Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

JOHN

(Gk. Iōánnēs)

1. The father of Matthias and grandfather of Judas Maccabeus; son of the priest Simeon (1 Macc. 2:1).

2. The oldest son of Matthias, surnamed Gaddi (2 Macc. 2:2). Sent to the Nabateans by his brother Jonathan to store the Maccabeans’ belongings, he was ambushed and killed by “the family of Jambri” from Medeba (9:35-36; cf. vv. 37-42).

3. The father of Eupolemus and son of Accos (1 Macc. 8:17), accorded royal concessions by Antiochus III (2 Macc. 4:11).

4. John Hyrcanus I; son of Simon and nephew of Judas Maccabeus; commander of Simon’s forces (1 Macc. 13:53; 16:1) and subsequently high priest.

See Hyrcanus 2.

5. John Hyrcanus II; Hasmonean high priest and ethnarch of Judea.

See Hyrcanus 3.

6. An envoy sent by the Jews to Lysias, a general of Antiochus IV (2 Macc. 11:17).

Timothy P. Jenney

7. John the Baptizer, Jesus’ relative (Luke 1:36) and the forerunner of his ministry (Mark 1:1-8). The son of a priest named Zechariah (Luke 1:5), John had disciples (John 3:25) and preached repentance and the coming of one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit rather than water (Mark 1:8). He was imprisoned and beheaded by Herod the tetrarch (Mark 6:14-29). Jesus identified John with the anticipated Elijah (Mal. 4:5[MT 3:23]), the prophet who was to come before the day of the Lord (Matt. 17:10-13).

See John the Baptist.

8. One of the inner circle of the 12 apostles, the son of Zebedee and the brother of James the apostle, and a fishing partner with Peter (Luke 5:10). Paul notes that John was reputed to be a pillar of the Church (Gal. 2:9). One traditional view identifies this John as “the beloved disciple” (cf. John 13:23) and the author of John’s Gospel (cf. 21:20-24). Another view identifies him as the author of Revelation (cf. Rev. 1:1; 22:8). The evidence for both views is inconclusive.

See John the Apostle.

9. The father of the Apostle Peter. He is mentioned only briefly (John 1:42; 21:15-17).

10. A friend of Annas, the high priest (Acts 4:6; the Western text has “Jonathan” instead, perhaps referring to the son of Annas). John may have been of priestly descent, but we have no further knowledge of him.

11. John Mark, the son of Mary (Acts 12:12). He occasionally accompanied Barnabas and Saul on their missionary work (12:25), but he left them to return to Jerusalem (13:13). As a result, Barnabas and Paul later were divided over whether to take John Mark with them. Barnabas took John Mark and separated from Paul (15:37-39). This may be the Mark identified as Barnabas’ cousin (Col. 4:10) and the one mentioned in 2 Tim. 4:11. One tradition regards him as author of the Gospel of Mark.

See Mark, John.

12. A prophet and author of the book of Revelation (Rev. 1:1, 4, 9; 22:8). We have no evidence of his background.

Bibliography. R. E. Brown, The Community of the Beloved Disciple (New York, 1979); C. H. Dodd, Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge, 1963).

Paul K. Moser

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

JOHN

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)