Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
The time of this section was after that Passover which was nigh at hand when our Lord fed the five thousand men (John 6:4) - the third Passover, as we take it, since His public ministry began, but which He did not keep at Jerusalem for the reason mentioned in John 7:1.
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of, [ apo (G575 ) - or 'from'] Jerusalem. Mark says they "came from" it; a deputation probably sent from the capital expressly to watch Him. Since He had not come to them at the last Passover, which they had reckoned on, they now come to Him. "And," says Mark, "when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands" - hands not ceremonially cleansed by washing - "they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft" х pugmee (G4435)] - literally, 'in' or 'with the fist;' that is, probably, washing the one hand by the use of the other-though some understand it, with our version, in the sense of 'diligently,' 'sedulously' - "eat not, holding the tradition of the elders;" acting religiously according to the custom handed down to them. "And when they come from the market" х Kai (G2532) apo (G575) agoras (G58)] - 'And after market;' after any common business, or attending a court of justice, where the Jews, as Webster and Wilkinson remark, after their subjection to the Romans, were especially exposed to conversation and contact with pagans - "except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups and pots, brazen vessels and tables" х klinoon (G2825)] - rather 'couches,' such as were used at meals, which probably were merely sprinkled for ceremonial purposes. "Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him," saying,