Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
Parallel translations
- WEB Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away.
- BSB Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, a little less than two miles away,
- NKJV Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.
- NASB Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away;
- NLT Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
John notes that Bethany was about fifteen stadia, roughly two miles, from Jerusalem. The nearness explains the presence of many mourners.
Overview
This geographical detail accounts for the crowd of Jews who came to console the sisters. Its closeness to Jerusalem also means the miracle would be widely known and would provoke the authorities. The precise note reflects the eyewitness character of the account.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Luke 24:13And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
- John 11:1Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
- Rev 14:20And 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 and six hundred furlongs.
- John 6:19So 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 were afraid.
- Rev 21:16And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 11:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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