Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 4:52
Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.
52. began to amend ] Or, was somewhat better; a colloquial expression. The father fancies that the cure will be gradual. The fever will depart at Christ’s word, but will depart in the ordinary way. He has not yet fully realised Christ’s power. The reply of the servants shews that the cure was instantaneous.
Yesterday at the seventh hour ] Once more we have to discuss S. John’s method of counting the hours of the day. (See on Joh 1:39 and Joh 4:6.) Obviously the father set out as soon after Jesus said ‘thy son liveth’ as possible; he had 20 or 25 miles to go to reach home, and he would not be likely to loiter on the way. 7 a.m. is incredible; he would have been home long before nightfall, and the servants met him some distance from home. 7 p.m. is improbable; the servants would meet him before midnight. Thus the modern method of reckoning from midnight to midnight does not suit. Adopting the Jewish method from sunset to sunset, the seventh hour is 1 p.m. He would scarcely start at once in the mid-day heat; nor would the servants. Supposing they met him after sunset, they might speak of 1 p.m. as ‘yesterday.’ (But see on Joh 20:19, where S. John speaks of the late hours of the evening as belonging to the day before sunset.) Still, 7 p.m. is not impossible, and this third instance must be regarded as not decisive. But the balance here seems to incline to what is antecedently more probable, that S. John reckons the hours, like the rest of the Evangelists, according to the Jewish method.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The seventh hour – About one oclock in the afternoon.
The same hour – The very time when Jesus spoke.
The fever left him – It seems that it left him suddenly and entirely; so much so that his friends went to inform the father, and to comfort him, and also, doubtless, to apprise him that it was not necessary to ask aid from Jesus. From this miracle we may learn,
1. That Jesus has an intimate knowledge of all things. He knew the case of this son – the extent of his disease where he was and thus had power to heal him.
2. That Jesus has almighty power. Nothing else could have healed this child. Nor could it be pretended that he did it by any natural means. He was far away from him, and the child knew not the source of the power that healed him. It could not be pretended that there was any collusion or jugglery. The father came in deep anxiety. The servants saw the cure. Jesus was at a distance. Everything in the case bears the mark of being the simple energy of God – put forth with equal ease to heal, whether far or near. Thus, he can save the sinner.
3. We see the benevolence of Jesus. Ever ready to aid, to heal, or to save, he may be called on at all times, and will never be called on in vain.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 52. Then inquired he of them the hour] The servants, overjoyed to find their master’s son so suddenly restored, set off to meet him, that they might impart to him tidings which they knew would be so very agreeable; and he, intent on having his faith settled, began immediately to inquire what time it was when the fever left him, to see whether his cure was the effect of some natural cause, or whether it was done by the power of Christ.
Yesterday at the seventh hour] At the time we would call one o’clock. Dr. Macknight thinks the Roman hour is intended; i.e. seven o’clock in the evening; and this he thinks is the reason why our Lord did not accompany the nobleman: for, as Cana was a day’s journey from Capernaum, had our Lord gone at that hour he must have travelled in the night, from which it might have been inferred that he could not cure the child without being personally present. Harmony, vol. i. p. 52.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He inquires the precise time; they tell him it was about
the seventh hour. The miracle appeared in the suddenness of the recovery, and also that it was without the application of means, at least any that could have produced so sudden an effect.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Then inquired he of them the hour,…. He did not at all hesitate about the truth of it, or was in any surprise upon it; but that he might compare things together, he asked the exact time,
when he began to amend; or grow better; for he seemed to think, that his recovery might be gradual, and not all at once, as it was:
and they said unto him, yesterday at the seventh hour; which was one o’clock in the afternoon:
the fever left him; entirely at once, so that he was perfectly well immediately.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Inquired (). Second aorist middle indicative of .
Began to mend ( ). Second aorist ingressive active indicative of (took a turn, got better) and comparative of adverb . Arrian (_Epictetus iii. 10.13) has from a physician, “Thou hast it fine,” “Thou art doing finely.” The papyri give several similar examples. (neat) is from , to take care of.
At the seventh hour ( ). The accusative case without a preposition as in Re 3:3, though we have (about the ninth hour) in Ac 10:3. See the accusative also in Ex 9:18 (tomorrow about this hour). The accusative has the notion of extension and can be thus loosely used. It can even mean here “during the seventh hour.” In verse 53 the locative is more exact, “at that hour” ( ). The seventh hour would be (Roman time) seven P.M.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Then enquired he of them the hour,” (eputheto oun ten horan par’ auton) “Then he inquired from them the hour,” to strengthen his faith and share with these servants specifics, concerning the words of Jesus, in response to his request. He certified that the word of the Lord written and spoken was true from the beginning, Psa 119:160; Joh 1:18.
2) “When he began to amend.” (en he kompsoteron eschen) “In which he became better,” at what hour of the day he had been made well.
3) “And they said unto him,” (eipan oun auto) “Then they said to him,” for the record, for a certification of the truth of Jesus’ words, and as a reward of the nobleman’s persevering faith that took him to Jesus, and brought him back to his now healthy son.
4) “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” (hoti echthes horan hebdomen) “That yesterday (at the) seventh hour,” of the day, about one o’clock in the afternoon. (apheken auton ho puretos) “The fever left him,” went away, disappeared, or vanished. Let such specific testamentary evidence of the truthfulness and trustworthiness of Jesus be accepted as spoken or recounted by the Scriptures, Luk 17:14; 2Ti 3:16-17.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
52. Therefore he inquired at them. That this courtier asked his servants at what time his son began to recover, was done by a secret impulse from God, that the truth of the miracle might be rendered more conspicuous. For by nature we have an exceedingly wicked disposition to extinguish the light of the power of God, and Satan labors, by various means, to hide the works of God from our view; and, therefore, in order that they may obtain from us that praise which is due to them, they must be made so manifest that no room is left for doubt. Whatever then may be the ingratitude of men, still this circumstance does not permit so illustrious a work of Christ to be ascribed to chance.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(52) Then enquired he of them.But these two factsthe assurance at Cana, and the actual healing powers at Capernaumwere they in truth related to each other? He remembers the hour at which one was spoken; he inquires the hour at which the other was realised. He does not even now grasp the full meaning of the words, and thinks of the gradual abatement of the fever, and the slow convalescence, and asks when the child began to amend. They have seen the sudden change as of a new power passing into the body on the point of death. They have spoken of this as a new life, and they now think of the fever as having completely left him.
Yesterday at the seventh hour.We have seen (Joh. 1:39) that there is no sufficient reason for thinking that St. John uses the western method of counting the hours of the day. Still less is it likely that Galilean servants, who are here the speakers, should have done so. To believe, moreover, that it was seven oclock in the morning or evening adds to, and does not remove, the difficulty of the length of time implied in yesterday. To say that the father remained some time with Jesus, and that the believer doth not make haste, is to pervert both the spirit and the words of the text. He clearly went at once (Joh. 4:50), and his anxiety naturally quickened his speed. The distance was not more than twenty-five English miles, and he had not travelled the whole of it, for the servants had gone to meet him. The supposed explanation cannot therefore be explained. But the words, if taken in their simple meaning, involve no such difficulty. These Jews, as all Jews, meant by the seventh hour the seventh from sunrise, what we should call one oclock. After sunset the same evening they would have commenced a new day (comp. Excursus F.), and this seventh hour would be to them as one oclock the day before, or the seventh hour yesterday. We have thus an interval of five or six hours between the words spoken by our Lord and their confirmation by the servants.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
52. At the seventh hour At one o’clock P.M. Jesus spake the word, and the man started for home. At one o’clock P.M. it was, as the servants declare, that the boy recovered. The nobleman had naturally imagined that Jesus must visit the son to heal. But Jesus, adding awakening wonder to the miracle, heals at a distance. The man can measure the sign by a timepiece.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Joh 4:52. Yesterday at the seventh hour, &c. That is, it left him all of a sudden; so that being restored to perfect health in an instant, the whole family knew that he was miraculously cured, and particularly the nobleman himself, who, by the time of the cure, perceived that it happened at the very moment that Jesus had pronounce
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.
Ver. 52. Then inquired he, &c. ] By a sweet providence, that God might be the more glorified and the man’s faith confirmed. “All things cooperate,” &c.,Rom 8:28Rom 8:28 . So at the same time wherein the states of Germany (after long debate) concluded for the truth of the gospel, Luther came leaping out of his closet where he had been praying (though many miles distant) with vicimus, vicimus we conquer, we conquer, in his mouth. So Musselborough field was won by the English the selfsame day and hour wherein those Balaam’s blocks (idolatrous images) were burnt at London by order of Parliament.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
52, 53. ] in this sense is found in Arrian. Dissert. Epictet. iii. 10, cited by most of the Commentators. , , , , , .
. .] This was probably more than he expected to hear; and the coincidence of so sudden a recovery with the time at which Jesus had spoken the words to him (after understand ), raises his faith at length into a full belief of the Power and Goodness and the Messiahship of Him, who had by a word commanded the disease, and it had obeyed. The , absolutely , implies that in the fullest sense he and all his became disciples of Jesus . It is very different from . . in Joh 4:50 as believing on HIM must be always different from believing on any thing else in the world , be it even His own word or His own ordinances . Here the advocates of the (imaginary see above on Joh 4:6 ) Asiatic division of the hours by St. John, suppose him to have put that division into the mouth of Jews in Galilee. But that division would in reality not help the narrative here at all, as they maintain. The probably set out, as indeed the narrative implies, immediately on hearing our Lord’s assurance, and spent the night on the way . Indeed, curiously enough, Bp. Wordsw. makes him do this, and yet maintains the seventh hour to have been 7 P.M.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 4:52 . . “Amoenum verbum, de convalescente, puero praesertim” Bengel. Theophylact explains by : Euthymius by , , as we speak of a sick person being “easier,” “lighter”. The best illustration is Raphel’s from Epictetus ( Diss. , 3, 10), who bids a patient not be too much uplifted if the physician says to him , you are doing well. The servants name the seventh hour, i.e. , 1 p.m. of the previous day, as the time when the fever left him. [Accus. of time when, rare; Winer explains as if it meant the approximate time with a or understood; Act 10:3 ; Rev 3:3 .] And this the father recognised as the time at which Jesus had said “Thy son liveth”. The distance between Cana and Capernaum is about twenty-five miles, so that it would appear as if the father had needlessly delayed on the road. But he may have had business for Herod or for himself on the road, or the beast he rode may have been unequal to the double journey. At any rate it seems illegitimate to say with Weiss that “yesterday” means before sundown; or to ascribe the father’s delay to the confidence he had in Jesus’ word. The discovery of the coincidence in point of time produces a higher degree of faith, . The cure brings into prominence this distinctive peculiarity of a miracle that it consists of a marvel which is coincident with an express announcement of it.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Then = Therefore.
when = in (Greek. en. App-104.) which.
amend = get better. Greek. kompsoteron echo. Occurs only here in N.T.
the seventh hour = 1 o’clock p.m. Compare App-165.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
52, 53.] in this sense is found in Arrian. Dissert. Epictet. iii. 10, cited by most of the Commentators. , , , , , .
. .] This was probably more than he expected to hear; and the coincidence of so sudden a recovery with the time at which Jesus had spoken the words to him (after understand ), raises his faith at length into a full belief of the Power and Goodness and the Messiahship of Him, who had by a word commanded the disease, and it had obeyed. The , absolutely, implies that in the fullest sense he and all his became disciples of Jesus. It is very different from . . in Joh 4:50-as believing on HIM must be always different from believing on any thing else in the world, be it even His own word or His own ordinances. Here the advocates of the (imaginary-see above on Joh 4:6) Asiatic division of the hours by St. John, suppose him to have put that division into the mouth of Jews in Galilee. But that division would in reality not help the narrative here at all, as they maintain. The probably set out, as indeed the narrative implies, immediately on hearing our Lords assurance, and spent the night on the way. Indeed, curiously enough, Bp. Wordsw. makes him do this, and yet maintains the seventh hour to have been 7 P.M.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 4:52. , hour) The more carefully the Divine works and benefits are considered, the more nourishment faith acquires.- , the fever) This disease, under ordinary circumstances, is slow in its retiring.-, better) [lit. more adorned] A delightful word to use of one becoming convalescent, especially a boy. He was supposing that it was only the risk of death that had been overcome; but there follows an account of the fever having been entirely removed [lit. quenched].
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 4:52
Joh 4:52
So he inquired of them the hour when he began to amend.-That he might be sure that the healing was due to the power of Jesus, he asked the time of the change.
They said therefore unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.-[Seventh hour is one oclock-being the hour Jesus spoke and the fever left.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Reciprocal: Mat 8:13 – And his Mat 17:18 – from
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2
He did not question the word of his servants, but wanted to check on the saying of Jesus; he asked them when the son began to improve. The seventh hour would be the same as our 1 P. M., and it explains why the nobleman was not able to reach home until the next day.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 4:52. He enquired of them therefore the hour when he began to amend. They said therefore unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. As the distance between Cana and Capernaum is not above five-and-twenty miles, it may seem strange that the officer should not have reached his home the same day. If the seventh hour were reckoned from sunrise, the time of the cure would be a little later than noon; in that case it would be necessary to suppose that the servants were following the familiar Jewish reckoning of time, and regarding sunset as the commencement of a new day. It seems, however, much more probable (see the note on Joh 4:6) that by the seventh hour we must understand 6 to 7 P.M. Even without the supposition that the father had been detained in Cana, this will suit all the circumstances of the narrative.The words began to amend do not suggest any hesitation on the fathers part as to the completeness of the cure. He had believed the word thy son liveth (Joh 4:50), and what he asks now is as to the hour at which his child had been stopped upon the road to death, and turned back upon that to full health and strength.