Charles Ellicott Commentary John 11:38

"Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it." — John 11:38 (ASV)

Jesus therefore again groaning in himself.—See Note on John 11:33. Their evil thoughts, expressed in John 11:37, are the cause of this new emotion of anger.

Cometh to the grave.—Compare John 11:31. Here, as there, it would be better to render it sepulchre. The same word occurs again in John 12:17; John 19:41–42; John 20:1–11.

It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.—The sepulchres were dug in the rock, either vertically, with an entrance from above (compare Note on Luke 11:44), or horizontally, with an entrance from the side, and were frequently adaptations of natural caves (compare Note on Matthew 27:60).

Such sepulchres remain to the present day, and travellers are shown one which is said to be that of Lazarus. The entrance is from above by twenty-six steps; and this must have been so, if we press the words lay upon it.

The original words, however, may certainly apply to the horizontal slab which closes the entrance to the sepulchre; and the identification of this particular sepulchre is to be received with caution.

The fact of the body being laid in a sepulchre agrees with the general tone of the narrative that the family was one of substance.