WE cannot fix with certainty the length of Christ's first stay in Jerusalem after the beginning of his public ministry. But it is certain that he went directly thence to Ænon, [288] near Salim (Salumias), a part of the country which was, at that time, the theatre of John the Baptist's labours. Here he probably spent most of the time from the Passover to the late harvest. He may have had two objects in this, viz., to continue the training of his disciples more uninterruptedly, and also to make use of the connecting link which the ministry of John the Baptist afforded. The reason for the continuance of the latter's separate labours has already been mentioned. [289]