Charles Ellicott Commentary John 19:20

"This title therefore read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, [and] in Latin, [and] in Greek." — John 19:20 (ASV)

This and the following verses are unique to St. John and provide another instance of his exact knowledge of what happened in Jerusalem.

Many of the Jews. That is, of the hierarchical party, as generally in this Gospel. (Compare to the note on John 1:19.) It has sometimes been understood here to refer to the people generally, because the inscription was written in the three languages; but the last clause of the verse provides the reason for the action of the chief priests in the next verse. It would be better to punctuate the verses this way: “Therefore many of the Jews read this title, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city. And it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests said . . .”

Nigh to the city. Compare to the note on Matthew 27:33.

Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. “Hebrew,” that is, the current Syro-Chaldaic, was the language of the people generally. The precise form that occurs here is used in the New Testament only by St. John (John 5:2; John 19:13; John 19:17; John 19:20; John 20:16; Revelation 9:11; Revelation 16:16). “Greek” was the most widely-known language of the time. “Latin” was the official language of the Roman Empire.