John 2:4 in Sahidic
The issue of Jesus’ rebuke of his mother in John 2:4 has been a problem for many commentators throughout the history of exegesis on the Fourth Gospel. Commentators–especially those with preconceived notions about how Jesus “would have” or “should have” behaved–try to distance themselves from the conclusion that a rebuke is intended in Jesus’ use of ti emoi kai soi when informed about the lack of wine at the wedding in Cana. The phrase ti emoi kai soi is a semitism derived from the Hebrew mah li welak, and is generally used to create a distance between two parties or to indicate a denial of common interest. Even given this fairly clear background, some commentators still want to argue against such an interpretation in John 2:4.
A comparison of the Greek NT with ancient translations can sometimes show how early translators understood a given text. A glance at the Sahidic evidence may be illuminating on this particular issue. The phrase ti emoi kai soi appears in the LXX and the Greek NT on a number of occasions. In Sahidic, seven biblical occurrences of the phrase-in-translation are preserved: Judges 11:12; Mark 1:24, 5:7; Matthew 8:29; Luke 4:34, 8:28; John 2:4. In these examples two different phrases are used to translate ti emoi kai soi. Three texts (Mark 1:24, 5:7; Luke 4:34) use the phrase ahrok nnmai /nnman. This is interesting because ahro= is a strong term and is often used as a particle of reproach in original Sahidic compositions. The remaining four texts tranlate the phrase using a milder question. It is interesting to me that of the two translational options (I’m sure others were available), the early translator(s) chose the milder of the two for John 2:4. We know that the veneration of Jesus and Mary began very early and I’m sure there would have been some concern among early Christians about Jesus addressing his mother in such a stern way. All of this suggests to me that modern translators and commentators are not the only ones to object to a story about Jesus rebuking his mother.
