Paragraph 2:12

This paragraph serves as a transition between the story about Jesus changing water into wine and the story about Jesus chasing traders out of the temple courtyard.

2:12a

After this: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as After this indicates that at this point there is a transition between stories. Here is another way to translate this phrase:

After the wedding (New Living Translation (2004))

2:12b

He went down to Capernaum with His mother and brothers and His disciples: Capernaum is on lower ground than Cana, so Jesus would have traveled down a hill to get there. However, in some languages it is not natural to say whether someone is traveling up or down. If that is true in your language, you may want to leave this information implicit. For example:

Jesus and his mother, brothers, and disciples went to Capernaum (Good News Translation)

Capernaum: Capernaum was a village in Galilee on the northern shore of Lake Galilee. Scholars think that probably about 1500 people lived there. It was about 16 miles (26 kilometers) from Cana. This village is often mentioned in the Gospel stories. See, for example, Matthew 4:13, Mark 2:21, and Luke 7:1.

brothers: Church groups differ in what they believe about Jesus’ brothers. There are three main views:

(1) They were the sons of Joseph and Mary, born after Jesus.

(2) They were Jesus’ cousins.

(3) They were children of Joseph from a previous marriage. That is, they were Jesus’ step-brothers.

The Hebrew and Aramaic words for “brother” do not distinguish between brothers and cousins. It is good to use a general word for “brother” that could apply to any of the views above. For example, you may have a word that could refer to these three kinds of people:

(a) brothers with the same father and mother,

(b) brothers with the same father but different mothers, and

(c) cousins who are children of a parent’s brother or sister.

If you must use a more specific word, it is recommended that you consult with all major church groups in your language area. You will want to choose a word that is acceptable to the churches.

If your language must distinguish between “older” and “younger” brothers, it is recommended that you use a term for “younger brothers” here. If your language does not use terms that distinguish brother and sister, it may be more natural to use general terms. For example:

siblings
-or-
younger-siblings

2:12c

and they stayed there a few days: It may be more natural to make the words stayed there implicit. For example:

After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples. (New Living Translation (2004))

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