John 10:34
Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
Original Language Analysis
ἀπεκρίθη
answered
G611
ἀπεκρίθη
answered
Strong's:
G611
Word #:
1 of 15
to conclude for oneself, i.e., (by implication) to respond; by hebraism (compare h6030) to begin to speak (where an address is expected)
αὐτοῖς
them
G846
αὐτοῖς
them
Strong's:
G846
Word #:
2 of 15
the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative g1438) of the third person, and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons
ὁ
G3588
ὁ
Strong's:
G3588
Word #:
3 of 15
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in english idiom)
Ἰησοῦς
Jesus
G2424
Ἰησοῦς
Jesus
Strong's:
G2424
Word #:
4 of 15
jesus (i.e., jehoshua), the name of our lord and two (three) other israelites
γεγραμμένον
written
G1125
γεγραμμένον
written
Strong's:
G1125
Word #:
7 of 15
to "grave", especially to write; figuratively, to describe
τῷ
G3588
τῷ
Strong's:
G3588
Word #:
9 of 15
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in english idiom)
νόμῳ
law
G3551
νόμῳ
law
Strong's:
G3551
Word #:
10 of 15
law (through the idea of prescriptive usage), genitive case (regulation), specially, (of moses (including the volume); also of the gospel), or figurat
Cross References
Exodus 7:1And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.Psalms 82:1God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.Exodus 4:16And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.Psalms 138:1I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
Historical Context
Psalm 82 was well-known in Second Temple Judaism. Jesus's clever exegesis uses their own Scripture to demonstrate consistency: if the Bible uses 'god' language for human authorities, His claim to deity—backed by miraculous works—cannot be dismissed as blasphemy without Scripture contradicting itself. This rabbinical argumentation method was common in first-century debate.
Questions for Reflection
- How does Jesus's use of Scripture to defend His deity claims demonstrate that the Old Testament anticipated the Incarnation?
- What's the difference between human judges called 'gods' functionally and Jesus who is God ontologically?
- How should Christians use Jesus's example of Scriptural reasoning when defending the faith against objections?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? (ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Οὐκ ἔστιν γεγραμμένον ἐν τῷ νόμῳ ὑμῶν ὅτι Ἐγὼ εἶπα· Θεοί ἐστε, apekrithe autois ho Iesous· Ouk estin gegrammenon en to nomo hymon hoti Ego eipa· Theoi este)—Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6, where God addresses human judges as 'gods' (אֱלֹהִים, elohim; θεοί, theoi) because they exercise God-delegated judicial authority. His argument moves from lesser to greater: if Scripture calls mere human judges 'gods' functionally, how much more can the one whom the Father sanctified and sent claim divine sonship?
This is qal va-chomer reasoning (light to heavy)—if lesser beings can be called 'gods' in a representative sense, the incarnate Word who is eternally God cannot be charged with blasphemy for claiming what He intrinsically is. Jesus isn't arguing He's merely a 'god' like judges, but defending the appropriateness of His deity claim based on Scripture's own usage.