By Yoel Halevi
In contemporary scholarship, the primary text used to argue that Yeshu'a celebrated Hanukkah is John 10:22–23: "At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon."
While the term "Hanukkah" is not used in English translations, the Greek word used is ta enkainia (τὰ ἐγκαίνια), which literally means "the renewal" or "the dedication"—the direct translation of the Hebrew Chanukah.
1. The Argument FOR: Yeshu'a Observed Hanukkah
Scholars who argue that Yeshu'a participated in the festival emphasize the historical, cultural, and theological context of the Johannine narrative.
2. The Argument AGAINST: John is Using it as a Literary Foil
Some scholars caution against assuming "celebration" in the modern sense, suggesting the mention of the feast serves a different literary or polemical purpose.
3. Incidental Timing
A minority view suggests that Yeshu'a was in Jerusalem for the winter season regardless of the holiday, and John simply uses the "Feast of Dedication" as a chronological marker to explain why Jesus was walking in the sheltered "Colonnade of Solomon" to escape the winter cold. The core of this argument rests on two pillars: the geopolitical tension between Galilee and Judea in the first century, and the textual function of John’s narrative markers.
3.1. Geopolitical Disparity: Was Hanukkah a "Galilean" Feast?
A primary reason to support the incidental view is the historical likelihood that Hanukkah was not yet a universal Jewish festival. Hanukkah was a dynastic holiday established by the Hasmoneans. However, scholarly work by Sean Freyne (Galilee from Alexander the Great to Hadrian) suggests that Galilee was only forcibly integrated into the Hasmonean kingdom under Aristobulus I (c. 104 BCE). This created a cultural "lag" or even resistance toward Judean-centric political holidays. Many Galileans identified more strongly with the ancient northern traditions and the universal Torah than with the specific nationalistic victories of the Judean Maccabees. Therefore, Yeshu'a—hailing from Nazareth—may have viewed the Feast of Dedication as a "southern" or "political" event rather than a mandatory religious observance. As noted by Martin Goodman (Rome and Jerusalem), it was only after the Temple’s destruction that the Rabbinic authorities at Yavne standardized the Jewish calendar to preserve national identity in the Diaspora. Before this, local customs varied significantly.
3.2. Narrative Function: The "Winter" and the Colonnade
The text of John 10:22–23 is unique because it provides a physical and meteorological reason for Yeshu'a’s location. John 10:23 states, "Yeshu'a was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon." This area was a massive, roofed portico on the eastern side of the Temple Mount. Academic commentators like Raymond Brown point out that the parenthetical statement "It was winter" serves a dual purpose. Logistically, it explains why Yeshu'a was under the porch, to seek shelter from the rains and the biting winds common in Jerusalem in December. If Yeshu'a was there simply to stay dry, the setting becomes a "cornering" maneuver. In an open court, a speaker can move freely; in the Colonnade, the crowd was able to "encircle" (ekyklōsan) him (John 10:24). This implies he was not leading a celebration, but was effectively trapped by opponents who used the nationalistic fervor of the holiday to provoke him.
3.3. Theological Contrast: The Shepherd vs. The Maccabee
The specific interpretation argues that John mentions the feast to create a polemical contrast rather than to document an observance.
The Feast of Dedication celebrated the "Hammer" (Maccabeus) and military liberation. However, Yeshu'a’s discourse in John 10 centers on the "Good Shepherd" who lays down his life (John 10:11). Scholars such as C.K. Barrett suggest that the author of John places this encounter at Hanukkah to show that Yeshu'a is the alternative to the Maccabean model. He isn't there to celebrate the military victory; he is there to redefine what "deliverance" looks like.
In Johannine scholarship, the specific mention of the Feast of Dedication in John 10:22–23 is often interpreted as a carefully managed literary and political choice, designed to navigate the high-stakes environment of the Roman Empire. Scholars like Craig S. Keener in The Gospel of John: A Commentary argue that while Hanukkah was intrinsically linked to the Maccabean Revolt—a violent, successful uprising against foreign Hellenistic rule—the author of John avoids any explicit mention of the Maccabees or nationalistic military triumph. This omission is strategic; to a Roman reader, Hanukkah was not a quaint religious observance but a "festival of liberation" that celebrated the overthrow of an imperial power. By situating Yeshu'a in Solomon’s Colonnade during this time, the text acknowledges the Jewish context while stripping away the revolutionary rhetoric that would have sounded like sedito (sedition) to Roman ears. Raymond Brown (Anchor Bible Commentary) suggests that the Gospel’s emphasis on Yeshu'a as the one "consecrated" by the Father (John 10:36) serves to replace the military dedication of the altar with a spiritual dedication of the person. This allows the author to present Yeshu'a's messiahship as a theological reality rather than a political threat, effectively decoupling the "King of the Jews" from the contemporary anti-Roman insurgencies that eventually led to the destruction of the Temple.
Furthermore, the "apologetic" nature of the Fourth Gospel suggests that the text was crafted to survive and spread within a Roman social framework where pro-freedom Jewish sentiments were viewed with extreme suspicion. As noted by scholars such as Margaret Pamment, the reference to "winter" in John 10:22 serves a dual purpose: it provides a chronological marker for Hanukkah, but also creates a literary atmosphere of "spiritual chill" and political danger. In the Roman period, any gathering of Jewish crowds celebrating a victory over an empire would be monitored for signs of crimen laesae maiestatis (treason). Academic analysis by Reuvein Margolies has pointed out that even early Rabbinic literature, such as the Mishnah, remained surprisingly quiet about Hanukkah to avoid drawing Roman ire; the Gospel of John follows a similar trajectory of political caution. By focusing the dialogue on Yeshu'a’s works and his unity with the Father rather than the historical restoration of Jewish sovereignty, the text ensures that Yeshu'a's message is not mistaken for a call to arms. This nuanced framing allowed the early Christian community to define Yeshu'a as the "Light of the World" without branding him as a rebel leader in the eyes of the Roman authorities who controlled the very porches in which he walked.
Under this interpretation, the mention of Hanukkah in the Gospel of John is a chronological and environmental anchor. It explains why Yeshu'a was in Jerusalem (likely remaining there after the Feast of Tabernacles) and why he was in a specific, sheltered location that allowed for an intense, confrontational dialogue. It suggests that Yeshu'a was not a participant in the "Dedication" festivities, but a teacher navigating the hazardous political and physical climate of a Jerusalem winter.
Barrett, C.K. The Gospel According to St. John: An Introduction with Commentary and Notes on the Greek Text. London: SPCK, 1978.
Brown, Raymond E. The Gospel According to John (I–XII). Anchor Bible 29. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966.
Freyne, Sean. Galilee from Alexander the Great to Hadrian: A Study of Second Temple Judaism. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998.
Goodman, Martin. Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations. London: Penguin Books, 2007.
Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John: A Commentary. Vol. 1. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003.
Sanders, E.P. The Historical Figure of Jesus. London: Penguin, 1993.