John 11:55

11:55 Now the Jewish feast of Passover ¹  was near, and many people went up to Jerusalem ²  from the rural areas before the Passover to cleanse themselves ritually. ³ 

John 12:19

12:19 Thus the Pharisees ⁴  said to one another, “You see that you can do nothing. Look, the world has run off after him!”

John 7:35

7:35 Then the Jewish leaders ⁵  said to one another, “Where is he ⁶  going to go that we cannot find him? ⁷  He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed ⁸  among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? ⁹ 

[11:55]  ¹ tn Grk “the Passover of the Jews.” This is the final Passover of Jesus’ ministry. The author is now on the eve of the week of the Passion. Some time prior to the feast itself, Jerusalem would be crowded with pilgrims from the surrounding districts (ἐκ τῆς χώρας, ek th" cwra") who had come to purify themselves ceremonially before the feast.

[11:55]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:55]  ³ tn Or “to purify themselves” (to undergo or carry out ceremonial cleansing before participating in the Passover celebration).

[12:19]  ⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[7:35]  ⁷ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase is understood to refer to the Jewish authorities or leaders, since the Jewish leaders are mentioned in this context both before and after the present verse (7:32, 45).

[7:35]  ⁸ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:35]  ⁹ tn Grk “will not find him.”

[7:35]  ¹⁰ sn The Jewish people dispersed (Grk “He is not going to the Diaspora”). The Greek term diaspora (“dispersion”) originally meant those Jews not living in Palestine, but dispersed or scattered among the Gentiles.

[7:35]  ¹¹ 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 “is he?”).