date-house · noun — nominative singular feminine, a place
was
ἦνēn
G2258
I (thou
unto
ἐγγὺςengus
G1451
akin to the base of G43 (ἀγκάλη)) · preposition
Jerusalem
ἹεροσολύμωνHi'erosolumōn
G2414
Hierosolyma (i.e. Jerushalaim) · noun — genitive plural neuter, a place
about
ὡςhōs
G5613
which how · particle
fifteen
δεκαπέντε.¶dekapente
G1178
ten and five · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
furlongs
σταδίωνstadiōn
G4712
a stade or certain measure of distance · noun — genitive plural masculine
off
ἀπὸapo
G575
"off · preposition
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Luke 24:13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
John 11:1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
Revelation 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand…
John 6:19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they…
Revelation 21:16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs.…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 11:17-32
The matter being determined, that Christ will go to Judea, and his disciples with him, they address themselves to their journey; in this journey some circumstances happened which the other evangelists record, as the healing of the blind man at Jericho, and the conversion of Zaccheus. We must not reckon ourselves out of our way, while we are in the way of doing good; nor be so intent upon one good office as to neglect another.
At length, he comes near to Bethany, which is said to be about fifteen furlongs from Jerusalem, about two measured miles, Joh 11:18. Notice is taken of this, that this miracle was in effect wrought in Jerusalem, and so was put to her score. Christ's miracles in Galilee…
Bethany was nigh Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs--rather less than two miles; mentioned to explain the visits of sympathy noticed in the following words, which the proximity of the two places facilitated.
Adam Clarke on John 11:18
Fifteen furlongs - About two miles: for the Jewish miles contained about seven furlongs and a half. So Lightfoot, and the margin.
John Gill on John 11:18
Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem,.... Which was a reason why them were so many of the Jews come there to condole the two sisters upon the death of their brother; and by this means the following miracle became more known there: it was
about fifteen furlongs off; that is, about two miles, for seven furlongs and a half made a Jewish mile, as appears from one of their canons (c), which runs thus:
"they do not spread nets for doves, except it be distant from an habitable place, , "thirty furlongs";''
which the commentators say (d) are "four miles": and still more expressly it is said (e), that
"between Jerusalem and Zuck, (the place where the scape goat was had,) there were ten tents, and…
The first sin was elation of heart, the second assent, the third act, the fourth habit. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.
(Hom. lxii. 2) Two miles. This is mentioned to account for so many coming from Jerusalem: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. But how could the Jews be consoling the beloved of Christ, when they had resolved that whoever confessed Christ should be put out of the synagogue? Perhaps the extreme affliction of the sisters excited their sympathy; or they wished to show respect for their rank. Or perhaps they who came were of the better sort; as we find many of them believed. Their presence is mentioned to do away with all doubt of the real death of Lazarus.
He mentions also the length of days that had intervened after the death of Lazarus for this reason, that the miracle may be the more marvelled at, and lest any one should chance to say that He had come after one day, and that Lazarus was not dead, but He had raised him up from sickness. And he says that many Jews were in Bethany, although the place was not a populous one, being come out of Jerusalem; for the distance of road between the two places was not so great as to hinder their sincere friends from being with Martha and Mary. And since the miracle was talked about by all in Jerusalem and the country round about, he gives the reason, that as there were many people there, the story was naturally spread abroad in all directions; some telling what had been done from admiration, and others through envy, to attach a false accusation to the miracle through their lying account of it.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Bethany — House of dates. (1.) The Revised Version in John 1:28 has this word instead of Bethabara, on the authority of the oldest manuscripts. It appears to have been the name of a place on the east of…
Ephraim in the wilderness — (John 11: 54), a town to which our Lord retired with his disciples after he had raised Lazarus, and when the priests were conspiring against him. It lay in the wild, uncultivated hill-country to the…
Furlong — A stadium, a Greek measure of distance equal to 606 feet and 9 inches (Luke 24:13; John 6:19; 11:18; Rev. 14:20; 21:16).
John, Gospel of — The genuineness of this Gospel, i.e., the fact that the apostle John was its author, is beyond all reasonable doubt. In recent times, from about 1820, many attempts have been made to impugn its…
Lazarus — An abbreviation of Eleazar, whom God helps. (1.) The brother of Mary and Martha of Bethany. He was raised from the dead after he had lain four days in the tomb (John 11:1-44). This miracle so excited…
Martha — Bitterness, the sister of Lazarus and Mary, and probably the eldest of the family, who all resided at Bethany (Luke 10:38, 40, 41; John 11:1-39). From the residence being called “her house,” some…
Mourn — Frequent references are found in Scripture to, (1.) Mourning for the dead. Abraham mourned for Sarah (Gen. 23:2); Jacob for Joseph (37:34, 35); the Egyptians for Jacob (50:3-10); Israel for Aaron…
Weights And Measures — A. WEIGHTS.—The general principle of the present inquiry is to give the evidence of the monuments the preference on all doubtful points. All ancient Greek systems of weight were derived, either…
Bethany · A village on the eastem slope of the Mount of Olives — A village on the eastem slope of the Mount of Olives
Friendship · .Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, with Jesus — .Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, with Jesus
John Calvin on John 11:18-27
John 11:18-27
18. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs. 19. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20. When Martha, therefore, heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. 21. Martha then said to Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died. 22. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou shalt ask of God, God will give it thee. 23. Jesus saith to her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24. Martha saith to him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believeth in me, though he were d…
People were buried on the same day as their death. John noted that Lazarus had been in his grave for four days, so the miracle could not be construed as resuscitation.
Furlong · One-eighth of a mile — One-eighth of a mile
Judea, Modern · Towns of: Bethany — Towns of: Bethany
Miracles Of Christ, The · The dead raised to life — The dead raised to life
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
