Matthew

Chapter 03

The Preaching of John the Baptist

1In those days John the Baptista came, preaching in the b, 2and saying, “Repent,c for the kingdom of the heavensd has come near.” 3For this is he who was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’”e 4Now John himself had his clothing of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.f 5Then was going out to him, and all and all the region around the , 6and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers!g Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Bear fruit, therefore, worthy of repentance; 9and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.h 10And already the axe is laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11I baptize you in water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.i 12His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”j

The Baptism of Jesus

13Then Jesus came from to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”k Then he permitted Him. 16And when Jesus had been baptized, immediately He went up from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him.l 17And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”m

Ask About the Text

Ask a question about Matthew 3, or about the people, places, and events it describes.

Word Study

Select a word in the text and choose Word Study, or enter a verse and a word.

Context & Translation Notes

Original Reader Horizon • Lexical & Canonical Mesh

a 3:1 — John the Baptist (Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστής / Iōannēs ho baptistēs) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: βαπτιστής baptistēs, “one who baptizes,” comes from βαπτίζω baptizō, “to dip, immerse, wash.” The verb is used of washing hands and vessels (Mark 7:4; Luke 11:38) as well as of baptism. TWB keeps the established “baptize” and “the Baptist” because the English words now name the rite itself, and records the root meaning here.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Matthew presents John as the messenger who prepares the way (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 11:10) and as the Elijah who was to come before the day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5; Matthew 11:14; 17:12–13). Luke says he would go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Josephus describes John as a good man who urged the Jews to practice righteousness and piety and to come to baptism, which he understood as a purification of the body once the soul had been cleansed by righteousness (Antiquities 18.116–119). Ritual immersion was common in first-century Judaism, as the many immersion pools excavated around Jerusalem show, and the Qumran community practiced repeated washings tied to repentance (Community Rule, 1QS 3:4–9; 5:13). John’s single baptism, administered by him and joined to a call to repent before judgment, was distinctive.

b 3:1 — wilderness of Judea (ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς Ἰουδαίας / en tē erēmō tēs Ioudaias) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ἔρημος erēmos means a desolate, uninhabited place: not necessarily sand dunes, but land too dry to farm. The wilderness of Judea is the arid country falling from the Judean hills east to the Dead Sea and the lower Jordan.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The wilderness is where Israel was tested for forty years and where God promised to meet His people again: “I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14). It is also where Jesus is tested next (Matthew 4:1), and the unclean spirit “passes through waterless places” (Matthew 12:43).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Within the Divine Council worldview, the wilderness lay outside God’s ordered and inhabited space and was associated with hostile spiritual powers. On the Day of Atonement the goat for Azazel was sent into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:8–10), and the ruins of judged nations became the haunt of goat-demons and the night creature Lilith (Isaiah 13:21; 34:14). John begins Israel’s restoration on that contested ground, where Israel’s story with God had begun and where the conflict with the powers would be joined.

c 3:2 — Repent (μετανοεῖτε / metanoeite) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: μετανοέω metanoeō means to change one’s mind or purpose. In the Bible it carries the weight of the Hebrew prophets’ call to שׁוּב šûḇ, “turn, return”: a reversal of direction toward God, not only a change of opinion. The present imperative calls for an ongoing turning. Jesus begins His own preaching with the same words (4:17).

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The prophets summon Israel: “Return, faithless Israel” (Jeremiah 3:12); “Repent and turn from all your transgressions” (Ezekiel 18:30); “Return to Me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). Peter’s first sermons make the same appeal (Acts 2:38; 3:19).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: The Latin Vulgate rendered the verb paenitentiam agite, often understood as “do penance,” and the meaning of that rendering became part of the Reformation debate; the first of Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses turns on it. Catholic and Orthodox traditions connect repentance with the sacrament of penance or confession, and Protestant traditions emphasize repentance as an inward turning expressed in a changed life. TWB renders the verb formally as “repent” and leaves those questions to the traditions.

d 3:2 — the kingdom of the heavens (ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν / hē basileia tōn ouranōn) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: βασιλεία basileia means kingship, reign, or kingdom: first the exercise of royal rule, then the realm ruled. Matthew alone uses “the kingdom of the heavens,” always with the plural τῶν οὐρανῶν tōn ouranōn, which reflects the Hebrew plural שָׁמַיִם šāmayim. TWB keeps the plural, as it renders “the heavens” in Genesis 1, so that readers can see the connection; most translations say “kingdom of heaven.” Matthew also uses “kingdom of God” a few times (12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43), with the same meaning.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Daniel foresees a kingdom set up by “the God of the heavens” that will never be destroyed (Daniel 2:44) and given to one like a son of man and to the holy ones (Daniel 7:13–14, 27). Jesus teaches His disciples to pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in the heavens” (Matthew 6:10), and the devil offers Him “all the kingdoms of the world” (Matthew 4:8).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Jewish usage often spoke of “heaven” in place of God’s name out of reverence, and later rabbis spoke of “taking on the yoke of the kingdom of the heavens” when reciting the Shema (Mishnah, Berakhot 2:2). Within the Divine Council worldview, the nations had been allotted to lesser divine beings (Deuteronomy 32:8; see the TWB note on Genesis 1:16), and the kingdom announced here is God’s reign reclaiming the world from those powers, the conflict that the temptation scene of Matthew 4 makes explicit.

e 3:3 — The voice of one crying out in the wilderness (φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ / phōnē boōntos en tē erēmō) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: Matthew follows the Septuagint of Isaiah 40:3, where the voice is “crying in the wilderness.” The Hebrew can be read “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,’” with the wilderness as the place of preparation. Matthew also changes the Septuagint’s “the paths of our God” to “His paths,” so that “the Lord” whose way is prepared can be Jesus. In Isaiah “the Lord” translates the divine name. Per TWB’s citation rule the quotation is in capitals.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Isaiah 40 opens the prophet’s message of comfort: the exile is ending and God Himself is coming to lead His people home, so that “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed” (Isaiah 40:5, 9–11). All four Gospels apply the verse to John (Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4–6; John 1:23).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: The Qumran community applied the same verse to itself: it withdrew to the wilderness “to prepare there the way of Him,” which it understood as the study of the Law (Community Rule, 1QS 8:12–16). John and the Qumran sect thus read Isaiah 40:3 the same way, as a call to the wilderness before God’s coming, but John’s preparation was a public call to all Israel to repent.

f 3:4 — camel’s hair and a leather belt … locusts and wild honey (ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου … ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον / apo trichōn kamēlou … akrides kai meli agrion) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: θρίξ thrix is hair, here a rough garment woven of camel’s hair; ζώνη zōnē is a belt or girdle. ἀκρίς akris is a locust, and μέλι ἄγριον meli agrion is wild honey, from wild bees or possibly sweet tree sap.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Elijah was “a hairy man, with a belt of leather around his waist” (2 Kings 1:8), so John’s dress marks him as the returning Elijah (Malachi 4:5). A hairy cloak was the prophet’s garment (Zechariah 13:4). Locusts were among the insects the law permitted as food (Leviticus 11:22). Jesus contrasts John with those “in soft clothing” in kings’ houses (Matthew 11:8).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Locusts were eaten by the poor and by desert dwellers; the Qumran Damascus Document even gives rules for preparing them (CD 12:14–15). John’s food and dress are those of a man living off the wilderness itself. A later Jewish-Christian gospel used by the Ebionites changed the locusts to cakes, apparently to avoid any suggestion that John ate meat (Epiphanius, Panarion 30.13.4).

g 3:7 — Brood of vipers (γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν / gennēmata echidnōn) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: γέννημα gennēma means offspring, that which is born; ἔχιδνα echidna is a viper. The phrase calls the hearers offspring of snakes. This is the first mention in Matthew of the Pharisees and Sadducees, two groups that rarely agreed but appear together again in 16:1–12.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Jesus uses the same words of the Pharisees (Matthew 12:34; 23:33), and in John He tells His opponents, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44; compare 1 John 3:10). The image recalls the conflict between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s seed (Genesis 3:15; see the TWB note there).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Within the Divine Council worldview, “offspring of vipers” places the hearers on the serpent’s side of the conflict announced in Eden, not as a matter of ancestry but of allegiance, as the next verse makes clear. Josephus describes the Pharisees as the party most respected by the people for their precise interpretation of the Law, and the Sadducees as a smaller circle of the priestly aristocracy who rejected the resurrection and later traditions (Antiquities 18.11–17; Jewish War 2.119–166; compare Matthew 22:23; Acts 23:8).

h 3:9 — from these stones to raise up children to Abraham (ἐκ τῶν λίθων τούτων ἐγεῖραι τέκνα τῷ Ἀβραάμ / ek tōn lithōn toutōn egeirai tekna tō Abraam) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: In Hebrew and Aramaic the saying contains a wordplay that Greek cannot reproduce: “stones” (אֲבָנִים ʾăḇānîm) and “sons” (בָּנִים bānîm) sound alike. ἐγείρω egeirō, “raise up,” is also the verb used for resurrection.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Isaiah tells Israel to “look to the rock from which you were hewn … look to Abraham your father” (Isaiah 51:1–2). At the Jordan, where John baptized, Joshua set up twelve stones taken from the riverbed to mark Israel’s entry into the land (Joshua 4:20–24). Jesus tells His opponents that Abraham’s true children do Abraham’s works (John 8:39), and Paul argues that Abraham’s children are those who share his faith, Gentiles included (Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:7, 29).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Many Jews regarded descent from Abraham as a secure share in God’s covenant; the Mishnah later states that “all Israel has a share in the world to come” (Sanhedrin 10:1). John challenges any confidence in ancestry alone. Readers who knew the stones of Joshua 4 by the same river would have heard the saying as especially pointed.

i 3:11 — He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire (ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί / en pneumati hagiō kai pyri) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: One preposition (ἐν en, “in, with”) governs both nouns, so Spirit and fire describe one baptism. The fire can be read as purifying the repentant or as judging the unrepentant, and the surrounding verses use fire for judgment (3:10, 12). TWB renders “in water” and “in the Holy Spirit” to keep the same preposition visible across both baptisms. Carrying a master’s sandals was a slave’s task.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Isaiah speaks of the Lord cleansing Jerusalem “by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4:4), and Malachi of the coming one as “a refiner’s fire” (Malachi 3:2–3). Ezekiel promises cleansing water and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:25–27), and Joel the outpouring of God’s Spirit (Joel 2:28). At Pentecost the Spirit comes with “tongues as of fire” (Acts 2:3; compare 1:5).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: The Qumran Community Rule looks for a time when God will cleanse a person “with a holy spirit” and sprinkle on him “the spirit of truth like purifying water” (1QS 4:20–21), joining water, spirit, and purification as John does. A later rabbinic saying holds that a disciple should do for his teacher everything a slave does except untie his sandals (Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 96a), which shows how lowly John considers himself beside the coming one.

j 3:12 — winnowing fork … unquenchable fire (τὸ πτύον … πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ / to ptyon … pyri asbestō) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: πτύον ptyon is a winnowing shovel, used to toss threshed grain into the wind so that the light chaff blows away. ἄσβεστος asbestos means “unquenchable,” from a word for putting out fire. The image moves from the threshing floor to the barn and the burning of the chaff.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: The wicked are “like chaff that the wind drives away” (Psalm 1:4; compare Isaiah 41:15–16), and the day of the Lord will burn evildoers like stubble (Malachi 4:1). Isaiah closes with a fire that is not quenched (Isaiah 66:24), which Jesus quotes in Mark 9:48. Jesus’ parable of the wheat and weeds ends with the same harvest separation (Matthew 13:30).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Every farmer in Judea knew the threshing floor, an open, raised space where grain was trampled, then winnowed in the afternoon wind. The picture is of a harvest already threshed and waiting: the coming one holds the shovel, so the separation is about to begin.

k 3:15 — to fulfill all righteousness (πληρῶσαι πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην / plērōsai pasan dikaiosynēn) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē means righteousness: conduct in line with God’s will and covenant. πληρόω plēroō is Matthew’s fulfillment verb (1:22; 2:15). These are Jesus’ first words in Matthew, and TWB sets the words of Jesus in red. “Us” may refer to Jesus and John together.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Jesus says He came not to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17), and calls His disciples to a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees (5:20) and to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first (6:33). The servant of Isaiah is “the righteous one” who makes many righteous and bears their iniquities (Isaiah 53:11).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Readers have long asked why one without sin would receive a baptism for repentance, a question already felt in John’s protest (3:14). Interpreters suggest that Jesus identifies with His people and their sins, that He obeys every part of God’s will including John’s God-given call, that He sets an example for His followers, or that He takes up the servant’s role of bearing others’ sins. These readings can stand together, and TWB records them without choosing among them.

l 3:16 — the heavens were opened to Him … like a dove (ἠνεῴχθησαν [αὐτῷ] οἱ οὐρανοί … ὡσεὶ περιστεράν / ēneōchthēsan [autō] hoi ouranoi … hōsei peristeran) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: περιστερά peristera is a dove; ὡσεί hōsei, “like,” may describe the manner of the descent or a visible form. NA28 prints “to Him” (αὐτῷ autō) in square brackets, meaning the editors judge it probably original but uncertain: the original hand of Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus lack it, while most manuscripts, the Majority Text, and the Textus Receptus have it. TWB includes it, following NA28’s text.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: “The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God,” says Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1), and Isaiah prays, “Oh that You would rend the heavens and come down” (Isaiah 64:1). Stephen sees “the heavens opened” (Acts 7:56), and John sees “a door standing open in heaven” (Revelation 4:1). The Spirit over the water recalls the Spirit hovering over the waters of creation (Genesis 1:2; see the TWB note there), and the dove recalls the dove that returned to Noah after the flood (Genesis 8:11).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Within the Divine Council worldview, an opened heaven means access between the earthly and the heavenly realms: the place where God sits enthroned among His host is laid open, and what follows is a revelation from His court. A rabbinic tradition compares the Spirit of God hovering over the waters of Genesis 1:2 to a dove hovering over its young (Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah 15a), and many readers see Jesus’ baptism as the beginning of a new creation.

Variant record: main text “the heavens were opened to Him (ἠνεῴχθησαν αὐτῷ οἱ οὐρανοί; αὐτῷ bracketed in NA28)”; alternative “the heavens were opened (ἠνεῴχθησαν οἱ οὐρανοί)”. Witnesses: NA28: main (bracketed); Codex Sinaiticus (original hand): alternative; Codex Vaticanus: alternative; Majority Text: main; Textus Receptus: main. Decision: NA28 reading retained.

m 3:17 — This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν ᾧ εὐδόκησα / houtos estin ho huios mou ho agapētos, en hō eudokēsa) ↩ back to text

Tier 1 — Lexical Anchor: ἀγαπητός agapētos means “beloved,” and in the Septuagint it often renders “only” (as of Isaac in Genesis 22:2). εὐδοκέω eudokeō means to be well pleased with, to take delight in. These are the words of God the Father, set in blue per TWB’s discourse standard. They echo Scripture without quoting a single passage, so they are not set in capitals.

Tier 2 — Canonical Mesh: Three passages combine: the royal decree “You are My Son” (Psalm 2:7; compare 2 Samuel 7:14), the servant “in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon him” (Isaiah 42:1), and Abraham’s “son, your only son, whom you love” (Genesis 22:2). The same voice speaks at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:5; 2 Peter 1:17).

Tier 3 — Historical / Cosmological Horizon: Later Jewish tradition spoke of a bat qol, “daughter of a voice,” a heavenly voice that continued after prophecy had ceased (Tosefta, Sotah 13:3). Here the voice comes from the opened heavens themselves. Within the Divine Council worldview, “sons of God” was a title for members of God’s heavenly household (Job 1:6), and Israel and its king were called God’s son; this voice names Jesus the beloved Son in a unique sense. Christian traditions have read the scene, with the Father’s voice, the Son in the water, and the Spirit descending, as a revelation of the Trinity.

Choose a chapter

Old Testament3 of 929 chapters · <1%

Genesis3 of 50 · 6%
1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950
ExodusComing soon
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940
LeviticusComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627
NumbersComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
DeuteronomyComing soon
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
JoshuaComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021222324
JudgesComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021
RuthComing soon
1234
1 SamuelComing soon
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
2 SamuelComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021222324
1 KingsComing soon
12345678910111213141516171819202122
2 KingsComing soon
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
1 ChroniclesComing soon
1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829
2 ChroniclesComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
EzraComing soon
12345678910
NehemiahComing soon
12345678910111213
EstherComing soon
12345678910
JobComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
PsalmsComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150
ProverbsComing soon
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
EcclesiastesComing soon
123456789101112
Song of SongsComing soon
12345678
IsaiahComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566
JeremiahComing soon
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152
LamentationsComing soon
12345
EzekielComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748
DanielComing soon
123456789101112
HoseaComing soon
1234567891011121314
JoelComing soon
123
AmosComing soon
123456789
ObadiahComing soon
1
JonahComing soon
1234
MicahComing soon
1234567
NahumComing soon
123
HabakkukComing soon
123
ZephaniahComing soon
123
HaggaiComing soon
12
ZechariahComing soon
1234567891011121314
MalachiComing soon
1234

New Testament5 of 260 chapters · 2%

Matthew5 of 28 · 18%
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728
MarkComing soon
12345678910111213141516
LukeComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021222324
JohnComing soon
123456789101112131415161718192021
ActsComing soon
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728
RomansComing soon
12345678910111213141516
1 CorinthiansComing soon
12345678910111213141516
2 CorinthiansComing soon
12345678910111213
GalatiansComing soon
123456
EphesiansComing soon
123456
PhilippiansComing soon
1234
ColossiansComing soon
1234
1 ThessaloniansComing soon
12345
2 ThessaloniansComing soon
123
1 TimothyComing soon
123456
2 TimothyComing soon
1234
TitusComing soon
123
PhilemonComing soon
1
HebrewsComing soon
12345678910111213
JamesComing soon
12345
1 PeterComing soon
12345
2 PeterComing soon
123
1 JohnComing soon
12345
2 JohnComing soon
1
3 JohnComing soon
1
JudeComing soon
1
RevelationComing soon
12345678910111213141516171819202122

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 You are here
    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
  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

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.