Daniel's Literal Translation and Commentary
Linen Sheet vs. Linen Strips
"John 19:39-40 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen strips with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury" (DLT: torahtimes.org).
linen strips: οθονιοις. This Greek word is plural and means that they wrapped him in strips of cloth with the spices. On Wednesday, before the annual Sabbath, they had only wrapped him in a single linen cloth, a σινδόνα. On Friday Joseph and Nicodemus returned to complete the task of embalming him. They would have taken off the single sheet and wrapped him in the strips. John 19:38 takes us up to the time on Wednesday when He was put in the grave with the single cloth. Verses 39-40 cover the events on Friday, and verses 41-42 cover an anecdotal piece of information about the tomb and why that tomb had been used. Joseph and Nicodemus, being members of the council and known to Pilate would have had no trouble coming to the tomb for an official embalmment on Friday. This explanation is the only way to account for a single piece of cloth in Matthew 27:59; Mark 15:46 (2x); Luke 23:53; cf. Mark 14:51-52, and then the linen bandages in John 19:40 and also at the resurrection in John 20:5,6 7; and Luke 24:12. This is because the single cloth (σινδονα) was removed on Friday and replaced with the linen strips (οθονιοις). See A Guide To The Gospels, page 576, by W. Graham Scroggie, D.D.
comment: The aromatic spices that the women brought later, (αρωματα) Luke 24:1, were not the main embalming. (DLC: torahtimes.org)
Daniel's Literal Translation and Commentary: (http://www.torahtimes.org/translation/joh1940.html)
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