Matthew

Chapter 15

The Tradition of the Elders

1Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from , saying, 2“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”a 3And He answered and said to them, “And why do you yourselves break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.’b 5But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is a gift to God,”c 6he need not honor his father.’ And so you have nullified the word of God for the sake of your tradition.d 7Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

8‘This people honors Me with their lips,but their heart is far away from Me;9and in vain do they worship Me,teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”e

What Defiles a Person

10And summoning the crowd, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a person.”f 12Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard this saying?” 13But He answered and said, “Every plant that My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.g 14Leave them; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”h 15And Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16And He said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not perceive that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled into the latrine? 18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders.i 20These are what defile a person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21And Jesus went away from there and withdrew into the district of and .j 22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely demon-possessed.”k 23But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and were urging Him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”l 25But she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”m 27And she said, “Yes, Lord; for even the little dogs eat from the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith; let it be done for you as you wish.”n And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Many Healed beside the Sea of Galilee

29And going on from there, Jesus came beside the ; and going up on the mountain, He was sitting there. 30And great crowds came to Him, having with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they laid them at His feet; and He healed them, 31so that the crowd marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.o

The Feeding of the Four Thousand

32Then Jesus summoned His disciples and said, “I feel compassion for the crowd, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33And the disciples said to Him, “Where would we get enough bread in a desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?” 34And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.p 37And they all ate and were satisfied; and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full.q 38And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39And after sending away the crowds, He got into the boat and came to the region of .r

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Context & Translation Notes

Original Reader Horizon • Lexical & Canonical Mesh

a 15:2 — the tradition of the elders (τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων / tēn paradosin tōn presbyterōn) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: παράδοσις paradosis is something handed down, a tradition. “The elders” (οἱ πρεσβύτεροι hoi presbyteroi) are the earlier teachers whose interpretations were passed on. παραβαίνω parabainō means to step beyond, transgress. Mark explains the custom for Gentile readers: the Pharisees and all the Jews wash their hands before eating, “holding to the tradition of the elders” (Mark 7:3–4).

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The Law required priests to wash their hands and feet before serving at the altar (Exodus 30:19–21), and a person with a discharge to rinse his hands (Leviticus 15:11). It did not require ordinary Israelites to wash before meals. Paul was “zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14), and later warns against “human tradition” (Colossians 2:8) while urging believers to hold to the apostolic traditions (2 Thessalonians 2:15).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Josephus says the Pharisees passed on to the people “certain regulations handed down by the fathers, which are not written in the laws of Moses” (Antiquities 13.297). Later rabbinic teaching traced this oral law in a chain from Moses through the elders (Mishnah Avot 1:1), and an entire tractate of the Mishnah (Yadayim, “Hands”) concerns handwashing. Extending priestly purity to every Israelite table was a Pharisaic ideal, rooted in the call for Israel to be “a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6).

b 15:4 — Honor your father and mother (τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα / tima ton patera kai tēn mētera) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: Two citations, set in capitals and in red as Jesus’ words: the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) and the penalty for cursing a parent (Exodus 21:17). The words are God’s, quoted by Jesus, so they keep Jesus’ color. κακολογέω kakologeō means to speak evil of, revile. “Let him surely die” renders θανάτῳ τελευτάτω thanatō teleutatō, literally “let him end by death,” a Hebrew idiom of emphasis. NA28 reads “God said” (ὁ θεὸς εἶπεν ho theos eipen); the Majority Text and Textus Receptus read “God commanded, saying.”

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The penalty is repeated in Leviticus 20:9, and Proverbs warns that the lamp of one who curses father or mother will be put out (Proverbs 20:20). Paul calls the fifth commandment “the first commandment with a promise” (Ephesians 6:2). Jesus will list it again for the rich young man (Matthew 19:19).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Honoring parents included supporting them in old age, a duty all Jewish teachers affirmed; Ben Sira says, “Whoever forsakes his father is like a blasphemer” (Sirach 3:16). Jesus contrasts what “God said” with what “you say” (15:5), placing the written command of God above the tradition of the elders. TWB follows NA28; “commanded, saying” is best explained as a scribal expansion.

Variant record: main text “God said (ὁ θεὸς εἶπεν, ho theos eipen)”; alternative “God commanded, saying (ὁ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, ho theos eneteilato legōn)”. Witnesses: NA28: main; Codex Sinaiticus (original hand): main; Codex Vaticanus: main; Majority Text: alternative; Textus Receptus: alternative. Decision: NA28 reading retained.

c 15:5 — a gift to God (δῶρον / dōron) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: δῶρον dōron means a gift, here an offering dedicated to God, as at the altar in 5:23–24. Matthew writes only “a gift.” Because “a gift” alone would leave English readers unsure what the vow did, TWB adds “to God” under its principle of restrained dynamic clarity: the words declared the property dedicated to God, and Mark says so explicitly. Mark gives the Hebrew term, κορβᾶν korban, “Corban, that is, given to God” (Mark 7:11), from קָרְבָּן qorbān, an offering.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The Law took vows seriously: “If a man vows a vow to the Lord … he shall not break his word” (Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21). Things devoted to the Lord could not be redeemed (Leviticus 27:28). Jesus later criticizes the scribes’ rules about swearing by the gift on the altar (Matthew 23:18–19).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: A person could declare property “Corban,” dedicated to God, which barred others, including parents, from benefiting from it, even if the owner kept using it. An ossuary inscription from Jerusalem uses the word קרבן qrbn in this sense. Later rabbis themselves allowed such a vow to be released when it harmed one’s parents (Mishnah Nedarim 9:1), showing that Jesus’ criticism addressed a real abuse that some Jewish teachers also recognized.

d 15:6 — you have nullified the word of God (ἠκυρώσατε τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ / ēkyrōsate ton logon tou theou) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ἀκυρόω akyroō means to make invalid, cancel, as a legal term for voiding a contract (compare Galatians 3:17). “He need not honor his father” renders οὐ μὴ τιμήσει τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ ou mē timēsei ton patera autou, literally “he shall not honor his father,” meaning that he is released from the duty. NA28 reads “the word” (τὸν λόγον ton logon) of God; the Majority Text and Textus Receptus read “the commandment” (τὴν ἐντολήν tēn entolēn), and some manuscripts “the law” (τὸν νόμον ton nomon).

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Jesus came “not to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17), and warned against relaxing even the least commandment (Matthew 5:19). “It is time for the Lord to act, for Your law has been broken” (Psalm 119:126).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Jesus does not reject tradition as such but any tradition that cancels what God commanded. The charge would have stung, since the Pharisees saw their traditions as a fence protecting the Law (Mishnah Avot 1:1). TWB follows NA28; “commandment” is best explained as scribes matching 15:3, and “law” as a further variation.

Variant record: main text “the word of God (τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, ton logon tou theou)”; alternative “the commandment of God (τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ, tēn entolēn tou theou); or the law of God (τὸν νόμον τοῦ θεοῦ, ton nomon tou theou)”. Witnesses: NA28: main; Codex Vaticanus: main; Majority Text: commandment; Textus Receptus: commandment. Decision: NA28 reading retained.

e 15:9 — in vain do they worship Me (μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με / matēn de sebontai me) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: A citation of Isaiah 29:13, set in capitals and in red. Matthew follows the Septuagint, which reads “in vain do they worship Me, teaching commandments and doctrines of men.” The Hebrew reads, “their fear of Me is a commandment of men learned by rote.” σέβομαι sebomai means to worship, revere. “Hypocrites!” (15:7) recalls 6:2. The Majority Text and Textus Receptus add “draws near to Me with their mouth and” before “honors Me with their lips,” following a fuller form of Isaiah 29:13.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Mark records the same quotation (Mark 7:6–7). Ezekiel’s hearers “with their lips show much love, but their heart is set on their gain” (Ezekiel 33:31). Paul warns against rules that are “human precepts and teachings” (Colossians 2:22; compare Titus 1:14).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Isaiah spoke to Jerusalem in the days of King Hezekiah, when worship went on outwardly while the people’s hearts were far from God. Jesus applies the prophet’s words to the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem (15:1), the same city. The contrast between lips and heart prepares for the teaching on defilement that follows.

Variant record: main text “This people honors Me with their lips (ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τοῖς χείλεσίν με τιμᾷ, ho laos houtos tois cheilesin me tima)”; alternative “This people draws near to Me with their mouth and honors Me with their lips (ἐγγίζει μοι ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν καὶ τοῖς χείλεσίν με τιμᾷ, engizei moi ho laos houtos tō stomati autōn kai tois cheilesin me tima)”. Witnesses: NA28: main; Codex Sinaiticus: main; Codex Vaticanus: main; Majority Text: alternative; Textus Receptus: alternative. Decision: NA28 reading retained.

f 15:11 — what goes into the mouth … defiles a person (τὸ εἰσερχόμενον εἰς τὸ στόμα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον / to eiserchomenon eis to stoma koinoi ton anthrōpon) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: κοινόω koinoō means to make common, that is, ritually unclean (from κοινός koinos, “common”). Mark adds the narrator’s comment, “Thus He declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:19); Matthew does not include it, and closes the discussion with handwashing (15:20). ἀφεδρών aphedrōn (15:17) is a latrine.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The Law distinguished clean and unclean foods (Leviticus 11:47). Peter protested in his vision, “I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean,” and heard, “What God has made clean, do not call common” (Acts 10:14–15). Paul writes, “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself” (Romans 14:14). Jesus calls the Pharisees to “first clean the inside of the cup” (Matthew 23:26).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Purity laws marked Israel as set apart, and food laws were among the most visible signs of Jewish identity in the Greco-Roman world. Jesus moves the source of real defilement from the outside to the heart. Interpreters differ on how far this saying reaches in Matthew: many hold that it sets aside the food laws, as Mark states; others, noting that Matthew ends with handwashing, read it as addressing the Pharisees’ tradition rather than the written food laws, which the church settled later (Acts 10; 15).

g 15:13 — Every plant that My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted (πᾶσα φυτεία ἣν οὐκ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ οὐράνιος ἐκριζωθήσεται / pasa phyteia hēn ouk ephyteusen ho patēr mou ho ouranios ekrizōthēsetai) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: φυτεία phyteia is a plant or planting. ἐκριζόω ekrizoō, “uproot,” is the verb used in the parable of the weeds (13:29). “Took offense” (15:12) renders ἐσκανδαλίσθησαν eskandalisthēsan; see the note on 13:21.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Israel is pictured as God’s planting: “the branch of My planting, the work of My hands” (Isaiah 60:21), “oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord” (Isaiah 61:3). “I will plant them, and not uproot them” (Jeremiah 24:6). In the parable of the weeds, the uprooting belongs to the harvest (Matthew 13:29–30).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Jewish groups described the true Israel as God’s planting: 1 Enoch speaks of “the plant of righteousness and truth” (1 Enoch 10:16), and the Qumran community called itself “an everlasting planting” (1QS 8:5). Jesus implies that the Pharisees’ authority does not come from His Father, and that their influence will not last.

h 15:14 — blind guides of the blind (τυφλοί εἰσιν ὁδηγοὶ τυφλῶν / typhloi eisin hodēgoi typhlōn) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ὁδηγός hodēgos is a guide, one who leads the way. NA28 prints “of the blind” (τυφλῶν typhlōn) in brackets because some early manuscripts lack it; TWB includes it. βόθυνος bothynos is the pit of 12:11.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Paul describes the teacher of the Law who is sure he is “a guide to the blind” (Romans 2:19). Jesus will call the scribes and Pharisees “blind guides” five times in chapter 23 (23:16, 17, 19, 24, 26). Luke records the saying as a parable (Luke 6:39). Isaiah calls Israel’s watchmen blind (Isaiah 56:10).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: The Pharisees saw themselves as guides of the people in the Law, and many ordinary Jews respected them as such. Jesus turns their claim around: guides who are blind lead their followers into the same pit. The image of falling into a pit was proverbial for disaster.

i 15:19 — evil thoughts, murders, adulteries (διαλογισμοὶ πονηροί, φόνοι, μοιχεῖαι / dialogismoi ponēroi, phonoi, moicheiai) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: καρδία kardia, “heart,” is the center of thought, will, and feeling. After “evil thoughts,” the list follows the order of the sixth to ninth commandments: murders, adulteries (with sexual immoralities, πορνεῖαι porneiai), thefts, and false testimonies (ψευδομαρτυρίαι pseudomartyriai). βλασφημίαι blasphēmiai here means slanders against people; in 12:31 the same word is used of blasphemy against God.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The commandments forbid murder, adultery, theft, and false witness (Exodus 20:13–16). “The heart is deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9), and before the flood “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Mark’s list is longer (Mark 7:21–22); Paul gives a similar list of “the works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19–21).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Jewish writers also taught that sin begins in the heart: the Testament of Reuben traces sins to spirits of deceit working through the senses (Testament of Reuben 3:3–6). Jesus’ point is that keeping outward purity rules cannot cleanse a heart from which the sins of the Ten Commandments come.

j 15:21 — withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon (ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὰ μέρη Τύρου καὶ Σιδῶνος / anechōrēsen eis ta merē Tyrou kai Sidōnos) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: μέρη merē means “parts, district.” Jesus “withdrew” (ἀνεχώρησεν anechōrēsen) again, this time after the dispute with the Pharisees (see the note on 14:13). The woman “came out” (ἐξελθοῦσα exelthousa) from that region, which may mean she crossed toward Jesus at the border.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Elijah was sent to a widow of Zarephath, “which belongs to Sidon,” whose son he restored to life (1 Kings 17:9–24); Jesus recalls this in Nazareth (Luke 4:26). Jesus said Tyre and Sidon would have repented if they had seen His works (Matthew 11:21). People from around Tyre and Sidon had already come to hear Him (Mark 3:8).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities on the Phoenician coast, part of the Roman province of Syria. Their territory bordered Galilee, and Josephus calls the Tyrians “our bitterest enemies” (Against Apion 1.70). Jesus’ withdrawal takes Him to the edge of Gentile land, as Elijah had gone before Him.

k 15:22 — a Canaanite woman … Son of David (γυνὴ Χαναναία … υἱὸς Δαυίδ / gynē Chananaia … huios Dauid) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: Χαναναία Chananaia, “Canaanite,” is an old biblical name; Mark calls her “a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth” (Mark 7:26), the term of his own day. Matthew’s choice recalls Israel’s ancient enemies. She addresses Jesus with Israel’s messianic title, “Son of David” (see the note on 9:27). NA28 reads the nominative υἱός huios used as an address, as in 9:27. κακῶς δαιμονίζεται kakōs daimonizetai means “is badly demon-possessed.”

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Sidon was Canaan’s firstborn (Genesis 10:15), and the Canaanites were the peoples Israel was to drive out (Deuteronomy 7:1). Solomon followed Ashtoreth, “the goddess of the Sidonians” (1 Kings 11:5), and Ahab married Jezebel, daughter of the king of the Sidonians, and served Baal (1 Kings 16:31). Yet Matthew’s genealogy includes the Canaanite Rahab, who confessed Israel’s God (Matthew 1:5; Joshua 2:11).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Within the Divine Council worldview, Canaan was the land of Baal and Ashtoreth, the gods Israel was warned against, and Sidon was a center of their worship. A Canaanite mother whose daughter is oppressed by a demon comes to Israel’s Messiah and calls Him “Lord.” Matthew presents her as one of the nations, once given over to other powers, now seeking the God of Israel through His anointed king.

l 15:24 — I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (οὐκ ἀπεστάλην εἰ μὴ εἰς τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ / ouk apestalēn ei mē eis ta probata ta apolōlota oikou Israēl) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ἀπεστάλην apestalēn, “I was sent,” is a divine passive: the Father sent Him. The words repeat Jesus’ instruction to the Twelve (10:6; see the note on 10:5). ἀπολωλότα apolōlota, “lost,” is a perfect participle of ἀπόλλυμι apollymi.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: God promised, “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed” (Ezekiel 34:16). Paul writes that Christ became “a servant to the circumcised … in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy” (Romans 15:8–9). The Servant is to restore Israel and also to be a light for the nations (Isaiah 49:6), and the risen Jesus sends His disciples to all nations (Matthew 28:19).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Jesus’ mission followed the order of God’s promises: Israel first, then the nations. The woman does not dispute the order; she asks for a share of what overflows from it. Interpreters differ on why Jesus first refuses her: some see a test that draws out her faith, others a genuine statement of His mission that her faith then moves Him to extend, and others a lesson for the disciples, who wanted her sent away.

m 15:26 — the little dogs (τοῖς κυναρίοις / tois kynariois) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: κυνάριον kynarion is a diminutive of κύων kyōn (“dog”), meaning a small dog, a household dog. It is a different word from the street dogs of 7:6. TWB renders “little dogs” to keep the diminutive, because the woman’s reply depends on the picture of household pets fed under the family table. The woman takes up Jesus’ own word: even the little dogs eat the crumbs (ψιχία psichia) from their masters’ table (15:27). Mark adds “Let the children be fed first” (Mark 7:27).

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Jesus warned against giving what is holy to dogs (Matthew 7:6). Paul turns the insult against the Judaizers, “Look out for the dogs” (Philippians 3:2), and Revelation lists “dogs” outside the city (Revelation 22:15).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Jews sometimes called Gentiles “dogs” as an insult; in the Animal Apocalypse of 1 Enoch, the Philistines are pictured as dogs (1 Enoch 89:42). The diminutive softens the image to pets in a household, where the children eat first. The woman accepts the order and argues from inside the picture: household dogs are fed from the same table. Her answer is quick, humble, and bold.

n 15:28 — O woman, great is your faith (ὦ γύναι, μεγάλη σου ἡ πίστις / ō gynai, megalē sou hē pistis) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ὦ ō, “O,” makes the address emphatic. μεγάλη megalē is “great.” “Let it be done for you as you wish” (γενηθήτω σοι ὡς θέλεις genēthētō soi hōs theleis) echoes Jesus’ word to the centurion (8:13) and the Lord’s Prayer (6:10). The healing happened “from that very hour,” at a distance, as with the centurion’s servant.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The only other person in Matthew whose faith Jesus praises as great is the Roman centurion (Matthew 8:10). Both are Gentiles, and both are healed at a distance by a word. Peter, by contrast, has just been called “you of little faith” (Matthew 14:31). Hebrews remembers the faith of Rahab, a Canaanite (Hebrews 11:31).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: For Matthew’s mixed community of Jewish and Gentile believers, the two Gentiles of great faith framed the Gospel’s promise that the nations would share Israel’s blessing. The woman’s persistence also models the prayer Jesus taught: ask, seek, knock (7:7–11).

o 15:31 — they glorified the God of Israel (ἐδόξασαν τὸν θεὸν Ἰσραήλ / edoxasan ton theon Israēl) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: κυλλός kyllos means crippled or maimed, perhaps missing a limb. ῥίπτω rhiptō, “laid” (15:30), means literally “threw down,” suggesting the urgency of the crowds. Jesus “sitting” on “the mountain” recalls the setting of the Sermon (5:1). NA28 and other editions list the ailments in different orders in 15:30.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Isaiah promised: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened … then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy” (Isaiah 35:5–6). “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things” (Psalm 72:18). On the mountain the Lord will make a feast for all peoples (Isaiah 25:6). Mark places Jesus in the Decapolis at this point (Mark 7:31).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: “The God of Israel” is how outsiders might speak of Israel’s God, and many interpreters think the crowd here was largely Gentile, from the region east of the lake. If so, the scene continues what began with the Canaanite woman: the nations, once allotted to other gods, now glorify the God of Israel because of what His Messiah has done. Others read the crowd as Jewish; Matthew does not say.

p 15:36 — having given thanks He broke them (εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν / eucharistēsas eklasen) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: εὐχαριστέω eucharisteō, “give thanks,” is the root of the word “Eucharist”; in 14:19 Matthew uses “bless” (εὐλογέω eulogeō). Both verbs appear at the Last Supper: He blessed the bread and gave thanks over the cup (26:26–27). “I feel compassion” (15:32) uses the verb of 9:36 and 14:14. The crowd had been with Him “three days.”

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Paul records that Jesus “gave thanks” and broke the bread (1 Corinthians 11:24). Jesus later reminds the disciples of both feedings when they worry about bread (Matthew 16:9–10).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Some interpreters hold that this is a second, separate feeding in a largely Gentile region, mirroring the feeding of the five thousand among Jews, while others think it is another account of the same event. Matthew and Mark both record two feedings and Jesus Himself refers to both (16:9–10), so TWB treats them as two events.

q 15:37 — seven large baskets full (ἑπτὰ σπυρίδας πλήρεις / hepta spyridas plēreis) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: σπυρίς spyris is a large basket or hamper, big enough to lower Paul over the wall of Damascus (Acts 9:25). It differs from the smaller κόφινος kophinos of 14:20. “Four thousand men, besides women and children” (15:38) uses the same counting formula as 14:21.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Twelve baskets were gathered after the first feeding (Matthew 14:20); seven after this one. The Canaanites were counted as “seven nations” (Deuteronomy 7:1; Acts 13:19).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Some early and modern interpreters see the numbers as symbolic: twelve for the tribes of Israel, and seven for completeness or for the nations of Canaan, matching a feeding near Gentile territory just after the Canaanite woman. Others think the numbers are simply what happened. The text gives the counts without explaining them, though Jesus later asks the disciples to remember both (16:9–10).

r 15:39 — the region of Magadan (τὰ ὅρια Μαγαδάν / ta horia Magadan) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: Μαγαδάν Magadan is otherwise unknown. Mark’s parallel reads “Dalmanutha,” also unknown (Mark 8:10). The Majority Text and Textus Receptus read “Magdala” (Μαγδαλά Magdala), the town of Mary Magdalene, and some manuscripts read “Magdalan.”

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Mary Magdalene, from Magdala, followed Jesus from Galilee and witnessed His death and resurrection (Matthew 27:56; Luke 8:2; John 20:1).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Magdala (Hebrew מִגְדַּל miḡdal, “tower”; Greek Taricheae, “salting place”) was a fishing town on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee, where a first-century synagogue was excavated in 2009. Many scholars think Magadan is another spelling of Magdala or a place near it; others think it was a separate, unknown site. The reading “Magdala” is best explained as scribes replacing an unfamiliar name with a known one. See the map for the proposals.

Variant record: main text “Magadan (Μαγαδάν, Magadan)”; alternative “Magdala (Μαγδαλά, Magdala); or Magdalan (Μαγδαλάν, Magdalan)”. Witnesses: NA28: main; Codex Sinaiticus (original hand): main; Codex Vaticanus: main; Majority Text: Magdala; Textus Receptus: Magdala. Decision: NA28 reading retained.

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Book InsightsMatthew

Author

Matthew, also called Levi, the tax collector whom Jesus called to follow Him and who became one of the Twelve (9:9; 10:3; compare Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27). The Gospel does not name its author, but the evidence for Matthew is strong:

  • Unanimous early testimony. Every ancient manuscript that preserves a title reads “According to Matthew” (Κατὰ Μαθθαῖον Kata Maththaion), and no other author was ever proposed. Papias, bishop of Hierapolis in the early 2nd century A.D., wrote that “Matthew compiled the sayings (λόγια logia) in the Hebrew language” (quoted by Eusebius, Church History 3.39.16). Irenaeus (c. A.D. 180), Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome all name Matthew.
  • Clues in the text. Only this Gospel calls the converted tax collector “Matthew” (9:9) and lists him as “Matthew the tax collector” (10:3), a humble self-reference. It has the most interest in money: the temple tax (17:24–27), the coin of the tribute (22:19, where Matthew alone uses the technical term νόμισμα nomisma), and talents and debts (18:23–35; 25:14–30). A tax collector would have been literate and used to keeping careful records, probably in Greek as well as Aramaic.
  • Matthew first. In John Wenham, Redating Matthew, Mark and Luke (1991), John Wenham argues that the early church’s order is correct: Matthew wrote first, then Mark, then Luke. Clement of Alexandria reported that “the Gospels containing the genealogies were written first” (Eusebius, Church History 6.14.5), which places Matthew and Luke before Mark, and every early writer who names an order puts Matthew first.
  • One shared teaching, with some borrowing. Wenham’s own model is “an oral theory with some measure of successive dependence.” All three Gospels draw on the Jerusalem catechesis, the apostles’ carefully taught oral account of Jesus’ words and deeds. On top of that shared teaching, Mark made some use of Matthew, and Luke made some use of both Matthew and Mark. On this view the hypothetical source Q is unnecessary, and each Gospel is an independent witness to the apostolic preaching.

Papias’s report that Matthew wrote “in the Hebrew language” is read by many who hold Matthew’s priority as evidence of an earlier Hebrew or Aramaic edition, followed by the Greek Gospel we have; others take it to describe a Hebrew style of writing or a collection of sayings.

Other views — What Papias meant

Papias’s words are debated. Some take them to mean Matthew first wrote a Hebrew or Aramaic Gospel that was later translated into the Greek we have. Others think he meant a collection of Jesus’ sayings rather than this Gospel. Still others read “in the Hebrew language” as “in a Hebrew style.” Our Greek Matthew does not read like a translation, and it often quotes the Old Testament from the Septuagint.

Other views — The Synoptic Problem

Most scholars today explain the shared material in Matthew, Mark, and Luke differently from Wenham:

  • Two-Source Hypothesis (the majority view): Mark wrote first. Matthew and Luke each used Mark plus a lost collection of Jesus’ sayings called Q, from the German Quelle (“source”). Material found only in Matthew is often labeled M.
  • Farrer Hypothesis: Mark wrote first, Matthew used Mark, and Luke used both, so no Q is needed.
  • Two-Gospel (Griesbach) Hypothesis: Matthew wrote first, Luke used Matthew, and Mark combined both. Wenham charts what this would require in Mark 1:1–13: Mark switching between Matthew, Luke, and his own words every few words, a process he finds implausible (pp. 13–15).

Supporters of Mark’s priority point to Mark’s rougher Greek, which Matthew and Luke seem to smooth, and to Matthew’s inclusion of nearly all of Mark. No manuscript of Q has ever been found. Many conservative scholars hold Mark’s priority and still affirm the apostle Matthew as author.

Other views — An unnamed Jewish-Christian author

Many critical scholars hold that the Gospel was written by an unknown Jewish believer, perhaps a scribe trained for the kingdom (13:52), and later attached to Matthew’s name. They argue that an eyewitness apostle would not have relied on Mark, who was not one of the Twelve.

Audience

Primarily Jewish believers, along with Jews being invited to believe. Matthew assumes his readers know the Law, the Prophets, and Jewish customs. He leaves customs unexplained that Mark explains for Gentiles (compare 15:2 with Mark 7:3–4), and traces Jesus’ line back to Abraham. Out of reverence he usually says “kingdom of heaven” rather than “kingdom of God.” Yet the Gospel looks outward from the start, with Gentile magi at the cradle (2:1–12), and ends with the command to make disciples of all nations (28:19).

Date Written

c. A.D. 40–65, before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70. Conservative scholars hold two main positions within that range.

c. A.D. 50–65. Matthew writes as though the temple is still standing: he includes instructions about offering gifts at the altar (5:23–24), paying the temple tax (17:24–27), and swearing by the temple (23:16–22). Twice he says something remains “to this day” (27:8; 28:15). Jesus predicts the temple’s fall (24:1–2), but the Gospel never reports it as having happened. Many conservative scholars, including those who hold that Matthew used Mark, place the Gospel in this period.

c. A.D. 40 (John Wenham). Those who hold Matthean priority often place it earlier still, in the A.D. 40s or 50s. Wenham reaches c. A.D. 40 by working back from Acts:

  • Acts was finished in A.D. 62. It ends with Paul two years under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28:30–31) and says nothing of his death (c. A.D. 67), the great fire of Rome and Nero’s persecution (A.D. 64), the outbreak of the Jewish War (A.D. 66), or the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70).
  • Luke came before Acts (Acts 1:1). Wenham dates Luke to about A.D. 54 and identifies Luke with “the brother whose praise is in the gospel” (2 Corinthians 8:18), in a letter he dates to A.D. 56.
  • Mark came before Luke, about A.D. 45, from Peter’s preaching in Rome. Wenham reads Peter’s escape from Herod Agrippa I to “another place” (Acts 12:17, A.D. 42) as his journey to Rome.
  • Matthew came first, about A.D. 40, before the persecution under Herod Agrippa I scattered the apostles from Jerusalem in A.D. 42 (Acts 12:1–17). Eusebius says Matthew wrote for the Hebrews when he was about to leave them to preach to others (Church History 3.24.6).

Source for Wenham’s dates: John Wenham, Redating Matthew, Mark and Luke (1991), Chronological Table, pp. xxv–xxvi.

Other views — Critical dating (c. A.D. 80–90)

Many critical scholars date Matthew after A.D. 70. They reason that Matthew used Mark, usually dated around A.D. 65–70, and that the parable of the king who “burned their city” (22:7) looks back on Jerusalem’s fall. They also point to sharp conflict with synagogue leaders (23:34), which they place in the decades after the war. Conservative scholars respond that 22:7 uses the common language of ancient warfare and judgment (compare Judges 1:8; Isaiah 1:7), not specific details of A.D. 70, and that predictive prophecy should not be ruled out in advance.

Location Written

Judea, most likely Jerusalem. Wenham, following the early tradition, places Matthew’s writing in the land of Israel for Jewish believers before the apostles left Jerusalem.

  • Early testimony. Irenaeus says Matthew wrote “among the Hebrews” (Against Heresies 3.1.1), and Eusebius says he wrote for them before leaving to preach to others (Church History 3.24.6).
  • The audience. The Gospel assumes readers who know Jewish customs without explanation (compare 15:2 with Mark 7:3–4), care about the temple and the Law, and need answers to questions raised by the synagogue.

Other views — Other proposed places

Many scholars, conservative and critical, suggest Syrian Antioch, a city with a large Jewish population and an early church of both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 11:19–26). Ignatius, bishop of Antioch (c. A.D. 110), is the earliest writer to show clear knowledge of Matthew. Galilee, Caesarea Maritima, and Phoenicia have also been suggested.

Purpose

To show that Jesus is the promised Messiah (Χριστός Christos), the Son of David and Son of Abraham (1:1). He fulfills the Law and the Prophets and brings the kingdom of heaven near. Matthew also trains disciples in how to live under that kingdom, and sends them to make disciples of every nation.

Matthew does this through two patterns. Ten times he introduces an Old Testament text with a fulfillment formula such as “this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet” (1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 27:9). He also gathers Jesus’ teaching into five great discourses, each closing with “when Jesus had finished” (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). Many readers see an echo of the five books of Moses:

  • The Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5–7)
  • Instructions to the Twelve (chapter 10)
  • Parables of the kingdom (chapter 13)
  • Life in the community (chapter 18)
  • The Olivet Discourse, on the end of the age (chapters 24–25)

Historical Problem Being Addressed

Jewish believers faced a hard question. If Jesus is Israel’s Messiah, why did Israel’s own leaders reject Him and hand Him over to be crucified? And why were Gentiles now streaming into the people of God? Believers were being opposed in the synagogues (10:17; 23:34) and needed to know that following Jesus was not abandoning the faith of Abraham and Moses, but its fulfillment. Matthew answers that the rejection itself was foretold. Jesus came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (5:17), and Abraham’s family was always meant to bless the nations (8:11; 28:19).

Through the Original Readers’ Eyes

Matthew’s first readers lived in a land ruled by Rome through Herod’s family and Roman governors (2:1, 22; 27:2), worshiping in synagogues and arguing over how to keep the Law. Several things they knew shape how they heard this Gospel:

  • Hope for a Son of David. Many Jews longed for a king who would restore Israel. The Psalms of Solomon (1st century B.C.) pray for “the son of David” to purge Jerusalem of Gentiles and rule in righteousness (Psalms of Solomon 17). Some Qumran texts expect both a royal and a priestly messiah (1QS 9:11). Matthew’s Son of David heals the blind and lame (21:14) and dies under the charge “King of the Jews.”
  • The Son of Man. Daniel 7 pictures one like a son of man receiving everlasting dominion. The Similitudes of Enoch (1 Enoch 37–71, whose date is debated) speak of a heavenly Son of Man who judges from a glorious throne. Readers who knew these texts would hear Jesus’ favorite self-designation as a claim to that throne (19:28; 25:31).
  • Caesar’s claims. Augustus was called “son of god” (divi filius), and an inscription from Priene (9 B.C.) calls his birthday the beginning of “good news” (εὐαγγέλια euangelia) for the world. A Gospel announcing a different King, a different Son of God, and a different kingdom would have sounded like a rival claim.
  • Pharisees, scribes, and synagogues. The disputes over Sabbath, purity, oaths, and tithing (chapters 12, 15, 23) were live questions for Jewish communities. Matthew’s readers needed to know how Jesus’ followers related to the Law and to the synagogue leaders.

Among the early church, Matthew quickly became the most quoted Gospel. The Didache (late 1st or early 2nd century) gives the Lord’s Prayer in a form very close to Matthew’s (Didache 8:2), and Ignatius of Antioch (c. A.D. 110) shows knowledge of it. It was placed first in the New Testament, as the bridge from Israel’s Scriptures to the gospel.

Key Words

Kingdom of heaven: βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν basileia tōn ouranōn

The phrase appears more than thirty times in Matthew and nowhere else in the New Testament. Following Jewish reverence for God’s name, “heaven” stands for God Himself, so it means the same as “kingdom of God,” which Matthew also uses a few times (12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43).

Fulfill: πληρόω plēroō

Ten times Matthew introduces an Old Testament text with a fulfillment formula (1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 27:9), and Jesus says He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (5:17). In Matthew, fulfillment means more than prediction coming true: Israel’s story and Scripture reach their goal in Jesus.

Righteousness: δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē

Jesus is baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (3:15), and His disciples must hunger for righteousness (5:6), have a righteousness greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees (5:20), and seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (6:33). It names the life that matches God’s will.

Key Verses

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. Matthew 5:17 (TWB)

The main key verse: Jesus came not to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them. The whole Gospel unfolds this claim.

Matthew 16:16

Peter’s confession, the turning point of the Gospel: Jesus is the Messiah (Χριστός Christos), the Son of the living God.

Matthew 28:18–20

The Great Commission: the risen Jesus, with all authority in heaven and on earth, sends His disciples to make disciples of all nations, and promises to be with them always, echoing “Immanuel, God with us” (1:23).

Outline

Matthew alternates narrative with five major blocks of teaching, each ending with “when Jesus had finished” (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1).

  1. The coming of the King 1:1–4:25
    1. Genealogy, birth, and infancy 1:1–2:23
    2. John the Baptist, the baptism, and the temptation 3:1–4:11
    3. Ministry in Galilee begins 4:12–25
  2. First discourse: the Sermon on the Mount 5:1–7:29
  3. Mighty works: ten miracles 8:1–9:38
  4. Second discourse: sending out the Twelve 10:1–11:1
  5. Growing opposition 11:2–12:50
  6. Third discourse: parables of the kingdom 13:1–53
  7. Peter’s confession and the road to the cross 13:54–17:27 You are here
  8. Fourth discourse: life in the community 18:1–19:1
  9. In Judea and Jerusalem 19:2–23:39
  10. Fifth discourse: the Olivet Discourse 24:1–25:46
  11. Death and resurrection; the Great Commission 26:1–28:20

Christ in the Book

Matthew presents Jesus above all as the King.

  • The Son of David, heir to the throne promised in 2 Samuel 7:12–16 (1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 20:30–31; 21:9).
  • The Son of Abraham, the seed through whom the nations are blessed (1:1; compare Genesis 12:3; 22:18).
  • Immanuel, “God with us” (1:23, quoting Isaiah 7:14). The Gospel ends where it began: “I am with you always” (28:20).
  • The Messiah, the Son of the living God, as Peter confesses at Caesarea Philippi (16:16), where TWB renders Χριστός Christos as “Messiah.”
  • The new Moses: spared as an infant from a king’s slaughter (2:13–18; compare Exodus 1:22–2:10), called out of Egypt (2:15, quoting Hosea 11:1), and teaching from the mountain (5:1).
  • The Son of Man of Daniel 7:13–14, who receives dominion and comes on the clouds (24:30; 26:64).
  • Greater than the temple, Jonah, and Solomon (12:6, 41–42).
  • The Servant of Isaiah, who carries our sicknesses and brings justice to the nations (8:17; 12:17–21).
  • The humble King riding into Jerusalem (21:5, quoting Zechariah 9:9), crucified under the charge “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (27:37).
  • The risen Lord with all authority in heaven and on earth (28:18).

The Divine Council Worldview in the Book

What is the Divine Council Worldview?

The Divine Council Worldview reads Scripture the way its first readers did. The Lord, God Most High, presides over a heavenly assembly of spiritual beings, called “sons of God,” “holy ones,” and “gods” (אֱלֹהִים ʾĕlōhîm) (Psalm 82:1; Psalm 89:5–7; 1 Kings 22:19–22; Job 1:6). He alone is Creator, and none of them is like Him (Psalm 89:6; Exodus 15:11). Some of these beings rebelled: in Eden, before the flood, and at Babel, after which the nations were placed under lesser powers while the Lord took Israel as His own portion (Deuteronomy 32:8–9). The rest of Scripture tells how God reclaims the nations through the Messiah. Not every interpreter reads these texts this way; where views differ, they are noted.

Matthew presents Jesus’ ministry as the beginning of God’s campaign to take back the nations from the powers that rebelled at Babel. The kingdom of heaven advances against an opposing kingdom.

  • The kingdoms of the world (4:8–9). The devil offers Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” if He will worship him. On a Divine Council reading, the offer is real because the nations had been placed under other powers (Deuteronomy 32:8–9; compare Luke 4:6; John 12:31). Jesus refuses to receive the nations from the rebel and quotes Deuteronomy: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve” (4:10).
  • Binding the strong man (12:28–29). Jesus’ exorcisms show that “the kingdom of God has come upon you.” He enters Satan’s house, binds the strong man, and plunders it.
  • The gates of Hades (16:13–18). Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah at Caesarea Philippi, at the foot of Mount Hermon. A cave there held a shrine to the god Pan and was thought to be a gateway to the underworld, and Jewish tradition remembered Hermon as where the rebellious sons of God of Genesis 6 came down (1 Enoch 6:6). There Jesus promises that “the gates of Hades will not prevail” against His church.
  • The high mountain (17:1–8). Six days later Jesus is transfigured on “a high mountain.” Many scholars think this was Hermon itself, given its height and nearness to Caesarea Philippi; tradition since the 4th century has favored Mount Tabor.
  • Their angels (18:10). The little ones have angels who “always see the face of My Father in heaven,” a picture of heavenly beings attending God’s presence.
  • The Son of Man and the thrones (19:28; 26:64). Jesus draws on Daniel 7, where thrones are set up, the court sits, and one like a son of man receives the dominion over the nations (Daniel 7:9–14). He promises the Twelve that they will sit on twelve thrones, so that redeemed humans share in God’s rule.
  • The devil and his angels (25:41). The eternal fire was “prepared for the devil and his angels,” not originally for people.
  • All authority, all nations (28:18–20). The risen Jesus claims “all authority in heaven and on earth” and sends His disciples to make disciples of “all the nations” (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη panta ta ethnē), the very nations once given over at Babel.

Divine Council notes in the chapters translated so far

How the Book Connects to Other Books

  • Genesis: Matthew opens with “the book of the genealogy” (βίβλος γενέσεως biblos geneseōs, 1:1), the same wording the Septuagint uses in Genesis 2:4 and 5:1. A new beginning is announced in the language of the first one.
  • 2 Chronicles and Malachi: In the order of the Hebrew Bible, the Scriptures close with 2 Chronicles, which opens with genealogies and ends with an invitation to go up to Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 36:23). Matthew opens with a genealogy. In the Christian order, Malachi’s promise of Elijah (Malachi 4:5) leads into John the Baptist, whom Jesus identifies as that Elijah (11:14; 17:12–13).
  • The Prophets: Matthew quotes or echoes the Old Testament more than any other Gospel, including Isaiah 7:14 (1:23), Micah 5:2 (2:6), Hosea 11:1 (2:15), Jeremiah 31:15 (2:18), and Zechariah 9:9 (21:5).
  • Mark and Luke tell much of the same story (see the Synoptic Problem under Author), and John complements them with Jesus’ ministry in Judea.
  • Acts carries out the Great Commission (28:18–20), beginning in Jerusalem and reaching the nations (Acts 1:8).
  • James echoes the Sermon on the Mount more closely than any other letter (compare 5:3 with James 2:5; 5:11–12 with James 1:2; 5:34–37 with James 5:12; 7:7 with James 1:5).
  • Revelation: the Son of Man coming with the clouds (24:30; Revelation 1:7) and the kingdom of the world becoming the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah (Revelation 11:15).

TWB Translation Decisions

The main rendering decisions made so far in Matthew. Each one with a study note links to it.

“Messiah” for Χριστός

TWB renders Χριστός Christos as “Messiah” throughout, showing that it is a title (“Anointed One”) rather than a surname. The notes show the Greek wherever it matters.

Speech colors

Jesus’ words are printed in red and God the Father’s in blue (for example, the voice from heaven at the baptism, 3:17). The words of ordinary angels, such as the angel who speaks to Joseph in dreams (2:13, 19–20), are not colored.

Old Testament quotations in capitals

Direct quotations of the Old Testament are printed in capitals, so readers can see where Matthew is citing Scripture (for example, Micah 5:2 at 2:6 and Hosea 11:1 at 2:15).

Read the full note →

“Magi” (2:1)

Rather than “wise men,” which hides their priestly and astrological role, or “magicians,” which gives a negative sense Matthew does not intend.

Read the full note →

“His star at its rising” (2:2)

Not “in the east”: the singular with the article is an astronomical expression for a star’s rising.

Read the full note →

“Worship” (2:2, 11)

For προσκυνέω proskyneō, rather than “pay homage,” because Matthew uses the same verb for the disciples’ worship of Jesus (14:33; 28:9, 17).

Read the full note →

“He had been mocked” (2:16)

Rather than “tricked,” to keep the link with the mockery of Jesus at His trial and crucifixion, where Matthew uses the same verb.

Read the full note →

“That He would be called a Nazarene” (2:23)

Rendered as indirect speech, without quotation marks or capitals, because the words are not found in any one Old Testament book.

Read the full note →

Textual Notes

Base text: Nestle-Aland, 28th edition (NA28). Where the Majority Text or Textus Receptus reads differently, the notes record both readings and the manuscripts behind them.

The doxology of the Lord’s Prayer 6:13

“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” is found in the Majority Text and the Textus Receptus but not in the earliest manuscripts, including Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. A shorter doxology appears in the Didache (8:2), which shows it was used in worship very early. TWB follows NA28 and records the longer reading in the note.

Verses not found in the earliest manuscripts 17:21

Three verses found in the Majority Text and Textus Receptus are absent from the earliest manuscripts: 17:21 (“this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting”), 18:11 (“the Son of Man came to save the lost”), and 23:14 (on devouring widows’ houses). Each closely matches a verse in another Gospel (Mark 9:29; Luke 19:10; Mark 12:40), and most scholars think scribes added them from there. Supporters of the Majority Text regard them as original. TWB follows NA28 and records each in the notes.

“Without cause” 5:22

The Majority Text and Textus Receptus read “whoever is angry with his brother without cause” (εἰκῆ eikē). The earliest manuscripts lack the phrase, which softens Jesus’ saying. TWB follows NA28.

The spear at the cross 27:49

Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus add that a soldier pierced Jesus’ side with a spear before He died, wording that closely matches John 19:34. NA28 places it in the apparatus, judging it an early addition from John.

Textual notes in the chapters translated so far

Contested Questions

Major questions on which careful readers and Christian traditions disagree. TWB states each view fairly and does not take a side, per the Master Specification Record.

What is “this rock” in Matthew 16:18?
Peter, with a continuing office

Jesus plays on Peter’s name (Πέτρος Petros, “rock”) and builds the church on him, giving him the keys (16:19). Catholic teaching sees this office continued in Peter’s successors, the bishops of Rome.

Peter, as the first apostle

The rock is Peter himself, as the leading apostle and first preacher (Acts 2; 10), without a line of successors. Held by many Protestant scholars today.

Peter’s confession of faith

The rock is the truth Peter confessed, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (16:16). Common in Orthodox and in much Protestant teaching; Orthodox tradition also sees every bishop as sharing Peter’s ministry.

Christ Himself

The rock is Christ, the one foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11; compare 1 Peter 2:4–8). Augustine argued for this reading in some of his writings.

What does the exception for “sexual immorality” allow (5:32; 19:9)?
Divorce and remarriage after adultery

Sexual unfaithfulness (πορνεία porneia) breaks the marriage, so the innocent party may divorce and remarry. Held in most Protestant traditions.

Separation without remarriage

A valid sacramental marriage cannot be dissolved; the exception allows separation, or applies to unions that were never valid marriages (the basis of annulment). Catholic teaching.

Remarriage permitted by pastoral mercy

Marriage is meant to be lifelong, but the church may permit a second marriage after divorce as an act of mercy (οἰκονομία oikonomia). Orthodox practice.

A narrow case

πορνεία porneia refers to unfaithfulness during betrothal (as Joseph suspected of Mary, 1:19) or to marriages within forbidden family relationships (Leviticus 18; Acts 15:29).

When is the Olivet Discourse (chapter 24) fulfilled?
In A.D. 70

Most of the discourse was fulfilled when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, within “this generation” (24:34). Held by preterist interpreters.

At the end of the age

The discourse describes events still future, before Christ’s return. Held by futurist interpreters.

Both

The fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 fulfills the near prophecy and foreshadows the final judgment at Christ’s return. Held by many interpreters across traditions.

Did Mary have other children (1:25; 13:55)?
Mary remained a virgin

“Until” (1:25) does not imply anything afterward, and Jesus’ “brothers” (13:55) were relatives. Catholic and Orthodox teaching, and held by Luther and other early Reformers. Orthodox tradition sees them as Joseph’s children from an earlier marriage; Catholic tradition, following Jerome, as cousins.

Mary and Joseph had other children

“Until” most naturally implies a normal marriage afterward, and the brothers and sisters named in 13:55–56 were younger children of Mary and Joseph. Held by most Protestants today.

Places in the Book

  • Babylon Identified first mentioned 1:11
  • Bethlehem Identified first mentioned 2:1
  • Judea Identified first mentioned 2:1
  • Jerusalem Identified first mentioned 2:1
  • Egypt Identified first mentioned 2:13
  • Ramah Identified first mentioned 2:18
  • Israel Identified first mentioned 2:20
  • Galilee Identified first mentioned 2:22
  • Nazareth Identified first mentioned 2:23
  • the wilderness Identified first mentioned 3:1
  • the Jordan Identified first mentioned 3:5
  • Capernaum Identified first mentioned 4:13
  • Zebulun Identified first mentioned 4:13
  • Naphtali Identified first mentioned 4:13
  • Sea of Galilee Identified first mentioned 4:18
  • Syria Identified first mentioned 4:24
  • Decapolis Identified first mentioned 4:25
  • the mountain Location unknown first mentioned 5:1
  • Gehenna Identified first mentioned 5:22
  • country of the Gadarenes Disputed first mentioned 8:28
  • Samaria Identified first mentioned 10:5
  • Sodom Disputed first mentioned 10:15
  • Gomorrah Disputed first mentioned 10:15
  • Chorazin Identified first mentioned 11:21
  • Bethsaida Disputed first mentioned 11:21
  • Tyre Identified first mentioned 11:21
  • Sidon Identified first mentioned 11:21
  • Nineveh Identified first mentioned 12:41
  • Gennesaret Identified first mentioned 14:34
  • Magadan Disputed first mentioned 15:39

The map shows unlabeled physical relief, with no modern borders or names. Hollow pins mark proposed sites for disputed places; places of unknown location are not pinned. This list grows as more chapters are translated.

The conservative view is given first; other views follow where scholars differ. Status: draft, version 0.7.0, updated 2026-10-10.