God & Savior

John 3:25

Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the issue of ceremonial washing.
John 3:25
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Study notes

A dispute arises between John's disciples and a certain Jewish man about ceremonial washing.

Explanation

The disagreement is about purification, the ritual washing practised in Jewish life (compare 2:6). The verse does not say what exactly was disputed, but it leads John's disciples to raise the question of Jesus' baptizing.

Original language
  • ζήτησις (zētēsis): controversy
    Greek · Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · Strong's G2214 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    A debate or dispute.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:25, word 3

  • καθαρισμοῦ (katharismou): cleansing
    Greek · Noun, genitive, singular, masculine · Strong's G2512 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Purification or ceremonial washing.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:25, word 11

Cross-references
  • John 2:6 · Related verse

    Stone water jars used for Jewish ceremonial washing.

Connected events
  • John the Baptist's last testimony about Jesus
    This verse is part of it

    This verse is part of John's testimony.

    John 3:22-36

Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Greek)

ἐγένετο οὖν ζήτησις ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν Ἰωάννου μετὰ Ἰουδαίου περὶ καθαρισμοῦ.

  1. ἐγένετοegeneto“Arose”
    Verb, 2nd aorist, middle (deponent), indicative, 3rd person singular · from γίνομαι · “to be” · Strong's G1096
  2. οὖνoun“then”
    Conjunction · “therefore/then” · Strong's G3767
  3. ζήτησιςzētēsis“a debate”
    Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · “controversy” · Strong's G2214
  4. ἐκek“among”
    Preposition · “out from” · Strong's G1537
  5. τῶνtōn“the”
    Article, genitive, plural, masculine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  6. μαθητῶνmathētōn“disciples”
    Noun, genitive, plural, masculine · from μαθητής · “disciple” · Strong's G3101
  7. ἸωάννουIōannou“of John”
    Noun, genitive, singular, masculine · from Ἰωάννης · “John” · Strong's G2491G
  8. μετὰmeta“with”
    Preposition · from μετά · “with/after” · Strong's G3326
  9. ἸουδαίουIoudaiou“[a certain] Jew”
    Noun, genitive, singular, masculine · from Ἰουδαῖος · “Jewish” · Strong's G2453
  10. περὶperi“about”
    Preposition · from περί · “about” · Strong's G4012
  11. καθαρισμοῦ.katharismou“purification.”
    Noun, genitive, singular, masculine · from καθαρισμός · “cleansing” · Strong's G2512
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Greek words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)