"WHAT TO X AND TO Y?" (JOHN 2:4)

I realize that the above title is more than a little cryptic, but that is the literal form that a particular idiom takes in both the Old and New Testaments. It is best understood by looking at the specific Bible passages in which it occurs, giving special attention to its last appearance in John 2:4.

Judges 11:12

Jephthah sends messengers to the Ammonite king saying, “What is there between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” The Anchor Bible translates the Hebrew phrase “What to you and to me?” as “What is at issue between us?” And we might paraphrase it as: “Where's the beef?”

Webb explains that “the dialogue takes place at a distance, through diplomatic exchange my means of messengers. The formality and distance involved mirror the distance (in terms of relationship) between the two parties.”

II Samuel 16:10

David rebukes the sons of Zeruiah using the words “What to you and to me?” when they wish to kill Shimei for cursing David as he fled Jerusalem. Tsumura says, citing McCarter, “David's point is that it would be disastrous for him to take the advice of Abishai, one of Zeruiah's sons. This story is recapped in II Samuel 19:22 using the same words.

I Kings 17:17-18

In this passage, Elijah helps the poor widow but when her son becomes deathly ill, she turns on Elijah and says, “What have you against me [literally “What to you and me?”] to...cause the death of my son?” Cogan calls the expression here “an oft-used phrase expressing wonderment and consternation over a new and/or renewed relationship.”

II Kings 3:9-20 tells the story of the combined kings of Judah, Israel, and Edom going out to attack the Edomites when they run out of water for themselves and their animals. They turn to Elisha for help. He says, “What have I to do with you? Go to your father's or mother's prophets.” (v. 13) But Elisha relents and petitions God to miraculously provide the water. Cogan and Tadmor translate the key phrase as “What business can we have together?” or “What have we in common.”

II Chronicles 35:21

The context here is that King Josiah seems intent for some reason on picking a fight with the Egyptian army of King Neco. Neco warns him off by saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I am not coming against you today.” But Josiah is not deterred and dies in battle.

Hosea 14:8

There is some difference between the Hebrew and Greek text in this verse. The Hebrew has God asking, “O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?” But the NRSV has a textual footnote with an alternative reading based on the Septuagint: “What more has Ephriam to do with idols?”

Many scholars go with this second reading as making more sense in the context:

    Davies notes that Ephraim's previous involvement with idols can be seen in 4:17; 8:4; and 13:2; and Dearman points out, “In 14:3, Israel is urged to confess the error of employing idols.”

    Similarly, Stuart adopts the second reading when he says, “Via a rhetorical question God appeals for Ephraim to abandon its idolatry, the implication being that until idolatry ceases there can be no hope for restoration.”

Surprisingly, this identical “What to X and to Y” idiom appears in classical Greek also, as Ellis points out. Thus, we find the following New Testament passages in which it is employed:

Matthew 8:29

Jesus encounters two demoniacs, and “Suddenly they shouted, 'What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here torment us before the time?” France says that this key phrase “when addressed to a potential aggressor has the effect of 'Go away and leave me alone.'” Blomberg states that the NIV rendering of “What do you want with us?” is better translated as “What have you to do with us?” or perhaps even “Don't bother us!”

Mark 1:24

This is a somewhat similar occasion in which a single man possessed with an unclean spirit says to Jesus, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?”

Lane says, “The initial expression is a common formula in the Old Testament within the context of combat or judgment and is roughly equivalent to 'You have no business with us – yet.' It is probably that the following statement is not a question but a declaration: 'You have come to destroy us'...In the question 'What have we to do with you?' it is natural to find a reference to all the demonic powers who shall be destroyed by Jesus.”

Mark 5:7 // Luke 8:28

Practically identical wording identifies these two accounts as referring to the same encounter of Jesus with another demoniac: “When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, 'What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” I beg you, do not torment me.” Marshall suggests an alternative translation of “Do not meddle with me.”

John 2:4

This final example is a little different from the above passages since it does not appear to involve two parties who are at odds with one another. The key phrase “What to me and to you?” pops up once again, this time during the the wedding feast at Cana, the site of Jesus' first recorded miracle. Mary, Jesus' mother, points out to Jesus that they have run out of wine to give to the guests. At least one commentator has suggested that all Mary is doing is hinting that he and his apostles should leave the celebration so that there will be more wine for the others. But there is probably more going on here since Jesus senses that she is expecting him to do a whole lot more to alleviate the situation than merely leaving. She is expecting a miracle from him.

It is at that point in the story that Jesus replies to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me you? My time has not yet come.” O.M. Hendricks notes regarding that last sentence, “The hour of Jesus' glory on the cross was not to be determined by his mother's desires.”

Ellis points out that the key idiom in this verse has the meaning, “Leave me to follow my own course.” He adds, “No one has any right of access to the Lord in this manner (cf. Mk 1:24; Mt. 8:29).”

The literal phrase “What to me and to you?” is translated variously as “What have I to do with thee?” (KJV); “Why do you involve me?” (NIV); and “What concern is that to you and to me?” (NRSV).

Borchert feels that the NIV translation “is obviously an attempt to soften the misunderstanding of the Greek.” He notes: “It can mean a rather hostile rebuke or simply a desire to be left alone.” If one were to take it as the former (which is probably not justified in the context), it could even be rendered by the rather snarky comment: “You have obviously confused me with someone who cares.”

Blum explains that “the clause, 'Why do you involve Me?' was a common expression in Greek that referred to a difference in realms or relations.”

“Jesus is asking his mother why she intrudes in his affairs, why she bothers him.” (M. Smith)

And Rostenberger says, “The language of 2:4, 'Why do you involve me?' is reminiscent of OT parallels that convey distance between two parties and frequently carries a reproachful connotation.”

One of those OT passages mentioned above appears to me to contain special affinities to John 2:4. Look again at II Kings 3:9-20 in the context of the wedding feast at Cana. In both cases, God's special representative is approached in an attempt to alleviate a serious situation in which the other party has run out of something to drink. The first reply by the approached person is to seemingly reject the appeal as having nothing to do with him at all. However, because of Elisha's respect for King Jehoshaphat (v. 14) and Jesus' respect for Mary, they relent and do miraculously supply the respective liquids to drink.