is not unlikely it was a fever, such as is common even now in Palestine.
This is the first time that Lazarus is mentioned in the New Testament, and we know nothing certain of his history. Some have conjectured that he was the young ruler who came to our Lord, asking what he must do to obtain eternal life, — and went away sorrowful at the time, but was afterwards converted. — Some have conjectured that he is the young man who followed our Lord when he was taken prisoner, mentioned by St. Mark, and fled away naked.— But these are mere guesses', and there is really no solid foundation for them. That he was not a poor man, but comparatively rich, seems highly probable from the " feast " in John xii., the number of friends who came to mourn him, the alabaster box of precious ointment used by his sister, and the sepulchre hewn out of rock. But even this is only a conjecture.
The name "Lazarus "no doubt is a Greek form of the He- brew name " Eleazer." It is worth noticing, that it survives to this day in the modern name of Bethany, " El-Azarizeh." {See Smith's Biblical Dictionary.)
[Of Bethany. ..town. ..Mary. ..Martha."] The word "town" in this sentence would have been better translated " village," as it is in sixteen other texts in the New Testament. Bethany, in truth, was only a small village, a short two miles from Jerusa- lem, on the east side ; and its situation is perfectly known now. It lies on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, on the road to Jericho. It is not once mentioned in the Old Testament, and owes its fame to its being the place where Lazarus was raised, — the place where our Lord rested at night just before the pas- sion,— the place from which He commenced His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, — the place from which He finally ascended into heaven, (Luke xxiv. 10,) and the dwelling-place of Mary and Martha.
Let it be noted that the presence of God's elect children is the one thing which makes towns and countries famous in God's sight. The village of Martha and Mary is noticed, while Mem- phis and Thebes are not named in the New Testament. A cot- tage where there is grace, is more pleasant in God's sight than a cathedral town where there is none.
Let it be noted that this" verse supplies internal evidence that St. John's Gospel was written long after the other historical parts of the New Testament. He speaks of Martha and Mary as persons whose names and history would be familiar to all Christian readers.
There is a peculiarity in the Greek of this verse, which is hardly conveyed in our English translation. Literally it would be rendered, " Lazarus from Bethany, out of the town of Mary," etc. That " from " Bethany means exactly what we render it, is