=When and where and for whom written.= A very ancient testimony, that of Irenæus, repeated by Jerome and later writers, fixes the place of publication at Ephesus. This accords with the character of the Gospel itself. The Oriental phraseology employed in the first chapter especially, but also in less degree in other portions of the Gospel, indicates that it was written in a city where Oriental philosophy had a strong hold; and of all Greek cities Ephesus was the most Oriental. Moreover, an ancient and apparently trustworthy tradition makes this city the home of John in his later years. The time of its composition is uncertain. Irenæus states that it was the latest written of the four Gospels. The character of the Gospel, as we have seen, confirms this tradition. The book bears marks of being written in old age; it is apparently the production of a ripened Christian experience. Alford fixes the date as between A. D. 70 and A. D. 85; Macdonald, A. D. 85 or 86; Godet, between A. D. 80 and 90; Tholuck, not far from A. D. 100. [1] For same account in detail of these discussions, see Godet’s Commentary on St. John’s Gospel, Intro., Chap. II. [2] Comp. Matt. 27:56 with Mark 15:40. [3] Luke 8:3. [4] Matt. 20:20, 21; Mark 15:40; 16:1. [5] John 7:15, 48. [6] 1 Kings 9:10, 11. See Abbott’s Dict. of Rel. Knowledge, art. _Galilee._ [7] See John 1:35-37, notes; Matt. 4:21; 10:2; 17:1; 20:20; 26:37; Mark 5:37; John 13:23; 14:26, 27; 20:1-8; Acts 3:1, etc.; 8:14-25; Gal. 2:9. [8] Acts, ch. 19; ch. 20:17-38. [9] Mark 3:17; Luke 9:49-56; Matt. 20:20; John 18:15; 19:26; Acts 4:19, 20. [10] Matt. 16:22; John 14:5, 8, 22; John 12:4, with Matt. 26:14. [11] John 5:16, 18; 7:13, 19; 8:40, 44, 59; 9:22, 28; 18:31, etc. [12] See John 2:6, 13; 5:1; 6:4; 7:2; 8:17; 10:34; 15:25; 19:40, 42. [13] John 1:14; 19:35; 21:24; 1 John 1:1-3. [14] John 1:36, 38; 4:6; 6:10; 12:3; 13:30; 18:18. [15] John 12:27, 28; 13:3; chaps. 14-16. [16] John 1:19; 3:16; 6:37; chaps. 4, 5, 10, 14, 15. [17] John 2:6; 5:1; 6:4; 7:2; 18:28; 19:40. [18] See John 7:1, 19, 25, 32; 8:6, 59; 9:22; 10:31; 11:49. [19] John 6:70, 71; 11:6; 13:2, 27. [20] The student will find this hypothesis urged with great literary ingenuity by Matthew Arnold, in “God and the Bible.” [21] See John 5:4, and note there.