John 1:44

1:44 (Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.)

John 11:18

11:18 (Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,

John 11:53

11:53 So from that day they planned together to kill him.

John 15:27

15:27 and you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

John 21:10

21:10 Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you have just now caught.”

sn Although the author thought of the town as in Galilee (12:21), Bethsaida technically was in Gaulanitis (Philip the Tetrarch’s territory) across from Herod’s Galilee. There may have been two places called Bethsaida, or this may merely reflect popular imprecision – locally it was considered part of Galilee, even though it was just east of the Jordan river. This territory was heavily Gentile (which may explain why Andrew and Philip both have Gentile names).

tn Probably ἀπό (apo) indicates “originally from” in the sense of birthplace rather than current residence; Mark 1:21, 29 seems to locate the home of Andrew and Peter at Capernaum. The entire remark (v. 44) amounts to a parenthetical comment by the author.

tn Or “three kilometers”; Grk “fifteen stades” (a stade as a unit of linear measure is about 607 feet or 187 meters).

map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

tn Grk “said to them.”