Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator addresses readers during the early phase of Jesus’s public ministry, noting that John’s baptismal activity continues in Aenon while Jesus ministers in Judea, and explicitly marks this as occurring before John’s imprisonment.
The words — βαπτίζων (baptizōn) = baptizing and Αἰνὼν (Ainōn) = Aenon anchor the verse’s focus on a specific location and the ongoing action. ἦν (ēn) = was establishes the continuous, unbroken nature of John’s work during this period.
The thread — This location and ministry motif connects to Mark 1:4, which describes John’s wilderness baptism ministry, and is bracketed by John 3:22 and John 3:24, which frame the simultaneous baptizing activities of Jesus and John.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that John’s ministry operated independently with specific logistical needs, requiring readers to track the chronological sequence of events without merging John’s work with Jesus’s.
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
And John also was baptizing in Ænon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
Cross-references
- Mark 1:4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
- 1 Samuel 9:4 So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and then through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find the donkeys. He and the servant went through the region of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they went through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not find them.
- Ezekiel 43:2 and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.
- Matthew 3:5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region around the Jordan.
- Luke 3:7 Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
- Genesis 33:18 After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city.
- Jeremiah 51:13 You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.
- Ezekiel 19:10 Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of the abundant waters.
- Revelation 1:15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.
- Revelation 14:2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and the loud rumbling of thunder. And the sound I heard was like harpists strumming their harps.