Matthew

a 13:3 — in parables (ἐν παραβολαῖς / en parabolais) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: παραβολή parabolē, literally “a placing beside,” is a comparison. In the Septuagint it renders the Hebrew מָשָׁל māšāl, which covers proverbs, riddles, allegories, taunts, and stories (Proverbs 1:6; Ezekiel 17:2). Chapter 13 is the third of Matthew’s five discourses, and the first in which Jesus teaches the crowds in parables. “The sower” (ὁ σπείρων ho speirōn) has the article: a familiar figure.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Nathan’s story of the ewe lamb led David to condemn himself (2 Samuel 12:1–7), and Jotham told a fable of the trees choosing a king (Judges 9:8–15). Ezekiel was told to “propound a riddle and speak a parable” to Israel (Ezekiel 17:2). Matthew will quote Psalm 78:2 about speaking in parables (13:35).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Rabbis of the following centuries taught often in parables, many beginning “To what may the matter be compared?” and many about kings, farms, and households. Jesus’ parables drew on the daily life of Galilee: sowing by hand, weeds, mustard, yeast, fishing nets. Seed was usually scattered over the field and then plowed in, so some fell on paths, thin soil over limestone, and patches of thorns.

b 13:8 — some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty (ὃ μὲν ἑκατόν, ὃ δὲ ἑξήκοντα, ὃ δὲ τριάκοντα / ho men hekaton, ho de hexēkonta, ho de triakonta) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ἑκατόν hekaton, “a hundred,” here means a hundredfold yield: a hundred grains for every grain sown. Matthew counts down from a hundred to thirty; Mark counts up (Mark 4:8). “The one who has ears, let him hear” (13:9) repeats 11:15; NA28 reads simply “ears,” as there.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Isaac sowed and “reaped in the same year a hundredfold, and the Lord blessed him” (Genesis 26:12). Amos foresees days when “the plowman shall overtake the reaper” (Amos 9:13). God’s word is like rain that makes the earth give seed to the sower (Isaiah 55:10–11).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Ordinary yields in ancient Palestine were modest, perhaps between five- and fifteenfold. A hundredfold harvest was the language of God’s abundant blessing and of the age to come; 2 Baruch says of the messianic age that “on one vine there will be a thousand branches, and one branch will produce a thousand clusters” (2 Baruch 29:5). Despite the losses on path, rock, and thorns, the good soil produces a harvest beyond expectation.

c 13:11 — the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens (τὰ μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν / ta mystēria tēs basileias tōn ouranōn) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: μυστήριον mystērion in the Bible is not a puzzle beyond understanding but a secret of God’s plan that He reveals in His time. It renders the Aramaic רָז rāz in Daniel 2. “It has been given” (δέδοται dedotai) is a divine passive: God has given it. Matthew and Luke have the plural “mysteries”; Mark has the singular (Mark 4:11).

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Daniel’s God is “the revealer of mysteries” who made known to the king what would happen “in the latter days” (Daniel 2:28, 47). “The Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Paul speaks of “the mystery hidden for long ages but now disclosed” (Romans 16:25–26; Ephesians 3:4–6). Jesus has just praised the Father for revealing hidden things to little children (Matthew 11:25).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: The word רָז rāz appears often in the Dead Sea Scrolls for God’s hidden plan, “the mystery of what is to be” (1Q27; 4Q417), revealed to the Teacher of Righteousness. In 1 Enoch, the Watchers revealed forbidden heavenly secrets to humanity, while Enoch received God’s true mysteries in heavenly visions (1 Enoch 16:3; 103:2). Within the Divine Council worldview, the mysteries of the kingdom are the counsel of God’s heavenly court, now disclosed through Jesus to His disciples.

d 13:13 — because seeing they do not see (ὅτι βλέποντες οὐ βλέπουσιν / hoti blepontes ou blepousin) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: Matthew uses ὅτι hoti, “because”: Jesus speaks in parables because the people already do not see. Mark uses ἵνα hina, “so that” (Mark 4:12), which can sound as if the parables were meant to prevent understanding. Verse 12 states the principle: those who receive will be given more, and those who refuse will lose even what they have.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Moses told Israel, “To this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear” (Deuteronomy 29:4). Jeremiah and Ezekiel speak to a people “who have eyes but see not” (Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2). Paul applies these texts to Israel’s partial hardening (Romans 11:8).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Interpreters differ on how parables relate to hardening. Some, especially in the Reformed tradition, stress God’s sovereign judgment: the parables both reveal to disciples and conceal from those who refuse. Others, including many Arminian and Catholic interpreters, stress human responsibility: the parables were a merciful way of teaching that left hearers free, while confirming those who had already closed their hearts. Matthew’s “because” places the emphasis on the hearers’ prior refusal.

e 13:15 — and I would heal them (καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς / kai iasomai autous) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: Isaiah 6:9–10 quoted word for word from the Septuagint, set in capitals and in red as Jesus’ words. “With hearing you will hear” (ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε akoē akousete) reproduces a Hebrew idiom of emphasis (infinitive with a finite verb); TWB keeps the form. The Hebrew of Isaiah is a command to the prophet (“Make the heart of this people dull”); the Septuagint and Matthew describe what the people themselves have done (“the heart of this people has grown dull”). ἐπιστρέφω epistrephō, “turn,” is the language of repentance.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: This passage is quoted in all four Gospels and in Acts: by Jesus here and in Mark 4:12 and Luke 8:10, by John to explain unbelief (John 12:40), and by Paul at the close of Acts (Acts 28:26–27). It is the most quoted explanation of unbelief in the New Testament.

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Isaiah 6 is a Divine Council scene. Isaiah sees the Lord “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,” with seraphim calling “Holy, holy, holy,” and hears Him ask the council, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:1–8). The prophet volunteers and receives this hard message. Micaiah’s vision of the Lord’s throne and host (1 Kings 22:19–23) is a close parallel. Jesus places His own ministry in that setting: He speaks as one sent from God’s throne, and His hearers’ response repeats Israel’s response in Isaiah’s day.

f 13:19 — the evil one comes and snatches away (ἔρχεται ὁ πονηρὸς καὶ ἁρπάζει / erchetai ho ponēros kai harpazei) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ὁ πονηρός ho ponēros, “the evil one,” is Matthew’s title for Satan, as in 5:37, 6:13, and 13:38; Mark has “Satan” here (Mark 4:15) and Luke “the devil” (Luke 8:12). ἁρπάζω harpazō means to seize or snatch. “The word of the kingdom” (ὁ λόγος τῆς βασιλείας ho logos tēs basileias) is the message Jesus proclaims.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The birds of 13:4 represent the evil one. Paul writes that “the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 4:4). John says the evil one does not touch the one born of God (1 John 5:18). Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: The image of birds as agents of an evil power was already familiar. Jubilees tells that “the prince Mastema sent ravens and birds to devour the seed which was sown in the land,” so that the people went hungry, until young Abram drove the birds away (Jubilees 11:11–24). Within the Divine Council worldview, the hostile powers work against God’s word before it can take root. The disciples are warned that understanding the word is part of a spiritual conflict.

g 13:21 — he takes offense (σκανδαλίζεται / skandalizetai) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: σκανδαλίζω skandalizō, from σκάνδαλον skandalon, the trigger of a trap or a stumbling stone, means to cause to stumble, to fall away, or to give offense. In the passive, as here, it means to be offended, to stumble over something and fall away. TWB renders it “take offense” for natural English (11:6; 13:21, 57) and records the image of the trap or stumbling stone here. Its noun appears in 13:41 as “causes of stumbling.” πρόσκαιρος proskairos means “temporary, lasting only for a time.” θλῖψις thlipsis is “tribulation,” as in the TWB note on 7:14.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Jesus warns that in the last days “many will stumble” (Matthew 24:10), and tells the disciples, “You will all stumble because of Me this night” (Matthew 26:31). Luke says such people “believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away” (Luke 8:13). Hebrews warns against “an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: The rocky ground describes thin soil over limestone bedrock, common in Galilee, where seed sprouts quickly in the warm soil but cannot root. Christians have read the “temporary” hearer differently: some see a person whose faith was never genuine, others a real believer who later falls away. The question belongs to the wider debate on perseverance (see the note on 10:22).

h 13:22 — the deceitfulness of wealth (ἡ ἀπάτη τοῦ πλούτου / hē apatē tou ploutou) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ἀπάτη apatē is deceit or seductiveness, and πλοῦτος ploutos wealth. “The anxiety of the age” (ἡ μέριμνα τοῦ αἰῶνος hē merimna tou aiōnos) uses the noun of the verb in 6:25–34. NA28 reads “the age”; the Majority Text and Textus Receptus read “this age.” ἄκαρπος akarpos means “unfruitful.”

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Jesus has already set anxiety and wealth together: “You cannot serve God and wealth … do not be anxious” (Matthew 6:24–25). The rich young man goes away grieving, “for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:22). Paul warns that “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare” (1 Timothy 6:9).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Thorns and thistles grew fast in Galilean fields and choked the grain. In a world where most people lived near subsistence and a few held great estates, both anxiety over survival and the pursuit of riches could crowd out the word. Jesus names both: the poor man’s worry and the rich man’s illusion.

i 13:25 — his enemy came and sowed weeds (ἦλθεν αὐτοῦ ὁ ἐχθρὸς καὶ ἐπέσπειρεν ζιζάνια / ēlthen autou ho echthros kai epespeiren zizania) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ζιζάνιον zizanion is darnel (Lolium temulentum), a weed closely resembling wheat until it heads out; its grain can carry a fungus that makes it toxic. TWB renders “weeds” for readers, and the King James Version’s “tares” refers to the same plant. ἐπισπείρω epispeirō means to sow over or on top of. The enemy is identified in 13:39 as the devil.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: God put enmity between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s seed (Genesis 3:15), and Jesus will call the weeds “the sons of the evil one” (Matthew 13:38). “Sow not among thorns” (Jeremiah 4:3).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Sowing darnel in an enemy’s field was a real act of malice: Roman law later addressed the case of someone who sowed darnel in another’s crop (Justinian’s Digest 9.2.27.14, citing the jurist Celsus). Farmers usually weeded early, but darnel could not be safely told apart from wheat until the heads appeared, when the roots were already intertwined, so the owner waited until harvest to separate them.

j 13:30 — Let both grow together until the harvest (ἄφετε συναυξάνεσθαι ἀμφότερα ἕως τοῦ θερισμοῦ / aphete synauxanesthai amphotera heōs tou therismou) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: συναυξάνομαι synauxanomai means to grow together. θερισμός therismos is harvest, the image of final judgment (see the note on 9:38). δέσμη desmē is a bundle, and ἀποθήκη apothēkē a barn. The parable is unique to Matthew. For “until,” NA28 reads ἕως heōs; the SBL edition, following Codex Vaticanus, reads μέχρι mechri, with the same meaning.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: John the Baptist foretold that the coming one would gather the wheat into the barn and burn the chaff (Matthew 3:12). Paul says, “Do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes” (1 Corinthians 4:5). Jesus later gives His community a procedure for discipline (Matthew 18:15–17). Jesus explains that “the field is the world” (13:38).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Jewish groups of the period sought to form a pure community now: the Qumran sect separated from Israel to be “the sons of light.” Jesus teaches that the final separation belongs to God at the harvest, not to His servants now. Christians have applied the parable in different ways. Augustine used it against the Donatists to argue that the church on earth is a mixed body. Others point out that the field is the world, not the church, and that the parable concerns patience toward the wicked in the world rather than church discipline.

k 13:32 — becomes a tree … the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches (γίνεται δένδρον … τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ … κατασκηνοῦν ἐν τοῖς κλάδοις αὐτοῦ / ginetai dendron … ta peteina tou ouranou … kataskēnoun en tois kladois autou) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: σίναπι sinapi is mustard (black mustard, Brassica nigra), whose seed was proverbial for smallness (17:20). It grows to a large shrub of eight to ten feet (about three meters); calling it a “tree” (δένδρον dendron) is deliberate, to evoke the great trees of prophecy. The words about the birds echo several Old Testament passages without quoting any one exactly, so they are not set in capitals.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: In Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom is a great tree in which “the birds of the heavens lived in its branches” (Daniel 4:12, 21). In Ezekiel, the Lord plants a cedar on the mountain of Israel, and “under it will dwell every kind of bird” (Ezekiel 17:23). Assyria is a cedar in whose boughs all the birds nested, a tree that “all the trees of Eden, in the garden of God, envied” (Ezekiel 31:6, 9).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: In the prophets the great tree is a kingdom, and the birds nesting in it are the nations finding shelter there. Ezekiel 31 sets the great tree in Eden, the garden of God, the meeting place of God and His council (compare Ezekiel 28:13–14). Jesus pictures God’s kingdom starting from the smallest of seeds and becoming the great tree in which the nations nest, the same reclaiming of the nations promised in 8:11 and 12:21. Some interpreters read the birds negatively, as in 13:4 and 13:19, but the Old Testament background favors shelter for the nations.

l 13:33 — three measures of flour (ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία / aleurou sata tria) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ζύμη zymē is leaven, a piece of fermented dough kept back from an earlier batch, not modern dry yeast. σάτον saton transliterates the Hebrew סְאָה səʾâ, a measure of about 13 liters (3.5 gallons) of dry goods. Three measures, about 40 liters of flour, would make bread for well over a hundred people. ἐγκρύπτω enkryptō, “hid,” connects to the hidden treasure of 13:44 and the hidden things of 13:35.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Sarah baked cakes from “three measures of fine flour” for the Lord and His two companions at Mamre (Genesis 18:6). Leaven is usually an image of corrupting influence: “the leaven of the Pharisees” (Matthew 16:6), and “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6). Israel removed leaven at Passover (Exodus 12:15).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: The parable is surprising on two counts: leaven was ordinarily a negative image, and the quantity is enormous for a household. Most interpreters take the point as the hidden but unstoppable spread of the kingdom through the whole. Some see a deliberate echo of Sarah’s hospitality to the Lord in Genesis 18, a meal prepared for God’s own visit.

m 13:35 — things hidden since the foundation of the world (κεκρυμμένα ἀπὸ καταβολῆς [κόσμου] / kekrymmena apo katabolēs [kosmou]) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: A citation of Psalm 78:2, set in capitals. The first line matches the Septuagint (Psalm 77:2); the second is closer to the Hebrew, “I will pour out riddles from of old.” ἐρεύγομαι ereugomai means to pour forth, utter. καταβολή katabolē is a foundation or laying down. NA28 prints “of the world” (κόσμου kosmou) in brackets because some early manuscripts lack it; TWB includes it. A few manuscripts, including the original hand of Codex Sinaiticus, name the prophet as “Isaiah.”

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Psalm 78 is a psalm of Asaph, whom 2 Chronicles 29:30 calls “the seer,” which explains why Matthew can call him “the prophet.” The psalm retells Israel’s history as a lesson. The same phrase “from the foundation of the world” describes the kingdom prepared for the righteous (Matthew 25:34). Paul speaks of the mystery hidden for ages and now revealed (Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:26).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Asaph’s “parables” were the hidden lessons in Israel’s story; Matthew says that Jesus’ parables bring to light what God had kept hidden from the beginning. The reading “Isaiah” is best explained as an early scribe attaching the most famous prophet’s name; TWB follows NA28.

Variant record: main text “since the foundation of the world (ἀπὸ καταβολῆς [κόσμου], apo katabolēs [kosmou])”; alternative “since the foundation (ἀπὸ καταβολῆς, apo katabolēs), without “of the world””. Witnesses: NA28: main (“of the world” in brackets); Codex Vaticanus: alternative; SBL Greek New Testament: alternative; Majority Text: main; Textus Receptus: main. Decision: NA28 reading retained.

n 13:38 — the sons of the kingdom … the sons of the evil one (οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς βασιλείας … οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ πονηροῦ / hoi huioi tēs basileias … hoi huioi tou ponērou) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: “Sons of …” is a Semitic idiom for those who belong to or share the character of something. κόσμος kosmos is the world. In 8:12 “the sons of the kingdom” were the expected heirs who were cast out; here the phrase names those who truly belong to the kingdom.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15) runs through Scripture. Jesus tells His opponents, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44), and John writes, “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil” (1 John 3:10). Paul calls Elymas “son of the devil” (Acts 13:10).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: The Qumran War Scroll and Rule of the Community divide humanity into “sons of light” and “sons of darkness,” led respectively by the Prince of Light and the Angel of Darkness (1QS 3:20–21). Within the Divine Council worldview, people belong to one of two realms, God’s kingdom or the domain of the rebellious powers, and the final harvest reveals which. Jesus makes the Son of Man the sower and the devil the enemy, so the human story is set within that larger conflict.

o 13:39 — the end of the age, and the reapers are angels (συντέλεια αἰῶνός ἐστιν, οἱ δὲ θερισταὶ ἄγγελοί εἰσιν / synteleia aiōnos estin, hoi de theristai angeloi eisin) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: συντέλεια synteleia is completion or consummation; “the end of the age” is a phrase found only in Matthew in the Gospels (13:39, 40, 49; 24:3; 28:20). θεριστής theristēs is a reaper. ἄγγελος angelos here means heavenly messengers. The Son of Man “will send out His angels” (13:41): the angels are His.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The Son of Man will send His angels with a loud trumpet to gather His elect (Matthew 24:31) and will come in glory “and all the angels with Him” (Matthew 25:31). Daniel speaks of “the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4). Revelation pictures an angel calling the one on the cloud to reap the harvest of the earth (Revelation 14:14–16).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: In Jewish apocalyptic writing, angels execute God’s judgment at the end: in 1 Enoch the angels of punishment prepare the instruments of judgment, and the holy ones gather the righteous (1 Enoch 53:3–5; 100:4). Within the Divine Council worldview, the heavenly host serves God as His agents. That the angels are sent by the Son of Man places Jesus at the head of the heavenly host, a role Daniel 7 and 1 Enoch give to God or His chosen one.

p 13:41 — all causes of stumbling and those who practice lawlessness (πάντα τὰ σκάνδαλα καὶ τοὺς ποιοῦντας τὴν ἀνομίαν / panta ta skandala kai tous poiountas tēn anomian) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: σκάνδαλον skandalon, the noun of the verb in 13:21, is a trap or stumbling block, anything that leads others into sin. ἀνομία anomia is “lawlessness,” as in 7:23. The judgment removes both what causes sin and those who do it.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Zephaniah announces that the Lord will sweep away everything from the earth, including, in the Hebrew, “the stumbling blocks with the wicked” (וְהַמַּכְשֵׁלוֹת אֶת־הָרְשָׁעִים wəhammaḵšēlôṯ ʾeṯ-hārəšāʿîm, Zephaniah 1:3), a close parallel to Jesus’ words. “Woe to the world for causes of stumbling!” (Matthew 18:7). Jesus already said, “depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: In Jewish hope, the age to come would be cleansed of every evil influence. Jesus speaks of the Son of Man’s kingdom as already containing both good and evil until the harvest, when His angels will purify it. For Matthew’s readers, the warning applied inside the community of disciples as well as outside it.

q 13:42 — the furnace of fire (τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρός / tēn kaminon tou pyros) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: κάμινος kaminos is a furnace or kiln. “The furnace of fire” is the Septuagint’s phrase for Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace in Daniel 3:6 (τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρὸς τὴν καιομένην tēn kaminon tou pyros tēn kaiomenēn); it is a brief echo rather than a full citation. On “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” see the note on 8:12.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Nebuchadnezzar threatened to throw into “the burning fiery furnace” anyone who would not worship his image (Daniel 3:6), and God delivered the faithful from it. Malachi foresees “the day … burning like an oven” (Malachi 4:1). Jesus speaks of the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), and Revelation of “the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Jewish apocalyptic writings use the same image: “the furnace of Gehenna shall be disclosed, and opposite it the paradise of delight” (4 Ezra 7:36). Matthew’s readers would hear the reversal of Daniel 3: the furnace once used against God’s faithful becomes the place of judgment for those who oppose Him.

r 13:43 — the righteous will shine like the sun (οἱ δίκαιοι ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος / hoi dikaioi eklampsousin hōs ho hēlios) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ἐκλάμπω eklampō means to shine out, blaze forth. The wording echoes Daniel 12:3 (Septuagint ἐκλάμψουσιν eklampsousin) without quoting it, so it is not in capitals. “The kingdom of their Father” is the final kingdom. “The one who has ears, let him hear” repeats 13:9.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky … like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). Deborah’s song ends, “May Your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might” (Judges 5:31). At the transfiguration Jesus’ face “shone like the sun” (Matthew 17:2), and Paul compares the resurrection body to the glory of the stars (1 Corinthians 15:41).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: In Jewish expectation the righteous would share the glory of the heavenly host: “you shall shine like the lights of heaven … the portals of heaven shall be opened to you” (1 Enoch 104:2); their faces will shine like the sun and they will be like the stars (4 Ezra 7:97, 125). Within the Divine Council worldview, stars were associated with heavenly beings (Job 38:7), and the righteous are pictured as raised to a glory like theirs (compare Matthew 22:30).

s 13:44 — treasure hidden in the field (θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ / thēsaurō kekrymmenō en tō agrō) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: θησαυρός thēsauros is treasure, as in 6:19–21 and 13:52. “In his joy” (ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ apo tēs charas autou) is the motive: he sells everything not grudgingly but gladly. The pearl merchant (13:45–46) makes the same point with a different person: one stumbles on the treasure, the other searches for it.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Wisdom is to be sought “as for hidden treasures” (Proverbs 2:4). “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Paul counts everything as loss “because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: In a land often crossed by armies, people buried valuables in the ground for safekeeping, and many never returned to recover them. The Dead Sea Copper Scroll (3Q15) lists dozens of hidden treasures and their locations. Later rabbinic law discussed who owned treasure found in a field, which helps explain why the man buys the field before claiming it. The parable’s point is not the legal question but the surpassing worth of the kingdom.

t 13:47 — a net … gathering fish of every kind (σαγήνῃ … ἐκ παντὸς γένους συναγαγούσῃ / sagēnē … ek pantos genous synagagousē) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: σαγήνη sagēnē is a dragnet or seine, a long net weighted at the bottom and floated at the top, drawn to shore by boats or by people on land. “Of every kind” (ἐκ παντὸς γένους ek pantos genous) includes edible and inedible fish. σαπρός sapros, “bad” (13:48), is the word for the “rotten” tree in 7:17.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The Law allowed eating only fish with fins and scales; the rest were unclean (Leviticus 11:9–12). Ezekiel pictures fishermen spreading nets on a renewed Dead Sea, with fish “of very many kinds” (Ezekiel 47:10). Jesus called fishermen to become “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19), and in the wedding feast parable the servants gather “both bad and good” (Matthew 22:10).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Fishermen on the Sea of Galilee sorted their catch on the shore, keeping the clean, marketable fish and throwing back catfish and other unclean species. Like the weeds, the net gathers all kinds; the sorting comes at the end and belongs to the angels. Some interpreters see in “every kind” a hint of the nations brought into the kingdom.

u 13:52 — every scribe who has been made a disciple for the kingdom (πᾶς γραμματεὺς μαθητευθεὶς τῇ βασιλείᾳ / pas grammateus mathēteutheis tē basileia) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: μαθητεύω mathēteuō, “to make a disciple,” is the verb of the Great Commission (28:19). γραμματεύς grammateus is a scribe, a trained teacher of the Law. οἰκοδεσπότης oikodespotēs is the master of a household (compare 10:25; 13:27). “New and old” (καινὰ καὶ παλαιά kaina kai palaia) puts the new first. The disciples’ “Yes” (13:51) is their answer; NA28 lacks the words “Jesus said to them” and “Lord,” which the Textus Receptus adds.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Ezra was “a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses” (Ezra 7:6, 10). Jesus came not to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17), and He sends “prophets and wise men and scribes” (Matthew 23:34). New wine needs fresh wineskins, “and both are preserved” (Matthew 9:17).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Many interpreters see in this verse a portrait of Matthew himself, and of the teachers in his community: Jewish scribes who had become disciples of Jesus and taught the Scriptures of Israel in the light of His kingdom. The household’s treasure includes both the old revelation and its new fulfillment; neither is thrown away.

v 13:55 — the carpenter’s son … His brothers (ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός … οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ / ho tou tektonos huios … hoi adelphoi autou) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: τέκτων tektōn is a builder or craftsman in wood or stone; “carpenter” is the traditional rendering. Mark calls Jesus Himself “the carpenter” (Mark 6:3). ἀδελφός adelphos ordinarily means a brother, but in biblical usage it can also refer to other close relatives (Genesis 13:8, where Lot is Abraham’s nephew). NA28 reads “Joseph” (Ἰωσήφ Iōsēph); the Majority Text and Textus Receptus read “Joses” (Ἰωσῆς Iōsēs), as in Mark 6:3. Townspeople are speaking, so the words are not colored.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: James “the Lord’s brother” led the church in Jerusalem (Galatians 1:19; Acts 15:13), and Jude calls himself “a brother of James” (Jude 1). Jesus’ brothers did not believe in Him during His ministry (John 7:5) but are with the disciples after the resurrection (Acts 1:14). Matthew says Joseph “did not know her until she had given birth to a Son” (Matthew 1:25).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Christians have understood the brothers and sisters of Jesus in three ways. Most Protestants hold that they were children of Joseph and Mary born after Jesus. The Orthodox, following Epiphanius and the second-century Protevangelium of James, hold that they were Joseph’s children from an earlier marriage. Catholic teaching, following Jerome, holds that they were cousins or other relatives, in keeping with Mary’s perpetual virginity. All three views read “brothers” as a real family relationship; they differ on which one. TWB translates ἀδελφοί adelphoi as “brothers,” as the word reads, and records the views here.

Variant record: main text “Joseph (Ἰωσήφ, Iōsēph)”; alternative “Joses (Ἰωσῆς, Iōsēs)”. Witnesses: NA28: main; Codex Vaticanus: main; Majority Text: alternative; Textus Receptus: alternative. Decision: NA28 reading retained.

w 13:57 — A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown (οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ πατρίδι / ouk estin prophētēs atimos ei mē en tē patridi) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ἄτιμος atimos means “without honor, dishonored.” πατρίς patris is one’s hometown or native land; Nazareth is meant (2:23), though it is not named here. “They took offense at Him” renders ἐσκανδαλίζοντο eskandalizonto, literally “they were caused to stumble,” the verb of 11:6 and 13:21 (see the note on 13:21). In 13:58 Matthew says Jesus “did not do” many mighty works there; Mark says He “could not” (Mark 6:5).

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The men of Anathoth, Jeremiah’s own town, sought his life (Jeremiah 11:21). All four Gospels record this proverb (Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24; John 4:44). Joseph’s brothers rejected him, and Moses was rejected by his own people (Acts 7:9, 35).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: In a village of a few hundred people, everyone knew Jesus’ family and trade, and honor was tied to family standing. The townspeople could not reconcile the carpenter’s son they knew with the wisdom and mighty works they heard of. Matthew closes the parables discourse with this rejection, showing in Jesus’ own town the unseeing response described in 13:13–15.