health, that had been rotting in the grave four days, they could not but be agitated with many different passions, and overwhelmed with inexpressible amazement.” Bound hand and foot with grave-clothes — Which were wrapped round each hand and each foot. And his face was bound about with a napkin —

If the Jews buried as the Egyptians did, the face was not covered with it, but it only went round the forehead, and under the chin, so that he might easily see his way. “It would have been the least part of the miracle, had Jesus made the rollers, wherewith Lazarus was bound, unloose themselves from around his body before he came forth. But he brought him out just as he was lying, and ordered the spectators to loose him, that they might be the better convinced of the miracle.” Accordingly, in taking off the grave- clothes, they had the fullest evidence, both of his death and resurrection. For, on the one hand, in stripping him, the linen would offer both to their eyes and smell abundant proofs of his putrefaction, (Joh 11:39,) and by that means convince them that he had not been in a deliquium, but was really departed: and on the other, by his lively countenance appearing when the napkin was removed, his fresh colour, his active vigour, and his brisk walking, they who came near him and handled him, were made sensible that he was in perfect health, and had an opportunity to try the truth of the miracle, by the closest examination.

“Every reader must be sensible, that there is something incomparably beautiful in the whole of our Lord’s behaviour on this occasion. After having given such an astonishing instance of his power, he did not speak one word in his own praise, either directly or indirectly. He did not chide the disciples for their unwillingness to accompany him into Judea. He did not rebuke the Jews for having, in former instances, maliciously detracted from the lustre of his miracles, every one of which derived additional credit from this incontestable wonder. He did not say how much they were to blame for persisting in their infidelity, though he well knew what they would do. He did not intimate, even in the most distant manner, the obligations which Lazarus and his sisters were laid under by this signal favour. He did not upbraid Martha and Mary with the discontent they had expressed, at his having delayed to come to the relief of their brother. Nay, he did not so much as put them in mind of the mean notion they had entertained of his power; but, always consistent with himself, he was on this, as on every other occasion, a pattern of perfect humility and absolute self-denial.” — Macknight.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 11:44. Τοὺς πόδας, feet) The two feet had been swathed up together, or else each separately.—κειρίαις) The same word occurs in LXX. Pro 7:16, “I have decked my bed with coverings” [κλίνην—κειρίαις].

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 11:44 . Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ τεθνηκὼς , “And out came the dead man,” δεδεμένος … περιεδέδετο , “bound feet and hands with grave-bands,” κειρίαις , apparently the linen bandages with which the corpse was swathed. Opinions are fully given in Lampe. “And his face was bound about with a napkin.” Cf. Joh 20:7 . “The trait marks an eye-witness,” Westcott. λέγει … ὑπάγειν . “Jesus says to them, ‘Loose him and let him go away’.” He did not require support, and he could not relish the gaze of the throng in his present condition.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jesus saith unto them, Loose him and let him go--Jesus will no more do this Himself than roll away the stone. The one was the necessary preparation for resurrection, the other the necessary sequel to it. THE LIFE-GIVING ACT ALONE HE RESERVES TO HIMSELF. So in the quickening of the dead to spiritual life, human instrumentality is employed first to prepare the way, and then to turn it to account.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 44. Bound hand and foot with grave - clothes] Swathed about with rollers - κειριαις, from κειρω, I cut. These were long slips of linen a few inches in breadth, with which the body and limbs of the dead were swathed, and especially those who were embalmed, that the aromatics might be kept in contact with the flesh. But as it is evident that Lazarus had not been embalmed, it is probable that his limbs were not swathed together, as is the constant case with those who are embalmed, but separately, so that he could come out of the tomb at the command of Christ, though he could not walk freely till the rollers were taken away. But some will have it that he was swathed exactly like a mummy, and that his coming out in that state was another miracle. But there is no need of multiplying miracles in this case: there was one wrought which was a most sovereign proof of the unlimited power and goodness of God. Several of the primitive fathers have adduced this resurrection of Lazarus as the model, type, proof, and pledge of the general resurrection of the dead.

Loose him, and let him go.] He would have the disciples and those who were at hand take part in this business, that the fullest conviction might rest on every person's mind concerning the reality of what was wrought. He whom the grace of Christ converts and restores to life comes forth, at his call, from the dark, dismal grave of sin, in which his soul has long been buried: he walks, according to the command of Christ, in newness of life; and gives, by the holiness of his conduct, the fullest proof to all his acquaintance that he is alive from the dead.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

44. Bound hand and foot with bandages. The Evangelist is careful to mention the napkin and bandages, in order to inform us that Lazarus went out of the tomb, in the same manner that he was laid in it. This mode of burying is retained to the present day by the Jews, who cover the body with a shroud, and wrap the head separately in a handkerchief.

Loose him, and let him go. To magnify the glory of the miracle, it only remained that the Jews should even touch with their hands that Divine work which they had beheld with their eyes. For Christ might have removed the bandages with which Lazarus was bound, or made them to give way of themselves; but Christ intended to employ the hands of the spectators as his witnesses.

The Papists act an excessively ridiculous part, by endeavoring to draw auricular confession from this passage. They say, “Christ, after having restored Lazarus to life, commanded his disciples to loose him; and therefore it is not enough for us to be reconciled to God, unless the Church also pardon our sins.” But whence do they conjecture that the disciples were enjoined to loose Lazarus? On the contrary, we may infer that the order was given to the Jews, in order to take from them every ground of doubt or hesitation.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(44) And he that was dead came forth.—“Wonder at a wonder within a wonder!” is Basil’s comment on these words; and many of the older expositors regard the power to move, when bound hand and foot, as itself a miracle. But this seems not to be necessary, and if not necessary, is not to be resorted to. (Comp. Note on Joh_6:21.) The grave-clothes may have been bound round the limbs separately, as in the Egyptian mummies, and this would not prevent motion; or (and this is more probable) the body may have been “wrapped in a linen cloth,” which encompassed the whole, except the head (Mat_27:59), but still left motion possible. The word rendered “grave-clothes” is used nowhere in the New Testament except in this passage. It means properly the bands or straps by which the linen sheet was fastened to the body, and which kept the spice from falling out. (Comp. Joh_19:40.) We find it used elsewhere for straps and thongs generally. They were made of rushes, linen,, and other materials. The word is used once in the Greek of the Old Testament, where it means the belts by which beds are girded (Pro_7:16).

And his face was bound about with a napkin.—For the word “napkin,” comp. Note on Luk_19:20. It means here the cloth placed round the forehead and under the chin, but probably not covering the face.

Loose him, and let him go.—This command is in itself strong proof that the earlier part of the verse is not to be interpreted as a narrative of miraculous incidents.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

44. came forth] It is safest not to regard this as an additional miracle. The winding-sheet may have been loosely tied round him, or each limb may have been swathed separately: in Egyptian mummies sometimes every finger is kept distinct.

graveclothes] The Greek word occurs here only in N.T. Comp. Pro_7:16. It means the bandages which kept the sheet and the spices round the body. Nothing is said about the usual spices (Joh_19:40) here; and Martha’s remark (Joh_11:39) rather implies that there had been no embalming. If Lazarus died of a malignant disease he would be buried as quickly as possible.

face] The Greek word occurs in N.T. only here, Joh_7:24, and Rev_1:16 : one of the small indications of a common authorship (see on Joh_15:20 and Joh_19:37).

napkin] A Latin word is used meaning literally ‘a sweat-cloth.’ It occurs Joh_20:7; Luk_19:20; Act_19:12. Here the cloth bound under the chin to keep the lower jaw from falling is probably meant. These details shew the eyewitness.

let him go] The expression is identical with ‘let these go their way’ (Joh_18:8); and perhaps ‘let him go his way’ would be better here. Lazarus is to be allowed to retire out of the way of harmful excitement and idle curiosity.

The reserve of the Gospel narrative here is evidence of its truth, and is in marked contrast to the myths about others who are said to have returned from the grave. Lazarus makes no revelations as to the unseen world. The traditions about him have no historic value: but one mentioned by Trench (Miracles, p. 425) is worth remembering. It is said that the first question which he asked Christ after being restored to life was whether he must die again; and being told that he must, he was never more seen to smile.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he that was dead came forth,.... That is, he who had been dead, being now made alive, and raised up, and set on his feet, came out of the cave:

bound hand and foot with grave clothes; not that his hands were bound together, and much less his hands and feet together, with any bands or lists of cloth; but his whole body, as Nonnus expresses it, was bound with grave clothes from head to foot, according to the manner of the eastern countries, Jews, Egyptians, and others, who used to wrap up their dead in many folds of linen cloth, as infants are wrapped in swaddling bands: and their manner was to let down their arms and hands close by their sides, and wind up altogether from head to foot: so that there was another miracle besides that of raising him from the dead; that in such a situation, in which he could have no natural use of his hands and feet, he should rise up, stand on his feet, walk, and come forth thus bound, out of the cave:

and his face was bound about with a napkin; the use of which was not only to tie up the chin and jaws, but to hide the grim and ghastly looks of a dead corpse; and one of the same price and value was used by rich and poor: for it is said (m),

"the wise men introduced a custom of using "a napkin", (the very word here used, which Nonnus says is Syriac,) of the same value, not exceeding a penny, that he might not be ashamed who had not one so good as another; and they cover the faces of the dead, that they might not shame the poor, whose faces were black with famine.''

For it seems (n),

"formerly they used to uncover the faces of the rich, and cover the faces of the poor, because their faces were black through want, and the poor were ashamed; wherefore they ordered, that they should cover the faces of all, for the honour of the poor.''

Jesus saith unto them; to the servants that stood by:

loose him, and let him go; unwind the linen rolls about him, and set his hands and feet at liberty, and let him go to his own house.

(m) Maimon. Hilchot Ebel, c. 4. sect. 1, (n) T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 27. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Ver. 44. And he that was dead] But where was his soul therewhile? In manu Dei, In the hand of God, not in purgatory, as Papists say, for that is against their own principles. They send none to purgatory but men of a middle make, between just and unjust. Now Lazarus was surely a very good man, else had he not been so dear to Christ. But that purgatory is the pope’s invention, as Tyndale hath it: hear St Augustine, Nemo se decipiat, fratres: duo enim loca sunt, et tertius non est visus. Qui cum Christo regnare non meruit, cum diabolo, absque dubitatione, peribit.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He that was dead - The same man, body and soul.

Bound hand and foot - It is not certain whether the whole body and limbs were bound together, or each limb separately. When they embalmed a person, the whole body and limbs were swathed or bound together by strips of linen, involved around it to keep together the aromatics with which the body was embalmed. This is the condition of Egyptian mummies. See Act 5:6. But it is not certain that this was always the mode. Perhaps the body was simply involved in a winding-sheet. The custom still exists in western Asia. No coffins being used, the body itself is more carefully and elaborately wrapped and swathed than is common or desirable where coffins are used. In this method the body is stretched out and the arms laid straight by the sides, after which the whole body, from head to foot, is wrapped round tightly in many folds of linen or cotton cloth; or, to be more precise, a great length of cloth is taken and rolled around the body until the whole is enveloped, and every part is covered with several folds of the cloth. The ends are then sewed, to keep the whole firm and compact; or else a narrow bandage is wound over the whole, forming, ultimately, the exterior surface. The body, when thus enfolded and swathed, retains the profile of the human form; but, as in the Egyptian mummies, the legs are not folded separately, but together; and the arms also are not distinguished, but confined to the sides in the general envelope. Hence, it would be clearly impossible for a person thus treated to move his arms or legs, if restored to existence.

The word rendered “grave-clothes” denotes also the bands or clothes in which new-born infants are involved. He went forth, but his walking was impeded by the bands or clothes in which he was involved.

And his face ... - This was a common thing when they buried their dead. See Joh 20:7. It is not known whether the whole face was covered in this manner, or only the forehead. In the Egyptian mummies it is only the forehead that is thus bound.

Loose him - Remove the bandages, so that he may walk freely. The effect of this miracle is said to have been that many believed on him. It may be remarked in regard to it that there could not be a more striking proof of the divine mission and power of Jesus. There could be here no possibility of deception:

The friends of Lazarus believed him to be dead. In this they could not be deceived. There could have been among them no design to deceive. He was four days dead. It could not be a case, therefore, of suspended animation. Jesus was at a distance at the time of his death. There was, therefore, no agreement to attempt to impose on others. No higher power can be conceived than that of raising the dead. It was not possible to impose on his sisters, and to convince them that he was restored to life, if it was not really so. There were many present who were convinced also. God had so ordered it in his providence that to this miracle there should be many witnesses. There was no concealment, no jugglery, no secrecy. It was done publicly, in open day, and was witnessed by many who followed them to the grave, Joh 11:31. Others, who saw it, and did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, went and told it to the Pharisees. But they did not deny that Jesus had raised up Lazarus. They could not deny it. The very ground of their alarm - the very reason why they went - was that he had actually done it. Nor did the Pharisees dare to call the fact in question. If they could have done it, they would. But it was not possible; for, Lazarus was yet alive Joh 12:10, and the fact of his resurrection could not be denied. Every circumstance in this account is plain, simple, consistent, bearing all the marks of truth. But if Jesus performed this miracle his religion is true. God would not give such power to an impostor; and unless it can be proved that this account is false, the Christian religion must be from God.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Loose him, and let him go. Christ, says St. Gregory, by giving these orders to his apostles, shews that it belongs to his ministers to loose and absolve sinners, when they are moved to repentance, though it is God himself that forgiveth their sins; and they by his authority only. (Witham) --- Lazarus comes forth bound from the sepulchre, that he might not be thought to be a phantom; and that the bystanders might themselves loose him, and touching and approaching him, might know for certain that it was he. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. lxiii. in Joan.) --- St. Cyril and St. Augustine both adduce this verse to shew the power of priests in absolving sinners. See St. Cyril, lib. vii. last chap. in Joan. and St. Augustine, tract. 49. in Joan.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The fashion of their dressing up the dead differeth, according to the fashion of several countries; among the Jews, we understand by this text, they tied a napkin about their head, and some clothes about their hands and feet. They wound the whole body in linen clothes with spices, Joh 19:40; this was (as is there said) their manner to bury. So, Act 5:6, the young men are said to have wound Ananias, and carried him out, and buried him. And this is that which certainly is meant here by these words,

bound hand and foot: and here is a second miracle, that one so wrapped and bound up should be able to move and come forth. Christ bids,

Loose him, and let him go, to evidence him truly recovered to life again, and that the miracle was perfectly wrought. About this miracle there are two curious questions started:

1. Whether the raising of Lazarus to life was done by the mere Divine power of Christ, or by the person of Christ; so as the human nature, being personally united to the Divine nature, had also a share in it; the Divine nature communicating its property of quickening the dead to the human nature? That it was the person of Christ that raised Lazarus, and he who did it was truly man and truly God, is out of doubt. But that there was any such communication of the properties of the Divine nature to the human nature, that it also had a share in this effect, is justly denied, and doubted by many great divines: but it is a question tending to no great profit for us to know.

2. Where Lazarus’s soul was these four days wherein it was separated from the body? The Scripture hath not told us this, and it speaks too great curiosity to inquire too strictly. Though we are taught from the parable of Dives and Lazarus, that the souls of departed saints do ordinarily and immediately pass into heaven, or Abraham’s bosom; yet what should hinder, but that in these cases, where it appears to have been the Divine will that the souls of persons departed should again be returned into their bodies in a short time, they might by a Divine power be kept under the custody of angels, until the time of such restoration of them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

44. Bound hand and foot—Literally, bound as to his hands and as to his feet. So that his feet and hands were bandaged separately, as is the case with Egyptian mummies. Yet his hands were so bound that he could not unbind himself. There is no need of supposing, with some ancient commentators, a miracle in his being able to walk bound.

Whether this man, who had seen the spirit-world related, or not any of the secrets of that abode; whether all who inquired of him, or all save a chosen few or one, found in him a mysterious repugnance to utter a syllable upon the subject; whether he felt silenced by the consciousness that he had seen things not lawful for man to utter; or whether on his return to the light of the sun all traces of the other world were erased from his mind, we know not. To reveal our future was not the purpose of his return. Yet we can hardly doubt that the very choice of the name Lazarus, for the parable of the rich man and the beggar, is significant that one might rise from the dead without convincing the sceptic, as the conduct of some of the Jews on this occasion showed. It is an early legend of the Church, that Lazarus was now thirty years of age, and survived this event another thirty.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He that (had died and) was (up to that time) dead, came out (of the grave), bound feet and hands with grave-bands. The swathing of the limbs after the Egyptian fashion, each limb separately, renders the action most natural, because exhlyen is used. Lazarus did not simply stand in his grave. The early commentators and Stier saw in this emergence of the swathed Lazarus an additional miracle, just as they augmented the force of the supposition involved in the ozei , into the fact that our Lord raised from death a putrefy-tug corpse. Both suppositions would be unnecessary adjuncts of the proof of the glory of God and power of Christ. Lucke and others refer to the habit of swathing separate limbs, but in such a way as not to impede motion if the person thus swathed desired it. Meyer and Godet see no necessity for the suggestion of the early writers. Kuinoel thinks that exhlye was used of the mere struggle of the swathed body to escape. The above supposition is the most probable. So Westcott. (Keiria , an apax legomenon of the New Testament, is used of girdle or bandage.) And his face was bound about with a napkin. The surrounding of the face with a sudarium is the touch of an eyewitness. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and suffer him to depart; the part which bystanders might perform; this was the wise advice of Friend and Teacher. (For similar injunctions of a physical and practical kind on other occasions, see Luk_7:15 and Luk_8:55) The majestic miracle is no further pressed by the evangelist, but left to tell its own sublime meaning, which in the multiplicity of exegetical hypotheses we are in danger of missing. "Behold a man raised up by Christ. The rest remaineth unrevealed He told it not; or something sealed The lips of that evangelist.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes - Which were wrapt round each hand and each foot, and his face was wrapt about with a napkin - If the Jews buried as the Egyptians did, the face was not covered with it, but it only went round the forehead, and under the chin; so that he might easily see his way.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

44. And he that was dead came forth. The earth had never beheld a more wonderful or startling sight. At once the sleeper arose, came forth, bound with his grave clothes, with the napkin still upon his face that had been bound under his jaw to keep it from falling. The lookers-on, astonished, dazed, were only recalled to themselves when the Lord bade them, “Loose him and let him go.” He spoke as the Divine Word, and death obeyed. As he cried to Lazarus, Come forth, so shall he speak with the voice of an archangel to all that are in their graves, and they shall come forth and live.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

44. ἐξῆλθεν. It is safest not to regard this as an additional miracle. The winding-sheet may have been loosely tied round him, or each limb may have been swathed separately: in Egyptian mummies sometimes every finger is kept distinct.

κειρίαις. The word occurs here only in N.T. Comp. Pro 7:16. It means the bandages which kept the sheet and the spices round the body. Nothing is said about the usual spices (Joh 19:40) here; and Martha’s remark (Joh 11:39) rather implies that there had been no embalming. If Lazarus died of a malignant disease he would be buried as quickly as possible.

ὄψις. The word occurs in N.T. only here, Joh 7:24, and Rev 1:16: one of the small indications of a common authorship (see on Joh 1:14, Joh 4:6, Joh 5:2, Joh 7:30, [Joh 8:2,] Joh 13:8, Joh 15:20, Joh 19:37, Joh 20:16).

σουδαρίῳ. The Latin sudarium, meaning literally ‘a sweat-cloth.’ It occurs Joh 20:7; Luk 19:20; Act 19:12. Here the cloth bound under the chin to keep the lower jaw from falling is probably meant. These details shew the eyewitness.

ἄφετε αὐ. ὑπ. The expression is identical with ‘let these go their way’ (Joh 18:8); and perhaps ‘let him go his way’ would be better here. Lazarus is to be allowed to retire out of the way of harmful excitement and idle curiosity. Comp. Luk 7:15; Luk 8:55. On all three occasions Christ’s first care is for the person raised.

The reserve of the Gospel narrative here is evidence of its truth, and is in marked contrast to the myths about others who are said to have returned from the grave. Lazarus makes no revelations as to the unseen world. The traditions about him have no historic value: but one mentioned by Trench (Miracles, p. 425) is worth remembering. It is said that the first question which he asked Christ after being restored to life was whether he must die again; and being told that he must, he was never more seen to smile.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

44.] κειρία εἶδος ζώνης ἐκ σχοινίων, παρεοικὸς ἵμαντι, ᾗ δεσμοῦαι τὰς κλίνας (see ref.), Suidas. κειρία ὁ τῶν νηπίων δεσμός, ἤγουν ἡ κοίνως φασκία (fascia), καὶ ᾗ δεσμοῦαι τοὺς νεκρούς, Moschopulus (in Kuinoel). It does not appear whether the bands were wound about each limb, as in the Egyptian mummies, so as merely to impede motion,—or were loosely wrapped round both feet and both hands, so as to hinder any free movement altogether. The latter seems most probable, and has been supposed by many, e.g. Basil, Homil. de gratiar. actione, c. 5, vol. iii. p. 29, ὁ νεκρὸς ἐζωοποιεῖτυ καὶ ὁ δεδεμένος περιεπάτει· θαῦμα ἐν θαύματι, κειρίαις δεδέσθαι τοὺς πόδας, καὶ μὴ κωλύεσθαι πρὸς κίνησιν. Ancient pictures represent Lazarus gliding forth from the tomb, not stepping: and that apparently is right. The σουδάριον appears to have tied up his chin.

ὑπάγειν, probably, to his home.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

44. The rec. text, with אAC3WΓΔΘ, prefixes καί to ἐξῆλθεν, but om. BC*L. The absence of a conjunction is quite in Jn.’s manner.

The dead body had been bound as to feet and hands with swathes (cf. 19:40), and the face had been bound with a napkin (cf. 20:7), after the Jewish custom. It is idle to speculate as to how the evangelist means us to understand the emergence from the tomb. The bandages would, seemingly, forbid the free use of the limbs; and they had to be loosened (λύσατε αὐτόν) as soon as Lazarus appeared.

The word κειρία appears elsewhere in the Greek Bible only at Pro 7:16, where it stands for part of the covering of a bed. Moulton-Milligan (s.v.) note its occurrence in the form κηρία in a medical papyrus. However, there is no doubt as to its meaning here, sc. “bandage” or “swathe.”

For ὄψις, see on 7:24.

σουδάριον is a Latin word, “a napkin”; it occurs again in N.T. at 20:7, Luk 19:20, Act 19:12.

BC*L have ἄφετε αὐτόν. אADΓΔ om. αὐτόν. Θ has ἐάσατε αὐτόν.

For ὑπάγειν, see on 7:33 ἄφετε αὐτὸν ὑπάγειν is equivalent to “let him go home.” This simple and kindly counsel is comparable with that of Mar 5:43; cf. also Luk 7:15.

It is noteworthy how few are the apocryphal legends about Lazarus. A priori, it might have been expected that pious fancy would have delighted in depicting his experiences in the unseen world, and his sayings when he was restored to earth. But there is little of the kind. Epiphanius says that among the traditions with which he was familiar, there was one which gave the age of Lazarus at thirty, and alleged that he lived for thirty years longer after his resuscitation (Hær. lxvi. 34). There is nothing impossible in that. The grim legend (cited by Trench, without giving his authority) that after Lazarus returned from the tomb, he was never known to smile, is probably a mediæval fancy. The Anaphora of Pilate (B 5) says that Lazarus was raised from the dead on a Sabbath day, an idea which is probably due to imperfect recollection of the healings in Son_5 and 9. A Sahidic sermon in F. Robinson’s Coptic Apocryphal Gospels, p. 170 f., represents the miracle as having been wrought by Jesus in order to convince Thomas, who expressed a desire to see a man raised from the grave; and that Jesus told him that His action in calling Lazarus forth was a figure of what would happen at the Resurrection on the Last Day.

The Impression Made on the Bystanders (vv. 45, 46)

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Grave - clothes [κειριαις] . Literally, swathing - bands. Only here in the New Testament. In Joh 19:40; Joh 20:5, 7, ojqonia, linen bands, is used. A napkin [σουδαρι. ω] . See on Luk 19:20.

It is interesting to compare this Gospel picture of sisterly affection under the shadow of death, with the same sentiment as exhibited in Greek tragedy, especially in Sophocles, by whom it is developed with wonderful power, both in the "Antigone" and in the "Electra."

In the former, Antigone, the consummate female figure of the Greek drama, falls a victim to her love for her dead brother. Both here, and in the "Electra," sisterly love is complicated with another and sterner sentiment : in the "Antigone" with indignant defiance of the edict which refuses burial to her brother; in the "Electra" with the long - cherished craving for vengeance. Electra longs for her absent brother Orestes, as the minister of retribution rather than as the solace of loneliness and sorrow. His supposed death is to her, therefore, chiefly the defeat of the passionate, deadly purpose of her whole life. Antigone lives for her kindred, and is sustained under her own sad fate by the hope of rejoining them in the next world. She believes in the permanence of personal existence.

"And yet I go and feed myself with hopes That I shall meet them, by my father loved, Dear to my mother, well - beloved of thee, Thou darling brother" (897 - 900).

And again, "Loved, I shall be with him whom I have loved Guilty of holiest crime. More time is mine In which to share the favor of the dead, Than that of those who live; for I shall rest Forever there" (73 - 76).

No such hope illuminates the grief of Electra.

"Ah, Orestes! Dear brother, in thy death thou slayest me; For thou art gone, bereaving my poor heart Of all the little hope that yet remained That thou wouldst come, a living minister Of vengeance for thy father and for me" (807 - 812).

And again, "If thou suggestest any hope from those So clearly gone to Hades, then on me, Wasting with sorrow, thou wilt trample more" (832 - 834).

When she is asked, "What! shall I ever bring the dead to life ?" she replies, "I meant not that : I am not quite so mad."

In the household of Bethany, the grief of the two sisters, unlike that of the Greek maidens, is unmixed with any other sentiment, save perhaps a tinge of a feeling bordering on reproach that Jesus had not been there to avert their calamity. Comfort from the hope of reunion with the dead is not expressed by them, and is hardly implied in their assertion of the doctrine of a future resurrection, which to them, is a general matter having little or no bearing on their personal grief. In this particular, so far as expression indicates, the advantage is on the side of the Theban maiden. Though her hope is the outgrowth of her affection rather than of her religious training - a thought which is the child of a wish - she never loses her grasp upon the expectation of rejoining her beloved dead.

But the gospel story is thrown into strongest contrast with the classical by the truth of resurrection which dominates it in the person and energy of the Lord of life. Jesus enters at once as the consolation of bereaved love, and the eternal solution of the problem of life and death. The idea which Electra sneered at as madness, is here a realized fact. Beautiful, wonderful as is the action which the drama evolves out of the conflict of sisterly love with death, the curtain falls on death as victor. Into the gospel story Jesus brings a benefaction, a lesson, and a triumph. His warm sympathy, His comforting words, His tears at His friend 's tomb, are in significant contrast with the politic, timid, at times reproachful attitude of the chorus of Theban elders towards Antigone. The consummation of both dramas is unmitigated horror. Suicide solves the problem for Antigone, and Electra receives back her brother as from the dead, only to incite him to murder, and to gloat with him over the victims. It is a beautiful feature of the Gospel narrative that it seems, if we may so speak, to retire with an instinctive delicacy from the joy of that reunited household. It breaks off abruptly with the words, "Loose him, and let him go." The imagination alone follows the sisters with their brother, perchance with Christ, behind the closed door, and hears the sacred interchanges of that wonderful communing. Tennyson, with a deep and truly Christian perception, has struck its key - note.

"Her eyes are homes of silent prayer, Nor other thought her mind admits But, he was dead, and there he sits! And He that brought him back is there. Then one deep love doth supersede All other, when her ardent gaze Roves from the living brother 's face And rests upon the Life indeed." " In Memoriam. "

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.