Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
Waterpots (udriai). Old word from udwr (water) and used in papyri for pots or pans for holding money or bread as well as water. These stone (liqinai as in II Corinthians 3:3) jars full of water were kept handy (
set there, keimenai, present middle participle of keimai) at a feast for ceremonial cleansing of the hands (II Kings 3:11; Mark 7:3), "after the Jews' manner of purifying" (kata ton kaqarismon twn Ioudaiwn). See Mark 1:44; Luke 2:22 for the word kaqarismov (from kaqarizw) which fact also raised a controversy with disciples of John because of his baptizing (John 3:25).
Containing (xwrousai). Present active participle feminine plural of xwrew, old verb from xwrov, place, space, having space or room for.
Two or three firkins apiece (ana metrhtav duo h treiv). The word metrhthv, from metrew, to measure, simply means "measurer," an amphora for measuring liquids (in Demosthenes, Aristotle, Polybius), the Hebrew bath (II Chronicles 4:5), here only in N.T., about 8 1/2 English gallons. Each udria thus held about 20 gallons. This common distributive use of ana occurs here only in this Gospel, but is in Revelation 4:8. In John 4:28 a much smaller udria was used for carrying water.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing John 2:6:
Matthew 15:2
John 3:25
John 4:3
John 4:28
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