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John 20:7 is the seventh verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John in the Bible. In this verse Peter is standing in Jesus' empty tomb. The Beloved Disciple and perhaps Mary Magdalene are outside. This verse describes the arrangement of the grave clothes they see.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- And the napkin, that was about
- his head, not lying with the
- linen clothes, but wrapped
- together in a place by itself.
The New International Version translates the passage as:
- as well as the burial cloth
- that had been around Jesus' head.
- The cloth was folded up by itself,
- separate from the linen.
The translation and meaning of this chapter is much debated. The napkin/cloth in Greek is a soudarium, from the Latin sudarium, literally a "sweat rag", a piece of cloth used to wipe the sweat from one's brow. Most scholars believe it refers to a cloth wrapped around the head of the deceased, perhaps to keep the mouth from falling open. Ader has a different reading seeing soudarium as meaning the same thing as the word sindon, which in the synoptic gospels refers to any of the burial cloths. The word soudarium is used in a different context in where a servant uses one to wrap his money.
The exact relationship between this headpiece and the other clothes is not certain. The passage can be read as either meaning the cloth is not in the same location of the others or not in the same manner of the others. Is the cloth separated from the others, and if so where is it? One interpretation is that this separation only reflects the distance from the head to the torso. Others see the cloth as being moved to a part of the burial place or tomb apart well away from the others. Those who believe the phrase is closer to "not lying like" believe that it simply refers to the head cloth being in a ball rather than lying flat like the others.
The two different readings imply two visions of the resurrection, and event which is never directly described in the Bible. If the head cloth remained in the same location where Jesus' head had lain it implies that the resurrection process saw Jesus lifted through his clothing or dematerialized while in them. If the head clothe had been balled up and put to the side it implies that Jesus returned to life while lying in the clothes and himself removed the wrapping from his head leaving it beside him.
A side issue is that if the grave clothes were abandoned by the risen Jesus, then what was he wearing? To Kastner this is evidence that upon his resurrection Jesus was naked. Most other scholars feel that providing a new set of clothing would be a comparatively minor issue beside raising Jesus from the dead. Alternatively there could have been multiple layers of cloth wrapping Jesus and that he kept wearing one of these while abandoning the others.
The level of detail the author of John adds to this section is to Westcott evidence that the author was an eyewitness to the events described. Proof to Westcott that the Beloved Disciple was the author. C.K. Barrett disagrees. He argues that such details are exactly what a modern author adds to a fictional account to give it a feeling of verisimilitude, and there is no reason to believe an ancient writer would not have these same skills. To Dodd the level detail reflects the narrative arc of the Gospel of John. Dodd argues the crucifixion is the climax of the work and that these later sections are the dénouement and that the author thus deliberately slows the pace of the narrative.
It should also be noted that the Shroud of Turin is said to be one of linens Peter observes while the head cloth is said to be the Sudarium of Oviedo, though the veracity of these claims is doubted by many.
References
- Barrett, C.K. The Gospel According to John, 2nd Edition. London:SPCK, 1978.
- Brown, Raymond E. "The Gospel According to John: XIII-XI" The Anchor Bible Series Volume 29A. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1970.
- John Calvin's commentary on John 20:1-9 (http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/comment3/comm_vol35/htm/x.htm)
- Jesus Appears to His Disciples (http://bible.gospelcom.net/resources/commentaries/?action=getCommentaryText&cid=4&source=1&seq=i.50.20.2)
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