John 3:23

3:23 John ¹  was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, ²  because water was plentiful there, and people were coming ³  to him ⁴  and being baptized.

John 1:28

1:28 These things happened in Bethany ⁵  across the Jordan River ⁶  where John was baptizing.

John 4:2

4:2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were), ⁷ 

John 1:25-26

1:25 So they asked John, ⁸  “Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, ⁹  nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

1:26 John answered them, ¹⁰  “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not recognize, ¹¹ 

John 1:31

1:31 I did not recognize ¹²  him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.” ¹³ 

John 3:22

Further Testimony About Jesus by John the Baptist

3:22 After this, ¹⁴  Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing.

John 4:1

Departure From Judea

4:1 Now when Jesus ¹⁵  knew that the Pharisees ¹⁶  had heard that he ¹⁷  was winning ¹⁸  and baptizing more disciples than John

John 10:40

10:40 Jesus ¹⁹  went back across the Jordan River ²⁰  again to the place where John ²¹  had been baptizing at an earlier time, ²²  and he stayed there.

John 1:33

1:33 And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining – this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

John 3:26

3:26 So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, ²³  about whom you testified – see, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!”

[3:23]  ¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[3:23]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “people were continually coming.”

[3:23]  ⁴ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[1:28]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[4:2]  ⁹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[1:25]  ¹³ tn Grk “And they asked him, and said to him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the phrase has been simplified in the translation to “So they asked John.”

[1:25]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[1:26]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “answered them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:26]  ¹⁸ tn Or “know.”

[1:31]  ²¹ tn Or “know.”

[1:31]  ²² sn John the Baptist, who has been so reluctant to elaborate his own role, now more than willingly gives his testimony about Jesus. For the author, the emphasis is totally on John the Baptist as a witness to Jesus. No attention is given to the Baptist’s call to national repentance and very little to his baptizing. Everything is focused on what he has to say about Jesus: so that he could be revealed to Israel.

[3:22]  ²⁵ tn This section is related loosely to the preceding by μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta). This constitutes an indefinite temporal reference; the intervening time is not specified.

[4:1]  ²⁹ tc Several early and important witnesses, along with the majority of later ones (Ì^66c,75 A B C L W^s Ψ 083 ˹³ 33 Ï sa), have κύριος (kurio", “Lord”) here instead of ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”). As significant as this external support is, the internal evidence seems to be on the side of ᾿Ιησοῦς. “Jesus” is mentioned two more times in the first two verses of chapter four in a way that is stylistically awkward (so much so that the translation has substituted the pronoun for the first one; see tn note below). This seems to be sufficient reason to motivate scribes to change the wording to κύριος. Further, the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is not without decent support, though admittedly not as strong as that for κύριος (Ì^66* א D Θ 086 ˹ 565 1241 al lat bo). On the other hand, this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions elsewhere only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and probably 6:23, preferring ᾿Ιησοῦς most of the time. This fact could be used to argue that scribes, acquainted with John’s style, changed κύριος to ᾿Ιησοῦς. But the immediate context generally is weighed more heavily than an author’s style. It is possible that neither word was in the original text and scribes supplied what they thought most appropriate (see TCGNT 176). But without ms evidence to this effect coupled with the harder reading ᾿Ιησοῦς, this conjecture must remain doubtful. All in all, it is best to regard ᾿Ιησοῦς as the original reading here.

[4:1]  ³⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[4:1]  ³¹ tn Grk “Jesus”; the repetition of the proper name is somewhat redundant in English (see the beginning of the verse) and so the pronoun (“he”) has been substituted here.

[4:1]  ³² tn Grk “was making.”

[10:40]  ³³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:40]  ³⁴ tn The word “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[10:40]  ³⁵ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[10:40]  ³⁶ tn Grk “formerly.”

[3:26]  ³⁷ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.