the Second Week after Easter
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George Lamsa Translation
Matthew 27:51
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Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.
And behold, the vaile of the Temple was rent in twaine, from the top to the bottome, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
Then the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces, from the top to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks broke apart.
And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split.
At once the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and rocks split apart.
At that moment the parokhet in the Temple was ripped in two from top to bottom; and there was an earthquake, with rocks splitting apart.
And lo, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom, and the earth was shaken, and the rocks were rent,
When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks were broken.
And behold, the vayle of the Temple was rent in twaine, from the top to the bottome, and the earth did quake, & the stones were cloue.
Then the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split apart,
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
And, behold! The veil of the temple was torn into two from above as far as below. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were sheared!
And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake; and the rocks were rent;
And the curtain of the Temple was parted in two from end to end; and there was an earth-shock; and the rocks were broken;
Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The eretz quaked and the rocks were split.
Suddenly the curtain[fn] in the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, the rocks were split open,Exodus 26:31; 2 Chronicles 3:14; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45;">[xr]
And at once the veil [fn] of the temple was rent in twain from above to beneath; and the earth was shaken, and the rocks were riven.
And instantly, the curtain of the door of the temple was torn asunder, from the top to the bottom; and the earth shook; and the rocks rived;
And beholde, the vayle of the temple dyd rent into two partes, fro the toppe to the bottome, and the earth did quake and the stones rent.
And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake; and the rocks were rent;
Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split.
And behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth was shaken and the rocks were torn asunder: And the tombs were opened,
Immediately the curtain of the Sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom: the earth quaked; the rocks split;
And lo! the veil of the temple was to-rent in twey parties, fro the hiest to the lowest. And the erthe schoke, and stoonus weren cloue; and birielis weren openyd,
And look, the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom in two; and the earth quaked; and the rocks were rent;
And behold, the vail of the temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom: and the earth shook, and the rocks rent;
Just then the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks were split apart.
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,
At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,
At once the curtain in the house of God was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks fell apart.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split.
And lo! the veil of the Temple, was rent, from top to bottom, into two; and, the earth, was shaken, and, the rocks, were rent;
And behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom: and the earth quaked and the rocks were rent.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split;
And beholde the vayle of the temple dyd rent in twayne from ye toppe to the bottome and the erth dyd quake and the stones dyd rent
and lo, the vail of the sanctuary was rent in two from top unto bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks were rent,
And beholde, the vale of the temple was rente in two peces, from aboue tyll beneth, and the earth quaked, and the stones rent,
Immediately the vail of the temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom; the earth trembled, the rocks split,
At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What's more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus' resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)
At that very moment, the drapery in the church that separated man from God was split down the middle startin' at the top and comin' down. The whole earth shook and boulders split wide open like busted watermelons.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the veil: Exodus 26:31-37, Exodus 40:21, Leviticus 16:2, Leviticus 16:12-15, Leviticus 21:23, 2 Chronicles 3:14, Isaiah 25:7, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45, Ephesians 2:13-18, Hebrews 6:19, Hebrews 10:19-22
the earth: Matthew 28:2, Psalms 18:7, Psalms 18:15, Micah 1:3, Micah 1:4, Nahum 1:3-5, Habakkuk 3:10, Habakkuk 3:13, Hebrews 12:25-27, Revelation 11:13, Revelation 11:19
Reciprocal: Exodus 30:6 - veil Exodus 36:35 - veil of blue Numbers 4:5 - they shall 1 Samuel 14:15 - the earth quaked 2 Samuel 22:8 - the earth 1 Kings 19:11 - an earthquake Job 9:5 - which overturneth Job 14:18 - the rock Psalms 60:2 - made Psalms 77:18 - earth Psalms 97:4 - the earth Jeremiah 10:10 - at Daniel 9:27 - cause Joel 2:10 - earth Nahum 1:5 - mountains Luke 19:40 - General Hebrews 9:3 - the second Hebrews 10:20 - through Revelation 15:5 - General
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And behold, the vail of the temple was rent in twain,.... Just at the time that Christ spake with so loud a voice, and expired, and which was at the time of the offering up of the evening incense; and so must be seen by the priest that was then offering, and those that assisted him, for the incense altar was near the vail; and which must be a very astonishing sight unto them: the vail was of a very great thickness; it was made of fine twined linen,
Exodus 26:31, and it is a rule with the Jews t, that
"where ever mention is made in the law of fine linen, or fine twined linen, it means a thread six times doubled:''
and whereas this was made of blue, and purple, and scarlet, Jarchi's note on the place is, that
"every kind was doubled with each thread of six threads.''
His sense is more clearly expressed in his note on Exodus 26:1,
"lo! here are four sorts to every thread; one of linen, and three of wool, and every thread is six times doubled; behold four sorts when they are twisted together, make twenty four doubles to a thread.''
Yea, some of them make it to be forty eight doubles u. What a thick piece of tapestry must this be! and this makes the rending of it the more amazing; for no doubt but that the vail of the second temple was made after the manner of the first; and this was rent
from top to bottom; and which was no less than forty cubits in length, which was the height of the holy of holies in the second temple; and which made the rent the more astonishing. The account the Jews give of the vail, is this w:
"R. Simeon ben Gamaliel said, on account of R. Simeon, the son of the Sagan, the thickness of the vail is an hand's breadth, and it is woven of seventy two threads, and every thread has twenty four threads in it: it is forty cubits long, and twenty broad, and is made of eighty two myriads; (which is either the number of the threads in it, or the sum of the golden pence it cost. Some copies read, is made by eighty two virgins x;) two are made every year; and three hundred priests wash it.''
The Syriac version renders it, "the face of the gate of the temple"; by which may be meant, perhaps, the vail of the gate of Ulam, or of the porch y. The Jews have a tradition z that
"forty years before the destruction of the temple, the gates of it opened of themselves. R. Jochanan ben Zaccai reproved them, saying, O temple! temple! wherefore dost thou fright thyself? I know thy end is to be destroyed; for so prophesied of thee Zechariah, the son of, Iddo, "open thy gates, O Lebanon", c. Zechariah 11:1.''
But whether this may be referred to in the above version, or has any reference to the evangelic history, I will not say. Other writers, as Josephus a, and Egesippus b, speak of the eastern gate of the city, which was of brass, and as much as twenty men could shut, opening of its own accord, before the destruction of the temple which perhaps the Jewish tradition rather regards. This rending of the vail was done, as some think, in token of mourning for, and testifying abhorrence at the crucifixion of Christ; the temple rending its garments, the vail, at the death of its Lord, proprietor, and type, as the high priest did his at supposed blasphemy; or to show that the Lord, who had taken up his residence in the most holy place between the cherubim, over the mercy seat, in thick darkness, was now about to remove, and leave the house desolate; or it signified the rending of Christ's flesh, the breaking of his body for us, which was typified by the vail; see
Hebrews 10:20, and may also denote both the fulfilment and abrogation of the ceremonial law, which had its end in the death of Christ; and likewise the more clear discoveries of the mysteries of grace under the Gospel, in which they are laid to open view, and are beheld with open face: to which may be added, that this pointed out, that the way to the holiest of all, to heaven, of which this was a figure, was now made manifest; and was plain and accessible, as it was, first to Christ, who entered by his own blood, as the forerunner; and also to his people, who likewise have boldness to enter by the same.
And the earth did quake: whether this earthquake reached only to the spot of ground where Christ was crucified, and on which the city and temple of Jerusalem stood; or whether it extended to other parts of the earth; since, in the reign of Tiberius Caesar, as Pliny c relates, there was an earthquake, in which twelve cities in Asia fell, is not certain. However, it was an indication of the divine anger and resentment, and in detestation of the sin of crucifying Christ; see Psalms 18:7, and was an emblem of the shaking and removing of the Jewish church state and ordinances, Hebrews 12:26.
And the rocks rent; which were near Mount Calvary, and about Jerusalem; and, as we are told, the clefts are to be seen to this day, and which appear to be supernatural. This was also a token of divine wrath and fury, Nahum 1:5, and a rebuke of the stupidity and hardness of the Jews, who were unmoved when rocks were rent asunder, being harder than they; and an emblem of the future conversion of many through the powerful ministry of the word, and in consequence of Christ's death; when hearts, as hard as rocks, were broke in pieces, stony hearts taken away, and hearts of flesh given; of which the three thousand being pricked to the heart under Peter's sermon, were an instance.
t Maimon. Cele Hamikdash, c. 8. sect. 14. Kimchi in Sepher Shorash rad. שזר. u T. Hieros. Shekalim, fol. 51. w Misn. Shekalim, c. 8. sect. 5. Shernot Rabba, sect. 50. fol. 144. 2. Bernidbar Rabba, sect. 4. fol. 183. 2. x Vid. Bartenora & Yom. Tob. in ib. y Vid. Bartenora in ib. z T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 39. 2. Jarchi & Kimchi in Zech. xi. i. Ganz Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 25. 2. a L. 8. c. 12. b L. 5. c. 44. c L. 2. c. 84.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The vail of the temple - This was doubtless the veil, curiously performed, which separated the holy from the most holy place, dividing the temple into two apartments, Exodus 26:31-33.
In twain - In two pieces or parts. This was the time of day when the priest was burning incense in the holy place, and it is probable that he witnessed it. The most holy place has been usually considered as a type of heaven, and the tearing of the veil to signify that the way to heaven was now open to all - the great High Priest, the Lord Jesus, being about to enter in as the forerunner of his people. However, about the design of the tearing of the veil, the Scriptures are silent, and conjecture is useless.
And the earth did quake - Or shook. Earthquakes are violent convulsions of the ground, caused commonly by confined and rarefied air. This was probably, however, a miraculous convulsion of the earth, in attestation of the truth that the sufferer was the Messiah, the Son of God, and as an exhibition of wrath at the crimes of those who put him to death. It was not confined to Judea, but was felt in other countries. It is mentioned by Roman writers.
The rocks rent - That is, were torn asunder. Rocks are still seen at Mount Calvary thus rent asunder, which are said to be the ones that were convulsed when the Saviour died.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 51. The veil of the temple was rent — That is, the veil which separated the holy place, where the priests ministered, from the holy of holies, into which the high priest only entered, and that once a year, to make a general expiation for the sins of the people. This rending of the veil was emblematical, and pointed out that the separation between Jews and Gentiles was now abolished, and that the privilege of the high priest was now communicated to all mankind: ALL might henceforth have access to the throne of grace, through the one great atonement and mediator, the Lord Jesus. See this beautifully illustrated in Hebrews 10:19-22.
