Jesus is headed back to Judea to see the "sleeping" Lazarus, and his followers miss his point, thinking he is getting better.
John 11:14 Lazarus is dead.
John 11:14 Lazarus is dead.
Lazarus passed away.
Lazarus did pass too far away.
This whole scene reads as comical because Jesus has to explain how he used "sleep" as a metaphor for death to the Apostles. The verb translated inaccurately as "is dead" here is relatively rare. It is closer to our idea of "passed away." Its tense is an action that starts or ends at a particular point in time. The aorist is usually translated as the past tense in English. Jesus uses exactly the same verb in the same tense to describe Jarius's daughter, but to make the opposite statement. He says she has not died (Mark 5:39). Lazarus was clearly more dead than she was, but, as they say in the Princess Bridge, he was just mostly dead.
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "is" indicates the present tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "is" is not the common word usually translated as "is."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "dead" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "dead" is not an adjective but an active verb, "passed away."
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "is" indicates the present tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "is" is not the common word usually translated as "is."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "dead" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "dead" is not an adjective but an active verb, "passed away."
Lazarus -- "Lazarus" is a Greek form of the Hebrew name Eleazar, which means "He who God helps."
is -- (WT, CW) This helping verb indicates the present tense of the active verb. This verb is in the tense that indicates something happening at a specific point of time, usually translated as the past. The is no verb "to be" here.
dead. - - (CW, WF) "Dead" is a Greek verb that means "to die" and "to die off." Since the root word also means "to die," and the prefix means "away," the sense is to "pass away" or to "die off." This is not the simple verb, "to die." Nor is it an adjective.
Lazarus -- "Lazarus" is a Greek form of the Hebrew name Eleazar, which means "He who God helps."
is -- (WT, CW) This helping verb indicates the present tense of the active verb. This verb is in the tense that indicates something happening at a specific point of time, usually translated as the past. The is no verb "to be" here.
dead. - - (CW, WF) "Dead" is a Greek verb that means "to die" and "to die off." Since the root word also means "to die," and the prefix means "away," the sense is to "pass away" or to "die off." This is not the simple verb, "to die." Nor is it an adjective.
Λάζαρος [7 verses](Hebrew Name) "Lazarus" is from "Lazaros," which is a Greek form of the Hebrew name Eleazar, which means "He who God helps."
ἀπέθανεν [14 verses] (3rd sg aor ind act) "Is dead" is from apothnesko, which means "to die,""to pass away," and "to die off." The prefix means "away. The root "to die."