After the Last Supper, Jesus prays. He just said that his work was advertising the Divine.
John 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
John 17:7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.
Now, they have learned to know because they are everything, as much as you gave me, from beside you.
This whole verse is a trick. It says one thing, until the final word, which changes everything. In other words, it is a typical punchline. Until the final word, it seems to say, "Now, they have learned to know because everything, as much as you gave me, is from beside you." However, the final verb is plural, coming at the very end. What initially seems to be the subject, "everything" is plural and neuter. A neuter plural subject normally takes a singular verb, but one of the exceptions is this word for "all." The question is, what does the "everything" refer to? The biblical translations treat it as though it refers to something other than the people that Jesus was given, but those people are the context from the last verb. Why does Jesus refer to people by a neuter "all" instead of a masculine form. This is the question. However, this is clearly the case because he does it even more clearly later, in John 17:10. Jesus usually says "everything" with a singular form preceded by an article.
However, since it refers to people, the plural verb changes the subject to "they," so it says, "Now, they have learned to know because they are everything, as much as you gave me, from beside you." This is continues the idea of the previous verse, which describes his followers as "the men that you gave me. They are yours."
Jesus uses a word meaning "as much as" to describe everything he has been given. This is changed to "whatever" in the KJV and left our entirely of the NIV. In most other English translations, it is translated as "that" or "which." This word is commonly changed in translation in other verses. Why? Because it implies a limit on what Jesus has been given. This suggests a limit on at least what he can tell us or at least on what we can comprehend in this life.
The "know" more precisely means "learn to know," which is important here, because their learning was the effect of Jesus. "Perpetual life" is defined in John 17:3 as learning to know the Divine, the idea that begins this discussion.
A person must know their limitations.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "whatsoever" should be something more like "as much as."
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "of" should be something more like "from beside."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "have" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW -- Missing Word -- This verb is the past perfect tense, which requires a "as much as" before the verb.
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "have" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "comes" should be something more like "is."
Now -- The Greek word translated as "now" means "now," "at the present moment,""presently," and "as it is."
they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.
have -- This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past.
known -- "Known" is a verb that means "to know," "to recognize," "make known," "to know carnally," and "to learn." The idea of "realize" seems to capture most senses of this word better than "know," which is the meaning of "have seen."
that -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."
all-- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all," "the whole," "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." As an adverb, it means "in every way," "on every side," and "altogether."
things -- This "things" is from the plural, neuter form of the previous adjective.
whatsoever -- (WW) The adjective translated as "whatsoever" means "as great as," "as much as," and similar ideas of comparison.
thou -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
hast -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.
given -- The verb translated as "given" means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."
me -- The "me" is in the indirect object form of the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me,""for me," and "by me." A dative object of a preposition implies no movement, but in a fixed position, events that occur at a specified time or while the action was being performed.
are -- The verb "is" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to." The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions. -- When the verb "to be" appears early in the clause before the subject, the sense is more like "it is" or, in the plural, "there are."
of -- (WW) The Greek preposition translated as "of" has many meanings, many of which depend on the case of its object. With the genitive, the sense is motion, "from the side of," "from beside," and generally "from."
thee. -- The word translated as "thee" is the genitive form of the singular, second-person pronoun, which is most commonly the possessive form. As a genitive object of a preposition, as here, it means movement away from something or a position away from something else.
Now -- The Greek word translated as "now" means "now," "at the present moment,""presently," and "as it is."
they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.
missing "have" -- (MW) The helping vcrb, "have," is needed to show the past perfect tense of the verb.
know -- "Known" is a verb that means "to know," "to recognize," "make known," "to know carnally," and "to learn." The idea of "realize" seems to capture most senses of this word better than "know," which is the meaning of "have seen."
that -- The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause, "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."
everything-- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all," "the whole," "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." As an adverb, it means "in every way," "on every side," and "altogether."
missing "as much as" -- (MW) The untranslated word "as much as" means "as great as," "as much as," and similar ideas of comparison.
you -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.
given -- The verb translated as "given" means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe." It is almost always translated as some form of "give."
me -- The "me" is in the indirect object form of the first-person pronoun, so usually "to me,""for me," and "by me." A dative object of a preposition implies no movement, but in a fixed position, events that occur at a specified time or while the action was being performed.
comes -- (WW) The verb "comes" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to." The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions. -- When the verb "to be" appears early in the clause before the subject, the sense is more like "it is" or, in the plural, "there are."
from -- The Greek preposition translated as "of" has many meanings, many of which depend on the case of its object. With the genitive, the sense is motion, "from the side of," "from beside," and generally "from."
you. -- The word translated as "you" is the genitive form of the singular, second-person pronoun, which is most commonly the possessive form. As a genitive object of a preposition, as here, it means movement away from something or a position away from something else.
νῦν [31 verses](adv) "Now" is nyn (nun), which means "now," "at the present moment," "at the present time," "just now," "presently," and "as it is."
ἔγνωκαν [62 verses] (verb 3rd pl perf imperat act) "They have know," is ginosko which means "to learn to know," "to know by reflection or observation," and "to perceive."
ὅτι [332 verses](adv/conj) "That" is hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that," "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."
πάντα [212 verses](adj pl neut nom/acc) "All" is pas, which means "all," "the whole," "every," "anyone," "all kinds," and "anything." In the adverbial form, it means "every way," "on every side," "in every way," and "altogether."
ὅσα [28 verses](adj pl neut nom/acc) "Whatsoever" is hosos, which means "as many," "as much as," "as great as," "as far as," and "only so far as."
ἔδωκάς [147 verses](verb 2nd sg aor ind act) "Thou has given" is didomi, which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," "appoint," "establish," and "to describe."
μοί, [96 verses](pron 1st sg masc/fem dat) "Me" is moi (emoi) , which can be the object of some prepositions and as the object of a verb means "to me" "for me," and "by me."
παρὰ [45 verses](prep) "With" is para, has many meanings, which depend on the case of its object and the sense of the verb.With the genitive, the sense is always motion, "from the side of," "from beside," "issuing from", and generally "from." With the dative, the sense is always static, "by the side of," "near," "in the presence of," and "before." With the accusative, its has a number of specialized meanings depending on the character of the verb, with coming/going "near," "beside," with placing "side-by-side," as a metaphor, "like" or "as a parody of, of comparison, "compared with" and many more including "along", "past", "beyond", "parallel (geometry)", "precisely at the moment of (time)," and "throughout (time)."
σου” [144 verses](pron 2nd sg gen) "Thy" is sou is the genitive form of the second-person, singular pronoun that means "of you" and "your."
εἰσίν: [614 verses](3rd pl pres ind act) "Are" is eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen," and "is possible." With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to." It can also mean "must" with a dative.