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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadCambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - John 3:23 - 3:23
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23. ἦν … βαπτίζων. Not as rival to the Messiah but still in preparation for Him, as Samuel continued to be Judge after the King was appointed. John knew that the Messiah had come; but He had not taken the public position which John expected Him to take, and hence John was not led to suppose that his own office in preaching repentance was at an end. John still went on; Jesus, owing to His rejection in Jerusalem, seems to go back, “becoming in a way His own fore-runner” (Godet). Thus they appear for a moment baptizing side by side. But the Baptist has reached his zenith; whereas the Messiah’s career has scarcely begun.
Αἰνών. ‘Springs.’ The identifications of Aenon and Salim remain uncertain. The Wâdy Fâr’ah, an open vale full of springs, running from Ebal to Jordan, is a tempting conjecture. There is a Salim three miles south, and the name Aenon survives in ’Ainûn, four miles north of the waters.
ὕδατα πολλά. For immersion: the expression points to springs or streams rather than a single river like the Jordan.