Charles Ellicott Commentary John 6:1

"After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is [the sea] of Tiberias." — John 6:1 (ASV)

After these things . . . — This indicates an undefined interval, which is filled in by the earlier Gospels. We do not need to adopt the purely arbitrary assumption that a portion of the Gospel between John 5:6 has been lost, nor should we connect them in immediate chronological order. For St. John, the discourse is the primary reason the entire account is recorded. He leaves the exact sequence of events undetermined.

Went over the sea of Galilee — that is, crossed over from Galilee to the eastern side of the lake.

Sea of Tiberias. — Compare John 21:1. However, the phrases are not precisely the same. In that verse, it is simply “sea of Tiberias.” Here, it is “sea of Galilee, of Tiberias.” This latter term is either an alternative rendering for Greek readers (compare the note on John 1:28) or a limitation to the part of the lake opposite Tiberias.

We will find reason to believe that the last chapter of the Gospel should be regarded as an appendix. The present passage may mark the transition between the older names for the lake found in the other Gospels and the later name, which appears for the first time in St. John but was afterwards common among Greek writers.

The town itself is mentioned in the New Testament only in St. John's Gospel (John 6:23). It was on the west side of the lake and is the present-day, well-known Tabarîyeh. Built by Herod the Tetrarch, it was named after the Emperor Tiberius in accordance with the Herodian policy of courting Rome.

Eusebius tells us that its construction began in the fourteenth year of Tiberius, a date which is itself uncertain (compare the note on John 2:20). However, we may accept this as placing the building's construction during the time of our Lord. This also explains why the name of the town does not appear in the earlier Gospels, while at a later date—and certainly for Greek readers—the name had extended to the lake itself.