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George Lamsa Translation
Matthew 15:1
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Then Jesus was approached by Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem, who asked,
Then came to Iesus Scribes and Pharisees, which were of Hierusalem, saying,
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him,
Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus and said,
Then came to Iesus the Scribes and Pharises, which were of Hierusalem, saying,
Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
About this time some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem. They asked Jesus,
Then some P'rushim and Torah-teachers from Yerushalayim came to Yeshua and asked him,
Then the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem come up to Jesus, saying,
Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus. They came from Jerusalem and asked him,
Then some Pharisees and teachers of the Law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked him,
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,
Then the scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,
Then there come to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying,
Then there came to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying,
Then Perushim and Sofrim come to Yeshua from Yerushalayim, saying,
Then some Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said,Mark 7:1;">[xr]
THEN came to Jeshu Pharishee and Sophree [fn] who were from Urishlem, saying,
Then came to Jesus Pharisees and Scribes that were from Jerusalem, and said:
Then came to Iesus Scribes and Pharisees, which were come from Hierusalem, saying:
Then there come to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying,
Then Pharisees and scribes come to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees who were of Jerusalem, saying,
Then there came to Jesus a party of Pharisees and Scribes from Jerusalem, who inquired,
Thanne the scribis and the Farisees camen to hym fro Jerusalem, and seiden,
Then Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem come to Jesus, saying,
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, who were of Jerusalem, saying,
Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said,
Mark 7:1-23">[xr] Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,
Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him,
Some of the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers from Jerusalem came to Jesus. They asked,
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
Then, there come unto Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and Scribes, saying -
Then came to him from Jerusalem scribes and Pharisees, saying:
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
Then came to Iesus scribes and pharises from Ierusalem sayinge:
Then come unto Jesus do they from Jerusalem -- scribes and Pharisees -- saying,
Then came vnto him the scribes and pharises from Ierusalem, sayenge:
Then the Scribes and Pharisees, who were of Jerusalem, came to him and said,
After that, Pharisees and religion scholars came to Jesus all the way from Jerusalem, criticizing, "Why do your disciples play fast and loose with the rules?"
It was about this time that some religious know-it-alls and some others who taught the same things they did came up from the Jerusalem country. They asked Jesus,
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
came: Mark 7:1-13
scribes: Matthew 5:20, Matthew 23:2, Matthew 23:15-28, Luke 5:30, Acts 23:9
which: Luke 5:17, Luke 5:21
Reciprocal: Proverbs 26:5 - a fool Matthew 7:29 - and not Matthew 16:1 - Pharisees Mark 3:22 - which
Cross-References
AFTER these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am your shield, and your reward is exceedingly great.
And Abram said, O LORD God, what will thou give me, for I will die childless, and Eliezer of Damascus, one of my household, will be my heir?
And Abram said, Behold, thou hast given me no son; and, behold, one of the members of my household will be my heir.
Then the LORD said to him, This man shall not be your heir; but your own son that shall come out of your own loins shall be your heir.
And he brought him outside, and said to him, Look now toward heaven and number the stars, if you are able to number them; and he said to him, So shall your descendants be.
And Abram believed in the LORD; and it was counted to him for righteousness.
And he took to himself all these, and cut them in two, and laid each piece against another; but the birds he did not divide.
But I will judge the nation which they shall serve; and afterward they shall come out with great wealth.
And after four centuries, they shall return here; for the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet full.
And it came to pass that when the sun had set and it was dark, behold there appeared a smoking furnace and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Then came to Jesus Scribes and Pharisees,.... After he had wrought so many miracles, particularly that of feeding five thousand men; besides women and children, with five loaves and two fishes: the fame of which had reached Jerusalem, and occasioned much talk there about him: the Scribes and Pharisees, who were his inveterate enemies, hearing thereof, came to him, where he was, in Galilee: to know the truth of these things, to converse with him, and to watch, and observe, what he said and did;
which were of Jerusalem, saying. There were Scribes and Pharisees throughout the land, but those of Jerusalem were the chief; they were men of the greatest learning and abilities, and were more expert in their religion and customs: these were either sent by the sanhedrim at Jerusalem, or came of themselves; taking upon them a greater power, and authority of examining, correcting, directing, and advising.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
See also Mark 7:1-9.
Then came to Jesus ... - Mark says that they saw the disciples of Jesus eating with unwashed hands.
Matthew 15:2
Transgress the tradition of the elders - The world “elders” literally means “old men.” Here it means the “ancients,” or their “ancestors.” The “tradition of the elders” meant something handed down from one to another by memory; some precept or custom not commanded in the written law, but which scribes and Pharisees held themselves bound to observe.
They supposed that when Moses was on Mount Sinai two sets of laws were delivered to him: one, they said, was recorded, and is that contained in the Old Testament; the other was handed down from father to son, and kept uncorrupted to their day. They believed that Moses, before he died, delivered this law to Joshua; he to the Judges; they to the prophets; so that it was kept pure until it was recorded in the Talmuds. In these books these pretended laws are now contained. They are exceedingly numerous and very trifling. They are, however, regarded by the Jews as more important than either Moses or the prophets.
One point in which the Pharisees differed from the Sadducees was in holding to these traditions. It seems, however, that in the particular traditions mentioned here, all the Jews were united; for Mark adds Mark 7:3 that “the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.” Mark has also added that this custom of washing extended not merely to their hands before eating, but in coming from the market; and also to cups, and pots, and brass vessels, and tables, Mark 7:3-4. They did this professedly for the sake of cleanliness. So far it was well. But they also made it a matter of superstition. They regarded external purity as of much more importance than the purity of the heart. They had many foolish rules about it respecting the quantity of water that was to be used, the way in which it should be applied, the number of times it should be changed, the number of those that might wash at a time, etc. Our Saviour did not think it proper to regard these rules, and this was the reason why they “found fault” with him.
Matthew 15:3
But he answered ... - They accused him of violating their traditions, as though they were obligatory.
In his answer he implied that his disciples were not bound to obey their traditions - they were invented by human beings. He said, also, that those traditions could not be binding, as they violated the commandments of God. He proceeded to specify a case in which their tradition made void one of the plain laws of God; and if that was their character, then they could not blame him for not regarding them.
Matthew 15:4
For God commanded ... - That is, in the fifth commandment Exodus 20:12, and in Exodus 21:17. To “honor” is to obey, to reverence, to speak kindly to, to speak and think well of. To “curse” is to disobey, to treat with irreverence, to swear at, to speak ill of, to think evil of in the heart, to meditate or do any evil to a parent. All this is included in the original word.
Let him die the death - This is a Hebrew phrase, the same as saying, “let him surely die.” The Jewish law punished this crime with death. This duty of honoring and obeying a parent was what Christ said they had violated by their traditions. He proceeds to state the way in which it was done.
Matthew 15:5
It is a gift - In Mark it is “corban.” The word “corban” is a Hebrew word denoting a gift.
Here it means a thing dedicated to the service of God, and therefore not to be appropriated to any other use. The Jews were in the habit of making such dedications. They devoted their property to God for sacred uses, as they pleased. In doing this they used the word קרבן qaarbaan or κορβᾶν korban, or some similar word, saying, this thing is “corban,” i. e., it is a gift to God, or is sacred to him. The law required that when a dedication of this kind was made it should be fulfilled. “Vow and pay unto the Lord your God,” Psalms 76:11. See Deuteronomy 23:21. The law of God required that a son should honor his parent; i. e., among other things, that he should provide for his needs when he was old and in distress. Yet the Jewish teachers said that it was more important for a man to dedicate his property to God than to provide for the needs of his parent.
If he had once devoted his property once said it was “corban,” or a gift to God - it could not be appropriated even to the support of a parent. If a parent was needy and poor, and if he should apply to a son for assistance, and the son should reply, though in anger, “It is devoted to God; this property which you need, and by which you might be profited by me, is “corban” - I have given it to God;” the Jews said the property could not be recalled, and the son was not under obligation to aid a parent with it. He had done a more important thing in giving it to God. The son was free. He could not be required to do anything for his father after that. Thus, he might, in a moment, free himself from the obligation to obey his father or mother. In a sense somewhat similar to this, the chiefs and priests of the Sandwich Islands had the power of devoting anything to the service of the gods by saying that it was “taboo,” or “tabooed;” that is, it became consecrated to the service of religion; and, no matter who had been the owner, it could then be appropriated for no other use. In this way they had complete power over all the possessions of the people, and could appropriate them for their own use under the pretence of devoting them to religion. Thus, they deprived the people of their property under the plea that it was consecrated to the gods. The Jewish son deprived his parents of a support under the plea that the property was devoted to the service of religion. The principle was the same, and both systems were equally a violation of the rights of others.
Besides, the law said that a man should die who cursed his father, i. e., that refused to obey him, or to provide for him, or spoke in anger to him. Yet the Jews said that, though in anger, and in real spite and hatred, a son said to his father, “All that I have which could profit you I have given to God,” he should be free from blame. Thus, the whole law was made void, or of no use, by what appeared to have the appearance of piety. “No man, according to their views, was bound to obey the fifth commandment and support an aged and needy parent, if, either from superstition or spite, he chose to give his property to God, that is, to devote it to some religious use.”
Our Saviour did not mean to condemn the practice of giving to God, or to religious and charitable objects. The law and the gospel equally required this. Jesus commended even a poor widow that gave all her living, Mark 12:44, but he condemned the practice of giving to God where it interfered with our duty to parents and relations; where it was done to get rid of the duty of aiding them; and where it was done out of a malignant and rebellious spirit, with the semblance of piety, to get clear of doing to earthly parents what God required.
Matthew 15:7
Ye hypocrites! - See the notes at Matthew 7:5. Hypocrisy is the concealment of some base principle under the pretence of religion. Never was there a clearer instance of it than this an attempt to get rid of the duty of providing for needy parents under an appearance of piety toward God.
Esaias - That is, Isaiah. This prophecy is found in Isaiah 29:13.
Prophesy of you - That is, he spoke of the people of his day of the Jews, as Jews - in terms that apply to the whole people. He properly characterized the nation in calling them hypocrites. The words are applicable to the nation at all times, and they apply, therefore, to you. He did not mean particularly to speak of the nation in the time of Christ, but he spoke of them as having a national character of hypocrisy. Compare the notes at Matthew 1:22-23.
Matthew 15:8
Draweth nigh unto me with their mouth ... - That is, they are regular in the forms of worship; they are strict in ceremonial observances, and keep the law outwardly; but God requires the heart, and that they have not rendered.
Matthew 15:9
In vain do they worship me - That is, their attempts to worship are “vain,” or are not real worship - they are mere “forms.”
Teaching for doctrines ... - The word “doctrines,” here, means the requirements of religion - things to be believed and practiced in religion.
God only has a right to declare what shall be done in his service; but they held their traditions to be superior to the written word of God, and taught them as doctrines binding the conscience. See the notes at Isaiah 29:13.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER XV.
The Pharisees accuse the disciples of eating with unwashed
hands, 1, 2.
Our Lord answers, and convicts them of gross hypocrisy, 3-9.
Teaches the people and the disciples what it is that renders
men unclean, 10-20.
Heals the daughter of a Canaanitish woman, 21-28.
Heals many diseased people on a mountain of Galilee, 29-31.
With seven loaves, and a few little fishes, he feeds 4,000 men,
besides women and children, 32-38.
Having dismissed the multitudes, he comes to the coast of
Magdala, 39
NOTES ON CHAP. XV.
Verse Matthew 15:1. The scribes and Pharisees - of Jerusalem — Our Lord was now in Galilee, Matthew 14:34.
