Yohanes 2:12

Cleansing the Temple

2:12 After this he went down to Capernaum ¹  with his mother and brothers ²  and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days.

Yohanes 2:20

2:20 Then the Jewish leaders ³  said to him, “This temple has been under construction ⁴  for forty-six years, ⁵  and are you going to raise it up in three days?”

Yohanes 4:40

4:40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they began asking ⁶  him to stay with them. ⁷  He stayed there two days,

Yohanes 11:39

11:39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” ⁸  Martha, the sister of the deceased, ⁹  replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell, ¹⁰  because he has been buried ¹¹  four days.” ¹² 

[2:12]  ¹ sn Verse 12 is merely a transitional note in the narrative (although Capernaum does not lie on the direct route to Jerusalem from Cana). Nothing is mentioned in John’s Gospel at this point about anything Jesus said or did there (although later his teaching is mentioned, see 6:59). From the synoptics it is clear that Capernaum was a center of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and might even be called “his own town” (Matt 9:1). The royal official whose son Jesus healed (John 4:46-54) was from Capernaum. He may have heard Jesus speak there, or picked up the story about the miracle at Cana from one of Jesus’ disciples.

[2:12]  map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[2:12]  ² sn With respect to Jesus’ brothers, the so-called Helvidian view is to be preferred (named after Helvidius, a 4th-century theologian). This view holds that the most natural way to understand the phrase is as a reference to children of Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus. Other views are that of Epiphanius (they were children of Joseph by a former marriage) or Jerome (they were cousins). The tradition of Mary’s perpetual virginity appeared in the 2nd century and is difficult to explain (as J. H. Bernard, St. John [ICC], 1:85, points out) if some of her other children were prominent members of the early church (e.g., James of Jerusalem). But this is outweighed by the natural sense of the words.

[2:20]  ³ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 18.

[2:20]  ⁴ tn A close parallel to the aorist οἰκοδομήθη (oikodomhqh) can be found in Ezra 5:16 (LXX), where it is clear from the following verb that the construction had not yet been completed. Thus the phrase has been translated “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years.” Some, however, see the term ναός (naos) here as referring only to the sanctuary and the aorist verb as consummative, so that the meaning would be “this temple was built forty-six years ago” (so ExSyn 560-61). Ultimately in context the logic of the authorities’ reply appears to fit more naturally if it compares length of time for original construction with length of time to reconstruct it.

[2:20]  ⁵ sn According to Josephus (Ant. 15.11.1 [15.380]), work on this temple was begun in the 18th year of Herod the Great’s reign, which would have been ca. 19 b.c. (The reference in the Ant. is probably more accurate than the date given in J. W. 1.21.1 [1.401]). Forty-six years later would be around the Passover of a.d. 27/28.

[4:40]  ⁶ tn Following the arrival of the Samaritans, the imperfect verb has been translated as ingressive.

[4:40]  ⁷ tn Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the sequencing with the following verse, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[11:39]  ⁸ tn Or “Remove the stone.”

[11:39]  ⁹ tn Grk “the sister of the one who had died.”

[11:39]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “already he stinks.”

[11:39]  ¹¹ tn Or “been there” (in the tomb – see John 11:17).

[11:39]  ¹² sn He has been buried four days. Although all the details of the miracle itself are not given, those details which are mentioned are important. The statement made by Martha is extremely significant for understanding what actually took place. There is no doubt that Lazarus had really died, because the decomposition of his body had already begun to take place, since he had been dead for four days.