54‐56. *Jesus retired from the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and the chief priests and Pharisees gave orders, that anyone knowing where He was, should inform upon Him, in order that He might be arrested.* 1. Erat autem quidam languens 1. Now there was a certain man Lazarus a Bethania, de sick named Lazarus, of castello Mariae et Marthae Bethania, of the town of Mary sororis eius. and of Martha her sister. 1. “The narrative of the raising of Lazarus is unique in its completeness. The essential circumstances of the fact in regard to persons, manner, results, are given with perfect distinctness. The history is more complete than that in chapter ix., because the persons stand in closer connection with the Lord than the blind man, and the event itself had in many ways a ruling influence on the end of His ministry. Four scenes are to be distinguished:—(1) the prelude to the miracle (1‐16); (2) the scene at Bethany (17‐32); (3) the miracle (33‐44); (4) the immediate issues of the miracle (45‐57)” (Westcott in the Speakers Comm.). *Bethania.* This _village_ lay nearly two miles east of Jerusalem; see verse 18, and our remarks on vi. 19. To prevent the reader from confounding it with Bethania beyond the Jordan (i. 28), the Evangelist adds that he means the village of Mary and of Martha her sister, who are supposed to be already known to the reader from the Synoptic Gospels. See, _e.g._, Luke x. 38‐42. Bethania is spoken of as their village, not because they owned it, but because they resided there, just as Bethsaida is called the city of Andrew and Peter (i. 44). In this village, then, Lazarus was _seriously_ ill (ἀσθενῶν; see James v. 14). 2. (Maria autem erat, quae 2. (And Mary was she that unxit Dominum unguento, et anointed the Lord with extersit pedes eius capillis ointment and wiped his feet suis: cuius frater Lazarus with her hair: whose brother infirmabatur.) Lazarus was sick.)