John 9:29
in John 9We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
We know that God hath spoken unto Moses: but as for this man, we know not whence he is.
KJV
We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
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This verse in John 9
Commentary
15 notes on this verseBoldly do they speak again, armed with that folly which is so familiar and dear to them; and in undiminished shamelessness they once more boastfully exclaim: We know. And when they add: that God hath spoken unto Moses, thereby recognising that he deserved great honour, they in another way again insult him, seeing that they take no account of his precepts.
This site's exposition
How did He open your eyes
on John 9:26-29
They put the same questions again, hoping repetition will crack the account. The man offers them a place among the disciples, and they answer with insults and with Moses, whose disciples they claim to be. John 5:46 answers that claim: Moses wrote of Jesus.
This site's exposition
God spoke to Moses
Barnes says they were right that God spoke to Moses, yet they took their own reading of the law as beyond error. Cyril says they honor Moses and still do not keep what he commanded. Jesus had told them as much at 8:14.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"They reviled him, and said, Be thou his disciple: we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not whence he is." "We know that God spake unto Moses." And whence know ye that? Because Moses wrote of Me, as the Lord Himself said; and Moses, did I believe, ye would believe Me also: for Moses wrote of me. Thus, then, the servant was believed, the Lord despised; and yet, in truth, the Lord was believed from whom this same servant was believed.
(Tr. xliv. 12) We know that God spake unto Moses. As for this fellow, we know not whence He is.
"Thou art his disciple, but we are Moses' disciples." "But this cannot be. Ye are neither Moses' nor this Man's; for were ye Moses', ye would become this Man's also." Wherefore Christ before said unto them, because they were continually betaking themselves to these speeches, "Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me." "We know that God spake unto Moses." By whose word, whose report? "That of our forefathers," saith one. Is not He then more to be believed than your forefathers, who confirmeth by miracles that He came from God, and that He speaketh things from above? They said not, "We have heard that God spake to Moses," but, "We know." Do ye affirm, O Jews, what ye have by hearing, as knowing it, but deem what ye have by sight as less certain than what ye have by hearing? Yet the one ye saw not, but heard, the other ye did not hear, but saw.
The Medieval Church2 voices
We know that God spoke to Moses, as is said in Exodus and Leviticus almost throughout: Exodus thirty-three: "The Lord spoke to Moses face to face." But as for this man, we know not whence he is: therefore we are disciples of the one whom …
1343 He next adds the reason for their reviling when he says, we are disciples of Moses. They were thinking of how they were ridiculed by the man born blind when he asked if they wanted to become Christ's disciples; for they took pride in …
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
They did not say "we have heard," but rather "we know that God spoke with Moses," even though this was passed down to them by their ancestors. About what they received by hearsay, they say "we know for certain," yet the One whose miracles they …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
We know that God spoke to Moses,....
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
We know ... - We know that God commanded Moses to deliver the law. In that they were correct; but they assumed their interpretation of the law to be infallible, and, hence, condemned Jesus. As for this fellow - The word “fellow” is not in the original. It is simply “this.” The word “fellow” implies contempt, which it cannot be proved they intended to express. Whence he is - We know not his origin, his family, or his home.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
We see in these verses how much wiser the poor sometimes are than the rich. The man whom our Lord healed of his blindness was evidently a person of very humble condition. It is written that he was one who "sat and begged." (See v. 8.) Yet he saw things which the proud rulers of the Jews could not see, and would not receive. He saw in our Lord's miracle an unanswerable proof of our Lord's divine commission. "If this Man were not of God," he cries, "He could do nothing."
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner--not wishing him to own, even to the praise of God, that a miracle had been wrought upon him, but to show more regard to the honor of God than ascribe any such act to one who was a sinner.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
We see in these verses how much wiser the poor sometimes are than the rich. The man whom our Lord healed of his blindness was evidently a person of very humble condition. It is written that he was one who "sat and begged." (See v. 8.) Yet he saw things which the proud rulers of the Jews could not see, and would not receive. He saw in our Lord's miracle an unanswerable proof of our Lord's divine commission. "If this Man were not of God," he cries, "He could do nothing." In fact, from the day of his cure his position was completely altered. He had eyes, and the Pharisees were blind. The same thing may be seen in other places of Scripture. The servants of Pharaoh saw "the finger of God" in the plagues of Egypt, when their master's heart was hardened. The servants of Naaman saw the wisdom of Elisha's advice, when their master was turning away in a rage. The high, the great, and the noble are often the last to learn spiritual lessons. Their possessions and their position often blind the eyes of their understanding, and keep them back from the kingdom of God. It is written that "not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called." (1 Cor. 1:26.) The Christian poor man never need be ashamed of his poverty. It is a sin to be proud, and worldly-minded, and unbelieving; but it is no sin to be poor. The very riches which many long to possess are often veils over the eyes of men's souls, and prevent their seeing Christ. The teaching of the Holy Spirit is more frequently to be seen among men of low degree than among men of rank and education. The words of our Lord are continually proved most true, "How hard it is for rich people to get into the Kingdom of God!" "You have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them unto babes." (Mark 10:23; Matt. 11:25.)
We know not from whence he is - As if they had said: We have the fullest assurance that the commission of Moses was Divine; but we have no proof that this man has such a commission: and should we leave Moses, and attach ourselves to this stranger? No.
How the passage was read
On John 9:1-41On John 9:1-41
Clay on the Sabbath, and the synagogue door
“He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle.” On the tradition's categories of Sabbath labor, kneading is forbidden work (one of the thirty-nine, Mishnah Shabbat 7:2), and mixing spittle with dust to a paste is kneading. Unlike the healings done by a word alone, here Jesus performs a nameable act, on a man blind FROM BIRTH, the definition of a chronic condition that, on the categories, could have waited until sundown. The scene reads as deliberate: the Light of the World (9:5) works on the day of rest precisely to force the question of who He is, and the interrogation that follows splits the Pharisees themselves: “How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?” (9:16).
The parents fear being “put out of the synagogue” (9:22). Honesty about dating helps here: the formal liturgical measure some scholars connect with that phrase (birkat ha-minim, a synagogue benediction concerning heretics, discussed in the Talmud at Berakhot 28b) took shape at Yavneh after AD 70, and both its date and its original scope are debated among scholars. John narrates real local expulsion in Jesus' years; the entry does not read a later formal ban back into the scene. What the chapter itself gives is sharper than any institution: a man healed, cast out, and found by Jesus at the door: “Lord, I believe.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Shabbat 7:2 (kneading among the categories) · Berakhot 28b (Babylonian Talmud, the later benediction; dating debated)
The words behind it
13 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἡμεῖς | hemeis | We ourselves | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| οἴδαμεν | oidamen | know | ||
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| Μωϋσεῖ | mousei | to Moses | G3475 → | 78 times |
| λελάληκεν | lelaleken | has spoken | G2980 → | 294 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θεός, | theos | God, | G2316 → | 1312 times |
| τοῦτον | touton | this [man] | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| δὲ | de | however | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| οἴδαμεν | oidamen | we know | ||
| πόθεν | pothen | from where | G4159 → | 29 times |
| ἐστίν. | estin | is. | G1510 → | 2333 times |
ἡμεῖςWe ourselves
hemeisG3165 →1936 times
οἴδαμενknow
oidamen
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
Μωϋσεῖto Moses
mouseiG3475 →78 times
λελάληκενhas spoken
lelalekenG2980 →294 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
θεός,God,
theosG2316 →1312 times
τοῦτονthis [man]
toutonG3778 →1381 times
δὲhowever
deG1161 →2765 times
οὐκnot
oukG3756 →1664 times
οἴδαμενwe know
oidamen
πόθενfrom where
pothenG4159 →29 times
ἐστίν.is.
estinG1510 →2333 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 103:7He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel.
it leads to
- Exodus 33:13
Now if indeed I have found favor in Your sight, please let me know Your ways, that I may know You and find favor in Your sight. Remember that this nation is Your people.”
- Psalms 147:19
He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments to Israel.
- Psalms 78:11
They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them.
- Nehemiah 9:14
You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments and statutes and laws through Your servant Moses.
- Exodus 33:13
Through
John 8:14Jesus replied, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or…
it leads to
- John 16:28
I came from the Father and entered the world. In turn, I will leave the world and go to the Father.”
- John 13:3
Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God.
- John 16:28
Through
Numbers 16:28Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, for it was not my own doing:
it leads to
- Exodus 3:12
“I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will…
- John 6:38
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
- Exodus 3:12
Where this verse is studied
About John
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 44; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 9; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 6; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, John; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 58; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.