Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
His writings (toiv ekeinou grammasin). Dative case with pistuete. See Luke 16:31 for a like argument. The authority of Moses was the greatest of all for Jews. There is a contrast also between
writings (grammasin, from grafw, to write) and
words (rhmasin, from eipon). Gramma may mean the mere letter as opposed to spirit (II Corinthians 3:6; Romans 2:27, Romans 2:29; Romans 7:6), a debtor's bond (Luke 16:6 f.), letters or learning (John 7:15; Acts 26:24) like agrammatoi for unlearned (Acts 4:13), merely written characters (Luke 23:38; II Corinthians 3:7; Galatians 6:11), official communications (Acts 28:21), once iera grammata for the sacred writings (II Timothy 3:15) instead of the more usual ai agiai grafai. Grafh is used also for a single passage (Mark 12:10), but biblion for a book or roll (Luke 4:17) or biblov (Luke 20:42). Jesus clearly states the fact that Moses wrote portions of the Old Testament, what portions he does not say. See also Luke 24:27, Luke 24:44 for the same idea. There was no answer from the rabbis to this conclusion of Christ. The scribes (oi grammateiv) made copies according to the letter (kata to gramma).
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing John 5:47:
John 7:15
John 7:19
John 8:13
John 17:8
2 Timothy 3:15
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