Discovery BoxJohn 6:59
Context6:59 Jesus 1 said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue 2 in Capernaum. 3
John 2:12
Context2:12 After this he went down to Capernaum 4 with his mother and brothers 5 and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days.
John 6:17
Context6:17 got into a boat, and started to cross the lake 6 to Capernaum. 7 (It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.) 8
John 4:46
Context4:46 Now he came again to Cana 9 in Galilee where he had made the water wine. 10 In 11 Capernaum 12 there was a certain royal official 13 whose son was sick.
John 6:24
Context6:24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats 14 and came to Capernaum 15 looking for Jesus.
[6:59] 1 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:59] 2 sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).
[6:59] 3 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.
[2:12] 4 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] 5 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.
[6:17] 7 tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in the previous verse.
[6:17] 8 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.
[6:17] 9 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[4:46] 10 map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.
[4:46] 11 sn See John 2:1-11.
[4:46] 13 sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.
[4:46] 14 tn Although βασιλικός (basiliko") has often been translated “nobleman” it is almost certainly refers here to a servant of Herod, tetrarch of Galilee (who in the NT is called a king, Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29). Capernaum was a border town, so doubtless there were many administrative officials in residence there.
