6:3

Then Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down with His disciples: In some languages it may be natural to translate this sentence using one dependent clause and one independent clause. For example:

Having gone up the side of the mountain, Jesus sat down with his disciples around him.

The disciples probably went up the mountain with Jesus rather than going up separately. In some languages it may be better to say that more clearly. For example:

Jesus went with his disciples up the mountain and they sat down there.

the mountain: This phrase indicates that this was a specific high area that the writer knew about. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mountain can also be translated as “hill.” In this context the word probably refers to the high ground east of the Sea of Galilee. It does not refer here to a mountain high enough to have snow on top. So in many language groups it may be natural to say:

Jesus climbed a hill (Good News Translation)
-or-
Jesus went up on the mountainside (NET Bible)

His disciples: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as disciples refers to “learners” who are in a special relationship with a teacher. The learner commits himself to his teacher to learn and follow his teaching and example. A disciple often lived with his teacher and followed him wherever he went. See how you translated this term at 1:35 and 4:27a.

The disciples referred to here were probably Jesus’ twelve (12) closest disciples. John refers to the other people that came as “a large crowd” in 6:5.

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