John 4:3

4:3 he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee. ¹ 

John 11:7

11:7 Then after this, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ² 

John 4:54

4:54 Jesus did this as his second miraculous sign ³  when he returned from Judea to Galilee.

John 7:1

The Feast of Tabernacles

7:1 After this ⁴  Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. ⁵  He ⁶  stayed out of Judea ⁷  because the Jewish leaders ⁸  wanted ⁹  to kill him.

John 4:47

4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him ¹⁰  to come down and heal his son, who was about to die.

John 7:3

7:3 So Jesus’ brothers ¹¹  advised him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing. ¹² 

[4:3]  ¹ sn The author doesn’t tell why Jesus chose to set out once more for Galilee. Some have suggested that the Pharisees turned their attention to Jesus because John the Baptist had now been thrown into prison. But the text gives no hint of this. In any case, perhaps Jesus simply did not want to provoke a confrontation at this time (knowing that his “hour” had not yet come).

[11:7]  ² sn The village of Bethany, where Lazarus was, lies in Judea, less than 2 mi (3 km) from Jerusalem (see 11:18).

[4:54]  ³ tn This sentence in Greek involves an object-complement construction. The force can be either “Jesus did this as,” or possibly “Jesus made this to be.” The latter translation accents not only Jesus’ power but his sovereignty too. Cf. 2:11 where the same construction occurs.

[7:1]  ⁴ sn Again, the transition is indicated by the imprecise temporal indicator After this. Clearly, though, the author has left out much of the events of Jesus’ ministry, because chap. 6 took place near the Passover (6:4). This would have been the Passover between winter/spring of a.d. 32, just one year before Jesus’ crucifixion (assuming a date of a.d. 33 for the crucifixion), or the Passover of winter/spring a.d. 29, assuming a date of a.d. 30 for the crucifixion.

[7:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “Jesus was traveling around in Galilee.”

[7:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “For he.” Here γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated.

[7:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “he did not want to travel around in Judea.”

[7:1]  ⁸ 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 should be restricted to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents.

[7:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “were seeking.”

[4:47]  ⁵ tn The direct object of ἠρώτα (hrwta) is supplied from context. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[7:3]  ⁶ tn Grk “his brothers.”

[7:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “your deeds that you are doing.”