Bible Strands
John 1:28
All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator states that the preceding dialogue occurred at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was actively baptizing. This places John’s ministry in a specific location while he identifies the one coming after him.
The words — The Greek phrase ταῦτα ἐγένετο (tauta egeneto) translates literally as "these things took place," anchoring the account to a historical event. The location Βηθανίᾳ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου (Bēthania peran tou Iordanou) specifies "Bethany across the Jordan."
The thread — John 10:40 notes Jesus later returned to the same baptism site, and John 3:23 records John baptizing at Aenon near Salim due to abundant water. Judges 7:24 is also cited regarding the seizure of waterways.
Why it lands — The text explicitly locates John’s baptismal activity at a named geographical site. It requires the reader to treat the narrative as grounded in actual events rather than abstract theology.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Cross-references
- John 10:40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had first been baptizing, and He stayed there.
- John 3:23 Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because the water was plentiful there, and people kept coming to be baptized.
- Judges 7:24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim to say, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth-barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth-barah.
- John 3:26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”
- John 12:5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?”