Why is John 7:39 bracketed?

Question

In the Kjv we find out that the whole text of John 7:39 is bracketed. Usually the brackets are used for the purpose of parenthesis, as supplemental to the rest of the text

John 7:39 KJV:

(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

But in the other versions there are no brackets on this text

John 7:39 ESV:

Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

John 7:39 NIV:

By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified

John 7:39 AMP:

But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive. For the [Holy] Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified

Why is the whole text bracketed?

Answer 1

The parentheses are not in the original Greek.

KJV John 7:

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Jesus spoke of some mysterious rivers of living water. To clarify:

39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

KJV translators used parentheses in this case to enclose additional or supplemental information that clarifies what these rivers that come out of one's belly are. This was the KJV's pragmatic writing style. The NKJV removed them.

Answer 2

Lots of different English translations of that one verse have brackets at the start and end of its two sentences. In this case, it is to denote an interjection between what Jesus said to the crowds in verses 37 & 38, and how the crowds reacted in verses 40 & 41.

The writer is inserting a helpful little note about the role of the Holy Spirit after Jesus was glorified. This indicates that the written record was penned after Jesus' glorification, the writer having that insight that came with hindsight.

If brackets are not added, it makes no material difference to the reader's understanding, for it's obvious that this is an observation being made by one who is not Jesus but who is the author who heard what Jesus said. He is adding a helpful insight into the role of the Holy Spirit which Jesus likened to "rivers of living water". By the time he wrote that account, he personally knew what that river of living water was, for the Spirit had then been given.

It's important for readers of the Bible to know that when square brackets [ xxx ] are added around a word, words, or sentences, that means a translator's addition has been included. But in the verse in question, the author had those two sentences in the original manuscript, as an integral (indeed, vital) part of it. He may, or may not have had brackets himself - that would depend on whether the author knew about such a literary device and wanted to use it. But, as said earlier, lack of brackets makes no material difference to the text.

Answer 3

As this chapter treats of the Holy Spirit, it is worthy of special notice that in the Word of the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is nowhere mentioned, and the “spirit of Holiness” is in three places only, once in David (Psalm 51:11); and twice in Isaiah (63:10, 11). But in the Word of the New Testament, both in the gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles, as also in their epistles it is mentioned frequently. This is because the Holy Spirit first was when the Lord had come into the world; for it goes forth out of him from the Father; for:

Revelation 15:4

The Lord alone is holy

Therefore the angel Gabriel said to Mary the mother:

Luke 1:35

The holy thing that shall be born of thee

It is said:

John 7:39

But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, which those that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Although it is previously declared that the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth (Luke 1:41), and Zacharias (Luke 1:67), as also Simeon (Luke 2:25); this is because the spirit of Jehovah the Father filled them, which was called the Holy Spirit because of the Lord who was already in the world.

This is why nowhere in the Word of the Old Testament is it said that the prophets spoke from the Holy Spirit, but from Yehovah; Hebrew, and/or Jehovah; English Translation, both Name of God are acceptable. However, wise to remember Yehovah is First and holds the greatest and most perfect in the Holy Divine Name of God.

For everywhere we read, “Jehovah spake unto me,” “The Word of Jehovah came unto me,” “Jehovah said,” “Thus said Jehovah.” So that no one may be in doubt about this, I will refer to the passages in Jeremiah alone, where these expressions occur: 1:4, 7, 11–14, 19; 2:1–5, 9, 19, 22, 29, 31; 3:1, 6, 10, 12, 14, 16; 4:1, 3, 9, 17, 27; 5:11, 14, 18, 22, 29; 6:6, 9, 12, 15, 16, 21, 22; 7:1, 3, 11, 13, 19–21; 8:1, 3, 12, 13; 9:3, 7, 9, 13, 15, 17, 22, 24, 25; 10:1, 2, 18; 11:1, 3, 6, 9, 11, 17, 18, 21, 22; 12:14, 17; 13:1, 6, 9, 11–15, 25; 14:1, 10, 14, 15; 15:1–3, 6, 11, 19, 20; 16:1, 3, 5, 9, 14, 16; 17:5, 19–21, 24; 18:1, 5, 6, 11, 13; 19:1, 3, 6, 12, 15; 20:4; 21:1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14; 22:2, 5, 6, 11, 16, 18, 24, 29, 30; 23:2, 5, 7, 12, 15, 24, 29, 31, 38; 24:3, 5, 8; 25:1, 3, 7–9, 15, 27–29, 32; 26:1, 2, 18; 27:1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 16, 19, 21, 22; 28:2, 12, 14, 16; 29:4, 8, 9, 16, 19–21, 25, 30–32; 30:1–5, 8, 10–12, 17, 18; 31:1, 2, 7, 10, 15–17, 23, 27, 28, 31–38; 32:1, 6, 14, 15, 25, 26, 28, 30, 36, 42, 44; 33:1, 2, 4, 10–13, 17, 19, 20, 23, 25; 34:1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 13, 17, 22; 35:1, 13, 17–19; 36:1, 6, 27, 29, 30; 37:6, 7, 9; 38:2, 3, 17; 39:15–18; 40:1; 42:7, 9, 15, 18, 19; 43:8, 10; 44:1, 2, 7, 11, 24–26, 30; 45:2, 5; 46:1, 23, 25, 28; 47:1; 48:1, 8, 12, 30, 35, 38, 40, 43, 44, 47; 49:2, 5–7, 12, 13, 16, 18, 26, 28, 30, 32, 35, 37–39; 50:1, 4, 10, 18, 20, 21, 30, 31, 33, 35, 40; 51:25, 33, 36, 39, 52, 58.

The same expressions occur in all the other prophets, but nowhere is it said that the Holy Spirit spoke to them, or that Jehovah spoke to them through the Holy Spirit.

Answer 4

These words are not in parentheses because the text is uncertain. (The only variant is the few words at the end of the verse. And even accounting for all the variants, the meaning stays the same) Instead, These parentheses are present for translational purposes. i.e. these brackets explain the words that come before them. A similar example happens at the beginning of Mark 9, where, for the sake of his non-Jewish audience, Mark explains Jewish customs.

Not every translation puts the verse you cite in parentheses. In fact, it seems that most don't.