Yohanes 1:28

1:28 These things happened in Bethany ¹  across the Jordan River ²  where John was baptizing.

Yohanes 2:6

2:6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, ³  each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁴ 

Yohanes 3:23

3:23 John ⁵  was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, ⁶  because water was plentiful there, and people were coming ⁷  to him ⁸  and being baptized.

Yohanes 10:40

10:40 Jesus ⁹  went back across the Jordan River ¹⁰  again to the place where John ¹¹  had been baptizing at an earlier time, ¹²  and he stayed there.

Yohanes 11:1

The Death of Lazarus

11:1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. ¹³ 

Yohanes 13:23

13:23 One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, ¹⁴  was at the table ¹⁵  to the right of Jesus in a place of honor. ¹⁶ 

Yohanes 18:18

18:18 (Now the slaves ¹⁷  and the guards ¹⁸  were standing around a charcoal fire they had made, warming themselves because it was cold. ¹⁹  Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.) ²⁰ 

Yohanes 18:25

Peter’s Second and Third Denials

18:25 Meanwhile Simon Peter was standing in the courtyard ²¹  warming himself. They said to him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?” ²²  Peter ²³  denied it: “I am not!”

[1:28]  ¹ tc Many witnesses ([א²] C² K T Ψ^c 083 Ë^1,13 33 pm sa Or) read Βηθαβαρᾷ (Bhqabara, “Bethabara”) instead of Βηθανίᾳ (Bhqania, “Bethany”). But the reading Βηθανίᾳ is strongly supported by {Ì^66,75 A B C* L W^s Δ Θ Ψ* 565 579 700 1241 1424 pm latt bo as well as several fathers}. Since there is no known Bethany “beyond the Jordan,” it is likely that the name would have been changed to a more etymologically edifying one (Origen mistakenly thought the name Bethabara meant “house of preparation” and for this reason was appropriate in this context; see TCGNT 171 for discussion). On the other hand, both since Origen’s understanding of the Semitic etymology of Bethabara was incorrect, and because Bethany was at least a well-known location in Palestine, mentioned in the Gospels about a dozen times, one has to wonder whether scribes replaced Βηθαβαρᾷ with Βηθανίᾳ. However, if Origen’s understanding of the etymology of the name was representative, scribes may have altered the text in the direction of Bethabara. And even if most scribes were unfamiliar with what the name might signify, that a reading which did not contradict the Gospels’ statements of a Bethany near Jerusalem was already at hand may have been sufficient reason for them to adopt Bethabara. Further, in light of the very strong testimony for Βηθανίᾳ, this reading should be regarded as authentic.

[1:28]  ² tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[2:6]  ³ tn Grk “for the purification of the Jews.”

[2:6]  ⁴ tn Grk “holding two or three metretes” (about 75 to 115 liters). Each of the pots held 2 or 3 μετρηταί (metrhtai). A μετρητῆς (metrhths) was about 9 gallons (40 liters); thus each jar held 18-27 gallons (80-120 liters) and the total volume of liquid involved was 108-162 gallons (480-720 liters).

[2:6]  sn Significantly, these jars held water for Jewish ceremonial washing (purification rituals). The water of Jewish ritual purification has become the wine of the new messianic age. The wine may also be, after the fashion of Johannine double meanings, a reference to the wine of the Lord’s Supper. A number have suggested this, but there does not seem to be anything in the immediate context which compels this; it seems more related to how frequently a given interpreter sees references to the sacraments in John’s Gospel as a whole.

[3:23]  ⁵ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[3:23]  ⁶ tn The precise locations of Αἰνών (Ainwn) and Σαλείμ (Saleim) are unknown. Three possibilities are suggested: (1) In Perea, which is in Transjordan (cf. 1:28). Perea is just across the river from Judea. (2) In the northern Jordan Valley, on the west bank some 8 miles [13 km] south of Scythopolis. But with the Jordan River so close, the reference to abundant water (3:23) seems superfluous. (3) Thus Samaria has been suggested. 4 miles (6.6 km) east of Shechem is a town called Salim, and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Salim lies modern Ainun. In the general vicinity are many springs. Because of the meanings of the names (Αἰνών = “springs” in Aramaic and Σαλείμ = Salem, “peace”) some have attempted to allegorize here that John the Baptist is near salvation. Obviously there is no need for this. It is far more probable that the author has in mind real places, even if their locations cannot be determined with certainty.

[3:23]  ⁷ tn Or “people were continually coming.”

[3:23]  ⁸ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[10:40]  ⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:40]  ¹⁰ tn The word “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[10:40]  ¹¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[10:40]  ¹² tn Grk “formerly.”

[10:40]  sn This refers to the city of Bethany across the Jordan River (see John 1:28).

[11:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.”

[13:23]  ¹⁴ sn Here for the first time the one Jesus loved, the ‘beloved disciple,’ is introduced. This individual also is mentioned in 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, and 21:20. Some have suggested that this disciple is to be identified with Lazarus, since the Fourth Gospel specifically states that Jesus loved him (11:3, 5, 36). From the terminology alone this is a possibility; the author is certainly capable of using language in this way to indicate connections. But there is nothing else to indicate that Lazarus was present at the last supper; Mark 14:17 seems to indicate it was only the twelve who were with Jesus at this time, and there is no indication in the Fourth Gospel to the contrary. Nor does it appear that Lazarus ever stood so close to Jesus as the later references in chaps. 19, 20 and 21 seem to indicate. When this is coupled with the omission of all references to John son of Zebedee from the Fourth Gospel, it seems far more likely that the references to the beloved disciple should be understood as references to him.

[13:23]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “was reclining.” This reflects the normal 1st century practice of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position.

[13:23]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “was reclining in the bosom (or “lap”) of Jesus” (according to both L&N 17.25 and BDAG 65 s.v. ἀνάκειμαι 2 an idiom for taking the place of honor at a meal, but note the similar expression in John 1:18). Whether this position or the position to the left of Jesus should be regarded as the position of second highest honor (next to the host, in this case Jesus, who was in the position of highest honor) is debated. F. Prat, “Les places d’honneur chez les Juifs contemporains du Christ” (RSR 15 [1925]: 512-22), who argued that the table arrangement was that of the Roman triclinium (a U-shaped table with Jesus and two other disciples at the bottom of the U), considered the position to the left of Jesus to be the one of second highest honor. Thus the present translation renders this “a position of honor” without specifying which one (since both of the two disciples to the right and to the left of Jesus would be in positions of honor). Other translations differ as to how they handle the phrase ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ (en tw kolpw tou Ihsou; “leaning on Jesus’ bosom,” KJV; “lying close to the breast of Jesus,” RSV; “reclining on Jesus’ breast,” NASB; “reclining next to him,” NIV, NRSV) but the symbolic significance of the beloved disciple’s position seems clear. He is close to Jesus and in an honored position. The phrase as an idiom for a place of honor at a feast is attested in the Epistles of Pliny (the Younger) 4.22.4, an approximate contemporary of Paul.

[13:23]  sn Note that the same expression translated in a place of honor here (Grk “in the bosom of”) is used to indicate Jesus’ relationship with the Father in 1:18.

[18:18]  ¹⁷ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[18:18]  ¹⁸ tn That is, the “guards of the chief priests” as distinguished from the household slaves of Annas.

[18:18]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “because it was cold, and they were warming themselves.”

[18:18]  ²⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:25]  ²¹ tn The words “in the courtyard” are not in the Greek text. They are supplied for the benefit of the modern reader, to link this scene to the preceding one in John 18:15-18.

[18:25]  ²² tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).

[18:25]  ²³ tn Grk “That one denied it and said”; the referent of the pronoun (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.