John 10:23

10:23 Massive covered colonnades surrounded the four sides of the central courtyard of the Temple. Solomon’s Colonnade, on the east, provided shelter from winter weather.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 10:23 . For the sake of shelter Jesus was walking with His disciples [ περιεπάτει ] in Solomon’s Porch, a cloister on the east side of the Temple area (Joseph., Antiq. , xx. 9, 7) apparently reared on some remaining portions of Solomon’s building.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The unbelievers and proud men accuse the Gospel of darkness, which darkness indeed is within themselves.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Jesus walked . . . in Solomon's porch--for shelter. This portico was on the east side of the temple, and JOSEPHUS says it was part of the original structure of Solomon [Antiquities, 20.9.7].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 23. Solomon's porch.] By what we find in Josephus, Ant. b. xx. c. 8, s. 7, a portico built by Solomon, on the east side of the outer court of the temple, was left standing by Herod, when he rebuilt the temple. This portico was four hundred cubits long, and was left standing, probably, because of its grandeur and beauty. But when Agrippa came to Jerusalem, a few years before the destruction of the city by the Romans, and about eighty years after Herod had begun his building, (till which time what Herod had begun was not completed,) the Jews solicited Agrippa to repair this portico at his own expense, using for argument, not only that the building was growing ruinous, but that otherwise eighteen thousand workmen, who had all of them, until then, been employed in carrying on the works of the temple, would be all at once deprived of a livelihood.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

23. And Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. The Evangelist gives to Solomon’s porch the designation of the temple; not that it was the sanctuary, but only an appendage to the temple Nor does he mean the ancient porch which was built by Solomon, which had been altogether destroyed by the Chaldeans, but that which the Jews — perhaps immediately after their return from the Babylonish captivity — built after the pattern of the ancient porch, and gave it the same name, that it might be more highly honored; and Herod afterwards built a new temple.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(23) And Jesus walked in the temple . . .—Better, and Jesus was walking. The scene is remembered and pictured as it took place.

In Solomon’s porch.—The place is mentioned again in Act_3:11; Act_5:12. It was rather a cloister or arcade than what we usually call a porch. It is said to have been on the east of the Temple, and to have been a relic of the original building which had survived all destructions and restorations, and had brought down its founder’s name from its founder’s time. (Comp. Jos. Ant. xx. 9, § 7.) It does not seem clear, however, that Josephus calls anything more than the eastern wall by the name of Solomon, and he calls the cloister above it simply the “Eastern cloister.” It is more likely that the true position of “Solomon’s porch” is to be found in one of the subterranean structures which existed in the time of our Lord, and exist now as they did in the time of Solomon. Caspari would identify the corridor under El-Aksa with “Solomon’s porch,” and thus connect the place where our Lord walked at this feast with the Holy Church of Zion, and the place of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. (Chron. and Geogr., Introd., Append. § 22; Eng. Trans., pp. 297-9. Comp. Note on refs. in Acts.) The place as mentioned here is another instance of the writer’s remembrance of topographical details connected with the Temple. (Comp. Joh_8:20.) The fact that it was winter, and the fact that He was walking in this covered cloister or crypt, explain each other.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23. in Solomon’s porch] This was a cloister or colonnade in the Temple-Courts, apparently on the east side. Tradition said that it was a part of the original building which had survived the various destructions and rebuildings. No such cloister is mentioned in the account of Solomon’s Temple, and perhaps the name was derived from the wall against which it was built. It is mentioned again Act_3:11 (where see note) and Joh_5:12. Foundations still remaining probably belong to it.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jesus walked in the temple,.... To keep himself warm, and to secure him the better from the inclemency of the weather:

in Solomon's porch; which was covered over, and the outside of it was enclosed with a wall, which made it very convenient for such a purpose: this was on the outside of the temple eastward, and was a very magnificent structure: the account Josephus (n) gives of it is this;

"there was a porch without the temple, overlooking a deep valley, supported by walls of four hundred cubits, made of four square stone, very white; the length of each stone was twenty cubits, and the breadth six; the work of king Solomon, who first founded the whole temple.''

Now, though this was not the porch that was built by Solomon, yet as it was built on the same spot, and in imitation of it, it bore his name; mention is made of it in Act 3:11.

(n) Antiqu. l. 20. c. 8. sect. 7.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.

Ver. 23. And Jesus walked in the temple] Taking the opportunity of that public meeting to do good, as the bee is abroad as soon as the sun ariseth. The Greeks were great walkers, as the Stoics in their porch, &c. But the Turks wonder to see a man walk to and fro, and usually ask him whether he be out of his way, or out of his wits? (Biddulph.) Pliny said to his nephew, when he saw him walk out some hours without studying, Poteras has horas non perdere.

In Solomon’s porch] So the Jews called that porch (for honour’s sake) which they built again after the Captivity; and which, together with the whole temple, was beautified by Herod the Great, to curry favour with the people, which yet would not be, for they hated him extremely. Partim ambitione ductus, partita Iudaeorum benevolentiam captans. (Bez. Annot. in Joh 1:20)

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Solomon’s porch - The porch or covered way on the east of the temple. See the notes at Mat 21:12.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

In the gallery of Solomon, which was near the temple, supposed to be attached to the eastern gate of the court, and called beautiful. See Acts iii. 2.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Of this Solomon’s porch we read, 1Ki 6:3, that Solomon built the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits long, and ten cubits broad. This was the place where they walked in winter. Though this was destroyed when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians; yet it seemeth that there was one built that was like it, and kept that name. It should seem that it was a place better defended from the weather, than those other parts of the temple where in summer time they used to walk.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

23. Jesus walked… in Solomon’s porch—With an expressive abruptness the Evangelist presents Jesus walking in the great eastern piazza of the temple, and relates the scene which is counterpart and completion of the above discourse. Protected by the covert of the portico from the wet storm of a Jewish winter day, walking perhaps with the Evangelist, he is suddenly, εκυκλωσαν, encircled by a number of the very doubters of Joh_10:19-21, the sight of whom calls up to mind the image of shepherd and sheep, Joh_10:26-29.

To the pagan temples of Greece there was customarily fixed a portico for the convenience of walkers and talkers; and it is curious to remark that from two of the words used in this verse, περιπατει and στοα, two philosophical sects were named, respectively, Peripatetics and Stoics. This porch of Solomon was by some held to have been a work of that monarch, left undestroyed by the Assyrians.

We endorse the opinion of Lange, (against the protest of Stier,) that these Jews were not ironical, but most earnest in this movement, yet earnest after their own way. By the miracles of Jesus they were compelled to attribute to him some more than human power; but his teachings, so anti-Judaic, and, as they felt, anti-Mosaic, repelled them. They therefore, as in a body, encompassed him round, as if to make him prisoner, and if he will consent to be their sort of a Messiah, to make him their Messiah. It was an attempt, upon a much smaller scale, resembling the effort to make him king, in Joh_6:15.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon"s porch. He walked in Solomons portico that part of the temple of Herod which the apostles afterwards adopted as the scene of some of their most explicit assertions of the gospel. (Act_3:11 Act_5:12) It was associated with the grandest events in their national history; for it was reared on the substructions of Solomon"s temple, which even to the present day are intact (Robinson"s "Palestine," 1:289; Palestine Exploration Society"s Reports; "Recovery of Jerusalem," frontispiece, pp. 17, 226, 309-319). The Lord walked there because it was winter, and wintry weather. This reveals a little touch of the hand of an eye-witness. We need not ask for any more transcendental explanation. The note of time, moreover, implies that two months had elapsed since the Feast of Tabernacles. Wieseler calculates that the Feast of Tabernacles closed on October 19, and the Feast of Dedication began on December 20, and, if so, time is left for a portion of the Galilaean ministry cited in Lu 10-13 Ezr_10:9-13 shows that the time referred to was after a period of heavy rain, and may account for Jesus walking in the shelter of the portico.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In Solomon's portico - Josephus informs us, that when Solomon built the temple, he filled up a part of the adjacent valley, and built a portico over it toward the east. This was a noble structure, supported by a wall four hundred cubits high: and continued even to the time of Albinus and Agrippa, which was several years after the death of Christ.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

In these verses we have recorded a new and fresh debate betwixt our Saviour and the Jews, and therein we have observable, 1. The time of this debate, Joh 10:22.

It was at the feast of dedication, in the winter, our Saviour taking that opportunity to publish his doctrine, when a concourse of people were gathered together at that solemnity.

Observe, 2. That place of this debate, in Solomon’s porch.

Although the temple and porch built by Solomon were destroyed by the Babylonians: yet when the temple was rebuilt, there was a porch like it, which retained the ancient name.

Observe, 3. The debate itself; If thou be the Christ tell us plainly. Not that they affected the knowledge of the truth, but only designed to ensnare him: for it he had affirmed himself to be the Messias, he had brought himself in danger of the Roman governor; because the Jews expected the Messias to be a temporal prince, that should deliver them from the Roman power.

Now if Christ had declared himself such a Messias as the Jews expected, it might have cost him his life. Therefore his hour being not yet come, he answers with his usual prudence and weariness to their ensnaring question.

Learn hence, That Christ’s enemies are full of subtile policies, and can turn themselves into all shapes, that, if possible, they may entrap and ensnare him; and accordingly, they pretend here great earnestness of desire to be satisfied, whether he was indeed the true and promised Messias; when in truth they had another design.

Observe, 4. The wisdom and caution of our Saviour’s answer; he refers them to his miracles, The works that I do in my father’s name, they bear witness of me. Our Saviour’s miraculous work were sufficient for the Jews to have grounded and bottomed their faith upon, and to have confirmed them in the belief, that he was the promised and expected Messias, had not prejudice, obstinacy, and malice, blinded their eyes, that they could neither see nor consider.

Observe, lastly, How Christ points out to these Jews the true cause of their infidelity: which was not the obscurity of his doctrine, but their not being his sheep; that is, not as yet converted, they not having the properties of his sheep, which he sites down in the following verses.

Learn hence, That men’s final unbelief under the means of faith, is a clear evidence of their being in a lost and perishing condition.

Infidelity is the sin that doth consign a man over to damnation; and to such as sit under the gospel, doth not only procure damnation, but no damnation like it.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23. Walked … in Solomon's porch. A long covered colonnade that was a part of the temple.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

23. ἐν τ. στ. Σ.] This was a cloister or colonnade in the Temple-Courts, apparently on the east side. Tradition said that it was a part of the original building which had survived the various destructions. No such cloister is mentioned in the account of Solomon’s Temple, and perhaps the name was derived from the wall against which it was built. It is mentioned again Act 3:11; Act 5:12 as the recognised place of worship for the first disciples. Foundations still remaining may belong to it. For ἱερόν see on Joh 2:14; Joh 2:19.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23. “It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the Temple, in Solomon’s porch.” That is, He was giving His teaching under shelter, because of the severity of the season, in the eastern cloister of the Temple precincts (for τὸ ἱερόν, the Temple enclosure, see on 2:14). This vivid touch suggests that the writer is thoroughly familiar with the place and the conditions under which instruction was given there. At the time when the Fourth Gospel was written, the Temple had been for some years in ruins; but the note of time and circumstance is easily explicable, if we have here the reminiscence of an eye-witness of the scene.

ἡ στοὰ τοῦ Σολομῶνος is mentioned again, Act 3:11, Act 5:12.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Solomon 's porch. A covered colonnade on the eastern side of the outer court of the temple. According to Josephus it was a relic of Solomon 's days, which had remained intact in the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.