John 7:1

Having described the crisis in Galilee the evangelist proceeds to describe the various opinions and discussions held regarding Jesus in Jerusalem. See Sanday, p. 144. In chap. 6, a Passover was said to be at hand; but Jesus did not go to it, but continued to go about teaching in Galilee, περιεπάτει ὁ Ἰησοῦς μετὰ ταῦτα ἐν τῇ Γαλιλαίᾳ. Although appropriate to a single school, περιπάτειν denoted generally the going about of a teacher with his disciples; hence, “to dispute,” or “to discourse”. περίπατος in Aristoph., Frogs, 907 and 918, means “a philosophical discussion or argumentation”. John assigns a reason for Jesus remaining in Galilee; this, according to Holtzmann and Weiss, proves that he considered the Judaean ministry the rule, the Galilean the exception. But the assigning of a reason may be accounted for by the unlikelihood of Jesus remaining in Galilee after what was recorded in chap. 6. His reason for remaining in Galilee, even after His rejection there, was the active hostility of the Jews, ἐζήτουν αὐτὸν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἀποκτεῖναι. See John 7:18. Things were not yet ripe for His exposing Himself to the hostility of the authorities.