John 2:4 (WEB)
Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come.”
As quoted in the map (KJV)
John 2:4 (KJV)
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
Key words
- γύναιgynai · Greek
- 'Woman' — the vocative of gynē. Respectful, but there is no other known case in ancient Jewish literature of a son addressing his mother this way; John uses it to identify Mary with the 'woman' of Genesis 3:15.
- τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοίti emoi kai soi · Greek
- 'what have I to do with thee' — a Hebrew idiom (2 Samuel 16:10; 1 Kings 17:18) marking a difference of concern, not a rebuke.
- ὥραhōra · Greek
- 'hour' — in John, the hour of Jesus' passion and glorification (12:23; 13:1).
Why it matters
Jesus addresses his mother as 'Woman' and speaks of his 'hour.' Pitre argues that the strange title is deliberate: it marks Mary as the Woman of Genesis 3:15, the New Eve, and the 'hour' points forward to the cross, where he will call her 'Woman' once more. Cana and Calvary are the two bookends of John's Gospel, and Mary stands at both.