Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
The common people (o oxlov poluv). This is the right reading with the article o, literally, "the people much or in large numbers." One is reminded of the French idiom. Gildersleeve (Syntax, p. 284) gives a few rare examples of the idiom o anhr agaqov. Westcott suggests that oxlov poluv came to be regarded as a compound noun. This is the usual order in the N.T. rather than poluv oxlov (Robertson, Grammar, p. 774). Mark (Mark 12:37) has o poluv oxlov. Moulton (Proleg., p. 84) terms o oxlov poluv here and in verse John 12:12 "a curious misplacement of the article." John's use of oxlov is usually the common crowd as "riff-raff."
That he was (oti estin). Present active indicative retained in indirect discourse after the secondary tense (egnw, second aorist active indicative of ginwskw). These "Jews" are not all hostile to Jesus as in John 5:10; John 6:41, etc., but included some who were friendly (verse John 12:11).
But that they might see Lazarus also (all ina kai ton Lazaron idwsin). Purpose clause with ina and second aorist active subjunctive of oraw. Motive enough to gather a great crowd, to see one raised from the dead (cf. verse John 12:1 for the same phrase, "whom he had raised from the dead"). Some of the very witnesses of the raising of Lazarus will bear witness later (verse John 12:17). It was a tense situation.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing John 12:9:
Luke 19:47
John 12:1
John 12:2
John 12:2
John 12:2
John 12:12
John 12:17
John 18:10
Revelation 13:3
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