John 11:17

Ἐλθὼν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εὗρεν. “When, then, Jesus came, He found,” implying that He did not know before, but learned from some in Bethany, αὐτὸν τέσσαρας ἡμέρας ἤδη ἔχοντα ἐν τῶ μνημείῳ “that he had been four days already in the tomb”. Raphel and Wetstein give instances of this construction, and see John 5:5. According to Jewish custom burial took place on the day of death, so that, allowing somewhat more than one day for the journey from the one Bethany to the other, it seems probable that Lazarus died about the time the messenger reached Jesus. At John 11:39 the time which had elapsed since death is mentioned for a different reason. Here it seems to be introduced to account for John 11:19; as also is the statement ἦν δὲ Βηθανία [ἡ deleted by Tisch [77] and W.H [78]] ἐγγὺς τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων, ὡς ἀπὸ σταδίων δεκαπέντε, within easy walking distance of Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off. The form is a Latinism, used in later Greek instead of ὡς σταδίους δεκαπέντε ἀπὸ τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων; cf. John 12:1; John 21:8; Revelation 14:20. The nearness of Bethany accounts for the fact that πολλοὶ … αὐτῶν, “many of the Jews had come out to Martha and Mary”. Of visits of condolence we have a specimen in Job. “Deep mourning was to last for seven days, of which the first three were those of ‘weeping'. During these seven days it was, among other things, forbidden to wash, to anoint oneself, to put on shoes, to study, or to engage in any business. After that followed a lighter mourning of thirty days.” Edersheim, Jewish Social Life, an interesting chapter on In Death and after Death. Cf. Genesis 50:3; Numbers 20:29; 1 Samuel 28:13. Specimens of the manifestations of grief in various heathen countries and of the things said ὑπὸ τῶν παραμυθουμένων are given by Lucian in his tract Concerning Grief.

[77] Tischendorf.

[78] Westcott and Hort.